And are all of these offensive?

Here is a pizza flavored pretzel commercial from Japanese TV, which uses the Italian word bongiorno, so I guess it insults the honor of two nations with one stone.

Former sumo champion Konishiki arrived back in Japan recently for the first time after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in February.

Since the operation Konishiki has shed 70 kilograms (144 pounds), from a high of 300 kilograms (660 pounds).

Though we would like to congratulate Konishiki on his weight loss and wish him the best in the future, we must admit that he still looks pretty hefty in the above “after” photo.

Sankei Sports via Tokyo Graph

NPR’s news show, Day to Day, has a story (audio, 4:30 min.) on a sumo tournament held in Los Angeles.  The coverage of the tournament covers old ground (very basic), but it was interesting that the tournament took place abroad, even if it was just an exhibition.

For the first time in 27 years, 40 top-ranked athletes traveled to Los Angeles for an exhibition tournament. Most people have seen sumo wrestlers only in photographs, but pictures of these barely-clothed behemoths can’t capture the live spectacle as the wrestlers gracefully lumber into the sumo ring, or dohyo.

Most of the wrestlers who competed at the Los Angeles Sports Arena were more than 6 feet [183 cm] tall and well over 300 pounds [136 kg]. And though they all take Japanese sumo names like Takamisakari or Wakanosato, many hail from places like Bulgaria, Estonia and Mongolia.

The NPR sports show Only a Game has a 6 1/2-minute segment on Sumo.  It’s largely a primer on the sport but also focuses a lot on Asashoryu, the controversial, Mongolian, grand champion who is one of one of only two top-ranked yokozuna.  In brief, he seems to get himself into trouble such as breaking a car mirror after a match, playing soccer in Mongolia on a supposed-sore knee, and not appearing in the expected kimono.  The story also touches on other topics such as the controversial death of a 17-year old stable apprentice.

The Washington Post recently had an excellent recap on the ongoing investigation into the death of Takashi Saito, a 17-year-old wrestler who was literally tortured to death by his stablemaster and mates.

His death, which police initially ruled to be the result of “heart disease,” led to the arrest last month of his former sumo stable master, who has since told police he beat Saito because the boy had a “vague attitude” about his career in sumo.

Three wrestlers have also been arrested in connection with the beating. But it took until Thursday — more than eight months after Saito’s death and a month after the wrestlers were indicted — for the powerful Japan Sumo Association to take action against them. The JSA decided that it would ban the three from competing in sumo tournaments and said that, if they were found guilty, it would expel them from the profession.

A few months ago I was at a social event where some well-known gaijin sumo expert was going on and on about how the case needed to be left to the Sumo Association to deal with in their own, centuries-old way.

Thanks much to Brian Engel for letting us know about this story.

On gaining respect for Japan’s oldest sport

Two titans squaring off

Sumo — quivering mounds of flesh set into sudden motion that is at once jarring and engaging. It’s the sport of gods, literally. However, it took me some time to appreciate sumo. Long before I made my way over to Japan, my image of sumo was not a very flattering one. To me sumo was a match where two nigh-immobile mountains of flab come together with all the speed of erosion to push one or the other slowly out of the small ring they were in. In short, fat guys in diapers having a shoving match — not exactly my cup of tea.

Impact!

The erosion of my entrenched stereotype began with my first encounter with sumo. This encounter came from the TV broadcasts of the January tournament during my first month in Japan. At that time I was waiting for my new job to start up so I was lean on funds. My entertainment was limited to cheap beer, Doritos and whatever was on TV in my cramped little gaijin house. I just happened to stumble upon the broadcasts of the sumo tournament in mid-January. I couldn’t understand anything on Japanese TV at this point (and I still don’t; but for different reasons). Sumo, though, was simple enough to follow.

A great handful of salt tossed high to purify the ring

What surprised me right away was the speed of these seemingly slow behemoths. They were shockingly fast and agile. Their speed dispelled the notion I once held that overweight Americans could compete in sumo tournaments. I used to think there was no reason to go to Japan to see a sumo match when similar sport could be had by throwing a free bag of potato chips on the floor of the local Wal-Mart. How wrong I was.

Sumo Wrestlers despite their bulk are remarkably flexible at times

For one thing, despite appearance, most sumo wrestlers actually have less fat than their average working countrymen. What lurks under the deceptive rolls of flab is muscle — a lot of muscle. Sumo wrestlers “work” hard to get big, unlike my rotund countrymen who accidentally get big by eating cheese doodles all day on the sofa while watching TV. The wrestlers want this bulk for two reasons — (1) to give their thrusts more power and (2) to cushion the impact of their opponent’s blows.

To achieve their dual goal of fat and muscle, sumo wrestlers keep to a strict regimen of exercise and eating. They start exercising early in the morning between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. and do this for several hours. The wrestlers only eat twice a day but these are large meals after which they sleep. Lunch is the biggest meal and they sleep for two hours afterwards.

Chanko-nabe is one of the main staples of a sumo wrestler’s diet. Chanko-nabe is a stew with no rigid ingredient list but a little bit of everything. It’s high in protein and consumed in great quantities to add the necessary girth a sumo wrestler needs.

