Hey everyone!
It’s been an eventful day here. Today marked the beginning of Osaka’s annual Grand Sumo Tournament, which is held at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Namba and we were there to watch it! Our friends Tatsu and Yuka (eight months pregnant!), who helped us with the very hard task of getting tickets, came with us.
We were surprised at how many people were roaming around the streets of Namba as we approached on our charinkos (bicycles). The tournament will continue for fifteen days and is apparently one of the annual must-see events in Osaka—I guess the most appropriate comparison would be the Stanley Cup Playoffs in North America. When we entered the gymnasium, a cute little lady escorted us to our seats and even gave us a little pamphlet (in English) explaining the sumo tradition, rules, and all that good stuff. Scott and I were immediately surprised at the low spectator turnout around the gymnasium and asked Tatsu why there were so many empty seats. He explained that there has been some questionable news circulating about some famous sumo wrestlers, including a death that was inflicted during training. He also said that’s sumo wrestling just isn’t as popular as it used to be. It’s been around 1,500 years or so—it’s impressive that it’s still a celebrated tradition in Japan today.
The four of us had a fantastic time and it was great because Tatsu and Yuka could actually explain the rules of sumo in a language we could understand (the pamphlet did a pretty good job too). Sumo’s origins are actually religious and some of the first sumo matches were a form of ritual that involved praying to gods for bountiful harvests. As for the rules of sumo—they’re pretty straightforward. The sumo ring is called the dohyo and the two opponents (referred to as “rikishi”) wrestle with two objectives: 1. Thrusting the other rikishi out of the ring or 2. Pushing him on the ground. We had a good view of the dohyo from our seats and witnessed some pretty intense matches (see videos)! I was totally unaware of this before our sumo experience, but there are actually five different sumo rankings (“banzuke”). In professional sumo, the lowly trainees are called the “maegashira” and the highest class of wrestlers are in the “yokozuna” rank. The yokozuna always wrestle at the end of the day because they’re the most exciting to watch (we watched this part of the tournament and the tail end of the rank before the yokozuna). Each rikishi only wrestles once per day for fifteen days. After the outcome of each tournament is determined, wrestlers are either promoted or demoted to another rank. They rarely stay in the same rank (except for the yokozuna).
Sumo is a sport that’s deeply rooted in ritual and religion and is very formal, especially concerning etiquette and ceremonial aspects. Most of the tournament consists of ceremonies, while the actual matches are fairly short—one minute at most. At the end of the day, there is always a dance (“yumotori-shiki”) where the winner climbs on the dohyo and performs a twirling routine with a very long bow. Many Japanese consider this rite brilliant, but Scott and I agreed that we could probably do the same thing but twice as fast. Haha.
The “shikiri” is probably one of the most exciting parts of the match, especially for the yokozuna. This portion actually occurs before the match and is more like a staring contest and helps get the crowd all riled up. Unlike the lower ranks, the yokozuna have about three minutes to perform shikiri before the “gyoji” or referee, signals the beginning of the match. The gyoji is probably one of the most important figures at a sumo match and is always dressed in a traditional and colourful kimono which is similar to the style worn by samurai of the Kamakura Period about 800 years ago. The gyoji enters the dohyo before each match and calls out the name of each rikishi in a very high-pitched voice and then proceeds to signal the start of the bout with his fan. He is not only responsible for watching the wrestlers, but also shouting words of encouragement. Talk about multi-tasking!
We recorded several matches on our camera and have posted some so we can share our sumo experience with everyone back home. Some are absolutely hilarious—in one match, a rikishi was thrusted outside the dohyo and pretty much landed on top of an old woman! Unfortunately, we didn’t get that one on tape. Oh well!
After the sumo tournament, Scott, Tatsu, Yuka, and I went to a nice little Italian restaurant in Namba before heading home. It was so cute because Yuka and Tatsu gave me a present for Doll’s Festival (Hina-Matsuri). This festival is celebrated every year on March 3 and it is traditional for all Japanese girls and women to display dolls decked out in ornate kimonos and wish for such things as health, growth, marriage, and well-being. So Yuka and Tatsu thought it would be appropriate to give me my own set of dolls that I can display when I get back to Canada. They’re so kawaii!
Speaking of what’s kawaii these days...my students at the crazy kindergarten are! Last Friday, I was informed that it was going to be my last day teaching them, so luckily, I was able to snap some photos to remember their cute little faces! I’m going to miss them so much.
Two of my adult ECC students also took me out for sushi after work on Saturday and we all had a really great time together. The owner of the restaurant liked us so much that we even got some free sashimi (raw fish with no rice)! These are the times I’m going to miss the most.
As things are winding down in Japan, I’ve had some time to reflect on our time here—some things I’ll miss and some I won’t so much. Regardless, everything’s been an experience—one that has caused me to grow, mature, and discover things I never knew were possible. I’ll stop typing before I get all teary-eyed and blotchy-faced. We still have a month left—a jam-packed month at that—full of travelling, farewells in Japan, and new beginnings in Canada.
Ja mata ne!
Jo & Scott
xoxo
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