In August, friends encouraged us to signed up for the ITT trip for the Sumo Wrestling Tournament in Tokyo. So we did & went together! The tournament is held three times a year in Tokyo (January, May and September). In Tokyo, the tournament is held at Ryōgoku, the Sumo Hall. The tournament last 15 days and begins and ends on a Sunday. Today was the second to last day of this tournament. Our tour included transportation to Tokyo on a bus and tour tickets. I google mapped the route while riding on the bus.
Also on bus ride, I was able to read a bit about the tournament.
Upon arrival, we had a moment to pose for a quick picture before we made our way into the arena.
The arena is indoors and has two levels. The seating on the first floor level are large cushions on which the spectators sit during the matches. The second floor, where we were seated, were cushioned chairs. The picture below was taken when we first arrived. There are few spectators at this point because it was the at the beginning of the event.
The tournament consists of four different groups of matches or bouts. There are 12-15 bouts in each group. The first group are more novice wrestlers, with each group getting more advanced. The final bout at the end of the tournament determines the overall champion. An important thing to note, sumo wrestling is not divided into weight classes. There is often obvious weight differences between wrestlers.
Sumo wrestling is the national sport of Japan. The match takes place inside of a ring that is 4.5 m in diameter. A match is won by the competitor who is able to push their opponent out of the ring first or cause them to lose their balance and touch with a body part other than their feet. The wrestlers follow a traditional routine when preparing to wrestle their opponents. They raise their legs and stomp their feet to rid the area of evil. They throw salt into the ring to purify the ring. The two wrestlers are typically very animated during the ceremonial pre match rituals. It’s almost like watching them put on their game face. This animation also helps to engage the crowd and intimidate their opponents.
By the final group of matches, the arena was full.
I’m sorry… But, so much tushy! Makes me giggle.
One piece of literature I read about the tournament described Sumo Wrestling as “a professional sport, the unique combination of ancient ceremony and the tremendous power of the wrestlers themselves makes it a marvelous and exciting spectacle.” We enjoyed the afternoon placing wageless bets on which wrestler would win. We selected them based on the color of their mawashi (belt). I’ll be honest, I was pretty good at picking the winner…
