Sumo wrestling is a national sport n Japan. It carries with it a 2000-year tradition that
focuses on honor, ritual, and history which makes it a truly exceptional sport. Its name, written with a kanji which translates to “mutual bruising”, was originally an oracular ritual performed in relation to prayers for harvest. As years passed, it evolved into a spectator sport and was recognized as a professional sport during the Edo period (web.mit.edu). The objective of the game is to have one of the two opponents get forced out of the ring, which is called the dohyo, or make any part of his body touch other than the feet touch the ground. As simple as the objective may be, the pre-match movements are anything but as they are well determined by tradition that have a long historical value. These movements include “the swaggering circulation around the ring, adjusting their groin belts, throwing handfuls of salt, eyeballing the opponent, and the final, often very brief, grapple of the two enormous opponents” (Schechner 37). The rules state that there are 70 different ways that a sumo wrestler can do in order to win the match, and this includes lifting the opponent out of the ring, gripping the belly band or mawashi in order to push the oponent outside of the ring, tripping the legs, or slapping the opponent to keep him off balance so he can be easily forced out of the ring. These moves highlight the importance of having a bigger weight in order to have a greater advantage.
There are six 15-day tournaments held every year in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. Each wrestler, or rikishi, is assigned a rank based on their division, with the zuno or yokozuna being the highest and the only permanent rank. During the 15-day tournament, which are held on odd months, wrestlers from the top two rankings compete once a day, while those in the lower four divisions only competing in the seven days out of the fifteen (web.mit.edu). In order to maintain their rankings, a wrestler must win a majority of the matches. When a wrestler loses, his rank drops. In order for wrestlers to continue performing well, they go through rigorous training for them to maintain a mix of power, agility, balance, ability, and aerobic capacity. As such, training for aspiring wrestlers start at a young age. They are divided into teams and together they live, eat, and train in a stable or sumobeya.
Size is also an important factor in the sport, considering that it is a physical sport. Since there are no weight divisions in professional sumo, unlike in boxing or western wrestling, players started increasing their weight in order to get an advantage in the game. As a result, sumo wrestlers gain a high level of fat mass and fat-free mass which they achieve by having two meals a day, taken at 12:30 and 5:30PM, then a nap in between. Their meals, called chanko-ryori, is rich in calories, protein, and carbohydrates (Bagchi, Nair, and Sen 129). However, due to their big size, they are exposed to greater health risks more compared to an average person. Back in the days, when rikishis used to be small, their average lifespan was considerably longer than present day rikishis. Active wrestlers develop health problems caused by injuries. However, contrary to people’s belief, the real health issues that put wrestlers at a high risk come after retirement. Active rikishi have a high amount of subcutaneous, or fat stored right underneath the skin, while their visceral fat, or those which are stored around the organs, are lower (Itoh).
However, after retirement when their activities become relatively less, they accumulate more visceral fat unless they change their eating habits, maintain a certain level of activity, work hard to lose weight. Some of the most common illnesses that retired rikishis experience include heart problems, diabetes, gout, knee problems, high blood pressure, and many others.
Most recently, the world of sumo wrestling has been clouded with issues of drug use, bout-fixing, violence, and links to Japan’s organized crime (Himmer). Some of these unsavory issues were later on revealed to have been in practice as far back as 1999,or even earlier, when the book Yaocho (rigged matches) was published. According to the book, most wrestlers have taken part in match fixing. The death of a 17-year-old wrestler during a fight caused an outrage among the Japanese people and as such, put sumo in an even darker light. There is also the invasion of foreign rikishis that continue to do extremely well in the sport, thereby increasing the competition and snagging the honor from native Japanese wrestlers.
The researcher was first introduced to sumo while doing a research about diabetes and obesity. Questions about the health issues that plague the players influenced the researcher to look into the life of the rikishis, and in the process, uncovered the reality that they are facing today. With the numerous unsavory issues surrounding sumo wrestling, people have shown less interest in watching the games. In the same manner, the number of young boys signing up to be trained have also decreased considerably over the years. The popularity of baseball even worsened the situation. The glitz and celebrity status of baseball and its players have taken the spotlight from the traditional sport with its Spartan lifestyle and warrior code. With so may odds sumo wrestling is facing, the research will endeavor to find answers to the following questions:
What are the factors that caused the decline of sumo wrestling?
What is being done by both the government and sumo enthusiasts in order to preserve the sport?
What are sumo wrestlers doing in order to preserve the sport?
Methodology
In order to provide a clear and accurate answers to the questions the research wishes to
answer, the researcher will make use of autobiographies of professional sumo wrestlers in order to find out firsthand the life that sumo wrestlers live. Dissertations and books written by those authors who stayed close to rikishis and witnessed their everyday life, as well as the food they are eating, their training, and their inspiration for pursuing the sport. As opposed to word of mouth, using the primary sources mentioned would provide a more accurate information.
Secondary sources will also be used by the researcher. This will include academic research articles, newspaper and magazine articles, as well as interviews conducted by other researchers. By using these secondary research materials, the researcher will be able to get new insights and latest information about the current situation of sumo wrestling. Also, by looking at these materials, the research will be able to provide a thorough discussion about the topic at hand which would help the readers understand the research better.
Terminology
Sumo: A traditional sport in Japan that has ties to religious rituals and prayers for harvest. It has been in existence for 2000 years and is written in kanji which means “mutual bruising.
Rikishi: A term used to refer to the wrestlers who participate in professional sumo wrestling as well as those who are trained in order to become one.
Dohyo: The platform ring where the two rikishis compete during a sumo match. The dohyo can be made up of rice straw bales which is mounted on a square platform. Its surface is then covered with sand.
Sumobeya: The house or “stable” where all the rikishi live together as they train to become professional wrestlers. In the dohyo, the wrestlers in training eat and live together, with the younger members taking on the duties of cleaning, preparing food, and taking care of the older, retired rikishis.
Mawashi: The belly band that is worn by a rkishi. This is what the rikishi holds on to when attempting to lift the other player or any other steps that would force the opponent outside the ring
Zuno/Yokozuna: The highest rank in sumo and is also the only permanent one. A zuna is then expected to retire when they are unable to hold their position anymore. In the whole history of sumo, there were only 65 men who had reached this rank.
Chanko-ryori: Refers to the meals that sumo wrestlers regularly eat. They said the meals are rich in carbohydrates, protein, and calories. This is a special meal that only sumo wrestlers eat because it is a special diet meant to increase their girth in order to better prepare them for the sport.
Works Cited
Bagchi, Debasis, Sreejayan Nair, and Chandan K. Sen (Ed.). Nutrition and Enhanced Sports
Performance: Muscle Building, Endurance, and Strength. Boston: Elsevier Inc., 2013. googlebooks.com. Web. 1 March 2, 2016.
Itoh, Makiko. “Are sumo wrestlers more likely than other people have health problems?”
Quora.com. Web. 1 March 2, 2016. https://www.quora.com/Are-sumo-wrestlers-more-likely-than-other-people-to-have-health-problems
Schechner, Richard. Performance Studies: An Introduction. London: RoutledgeTAylor and
Francis Group, 2002. googlebooks.com. Web. 1 March 2, 2016.
“Sumo in Japan.” web.mit.edu. Web. 1 March 2, 2016. http://web.mit.edu/21f.066/www/mhori/sumo.html
