Sumo
In ancient times, sumo was one of the rituals to pray for a good harvest, a show of strength meant to entertain the Shinto deities. Tawara, or straw bales, were placed on the ground to mark out the wrestling area. The actions performed in the ring were refined into a series of rituals. In time, sumo itself became the main ritual of the festivities. In the Edo period, wrestlers organized groups to practice sumo professionally. Today, the sport is known as “Grand Sumo.” People come to watch the competition and experience the excitement.
Sumo is fought in the ring called dohyo. The circle of dohyo is about 4 and half meters across. The sumo dohyo, the ring, is considered to be a sanctuary for the deity. Salt is thought to have cleansing power, and rikishi throw it to purify the ring. About 45 kilograms of salt are used on each day of a grand tournament.
Rules are simple; Force your opponent out of the ring to win or, make him touch the ground with anything other than the soles of his feet. Sumo has 82 kimarite, winning techniques. Among the most frequently used are Yorikiri (frontal force out), Oshidashi (frontal push out), Uwatenage (over-arm throw), Shitatenage (under-arm throw), Hatakikomi (hand slap down), and Hikiotoshi (hand pull down). Some offensive moves are prohibited, such as pulling a topknot. A rikishi who commits that sort of foul is penalized with a loss.
Before two rikishi engage in a tachiai, they repeat what's called shikiri a few times. Shikiri is a preparation routine. Four minutes of shikiri time is allowed in the top Makunouchi division; three minutes in the second-tier Juryo division. When the time expires, the timekeeper—one of the five judges—will raise his hand to let the gyoji referee know. Then, the gyoji will nod to the rikishi. The most important rule of the tachiai is that the wrestlers must put both hands/fists on the dohyo to start. If they don't, the gyoji or the judges will stop the bout and have them do the tachiai again, until they get it right. Also, the rikishi themselves start the match by mutual consent; no one orders them to begin.
At tachiai, there are many approaches. For example, a rikishi might slap an opponent's face, step to the side, try a leg trip, and apply a brutal forearm to the chin or a stiff arm to the throat . . . all in the first few seconds. He does this to gain full advantage at the get-go, because it's said that 80 to 90 percent of the time, the outcome of a match is decided by the initial charge.
Over 600 rikishi, or wrestlers, compete in Grand Sumo. They’re divided by ability into 10 ranks. The five highest ranks are called Makunouchi, or Top Division. Grand Sumo tournaments last for 15 days. The rikishi with the most victories at the end is the winner. The top division is composed of yokozuna, ozeki, sekiwake, komusubi, and all the way down to maegashira. The maegashira are broken down into further rankings. Maegashira number one is at the top of the list, and the digits become larger in descending order. The ranking change depending on the rikishis’ performance during the previous tournament. They need to get 8 wins or more during the 15-day event…otherwise they’ll fall to lower rankings.
The rankings are all written on a sheet of thin paper called the Banzuke, the official listing. At the top stand the Yokozuna grand champions, followed by the Ozeki, Sekiwake, Komusubi and Maegashira. Rikishi who are in these five ranks compete in Makunouchi, the highest division. Below Makunouchi are Juryo, Makushita, Sandanme, Jonidan and Jonokuchi. Thus, six divisions in all. Only the rikishi who compete in the top two divisions, Makunouchi and Juryo, are called sekitori and considered full-fledged rikishi. They're also the only ones who receive monthly salaries. Those in the other four divisions are apprentices.
No matter how small and light a rikishi may be, he fights his scheduled opponent. That's one of the intriguing aspects of the sport. According to data for the July 2016 tournament, the heaviest rikishi in the Makunouchi division is Ichinojo. He tips the scales at 211 kilograms. The tallest is Ikioi, who measures 194 centimeters. At the other end are Kitaharima at 126 kg and Takekaze at 171 cm.
Sumo rikishi generally eat only twice a day. The schedule is said to enable them to ingest more food and calories in each meal, thus helping them get bigger quickly. The morning practice starts around 6. When it ends at 11, the rikishi eat their first meal of the day. Invariably, it's chanko-nabe, a hot pot stew filled with nutritious ingredients such as meat and vegetables. Big bowls of rice are also necessary to make their bodies bigger. Taking a nap after the meal is important to bulking up. The next meal comes in the evening. For dinner, some rikishi eat chanko-nabe again, but most go for ordinary dishes. Rikishi who want to increase their weight quickly may add a late-night snack. Although a rikishi ingests lots of calories from the meals, he maintains fitness and mobility by engaging in long and hard workouts on a daily basis.
All the rikishi aim to become an Oyakata, stable master. However, not everyone can reach that goal. The number of positions is limited to 105. Also, an Oyakata must be a Japanese citizen. So, anyone not born that way must naturalize. Only those who had impressive rikishi careers can aspire to Oyagata status. Ozeki or Yokozuna are eligible, as are those who fought at least one tournament at sanyaku: Sekiwake or Komusubi. Competing in at least 20 tournaments in the top Makunouchi division is another route. Fighting either in the top division and/or the second-tier Juryo division for a combined 30 tournaments is yet another.
Those who can't make it to stable master might become Wakaimonogashira, the men who take care of young apprentices, or Sewanin, who work to make the grand tournaments go smoothly. Here too, though, the number of positions is limited. The scarcity of jobs within the sumo association puts even more pressure on wrestlers during the years they're in the ring. Their record affects what happens then and the rest of their lives.
As a result, most rikishi are unable to stay in the sumo association after they call it quits. One popular calling is opening a chanko restaurant. Chanko is the hotpot stew that wrestlers eat to get bigger and stronger. It's delicious and nutritious, making it popular with other people too.
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