Singing, Dancing, Musical Chairs, and diapers for all

Another line on my "things to do before leaving Japan list" got crossed off the other week. I can now say I have been to a sumo wrestling tournament. Well, sort of. It was more a charity event, but it was all about sumo. Sumo matches were a big part, but there were a lot of other things to make the day quite memorable. I mean, anyone can say they've seen a live sumo tournament, but who can say "I've seen a group of 350 lb. men wearing little more than loincloths battling over a child sized chair and an exercise ball while a sped up version of bugler's holiday was being played."? Seriously. THAT is a you-had-to-be-there kind of moment if I've ever heard of one.

The day started with a sub-level sumo tournament of like 16 contenders in a standard elimination style play. The winner was "the guy with tape on his shoulder". They all look pretty much the same from as far away as we were. They were nice seats though. Chairs and all. Word of advice, unless you get the expensive seats, or the really cheap seats, you're not going to get a chair with a back. You'll get a seat cushion. And these things go all day. Pay the extra money.

Next was a staged comedy of Sumo. Lots of little gags and tripping and falling. Proof that slapstick works in every culture and any language.

Then a very interesting part of the show. A group of young (like, really young) kids that were in training to become sumo wrestlers came on and "challenged" 3 of the Yokozunas (highest level champions). Each age bracket would assemble and mass battle one of the champions. The champions always lost on purpose, but it was very entertaining to see all the little kids just bounce off of these human tanks. I did have to ask the question "when does it switch from being cute to being creepy?" Or in the immortal words of the tick "Arthur, is this a happy moment, or should we be concerned?"

Then, the musical chairs I referenced earlier took place. There really isn't much more to say. Grown men (VERY grown) playing musical chairs. Kinda speaks for itself.

And what day would be complete in Japan without a little karaoke. They paired up 5 former Yokotsunas (title holders) with 5 female singers (traditional to pop) and had them sing songs together. Fun stuff. The most interesting part of that was watching one of the pop stars sing her song complete with little dance motions. You could watch the audience mimicking her hand motions exactly. Kind of a strange visual.

Then, the pro sumo guys came in and impressed. These guys were even bigger than the first guys and they also did the complete ceremony for each match. It's a very traditional and structured order of events that includes saluting the audience, the opponent, purifying the ring with salt, rehearsing the start of the match, and so on. I don't know all of it, but it's definitely the same every time.

The actual matches are quick. Much quicker than you'd expect these enormous men to move. That being said, the sumo guys aren't just fat. I guess everyone probably knows that to some degree, but seeing and hearing them fight live you get a much better idea of the power, especially in the lower body, that these guys possess.

The last three matches of the day were by three of the current superstars of sumo. Kotooshu, some other guy, and Asashoryu (pictured above), the closest thing to a Michael Jordan sumo has had for a while. To the uneducated eye, the bouts look pretty much the same, but they are still very fun to watch.

The big thing I'll walk away with is a new respect for the tradition of this country. I couldn't think of another sporting event like sumo. Sumo hasn't changed much at all in hundreds of years. I suppose the way it's packaged and is marketed has, but the traditions of the sport itself are rigid and pure. Take baseball, football, soccer, or any other sport you want to fill in back 50 or 100 years ago. They're very different games today. Sumo has a definite ageless quality. I was having trouble thinking of anything as untouched by the progression of time. It isn't easy.

No pictures yet (didn't bring my own camera, d'oh) but I should be getting copies from a couple of the others I went with. I'll post em when I get em.