A day spent watching men wobble..

A day spent watching men wobble A day spent watching men wobble..

Roger Dahl of the Japan Times once described Sumo, the national sport of Japan, as
"33% Sport, 33% Religion, 33% Theatre and 1% Pillow fight"
since members of the audience tend to throw their cushions at a "Yokozuna" Grand champion
if he loses a bout badly or they are otherwise unimpressed with the result. Some people just
do it for fun.

ir35

This is Grand Champion Akebono being beaten by the other Grand Champion Takanohana.

io14

This wrestler noticed a cockroach on the edge of the ring and brought it to an untimely end,
only remembering too late that he was barefoot.

io18

Sumo was invented by two college freshmen who got into a bet over who could give the hardest wedgie.
The expression on this wrestler's face indicates he is about to lose on that count.
iq06

It is said that the force involved when the wrestlers first impact is stronger than even the
blow of a world class heavyweight boxer. Judging from the crack on this guy's head this may be true.
The wrestler shown was involved in a three way playoff for the title, and went on to
fight two more bouts after sustaining this injury, both of which opened the wound even more.

jv30

Wrestlers throw salt into the ring before a bout to summon good spirits to help them
win and to prevent injury. The wrestler on the right is famous for using a great deal
of salt. It does not seem to help him much.

in12

The front rows, nearest the ring, are the most expensive.
Presumably this is to defray the high cost of insuring against injury due to falling wrestlers.
For the same reason, bottles are not allowed in the front 6 rows.

ij32

A wrestler's crotch sees the light of day. Not a common experience.
And presumably not a very pleasant one either.

jt07

The wrestler on the left won this bout by a fraction of a second,
since the wrestler on the right touched the ground first. He was later disqualified
for landing on the judge, shown bottom left.
The wrestler on the right was given extra points for being able to do a handstand.

in22

Bouts are usually over in a matter of seconds, but can occasionally run for 3 to 5 minutes.
This is very rare however, since it leaves the TV commentators with very little to say.

jt20

Wrestlers are not allowed to punch or bite (sorry Mike), but can only slap. They also raise
both their arms before the start of a bout to show they have no concealed weapons.
Since these guys weigh up to 250kgs, they dont need any.

sc35

Sumo wrestlers are notoriously keen dancers. They are, however, not very good.
This picture shows a batch of new trainees coming to grips with the hokey cokey.
Due to the risk of earthquakes, they are banned from doing the macarena.

sd33

This is what it looks like from the cheap seats (about 6000Yen = $50).

Dont get me wrong, I do not wish to belittle the sport, I have been a fan for a long time
and regularly attend the Tokyo tournaments, and I appreciate that underneath the layers
of fat which are necessary to ensure good performance, these guys are built like
Arnold Schwarznegger, and the sport is as much a matter of tactics, skill and
psychological warfare as it is brute force.
(I only put this bit in 'cos I know the Sumo People are on the Internet!)