Sumo

Tama-nishiki weighs 300 lb., wears his hair curled in a knot on top of his head, dresses in a 15-lb. fringed apron and an enormous belt made of twisted straw and paper streamers, looks as if he were proud of having just swallowed a medicine ball. He is the yokozuna (champion) of Japanese sumo (wrestling). Fortnight ago in Tokyo, some 10,000 yapping devotees of Japan's most ancient & honorable sport saw him attain this distinction in the final of the semi-annual national tournament in the Kokugi-kan amphitheatre. Spry little Musashiyama, defending yokozuna, ten years younger than Tama-nishiki and 100 lb. lighter, gave a miserable account of himself from the start of the ten-day round robin. Not he but Omekawa, potbellied youngster who had won nine of his ten matches, opposed undefeated Gargantuan Tama-nishiki in the final. The match, of titanic length for Japanese wrestlers, whose endurance is not their most noteworthy characteristic, lasted three minutes. When the referee waved his fan over the winner, puffing Tama-nishiki advanced to the centre of the ring, had himself photographed holding the traditional reward of a yokozuna: the huge silver Emperor's Cup. Sumo has nothing to do with jujitsu or its modernized form judo, the art of self-defense in 250 holds which is compulsory in all Japanese schools. Sumo started in 23 B.C., long before jujitsu had been thought of. Winner of the first bout on record, Sukune is now the God of Japanese wrestlers. In 858, two sons of Emperor Buntoku wrestled for the throne. Koneshito won, instituted sumo as Japan's national sport. Professional wrestling became popular in 1600, has remained so ever since.

For the last 300 years,. Japan's professional wrestlers have been divided into two groups--East and West. Most of the year, Easts and Wests tour the country giving exhibitions, developing young sumo addicts. Each group has its own ranking champion, a score or more competent subordinates, a squad of promising novices who are fed underdone beefsteak, trained to lift huge boulders, finally taught the 48 tricks & dodges of sumo. Twice a year a national tournament is held in the Kokugi-kan to determine by round robin the best wrestlers of each group, and the grand champion. Object of sumo is not to pin an opponent's shoulders to the mat but to: 1) make him touch ground with any part of his body other than his feet, or 2) push him out of the circular 12-ft. dirt ring. Since this usually takes less than a minute and Japanese wrestling matches last all day, most of the time is devoted to ceremonies in which sumo is the richest pastime in the world.

Before matches, all contestants hold a dance called dohyo-iri (ring entry) wearing damask aprons embroidered to indicate their rank. Next they assure audiences of their sincerity by putting their left hands on their hearts, stretching out their right. After bending his knees, clapping his hands three times, spreading his arms out straight, shaking each leg, a wrestler removes his apron, purifies himself by putting salt on himself and the ring. Only then can the match start.

First maneuver in sumo is rigidly conventional. Both wrestlers crouch at opposite sides of the arena awaiting the charge. When one wrestler charges, his opponent, if unprepared, may say "matta!" (wait). For 300 years the rules permitted Japanese wrestlers thus to delay the beginning of their bouts as long as they pleased. Last year, for the first time, the period in which a contestant could demand a fresh start was limited to ten minutes.

Judo performers wear trousers and jackets. Sumo wrestlers in action wear only a loin cloth and, for bravado, bits of stiff rope. Since weight and girth with which to crowd an adversary out of the ring count for more than muscle, sumo performers eat gigantic meals and occasionally reach monstrous proportions. Biggest among current sumo celebrities is Dewagatake who, a pygmy compared to oldtime sumo giants, stands 6 ft. 8 in., weighs 350 lb. His girth is only 3 1/2 ft. to Champion Tama-nishiki's 5.

Sumo matches are announced by an official in black silk who holds a fan in front of his nose while he squeaks the names of the contestants. When sumo champions retire they have their long hair cut, sit behind the four pillars that surround the ring, act as judges in disputes. Chief referee in all sumo championship matches is Okiaze Yoshida, whose position has been hereditary in his family for 23 generations.

At Tokyo fortnight ago 10.000 sumo addicts, including nobility, geisha, schoolboys, government officials, watched the matches on each of the ten days of the Kokugi-kan tournament. Outside the arena, thousands more bet on the matches, followed the results on score boards. Of the money spent for tickets, the performers got a trifling share. As stupid as they are immense, sumo performers are content with a maximum pay of $100 a month augmented only by gifts of swords, bottles of sake, new aprons from generous admirers. Four years ago, a sumo strike for better pay, shorter hours, cheaper seats, a mutual aid society, pensions, was a miserable failure.

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