Ahem! ….well, now!

Not all sumo wrestlers though are the gargantuan titans of blubber that may spring to mind. In the 1990s, this type of image was enforced by Akebono (235 kilograms/520 pounds) and Konishiki (264 kilograms /580 pounds) both huge wrestlers in their own right but not Japanese. The current yokozuna (champion) are two relatively lightweight Mongolians — Asashoryu and Hakuho. Both of them have put on the necessary weight and tip the scales at over 300 pounds but their bodies still look relatively in proportion.

David and Goliath Sumo-style

The strength of these portly wrestlers is not to be underestimated. Over the long history of sumo, there has been tales of incredible strength by these stout giants from lifting huge heavy bales of rice to cannon balls weighing several hundred pounds. It’s no wonder that for many Japanese at a time when the average body build was smaller than today that they looked upon sumo wrestlers as superhuman.

Getting rolled in the ring

Agility is another surprising aspect of sumo wrestlers. Anyone who follows sumo knows these wrestlers will not only use their bulk and strength to win a match but their agility as well. Sometimes, this can be simply moving out of the way at the last moment and letting their opponent go sailing out of the ring on their own steam. Other times, an agile wrestler will quickly move to the side at the moment of contact and bring his opponent crashing down to the ground with one quick thrust.

From my first initiation into the world that is sumo, I have since acquired a great appreciation for this sport that is not only a sport but a religious ritual as well. I try to catch at least one day of sumo whenever the tournaments come to Tokyo, which is three times a year. As interesting as it is to catch sumo on TV, nothing beats the excitement of watching it live.

Ooooffff!!!!

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If you thought sumo a sport of slow moving fat guys in thongs engaged in an aggressive shoving match, guess again.

As any follower of Sumo knows, Sumo wrestlers are fast, strong, and agile. They also know how to take a fall real well. And they get tossed around a lot.

The following is a series of falls, tumbles, and throws from several tournaments: Sept ‘06, May ‘07, July ‘07 in Nagoya, and Sept ‘07. There’s also scenes from an outdoor exhibition in April ‘07.

I went early in the day for the Nagoya Basho and caught some of the junior wrestlers so this vid has wrestlers from the very top to the very bottom of the sumo hierachry.

Music by Seven Cycle Theory

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Sumo fans will remember 2007 as something of a low point. Record low numbers of recruits, diminishing media coverage of actually wrestling, and instead of scandal after scandal – first the death of a young rikishi attributed to a brutal training regime, and then the rather strangely larger row that blew up when Asashoryu (朝青龍) was spotted running around a Mongolian football pitch when he was supposed to be injured.

The story ran and ran to an almost tedious length in the Japanese media, but as 2008 started, it seemed that the old adage – “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” – was to some extent true. Asashoryu had served his two-tournament ban and was back. Meanwhile, compatriot Hakuho (白鵬) was waiting for him.

And the two yokozuna met yesterday in an all-Mongolian finale to the New Year tournament.

Rather more detailed ‘match reports’ available here and here.

Just when it seemed as if sumo was starting to get back to relative normality, word comes out of Nagoya that police are getting ready to accuse stablemaster Tokitsukaze and a number of wrestlers in his table inflicting injuries a wrestler named Tokitaizan in June, which led to his death.

Tokitaizan, whose real name is Takashi Saito, collapsed during a training session in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, on June 26, and was confirmed dead a few hours later.

Aichi Prefectural Police said that on the day before his death, Tokitaizan escaped from the sumo stable, but was dragged back by other wrestlers in the stable. He had reportedly escaped from the stable several times in the past, so that evening Tokitsukaze hit him in the forehead with a beer bottle, leaving him with a cut. Afterwards, the other wrestlers apparently teamed up and beat him.

Investigators said the other wrestlers had sometimes attacked Tokitaizan in the past, burning him with cigarettes. Burn marks were found on several places on his body.

Initially, a hospital where Tokitaizan was taken after he collapsed reported that he died of a heart problem. A police autopsy, however, concluded that the cause of death was shock due to multiple external injuries.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - UPDATE: 9/27/2007

Family members said that at about 4 p.m. on June 26, the day Tokitaizan died, a stable representative called and indicated that proceedings for a cremation were going ahead. However, a member of the family became suspicious and replied, “We can’t have that happen. We’ll go there ourselves.” After that, the stable reportedly arranged for the body to be sent to the family.

When the family saw Tokitaizan’s body, they were shocked. He had a cut on his forehead and severe bruises, along with burn marks that appeared to have been made by cigarettes.

The following day, when Tokitsukaze arrived to pay his respects, the family asked him for an explanation, but he only replied, “He got that from regular training,” and repeatedly stated that preparations for a cremation had not been made to hide the wrestler’s injuries.

A woman spectator abruptly attempted to enter the sumo ring at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Wednesday, but officials managed to apprehend her at the edge.

The middle-aged woman, whose name is being withheld, tried to enter the ring between bouts.

She was in possession of handbills at the time. When sumo officials questioned the woman before escorting her out of arena she mumbled incomprehensibly.

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