Sumo Sampler

Call it a vocation...a calling...a nine-to-five eureka!...an unhealthy obsession. I call it sumo, my all of the above. Sumo is not a popular world sport. In fact, there are only a handful of countries that actually have sumo wrestling. And only one (Japan) where it is in the limelight. Sumo is saturated with tradition, and I eat it up. I gotta be a part of it.


Above is a picture of the fast-movers known as rikishi (sumo wrestlers). Too fast for my shutter, they crash into each other with so much force it makes tectonic plates look like nuzzling house cats. Not only are they deceptively quick, but also flexible and agile. I am guessing they could give Brian Boitano and Mikhail Baryshnikov a run for their money.

The top rikishi generally have a posse of other wrestlers under them that follow them whereever they go--making sure the "big kahuna" is comfortable, likes his yukata (robe), and looks powerful. Each rikishi is from a stable where they train and spar with other wrestlers from that stable. Training takes place almost everyday during non-tournament days. Tournaments are 15 days long and are held during every odd month--3 in Tokyo and 1 each in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. Generally, each rikishi has one match per day with the lower divisions wrestling in the morning and the best (big money) matches in the afternoon.

Some of my favorite rikishi are Kotooshu, Ama, Baruto, Takamisakari, and Hakuho. Kotooshu is a very tall, lean, handsome rikishi from Bulgaria. He is my all-time favorite and the first European to be as highly ranked as he is (ozeki). He will most likely be the best rikishi one day. Ama is a very tiny man from Mongolia...he fights with heart and passion, and is always smaller than his competition. Baruto is the new guy on the block. He is from Estonia and one of the fastest rising sumo wrestlers in history. Takamisakari is from Japan. He isn't actually that good, but he always spazzes out (e.g., beats his chest, and pumps his arms up and down) during the "pre-game warm-up" which makes him fun to watch. Hakuho is also from Mongolia and is one of the most talented wrestlers at this time.


Anyway, I hope you enjoyed getting a little taste for sumo. This was just a tiny bit of the huge world of sumo, so if you have any questions please ask.