From Japanese Sumo to American College Football

Japanese sports teams and individuals have been doing very well all over the world lately. Hidetora Haneda is another great athletic success.

The 6'1", 280 pound Hanada rose to the highest ranks of amateur sumo wrestling in Japan, before becoming the newest Colorado State University defensive lineman in the United States. He reportedly has come a long way with his English skills, he knows the basic rules of American football, and now he loves lasagna. I wish him the best with his new sport in the US!

Sumo Baby Crying Festival

(Just so you know, crying babies are definitely not my thing, so I won't be attending this festival).

This is an annual spring event at numerous shrines and temples in Japan. One of the most famous events is held at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa in Tokyo. The competition is between pairs of one year old babies to see which one cries first when held up in the air by sumo wrestlers, while crowds of people watch and chant "cry, cry, cry", (in Japanese, of course). If both babies cry, the one who is louder wins. Strange as it sounds, this event is held to pray for the baby's healthy growth and development. The beginnings of this festival go back at least 400 years and the saying is, "Naku ko wa sodatsu" or "Crying babies grow fat."  The belief is that the cries ward off demons that would otherwise harm the babies.

Only in Japan?

March 2021 Grand Sumo Tournament

Don't ask me why I find this so interesting, I just do. Maybe because it's so Japanese and historical, and just so different from any sport I grew up knowing about. What do you think about sumo?

If you are new to this sport, you can read some background on it here. 

There are six grand sumo tournaments each year.  Normally the second tournament, which is in March, is held in Osaka, but due to covid-19 restrictions, all tournaments are held in Tokyo until further notice. The tournament runs from Sunday March 14th to Sunday March 28th.  

Ticket prices range from 38,000 yen for box seats to 3,800 yen for arena seats. If you aren't traveling to Tokyo now, you can watch the action on NHK TV.  The banzuke, or rankings list for the March Tournament can be found here, if you are interested. There are also several YouTube sumo channels in English. They are pretty interesting and worth checking out.

In addition to all tournaments being held in Tokyo, there are some other coronavirus precautions. (From the official Sumo website)

【Entering the venue】
○ You have to be wearing a mask (covering mouth and nose) and sanitize your hands at the entrance.
○ Your body temperature will be measured. Please be aware that your admission will be denied if the temperature is 37.5℃ or higher, depending on the temperature measurement result.
○ Alcohol is prohibited at the venue. It must not be brought into the venue and it is not sold at the venue. If Alcohol is spotted, it will be confiscated by a staff member at the venue.
○ You cannot re-enter the venue.
○ Please refrain from bringing any food or drink to the venue.

【Seating】
○ Only two spectators are seated in each masu-seki (box-seat), which usually accommodates up to four. Only every other chair-seat is sold, so there is one empty seat between two spectators. Please refrain from using seats you have not purchased. That includes seats of family members as well as seats left empty to create social distance between spectators.
○ Loud cheering is prohibited. Please applaud instead to support Rikishi.
○ The way of exiting the venue is regulated. As soon as the bouts are finished, the venue will be left by using the respective exit dedicated to each of the four seating areas.

【Concerning eating and drinking】
○ Please refrain from eating or drinking while at the seating area. (Necessary hydration though is allowed.) Please use the designated "food and drink space" as well as benches for eating and drinking.
○ Please check the maps inside the building concerning food and drink sales.

【Additionally】
○ Please refrain from addressing Rikishi as well as Oyakata. Shaking hands and asking for autographs is currently not possible.
○ Please keep your part of the ticket for 14 days after visiting the venue. A follow-up confirmation might become necessary.
○ Please register with the COVID-19 contact confirmation app (COCOA).

Sumo and English Idioms

 

Photo from 2015 Sapporo Sumo experience

My upper level English students study English idioms.The students often laugh about how silly they sound and are confused about when to use them. Now that I am teaching the use of idioms, I am much more aware of when I hear them.  

I was watching the Tokyo New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on NHK World and I heard the English language commentator say that the rikishi (wrestler) would be back to square one after this match. "Back to Square One" was one of last week's idioms!  

Here is the background and the situation - - - The top division in Sumo consists of Yokozuna, Ozeki, Sekiwake, Komusubi, and Maegashira levels.  Yokozuna is the highest. The rankings change according to the rikishi's performance in the previous tournament. Except for Yokozuna, if the rikishi does not win 8 or more matches in a tournament, they fall back to the next lower rank at the next tournament. 

One of the Ozeki lost the match and would not be able to win 8 or more in this tournament.  The announcer said he would be back to square one at the sekiwake level in the next tournament. What a great example of this idiom!  

The two Yokozuma ranked rikishi are not competing in this tournament, one due to a back injury and one due to covid.  I think there are 65, including 16 in the top two levels who are not competing at this tournament due to being infected or being in close contact with someone who is infected. The audience is limited to 5000 spectators, all wearing masks, due to the pandemic.

