Jonas and Liz's Japanese Adventures: Let's Get Ready to Sumoooooo

Dear Readers, Jonas here with the latest from this weekend's Sumo Tournament. First off, I have always wanted to see Sumo. They are amazing athletes and it has always interested me. I used to pretend to be a Sumo wrestler when I was a teenager just as a joke. What we saw this weekend was no joke. You could hear the strikes to the chest and throat all the way back in the cheap seats. It should be noted that "cheap" was still nearly 5000 yen or roughly $60.00. I'm getting ahead of myself though. On the way we stopped at a truck stop for a rest break and got some onigiri (rice balls) and little baked donuts shaped like teddy bears. They were yummy and adorable. It should be noted that Onigiri is the Japanese version of a PB and J. They are available everywhere, are yummy, and really stick with you much longer than a sandwich.

Our first stop after the bus ride was to the Tokyo Edo museum. It was way cooler than I thought it would be. It is a multi-level museum with miniature city scenes and period homes. Rickshaws and artwork galore. We have included some pictures of the painstakingly detailed scenes below. One of the downfalls to Japanese building design is that they do not hold up well to fire and other disasters. I was relieved in a way to know that the city had been burned and rebuilt a number of times before the war that we Americans played a part in. They did a good job of reporting the facts of the war without pointing fingers. It did not surprise me as over-all every Japanese person we have talked to about the war regards it as a good thing. Many have told us that the new Japan is better without constant war that marked much of life prior to WWII. It was amazing to see this glimpse into life in old Japan. They showed the progression into the modern age and so many beautiful details of life.

We then headed over to the arena that was right next door to the museum. We followed the flow of people and saw quite a few lower ranking wrestlers walking about outside. We found our way inside and looked for food. It was past lunch time for sure and we were ready to settle in and watch the matches. We found that they sold large bento boxes with sumo wrestlers on the box. These were twice the size of a normal bento and I think designed so you could eat like they do. We just shared though and got some Yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick) as well. Our seats were labeled "West" in Kanji so we looked for the symbol and found our group. We turned on our little FM radios so we could here the English commentators live in the arena. There are no broadcasts over loudspeaker in the arena. The announcers in the ring and the ref do a fair amount of yelling but we could hear them just fine with no mics. I should say we could hear them but no understanding for these western ears. The afternoon opening ceremony was just beginning. There was a procession of the "East" wrestlers and then the "West" wrestlers. It is an arbitrary distinction though as the matches are one on one and you could end up fighting anyone depending on how well you do. We even saw two teammates who were very good friends battle each other. The winner launched his friend out of the ring and flat on his back spectacularly and then rushed to help him up and make sure he was ok. This caused a huge cheer from the crowd. The process of sumo is very interesting. The battle itself is proceeded by a fair amount of sacred symbolism and a large amount of posturing and mental intimidation. This can go on for up to four minutes for lower ranked sumo and up to ten minutes for higher ranks. This also causes the crowd to go nuts for their favorite as they toss salt to purify the ring, face off against each other slapping and scowling at each other, pressing down as if they are going to launch, but then back to the corner for more salt. This builds and builds until finally they knuckle down (literally) to the ground and launch at each other. They strike each other in the chest and throat hard enough that you can hear and feel it all the way in the back. Most matches are determined in seconds, but it is breathtaking. One round both men turned and the winner ended up driving the opponent down into the hard clay ring and we could feel the impact all the way back to our seats. We also heard that the day before one of the fighters was taken to the hospital after an elbow strike to the chest. He was back in the ring and fighting for us the next day. The ring is hard packed clay lightly coated with sand. It is considered sacred ground and no spectator is allowed to touch the ring. Once the opening ceremony is complete the matches go back to back with no breaks. The next two fighters are ready to step in the ring as soon as the last two bow and the winner is given an envelope from the sponsors. We were told that it was not uncommon for the envelope to contain one million yen or more for this tournament. Roughly $10K for five minutes of work and a lifetime of dedication and sacrifice. It was truly impressive and really fun. Enjoy the pictures below and thanks for reading!