Sumo Wrestling

Sumo tournaments at Ryogoku Stadium, Tokyo

Tourism versus culture

When you think of Japan, certain things spring to mind; cherry blossom, kimono, mount Fuji, temples, samurai, geisha, sushi, manga and sumo. For one reason or another these things have become symbols of Japanese culture. I knew relatively little about Japan before I moved here and found it next to impossible to visualise where I would be living. All I had were stereotyped visions which had been imparted to me over the years through books, films and photos.

Of course upon arrival, those clichéd impressions were swamped by the realities of this previously unknown country. Japan proved to reveal itself to be so much more than I could possibly have expected and in many ways surprisingly different. For example, the sheer scale of Tokyo surpassed anything I could conjure up in my mind's eye and Kyoto was not a bit like the guide books had described.

"Essentially an unchanged city.... Kyoto is the ancient capital and is the best one-stop place to enjoy the traditional sights of Japan with a wealth of temples and shrines, wonderful old shops and town houses, and countless beautiful gardens."
Selvedge Magazine Issue 16

Instead it was a modern city with pockets - essentially the Gion district and scattered shrines, temples and zen gardens, in which the more traditional spirit of Japan continues.

However, in spite of the revelatory nature of new experiences, amazements and disappointments, the stereotypes endure. The reason for this is that they tend to be true, at least to some degree, and for the tourist these are things to be sought out. Actually I think there are two kinds of tourists, or travellers. Some people (including myself at times I must confess) feel they must tick off every sight mentioned in their guide book thus returning home safe in the knowledge that they have 'done' Japan or wherever it is they have visited. The other kind (who perhaps get a far richer and truer sense of a place) are content to sit in a local cafe and listen to the foreign conversations of strangers or some such activity left unmentioned by 'Lonely Planet'.

As for me, I try and combine the two. There is something rather pleasurable about seeing something you have only read about. It is like seeing a painting in a gallery for the first time but that you know so well from pictures or TV. It is something about experiencing the 'real thing' that allows you to imbibe a sense significance.

Anyway, enough philosophising. So what of my experience of the typical Japanese culture? Well I left too soon to see the cherry blossom, although I did see a single early blooming plum tree from a train window. I saw countless kimono - the most stunning of all being an exhibition of them at the Itchiku Kubota museum. I climbed mount Fuji. I saw a new years grand kabuki play with warriors in samurai armour. I visited countless temples and shrines. I spied on geisha at a private function in a garden in Kyoto. I ate raw tuna. I bought Japanese manga for my brothers and I went to a sumo tournament.

Although watching fat men wrestle was not something that particularly appealed to me it was something I could return home safe in the knowledge I had witnessed. I mean it is just so Japanese. In Japan sumo wrestlers are highly respected and admired. They are like celebrities and the best are very wealthy. In a country where people tend to be short and slim, I wondered if these obese giants were esteemed mainly because of their awesome size.

The fights go on all day everyday for a number of weeks and is televised on NHK. We had reserved tickets for the balcony which were the cheapest seats. They also proved to be the best in my opinion, as they were real chairs not cushions with a little railing around. (For us westerners sitting on the floor for ages gets rather uncomfortable.) No, I was very happy with our cheap seats. The most expensive ones are right next to the ring - a place I really would not want to be. We saw several fights when sweaty sumos crashed off the stage and into the audience. I certainly woudn't want to break the fall of one of them.

The early contests were often over in seconds - one fat lump pushing the other out of the circle a moment after five or six minutes of riling, false starts, salt throwing, sweeping and thigh slapping. So the fights at the end of the day were the best. This was when the professionals battled it out. By this time most of the initially placid audience had eaten their pre-ordered bento boxes and quaffed a bottle or two of sake and were now shouting and cheering.

The beginning of each contest is marked by a parade of all the wrestlers followed by the sponsors holding banners advertising things like Bulgarian yoghurt (yes one of the pros is Bulgarian). There is a different referee for each fight who stands on the edge of the ring holding a fan in his right hand . As each pair of sumos enter the ring and take their positions there is immediately a face-off of egos. Each fighter is trying to psyche out and intimidate the other. The more aggressive one will then stand up and walk to his corner, slapping his body. Once in their corners, they grab a towel and wipe their faces. They then take a fist of salt and toss it onto the stage. After which they assume their crouching positions behind the line again and repeat the whole rigmarole a few more times. As one backs down, the other gets more and more angry until suddenly they go for it.

I must say that it was actually more exciting than I expected, although as a sporting even it is rather strange. However, I think the most interesting part was seeing the Japanese losing their cool and getting really worked up about each fight. It is so rare to see them express strong degrees of emotion in public.

Although sumo wrestling attracts tourists it is not put on for their benefit, on the contrary. Thus for me, what was key to my experience of traditional Japanese culture is that it still remains Japanese culture. It has not yet become a commodity for tourism.