Turning point of Japanese national sport "Sumo" I went to Kokugikan at Ryogoku to see Sumo the other day. I could see a
number of flags with the name of Sekitori (high rankers) along the street
from Ryogoku station to Kokugikan, as I heard the unique rhythm of a Japanese
drum beaten from the top of the tower. When I entered the stadium, I
could see Chayas (tea shops) that were full of downtown atmosphere. All of those things even made me feel exotic When we sat down on the registered Masuseki, which is small square Tatami sheet for 4 people. A person with Yukata brought us dinner, sake, snacks and gifts from designated Chaya. Then, we would wait for the match of our favorite sumo wrestler while drinking sake like masters from the Edo era. In the meantime, everything proceeds indifferently on the Dohyo(=Ring) in accordance with Shinto style and in the quiet manner of the Wrestler who wears a unique costume and a traditional hair style. This causes a unique sense of distance between Dohyo and the audience, which we can't feel from any other sport. Looking back at the audience sheet, we found empty seats on the 2nd floor and even on the 1st floor there were quite a few vacant Masuseki. Though it has been a long time since the continuation of the flag of the no vacancy gratitude ceased, I realized the decline in popularity of Sumo wrestling by seeing that the stadium was only filled to 70% capacity.  I think one of the main reasons for the decline of Sumo wrestling is its
closed nature. If someone wants to be a Sumo wrestler, he must join a
Sumo Beya (=training quarter). A Sumo Beya is allowed to be opened by
a limited number of retired sumo wrestlers that have been given the license
of raise Rikishi, which is called "Old person stock" by the Japanese
Sumo Association. When someone joins Sumo Beya, he lives at sumo beya,
which is a part of Oyakata's (=master) house, with the other wrestler members.
At the sumo beya he is required to take care of senior wrestlers by performing
tasks from cooking meals to cleaning rooms as an attendant until he realizes
vertical relationships. Thus, the hierarchy with the Sumo association
ranked at the top, Oyakata next, and the Wrestler at the bottom, shall
be formed. In ordinary sports, the winner and loser will be determined as a result of objective rules. In contrast, there are no definite criteria for Sumo wrestling. For example, though there are certain criteria the actual promotion will be approved by an Association member after considering the way of winning or attitude, personality including outside of the Dohyo even though the candidate clears the criteria. Especially, to be Yokozuna, a candidate has to obtain approval from the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, which consists of intelligent people. Of course, the Oyakata, and especially the wrestler himself not allowed to make objections to the decisions of the Sumo Association or Yokozuna Deliberation Council. Thus, they construct a solid position at the top of the feudal Sumo Wrestling community by exercising absolute power on the basis of national sport. |