Sumo is Japan's national sport and most popular. In olden times, sumo was associated with the art of divination; the winner's village was supposedly favored with a good harvest. Today sumo is a highly competitive sport, as well as a highly organized business. It is full of rituals and ceremonies.

The first ceremony is how the wrestlers enter the ring (dohyo). The wrestlers are divided among the upper and lower divisions. (the upper being more experienced). When the upper division enters, they are wearing colorful and heavily embroided "aprons". They walk a circle in the dohyo as their names are announced. They then face each inward, raise their arms, clap hands in unison, raise their aprons a couple of inches, then they leave the dohyo the same way they entered.

These motions are the same as one does when entering the grounds of a temple: raising the arms shows you have no concealed weapons, clapping hands signifies spirits and bodies are purified, and hitching up the apron frightens away evil spirits, as well as signifying a wrestler's intention to win the match.

The dohyo is a raised platform of tampered earth and forms a 20 foot square. Embedded in the earth of the dohyo are bundles of rice and straw--forming a circle about 15 feet in diameter. The dohyo is considered sacred ground; a purification ceremony precedes each match. Only wrestlers and officials may step on it. Women are forbidden to step on the dohyo at any time, ever. (sheesh)

These guys are really huge! They weigh anywhere between 300 to 550 pounds and on average are about 6 ft. They are surprisingly agile and quick! Each wrestler belongs to a stable. (kinda like a super strict fratenity type place) They stay with one stable their whole career. Sumo life is based strictly on hierarchy. His position is based on performance--winners move up, losers get demoted. The younger/lower ranking wrestlers must do all the cooking, cleaning and wait on the upper ranks. They do not eat until everyone else has finished. They must also keep up in their harsh daily training. Many new wrestlers drop out with the vigorous training and upkeep of the stable...but those who tough it out, will be repaid with the utmost respect of the newcomers...and if they win, then their fans!

When the match is about to begin, the referee (who is dressed as a Shinto priest) enters the ring and in a falsetto stylized voice, announces the two who are to compete. The wrestlers step up onto the dohyo, face each other, slap themselves on their thighs, raise their arms, clap their hands, and stomp their feet then move to their respective corners. Each wrestler then squats and is given a dipper full of water (water of strength) rinses out his mouth and spits it out then wipes his mouth with a small napkin (strength paper). Each wrestler then takes a handful of salt from a basket in the corner and tosses it onto the ring. The two wrestlers then enter the ring, face each other, bend into starting position (like a football player's) and glare at each other for a few seconds, then get up and do this ritual all over again (the slapping of thighs, clapping, salt throwing, etc.) several times. During this time, there are two attendants constantly sweeping the salt in the ring and just on the outside of the ring. The reason for the salt and the sweeping is to purify the ring, the stamping of the feet, slapping and clapping hands is to frighten the evil spirits, and drinking the water is to purify the wrestlers.

After several glare-downs, the referee signals that the bout is to begin with a paddle of sorts. Both wrestlers face each other in squatting position and both must touch the ground with both fists before charging each other. Almost anything goes, there is no hair pulling, no kicking, and no closed fists. Sometimes you'll see them slap each other in the face..this would probably break the neck of us normal folks! As soon as one touches the ground or is forced out of the circle, the bout is over. These matches can last from 30 seconds up to 3 minutes. The referee will announce the winner and sometimes presents him with gifts or merchandise offered by his sponsors. (how lucrative!)

If there is anything about Japan you wanna know, email me, and I'll get on it for my next article!