Sumo! March 23rd

So what comes to mind when you hear the word Japan?
Sushi?
Robots?
Crazy gadgets?
Bowing incessantly?
Or maybe you think of one of it's oldest, very popular sport, Sumo?

Living in Japan, I had a sense of duty to see at least one sumo match before I left here. Some of my friends (who are leaving this year) felt the same way, so Saturday 23rd March saw us all meeting outside the Bodymaker Colluseum (yes, that's its actual name) in Osaka, ready to witness out first Sumo tournament.

The group who went

There are six Grand Tournaments a year, only one is held in Osaka. A tournament lasts for fifteen days and each of the sumo wrestlers fight once every day with a different opponent. The wrestler with the best record of wins over losses is awarded the Emperor's Cup on the final day after the last match.

Not wanting to spend too much money on something we weren't sure if we'd enjoy, we had opted to get tickets for the cheaper seats, and were pleasantly surprised with the view we got. We had seats fairly high up giving us a good view of the dohyo (the sumo stage/ring) in the middle of the gymnasium, and the best part was that we were in seats that faced the front of the dohyo so when the wrestlers fought, we were given a side-on view, and any action facing the front, we were given a perfect view of. So straight up, we were very happy with out experience.

The dohyo takes it name from the straw rice bag which mark out its different parts. The dohyo is 18 feet square and 2 feet high and is constructed of a special kind of clay. The hard surface is covered with a thin layer of sand. The wrestlers fight in a circle a little over 15 feet in diameter. Over the ring, suspended from the ceiling, is a roof resembling a Shinto shire with four giant tassels hanging from each corner to signify the seasons of the year. 

The dohyo surrounded by seats on all sides - great view!

4 different coloured tassels depicting the four seasons

We got to the stadium at three. Although the tournament had been going on since the morning, we decided to show up in time for the higher ranking wrestlers to really get a good show. This seemed to be the popular choice amongst many Japanese people too, as throughout the afternoon, the stands got busier and nearly every seat was filled to create a buzzing atmosphere by the time the last few fights were underway.

Quite a lot of spectators when we first arrive...

Even more at the end!

Lots of people and a great view!

 So there are currently around 800 professional sumo wrestlers (or rikishi), from trainees to the yokozuna at the top. After each Grand Tournament, the rikishi are either promoted, or demoted, depending on their performance in the tournament. The upper division rikishi are in the maku-uchi group. This group includes the 5 top ranks:
1. Yokozuna
2. Ozeki
3. Sekiwake
4. Komusubi
5. Maegashira
So I'm pretty sure turned up to watch the Yokozuna rikishi wrestle. If not, then certainly one of the higher ranks.
So here's an interesting fact for you. In the past three hundred years since the title was created, only 69 rikishi have been honoured with the title of Yokozuna. Once they achieve this rank, a rikishi can never be demoted, however if they perform badly in a tournament, they are expected to retire. (The whole Japanese honour comes into play here. Don't worry though, they're not forced to do hara kiri like the ninjas!)

After the lower rank matches had finished, the upper ranks came to the dohyo for the dohyo-iri (entering the ring) ceremony. Each of the wrestlers wear kesho-mawashi (ceremonial aprons) that are made from silk and which are beautifully decorated. These aprons can cost anywhere up to 500,000 yen, which is around £3,500, so they are incredibly expensive and this in turn shows their importance to upholding traditions and ceremony. All the wrestlers appear on stage wearing their aprons and perform a short ritual. It was really interesting to watch. It was also interesting to hear the crowd's reactions to the individual wrestlers. As they enter the dohyo, they are introduced, and sometimes wrestlers will get a huge reaction from the crowd - shouting their name and cheering. This made it easy for us to identify the more popular wrestlers (though only when they were wearing their apron, once that came off, I found it pretty hard to differentiate between all the athletes!).Then a final ceremony is performed by a single Yokozuna wearing a braided hemp rope ornamented in the front with strips of paper hanging in zigzag patterns - this rope is often seen hanging in Shinto shrines. Once this ceremony is over, then the matches can begin.

walking into the arena

Showing off their kesho-mawashi

The popular rikishi get shouts and large applause

Performing the short ritual

 

 

