Sumo

Sumo in Japanese Ancient Myth
Sumo has a long history, and is described in “haniwa” (hollow clay figures) and unglazed Sueki ware from the Kofun period (tumulus period: 3rd to 7th century ). The volume of Kamiyo (ages of gods) in the Japanese old book “Kojiki” (The Records of Ancient Matters), which refers to the ancient Japanese myth, includes a story concerning Takeminakata (a Japanese god) saying to Takemikazuchi (other Japanese god) that he wanted to find out which of them was the stronger god, and attempting to grab Takemikazuchi’s arm and throw him, when Takemikazuchi was dispatched to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni (the Central Land of Reed Plains) in order to conquer that place. Takeminakata could not grab Takemikazuchi’s arm eventually because Takemikazuchi changed his arm into an icicle and then a sword. Moreover, Takemikazuchi crashed Takeminakata’s hand in his hand as if it was a reed, and Takeminakata was no match for him. This is said to be the origin of sumo.

Sumo has more than 2000 yeas history
According to Nihonshoki (The Chronicles of Japan), the oldest fight between human fighters, not gods, was a fight between NOMI no Sukune and TAIMA no Kehaya at Sumaitorashimu (also sometimes called Sumai) on August 26, B.C. 23 (this fight is also regarded as the origin of judo). This book says that the emperor heard that TAIMA no Kehaya was the greatest wrestler and he also said that Sukume broke Kehaya’s rib and hipbones with his kick technique and killed him. This is different from modern sumo, and was obviously a military or martial art. Sukume is worshiped as the father of sumo. In addition to Kojiki and Nihonshoki, descriptions of sumo are seen in other materials such as “Shoku Nihongi” (The Chronicle of Japan Continued), “Nihon Koki” (The Later Chronicle of Japan), “Shoku Nihon Koki” (The Later Chronicle of Japan Continued), “Nihon Montoku Tenno Jitsuroku” (The Veritable Records of Emperor Montoku of Japan), “Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku” (The Veritable Records of Three Reigns of Japan), “Ruiju Kokushi” (The Classified National History), “Nihongi Ryaku” (The Summary of Japanese Chronologies), “Shoyuki” (The Diary of FUJIWARA no Sanesuke), and “Chuyuki” (The Diary of FUJIWARA no Munetada).

Connection between Sumo and Imperial Court of Japan
In 726, they defined a list of prohibited techniques, 48 major sumo techniques, etiquette, and good manners. Emperor Shomu (whose reign was from 724 to 749) issued an Imperial order in order to almost forcibly recruit sumo wrestlers from rural communities throughout the country. This was because the Emperor enjoyed watching sumo matches in the garden of the Shishinden Hall (the Hall for State Ceremonies) of the Imperial Court during the annual ceremony of the Star Festival held on July 7. In the Heian period, sumo was already an important ceremony of the Imperial Court. The Sumai no Sechie (Festival of Wrestling) was held regularly every year as one of sando sechi (three annual Court ceremonies). In addition to Sumai no Sechie at the Imperial Court, ordinary citizens also enjoyed sumo very much. Meanwhile, buke zumo (samurai sumo) among samurai was training of wrestling for actual combat, and also referred to martial arts that allowed them to train their body and mind.

Start of Ozumo (Grand Sumo Tournament)
In the Edo period, Ozumo (grand sumo tournament) became a professional occupation.　The original wrestlers Ozumo were probably samurai, often Ronin, who needed to find an alternative form of income. Current professional sumo tournaments began in the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine in 1684, and then were held in the Eko-in in the Edo period. Western Japan also had its own sumo venues and tournaments in this period with by far the most prominent center being in Osaka. Osaka sumo continued to the end of the Taisho period in 1926, when it merged with Tokyo sumo to form one organization. For a short period after this four tournaments were held a year, two tournaments in locations in western Japan such as Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, and two in the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. From 1933 onward tournaments were held almost exclusively in the Ryogoku Kokugikan until the American occupation forces appropriated it and the tournaments were moved to Meiji Shrine until the 1950s. Then an alternate location, the Kuramae Kokugikan which was near Ryogoku, was built for sumo. Also in this period, the Sumo Association began expanding to venues in western Japan again, reaching a total of six tournaments a year by 1958 with half of them in Kuramae. In 1984, the Ryogoku Kokugikan was rebuilt and sumo tournaments in Tokyo have been held there ever since.

Sumo in Japanese Ancient Myth
Basically, two persons wearing a sumo wrestler’s belt stand on a “Dohyo” in the shape of a circle with a diameter of 4.55 meters (15 shaku) or a square, and they wrestle with each other to fight to the finish. A wrestler loses when he goes out of the dohyo, when his body parts except for his soles touch the ground, or when he commits a foul. A Gyoji (sumo referee) produces a decision. Traditionally, a wrestler’s age, height, and weight do not affect sumo matches.

Two wrestlers stand facing each other with a short distance between them on a circle-shaped “Dohyo”, and they bend their knees until they can touch the starting line with their fists. This step is called “Shikiri”, and the wrestlers should repeat this until their Tachiai (rising from a crouch to attack) was successfully made. Wrestlers with their fists touching the ground lock eyes with each other, and then rise to the attack at the same time. They usually attack the opponent from the front, but it does not mean they always have to do this. This initial charge is called “Tachiai”. Tachiai is unique to Japan and no other countries start their matches in this way. Only a tacit understanding between the wrestlers can determine the starting time for wrestling. The ideal Tachiai is such that two spirited wrestlers stand up when both wrestlers are fully motivated after repeating Shikiri. A Gyoji simply confirms the wrestlers’ tachiai, and he does not declare the start of the match, unlike referees and umpires of other sports.

A match is decided when one of the following occurs.
When any of the opponent’s body parts except for his soles touch the Dohyo
The opponent loses if he is thrown down and his back touches the ground, he is pulled and his fist touches the ground, or even his hair touches the ground in an extreme case.

When the opponent is pushed out of the Dohyo
The wrestler wins as soon as a part of his opponent’s body touches the outside of the Dohyo.

In many sumo-like fighting sports except for Japanese sumo, a player wins if his or her opponent’s back touches the ground just like a fall in wrestling. Additionally, while going out of a fighting area is an offense in such sports, the player often does not lose the match straight after in most cases. For these two reasons, a sumo match can be concluded in a short period of time, and no one can expect the result of a match until just before it actually ends. This is one of the reasons why sumo tournaments can have fair matches without weight categories.
Pushing is the most important thing in sumo. A sumo wrestler pulls his hand and arm when he grabs his opponent belt, but even in that case, the wrestler tries to keep going forward eventually with his arms pulling back. Some people say, “Whether or not your opponent pushes, just keep going forward.” There are some pulling techniques such as hikiotoshi (hand pull-down) in fact, but many people do not like such techniques. In addition, people think that, even if the opponent steps back, the wrestler should go forward faster than his opponent’s step.