July Grand Sumo Event

Japanese Sumo events are also having to make changes due to the coronavirus pandemic. March's Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka was held without spectators for the first time ever. The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) cancelled the May Grand Tournament after the nationwide state of emergency was declared.  This was the third time in the organization's history that a tournament has been cancelled. 

The July tournament was delayed by two weeks and moved from its usual location in Nagoya, to Tokyo to lessen the risk of infection which would be created by travel, since most of the sumo wrestlers are located in Tokyo. Even though there has been a recent rise in the number of cases in Japan, the Japan Sumo Association decided to allow about 2,500 fans per day (down from the usual 11,000 fans). There are normally six Grand Tournaments a year, three in Tokyo and one each in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. 

In addition to changing the location and limiting spectators, the JSA has implemented other safeguards.  Spectators will be required to wear masks and to sit individually in the "masuseki" boxed enclosures that normally accommodate four. They are asked not to cheer, but applauding is allowed.

The wrestlers are prohibited from going outdoors and they have been asked not to train at different stables.  Wrestlers are also asked to wear masks while in their dressing rooms and to have their temperatures taken daily. 

The November Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament will be moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo, again in response to the pandemic. There are so many changes due to the pandemic all over the world this year, still we are trying to stay as normal as possible.

Sumo Wrestlers Save Woman From Drowning

Sakaigawa Stable, Tokyo

Wednesday morning about 5 am, a woman in her 30's fell from a bridge over the Kenaga River in Tokyo.  A man nearby heard the woman scream and called police.  Before the police arrived, the stable master of the Sakaigawa stable next to the river, who also heard her scream, ran out with 20 sumo wrestlers to save her. The wrestlers were able to pull her up over the river wall and carry her to the ambulance.  She was taken to the hospital with no serious injuries. How amazing is that?  If you are going to fall in the river, it's good to do it near a sumo stable where giant men can pull you out.

Maria Branyas and Shobushi Kanji

Maria Branyas, Spain's oldest woman at 113 years, has recovered from the coronavirus.  She was diagnosed in March, after Spain went into lockdown, and has now recovered having only experienced mild symptoms.  She lived through the Flu pandemic of 1918-19, the Spanish Civil war of 1936-39, and now the current pandemic. 

She was born in Mexico in 1907, moved to the US with her family when she was a child, and later moved to Spain during World War One with her journalist father.  She raised three children, has 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.  For the last two decades she has lived in a care home in the city of Olot.  

The news is not so good about 28 year old sumo wrestler Shobushi Kanji, who died of multiple organ failure brought on by COVID-19 triggered pneumonia. He is the youngest confirmed corona-related death in Japan and the first such death of a person in their 20's in the country.  He began his sumo career in March 2007 and fought his way to the sandanme level with a 147-189 record. How sad to die so young.

Beards Not Allowed for Sumo Wrestlers

Some sumo competitors in Japan believe that not shaving during competitions brings them good luck.  The Japan Sumo Association has recently decided that beards will no longer be allowed in the sport. (Long nails and tattoos are also prohibited). 

An elder in the JSA is quoted as saying the dohyo ring is sacred and he wants people to feel good when they watch the sport, so competitors must be well groomed.  Grand champion Kakuryu, who is the head of the group of wrestlers in the sport's top two tiers, said looking good is very important. 

There are other strict rules about Sumo behavior.  They are not allowed to wear regular clothes in public, they must wear the traditional Japanese wear.  They are not allowed to drive cars. This rule was enacted after a serious car accident involving a wrestler.

on the airplane

How does this compare with how athletes in other sports look and act?

The Japanese Culture Weekend - Part 2, the Sumo Tournament

After attending the wedding on Saturday and staying overnight in Sapporo, we attended the Sumo Tournament on Sunday. Sumo is a centuries old Japanese sport having its origins in the Shinto religion. Sumo matches take place in a ring that is 4.55 meters across, called a dohyo. The little diaper thing they wear is called a fundoshi.  The one who is forced out of the ring or who touches the ground is the loser.  The Japan Sumo Association is in charge of it all. Currently there are 43 training stables with about 660 wrestlers. There are many rules sumo participants must follow.  It’s more a way of life than just a job.

We had good seats that were very close.  The daylong event we attended began with the lower level sumo wrestlers. 

 

 

In the middle of the day were some informational demonstrations, including how the samurai type hair style is done.

 

 

 I was amazed by how large, yet how flexible these guys are.  

 

 

This was followed by some traditional, maybe ritual, type things. 

 

 

The final part of the day was the big guys – the Professionals. A good number of them are not Japanese, which was kind of surprising for me.

There is a lot of salt throwing.  

 

We witnessed several different winning techniques – chest slapping, grapping the fundoshi and picking up the opponent, leaning to the side and causing the pusher to fall forward, to name a few.

 

At the end the winner did a little dance with a big bow like tool.

 

This was very interesting and I’m glad we were able to see it in person!