Last week there was a cultural holiday in Japan and our language teacher invited us to visit the Tokyo Edo Museum. Beside the museum was the arena for the sumo wrestling tournaments. For the sumo enthusiast, this facility is considered the "Rupp Arena" for sumo events. These two wrestlers were students and just beginning their careers. They will train under the more experienced until they have developed the skills and the size that it takes to compete. The grand champion is 6' 6" and weighs well over 300 pounds; these guys have a long way to go!

The flags seen in this picture are mounted outside the arena entrance and represent the individual "rikishi" wrestlers that will be competing in the tournament. The larger the print on the banner, the higher the wrestler is in the ranking. The wrestlers are sponsored by a "stable", which is the equivalent of a professional team. One stable could have up to 30 wrestlers on their roster. The tournaments are held in Tokyo on the odd numbered months; other prefectures on the even months.

This week we decided to buy tickets and experience a session. There were 20 matches on the card and they progressed from the lowest ranked participants to the highest. The last six matches of the night were those wrestlers with the best overall tournment record; contenders to become the grand champion. Since sumo is more like the sport of boxing, where the athlete is continually defending his ranking; tournaments are held throughout the year.

At the beginning of each match,the wrestlers perform a ritual that goes back to the 18th century, with much of the formalities based on the Shinto religion. The wrestlers will move to the center of the ring and raise their leg high in the air and stomp; to drive away unwanted spirits. They then drop to a "squat" position, and the staring at their opponent begins. They move to the white lines in the center of the ring, touch the line, go back to their corners, gather some salt in their hands and throw it on the floor for spiritual purification; this is repeated four times.

The colorfully dressed man between the wrestlers is the referee. As the wrestlers go through their rituals of staring and purification, he holds a fan to his side. When he turns, faces the wrestlers, and displays the fan in a flat position, that's the wrestlers cue; it's time for battle! When the physical contact begins, the match might only last for seconds; the time it takes to be pushed out of the ring or thrown on the floor. It was very colorful, exciting and a great cultural experience!

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