Sumo: Japanese martial art

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Japanese martial arts involve violent strikes and quick throws. Sumo looks very different, but remains the favorite sport of the people of Japan.

According to Shinto myths, the first sumo fight took place between the gods of thunder and wind when they divided the lands of Japan. The victory was won by the lord of lightning, who became the patron saint of the country.

The first competition among mortals took place, according to legends, in the 23rd year BC. e. A giant arrived at the imperial court, declaring that he would fight in a duel with anyone interested. The ruler of Japan announced a reward to the one who defeats the giant. The mighty wrestler Nomi no Sukune with his bare hands defeated the intruder, receiving for this rich possessions and a place at the court of the emperor. After his death, Sukune became the patron god of sumo.

The first historically recorded sumo tournament was held in 642. The rules of the day were very different from those of today. Ritual dances turned into fights without rules. Fights often ended with the death of one of the fighters. Gradually, a set of rules for sumo took shape, and it turned into something like a show at the imperial court.

Japanese wrestling: a battle between tradition and progress

A few centuries later, on the basis of sumo, a set of exercises for samurai appeared. What used to be a ritual dance has become a training course for warriors. With the transfer of power in Japan to the shoguns, sumo has become a popular pastime at festivals and fairs. Often, noble feudal lords sponsored their favorite sumo wrestlers, who were traditionally called rikishi. If the wrestler continued to be in favor with his patron, then he could even count on the samurai title.

The great shogun Oda Nobunaga was a fan of sumo. He was so fond of watching the wrestling that in 1578 he held a tournament in his castle for one and a half thousand wrestlers. Due to the huge number of participants, they decided to severely limit the place for conducting battles, so that the lord could watch several battles at the same time. This is how the traditional sumo grounds - dohyo - appeared.

But not all rulers were so supportive of the ancient sport. In the 1600s, during the Edo period, sumo came under a ban. The reason was riots at fairs: the Japanese turned out to be too gambling fans, and fights constantly arose between spectators. The ban was partially lifted only in 1684, when representatives of the highest Shinto clergy were able to prove to the shogun that sumo is not only entertainment for the amusement of the public, but also an important religious ceremony. In the same year, the first official tournament in more than a century was held.

In order to avoid further unrest, the shogun ordered to develop stricter rules for sumo and create an organization of wrestlers. Membership in the "workshop" was required to be able to perform in dohyo. Returning to the ancient Shinto roots, sumo is again overgrown with rituals.

So, for example, it was during the Edo period that the ceremony of entering the dohyo wrestlers was officially established, and the costumes of judges appeared, resembling priestly robes. According to the new rules, the winner was determined by professional judges, and not by the highest-ranking spectator, as before.

The emergence of a system of ranks for wrestlers belongs to the same period. In total, rikishi are divided into six divisions: from beginners to the most successful professionals. Each division has its own divisions. At the very top of the multistage staircase are the yokozuns, the great champions.

Literally, this title means "wearer of the rope" - in honor of a special belt that champions wear as a sign of their status. Each belt, which looks like a thick rope, weighs about 20 kg. It is modeled on the sacred fences in Shinto shrines.

After the Meiji restoration in 1868, sumo fell into disrepair again. Firstly, because with the departure of the old feudal lords and shogun courtiers from the political scene, the fighters lost their sponsors. And secondly, when the period of closed borders ended, the Japanese began to consider sumo an anachronism, which has no place in a rapidly changing world.

The ancient sport was saved personally by Emperor Meiji. In 1884, he hosted an All Japan Tournament and declared that he considered this fight a national symbol. After such words of the emperor, the popularity of sumo skyrocketed. The Japanese Sumo Association was officially registered on December 28, 1925, and since then all tournaments have been held under its patronage.

Sumo Rules: Lots of Restrictions and Unlimited Mass

Modern sumo is a sport with very strict rules. According to them, the one who either leaves the dohyo or touches the ground with something other than the feet loses. The diameter of the wrestling area is 4.55 meters and is limited by a thick rope. Kicking and punching, suffocation and much more are prohibited. The main methods of fighting in sumo are grips by the opponent's belt, open palm strikes and throws. Much of the modern technique of this wrestling comes from other martial arts, especially judo.

