Friday, July 25, 2014

Sumo Wrestling: Japanese Culture in Massive Bodies



I was part of a large crowd gathered to see massive bodies wiggle and jiggle, slam into each other and try to outdo each other’s massiveness. Big booties were bared along with man boobs.

Guess where I am? In a sumo competition! 

Search for Sumo Tickets

I’ve mentioned in my summer list how a friend wanted to see sumo on her birthday. Her wish was granted last Monday! And I really mean that it’s a wish because getting a sumo tournament ticket is hard. You see, sumo is so popular that once tickets are sold online, it just gets sold out after a day or two. We had no choice but to get up early, fall in line to get the day’s ticket hoping we’ll get one. In reality, a very kind Japanese friend did this getting up early and falling in line for us. By the time we arrive at Nagoya, we already have tickets. (Thank you, Japanese friend!)

So if you’re planning to watch sumo, better watch out for tickets online or have a very kind friend.

I only want to watch sumo because it’s very Japanese. I’m not interested in the actual sports. It’s one of those things you do just because it’s unique and rare like eating balut (eggs with a chick inside).  I only want to take pictures I can post on FB and make people say “Hey, that’s so cool.” (I’m boastful like that sometimes.)

Uber Ceremonial, Sumo is

Sumo is a great reflection of Japanese culture. I shouldn’t be surprised since it’s an authentic Japanese sport.

It was originally establish to please the Shinto gods. Even until today, the rituals done during a sumo tournament are rooted in Shinto practices. Example would be the throwing of salt of the wrestlers before competing which is symbolic of purification. The entrance of the yokuzuna is also parallel with entrance of mikoshi in festivals.

In fact, sumo is so ritualistic only a fraction of the time is spent on actual fighting. Sumo wrestlers do a lot of posturing for more than 5 minutes then they’d fight for less than 2 minutes. Even if the fight is intense, there’s still more posturing than fighting. This is very Japanese. Japan place more value on the process than the product. They’re more focused on the how than on the what. 

In Japan, they have a tea ceremony but it’s just basically tea time. They have a lot of ceremonies in schools which are almost ritualistic. They do exactly the same thing year in, year out. Only the years and faces change but not the flow of ceremonies. Don’t matter even if half of the people fall asleep. They have to stick to traditions. Even eating Japanese food feels ceremonial to me. This is the way to eat onigiri, this is the way to natto, this is the way to  whatever-food-you-want. The same with sumo. It’s is basically just like wrestling but less intense, just like karate with less moves. But what makes it different are the rituals. Very Japanese, indeed.



Most Polite Fighting Sport

Not only sumo is full of rituals, for a fighting sport, it’s actually very polite- a well-known Japanese trait. From the 20 matches I’ve seen, only 1 match showcased an aggressive player. He repeatedly hit his opponent’s face to push him out of the dohyo. And he’s a foreigner.  (He lost, though) The other players used the usual grappling or making the other person lose his balance. I don’t even think the players would hurt so badly after a match. I think I’ll hurt more from a pillow fight with my siblings.

There’s a silent rule in Japanese culture which is Do Not Be the Source of Inconvenience. Thus, everybody seems to be polite. Everybody falls in line. Drivers give way to other drivers. People try to be quiet on trains.  Bosses don’t directly tell how bad you are as an employee. Friends won’t tell you that your breath smells bad. At the extreme, people would rather suffer than ask for help. This is the kind of Japan I see and this is how I relate it to sumo: The wrestlers seem more concerned in keeping themselves inside the ring than pushing their opponent. From an observer it seems like they don’t want to hurt each other. It’s like their movements are out of defense. They don’t really like to hurt the other player. 

I remember reading a commentary how the Japan team were not aggressive enough during the World Cup in Brazil. They lost because of it. A case of politeness, I think. In fact, the top sumo wrestlers are foreigners. Ironic for a Japanese sport, isn't? Maybe because the Japanese wrestlers are not aggressive enough. Sports that require a degree of aggressiveness such as basketball and boxing are not very popular here. Maybe it has to do with that polite mentality.

One-Chance Game

The bad thing about sumo is that it’s a one-chance game. Each match only lasts for one round. So once a wrestler is out of the dohyo, that’s it! Just one fighting chance. This one-round, one-chance game seems to reflect how second chances is not in the Japanese vocabulary.

Ever heard of hara kiri? It means cutting of the belly. It’s how defeated samurais kill themselves when they’re defeated. They’d rather die than be captured by their enemies.

How about kamikaze? These are the pilots in WWII who flew their planes in the enemy camp because they were being defeated. Again, death is better than living with defeat.

At present time, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates among developing countries. Old people jump on train tracks. Unemployed people go at the  foot of Mt. Fuji to kill themselves. Ostracized and bullied students forget to breathe,( according to their parents.) The underlying similarity with these suicides is the Japanese mentality of no second chances. They think once unemployed, always unemployed. Or once bullied, always bullied. Once defeated, always defeated. No chances of recoveries.

Even in elementary schools, all students must be a winner in a simple activity. Otherwise, they’ll just cry and feel bad all day.  I don’t know what they’re crying for when they can try again next time. I don’t know why they can’t at least make sumo matches a best of three game. If I were one of the wrestlers, it would be nice to be given another chance if I got pushed out the first round. It sucks to suck and not be given a chance not to suck. Even in real life, it's more freeing to live knowing you can have another shot. 


For a more comprehensive facts on sumo, check this. 

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