Sumo Wrestling

Japan holds six pro sumo wrestling tournaments a year – three in nearby Tokyo so it would be a shame to never go. Traditional Japanese events can be hit or miss as to how exciting they will be. Festivals are usually great cultural experiences. The arts, however, such as Kabuki theater or Noh, are long, boring and have irrational plots. (I also hate museums so all you cultured folk please ignore me.) When I attended a kyogen play, the old man sitting next to me was snoring and the four grandmothers in front of me were a symphony of head-bobbers. But I do say a traditional Japanese play is something that everyone should experience once, mainly so you can better appreciate the time period that you live in. Anyway, with all that being said, I didn't know what to expect from sumo - but I was pleasantly surprised. Sumo was awesome! Watching sumo had been one of the four things I wanted to do in Japan before I knew a thing about the country – that along with climbing Mt. Fuji, seeing the A-bomb memorial in Hiroshima and becoming a ninja. Being the final check on my list, I had to go. We arrived at the stadium early. The lower ranks wrestle first and by the end of the day the real fat boys have a go. No one shows up for the welterweights so we had front row seats all morning. In the afternoon we got kicked out of "our" seats three times until we eventually ended up at the top of the nose-bleed section.
One of the big dogs...400 pounds of tempura massiveness, Miyabiyama, was a former student at my elementary school. He was Jr High and High School National Sumo Champion. After he went pro he shot up the rankings to "Ozeki", the second highest rank for a sumo and had a promising future, but then he got injured and got fatter. You'd think that's the best thing that could happen to a sumo wrestler, but he's never made it quite that high again. He was ranked in the top 8 in Japan but he lost his bout that day. (He's on one on the right). Before that day I always felt like I was too big for this country. I can't even buy shoes here. But after walking around them all day I now understand why they don't wear clothes.