The schedule of fights depends on the rank of the wrestlers. In the top division, participants go to the place of the fight in bright clothes and throw handfuls of salt on the dohyo, thereby ritually cleansing it. After that, the wrestlers begin to warm up, the sequence of movements of which has also been fixed for a long time. The duration of preparation for a fight depends on the rank of the wrestlers. In the top flight, it takes four minutes.

After the end of the rituals, the participants in the fight take their places on the starting lines, touching the ground with their fists. On a signal from the referee, the fight begins. The round lasts four minutes. If during this time the winner has not yet been determined, then a break is announced, after which the wrestlers must continue from positions as close as possible to those in which they finished the round.

If in four minutes the winner is not determined, then after the second break the rikishi will start the fight from the starting positions. The third round is always the last. If after it the winner is not revealed, then a draw is declared. This is a very rare occurrence. The last time this happened in professional sumo was in September 1974. Battles usually take place much faster and end in one round.

There are currently about 700 sumo wrestlers in Japan. According to the Federation's requirement, introduced in 1994, athletes must be at least 173 cm tall. This rule led to a curious situation when one young rikishi, who had not grown to the standard, turned to plastic surgeons. They extended his head by placing a 15 cm thick silicone pillow on his skull.

It did not help. The Federation made a categorical decision that wrestlers who artificially increased their height will not be accepted due to concerns for their health. Growth standards were eased in 2019. Now those who have grown to 167 cm and weigh 67 kg have got the chance to become rikishi. There are no weight categories in sumo. A person weighing less than 100 kg can compete against a 200-kilogram wrestler.

Sumo wrestlers always perform under pseudonyms. If earlier names associated with religion were used, now the pseudonyms are chosen by coaches or sponsors to their liking. When a wrestler achieves certain success and rises in ranks, he has the right to change his "stage name" if he wants.

The life of wrestlers is very limited by a strict set of rules. The points are how the rikishi should dress depending on his rank. For example, wrestlers from the lower divisions, even in winter, are prohibited from appearing in public in anything other than a yukata - a thin robe. Hairstyles and menus are regulated. The main food for rikishi is chankonabe - a stew made from fish, different types of meat, tofu and vegetables, cooked in a kettle. This ancient dish is based on traditional Japanese recipes. At the same time, only the chicken version is served during tournaments. The explanation is simple: the wrestler must stand on two legs, and not on four, like a cow or a ram.

New bans are regularly added to the list of rules. Today, for example, wrestlers are prohibited from driving. True, most rikishi would not have been able to fit normally in the driver's seat anyway. Violation of any of the prohibitions may result in fines, demotion, or even life-long disqualification.

Moreover, an exception is not made even for champions. For example, in 1949, the yokozuna was banned from fighting for life for attending a baseball game during a sumo competition, in which he did not even participate due to injury. The rules ordered him to either attend the tournament or undergo treatment.

Recently, more and more foreign wrestlers have come to sumo, especially from Mongolia. Many people associate this with the fact that the national Mongolian wrestling is similar in terms of the rules to sumo. Inhabitants of the steppes are very successful in applying their skills in the Japanese islands. As of early 2021, there are two yokozuns in Japan, and both are originally from Mongolia. In the top division of 42 people, there are five Mongols, a Bulgarian, a Georgian and a Brazilian. The rest are Japanese.

Met among sumo wrestlers and residents of Russia. So, the most difficult in the history of this sport was Anatoly Mikhakhanov from Buryatia, who performed under the pseudonym Orora Satosi. With a height of 193 cm, he weighed 293 kg. But his sporting achievements with such dimensions were quite modest - he did not make it to the top two divisions.

The only ethnic Russian professionally involved in sumo is Nikolai Ivanov, who, under the pseudonym Amuru Mitsuhiro, reached the major league and entered the top 20 best wrestlers in 2015. However, he does not at all look like a stereotypical fat man. With a height of 192 cm in his peak form, he weighed 126 kg.

Although sumo is a Japanese national symbol, other peoples are also gradually mastering this type of wrestling and very successfully. Perhaps someday the dream of some Japanese science fiction writers will come true, and sumo will even be included in the Olympic program.