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They may look like very huge babies in skimpy diapers but Sumo Wrestling
sure isn’t a baby’s sport.
Considered to be Japan’s national sport, Sumo Wrestling originated in
ancient times as religious performances to the Shinto gods.
History
 Sumo
has been part of the earliest history accounts of Japan, the Nihon Shoki,
the Kojiki, and the Shinto Periods. It was first established as a court
ritual towards the end of the Heian Period (794-1185) and continued to
be such for about three hundred years.
During the feudal periods, Sumo wrestling was used to resolve political
disputes. In a parallel to the European practice of sending military
champions to decide the issue by might, the Japanese warring parties
would send forth their best sumo wrestlers to fight in a match to see
who gets to have his way.
The recognition of Sumo as a professional sport began in the Edo Period
where it became a popular feature of the urban culture. Rituals and
ceremonies similar to those followed today were drawn up governing the
sport. The entrance of the 20th century saw the formation of a single
professional organization for the sport.
Today, sumo has become a professional and very popular sport that draws
audiences from the locals and tourists alike. Arenas for sumo are
plentiful throughout Japan.
Sumo combines some of the most public forms of Shinto ritual with the
jaw-dropping sight of wrestlers weighing up to 265 kilograms (around 580
pounds) slamming into each other. At first glance, foreigners are
frequently repulsed yet morbidly fascinated. But like an acquired taste,
continued exposure converts many into sumo fanatics.
The Rules
 The
rules of Sumo are very simple: The wrestler who first touches the floor
outside of the ring with any part of his body other than his sole or
leaves the ring first loses.
The wrestling ring is a raised clay platform with bales of straw half
buried in the clay to outline the circular ring. Wrestlers wear only a
thick belt that is then grasped by the opponent and used to lever the
wearer out of the ring.
In most cases, the matches just last a few seconds. There are some
matches though where the fight can last up to a minute or more.
Six tournaments lasting fifteen days are held annually. Three
tournaments are held in Tokyo while the rest are divided between
Fukuoka, Osaka, and Nagoya.
The Hierarchy
Sumo is a very hierarchical sport. Each level of the hierarchy and who
qualifies for it is determined by the wrestler’s skill, experience, and
recorded number of wins.
 At
the top of the sumo wrestlers' hierarchy stands the yokozuna (Not
to be confused with the former World Wrestling Federation wrestler) or
the Grand Champion. At the moment, there is only one yokozuna, Asashoryu
from Mongolia. Once a wrestler reached the rank of yokozuna, he cannot
lose it anymore. However, he is expected to retire as soon as his
results are starting to worsen.
After the Grand Champions come the Junior champions (Ozeki,)
Champions (Sekiwake,) and the Champions Second Class
(Komusubi.)
Most elite wrestlers are highly trained athletes and between about 20 to
35 years old. Besides working out, the wrestlers are eating large
amounts of food and go to bed right after eating in order to gain mass.
The wrestlers are living in special sumo stables where the rules are
very strict, especially for beginners.
The champion ranks are then followed by the Senior Wrestler (Maegashira)
rank, arranged in order from one down to thirteen. Fine rankings are
made by dividing all wrestlers into East and West stables so that there
is an East Number One Maegashira paired with a West Number One
Maegashira and so on. These wrestlers make up the top division, the
Makunouchi or Makuuchi.
Below this group of about 36 wrestlers, are other divisions totaling
somewhere around seven hundred wrestlers. Only wrestlers in the top two
divisions (Makuuchi and Juryo) are paid a monthly salary,
so the income of a wrestler is not assured until a consistent winning
record propels him up the ranks.
Aspiring wrestlers as young as 13 years old usually come to try out and
join the established sumo wrestling training stables. Those who are
lucky enough to enter a stable get to be trained by a retired successful
wrestler called Anoyakata.
Training for new recruits include intense discipline and physical
exercises to attending to the whims of the senior wrestlers be it
massages or fetching drinks.
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