The event today is what I have anticipated the most. Today is the Grand Sumo Wrestling Tournament! I am so excited for today's all-day entertainment that I have been up since 6:30am. Though we left the hostel early, around 9:15am, we arrived just in time for the opening ceremony (Rick's navigational skills are not the best). The opening ceremony was amazing! We saw all the men in their traditional "lower" robes that were so bright and festive! While the robes were nice, the wrestling was unbelievable Who knew that big men pushing around bigger men would be so entertaining? The only averaged about a minute in length, and one man would have to try and push the other down or out of the circle. It was too intense and funny! All the lightweight matches were fun, but when the big men came out...Oh Boy. These giants were huge: 6.8 feet tall, 400 pounds, and scary as mess. (One even growled at Ryan when he came in. He was so scared from then on.) The heavyweights were so strong, and they tried everything to knock one another out. It was ridiculous! The final match lasted forever. However, a winner came out on top. Literally, one guy sat on the other for so long that he gave up.
While there, our group also learned about the history of sumo wrestling. Sumo wrestling is when two opponents try to force the other out of a circle with the strength of their contact of bodies. To get ready for a match you must go through several rituals like the salt purification and the bathing of the body. Most of the wrestlers dedicate their lives to wrestling: it is their sole job. We also learned about several rules and rituals during the competition, as well as the colorful lower robes that represent wrestlers' skills.
It was an experience we won't soon forget. After the long day ended at 5:30pm, we were allowed to talk with some wrestlers and ask for autographs (though the communication was poor because the language barrier but they were friendly and seemed nice.) In the end though, Russell was so pumped on adrenaline, he decided to pretend he was a Sumo Wrestler too and tackled me. We got into a bit of a brawl and were asked to leave. Still, the whole thing was incredible. We all loved it and, for me, it was the best day in Japan for sure.
EmmaLi snagged a picture and a short video of one of the matches:
Here is the link to the website for the rules and reguations; http://www.sumotalk.com/rules.htm
~Laiken
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