Sumo!

I slept in on Saturday so that I would be fully rested for my first sumo tournament. I realize that this makes it seem like I was actually participating a few sumo bouts. Fear not, gentle readers, I was only a spectator... this time.

The Grand Sumo Tournament is scheduled to run for two weeks. Our tickets said that the action started at 8:30 AM and ends around 6:00 PM. That's a little too much sumo for my taste, so Yuki and I met at the Ryogoku Kokugikan at 1:30. Many people buy a ticket for the whole tournament but only show up for the later bouts when the famous wrestlers are competing. So we we got to escape from the nosebleed section for a little while and see some of the fights from a closer view.

Kokugikan, 2PM

Kokugikan, 5PM

To state the obvious: these guys are big. Like, really big (look how tiny I am next to them!!). But even among the ranks of the sumo wrestlers, there is a range of physical types. Some of them are seem to be all belly; others are very muscular. There were a few non-Asians in the mix and they tended to be taller and slimmer, relatively speaking.

Each match is a spectacle: the two fighters recieve a drink of water from the fighter of the previous match. They then face off, posturing, crouching, slapping their bellies in what seems like an attempt to psych out their opponenent. However, it is actually a ritual called chirichozu (expelling defilement). This continues for up to 4 minutes: the fighters stomp around and throw salt in the ring. The crowd goes wild.

After a few matches, I was hooked. I had no idea who I was routing for in any given match, but watching two human volcanos throw each other around is strangely exhilarating! Sometimes one or both fighters tumbled out of the ring and into the crowd. It was awesome. Eat your heart out, Hulk Hogan.