When fighting, the rikishi take off their ceremonial aprons and wear nothing but a silken loincloth called the mawashi. After entering the dohyo, the rikishi go through a series of symbolic movements. To cleanse his mind and body, he rinses his mouth with water and wipes his body with a paper towel. They also scatter handfuls of salt to purify the ring. They then squat and face each other supporting themselves with their fists. This is called the shikiri. This can happen as many times as the wrestlers want, as long as they keep within a 4 minute time frame. They do this to prepare themselves mentally for the quick fight ahead of them, as well as putting the spectators into a fit of excitement. It actually got a little infuriating to watch at times, but at least the time limit was there. in the past, this 'cold warfare' could go on indefinitely! When ready, the rikishi throw themselves at each other creating quite a formidable impact. A fight is won by forcing the opponent out of the inner circle or throwing him in the dohyo. To lose a match, the wrestler does not have to be pushed out or fall entirely, but if they touch the ground with any part of their body apart from their feet then they lose the match. Fights are usually over very quickly (within a minute for some we saw) but are usually very exciting to watch as a player who you think doesn't stand a chance may at the last minute perform a move to take out their opponent in the most unexpected way.

Lining up for the shikiri

It was really fun to watch (and make small predictions between us on how long a match will last, who will win, and will it be a walk out or a fall?), and we found ourselves cheering and clapping along with the biggest fans - it was impossible not to. There were times where something would happen in the dohyo that would make us cringe or hold onto various body parts as if we were impacted, but seeing the sumo wrestlers get up seemingly unhurt made it an enjoyable sense of feeling, rather than just painful to watch.

After all the matches there is a final ceremony, the bow dance (yumitori-shiki). This routine involves twirling a bow and was introduced during the Edo Period when a winning rikishi was awarded a prize of a bow. Good times.

performing the final yumitori-shiki

So that's that. After the ceremony the crowd immediately started exiting the arena so we took our leave as well. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Sumo. I went this time because I feel it was something I had to do at least once whilst I'm in Japan, knocking it off my Japan bucket list. However, I enjoyed the day so much that I would be tempted to go to another tournament - this time trying to get tickets on the last day so I can see who the winner is and see the Emperor's Cup awarded.

Sagicho Matsuri - Omihachiman 17th March

Sunday 17th March saw myself and Todd up nice and early with the intent to check out another one of Japan's numerous festivals. Today's festival was Sagicho Matsuri all the way up in Omihachiman in Shiga Prefecture (about 145miles away from where we live!), therefore we had to start the day bright and early to get there in time for the festival, and meant a very late night making our way back!
Our friend Austin (a 2nd year ALT from England who lives in Tokushima City) has a friend who lives in Omihachiman and it was through him that Austin found out about this festival. It was from Austin then that we got the recommendation to go and so our group consisted of four of us from Tokushima (Austin, Todd, Randall and I) to meet up with Daniela and Christine, and a few of their friends up in Omihachiman.
We left Todd's apartment at 6:30 to get to the city in time to pick up Austin and Randall and head towards the ferry port in time for the 8:00am ferry. This was actually my first time in taking the ferry anywhere in Tokushima, and I have to say, it wasn't that bad. The best part I found about the ferry was the fact that there were hardly any seating areas! Now this may sound ridiculous to many of you - 'who on earth would like the fact that there aren't many places to sit on a 2 hour ferry ride?!', but the fact that there were no chairs meant that there were plenty of open carpeted areas that you could use to relax on and (as we did) sleep! Lying down on the floor was a surreal experience at first but once I had got used to the idea, I really enjoyed taking advantage of the fact that I didn't have to sit on an uncomfortable chair, and I feel that lying down on the floor actually greatly helped keep my travel sickness at bay! I was definitely a fan by the time we had reached our destination of Wakayama.
From Wakayama, we took a train to Osaka and then on to Omihachiman. Meeting Daniel, Christine and Takeshi at the station we then headed for a bit of lunch before continuing on to the festival.
So what is Sagicho Matsuri?
There are 13 towns in Omihachiman, and each year, each town creates a sagicho (large straw float) decorated with the year's Chinese zodiac animal made out of dried food. The floats are also decorated with other items including a 3m long bamboo pole with thousands of red streamers hanging from the end. On the Saturday of the festival, each town parades their float through the streets and awards are given for the best decorated float, or the best story behind why the float was created. On the Sunday the floats the battle against each other - each trying to tip another town's sagicho over. After a break in the evening, the floats are then brought back to the main street and are set alight.

So this year was the Chinese Year of the Snake, so each float had a perfectly decorated snake model on the front of them. It was interesting to see how differently each town made their snake and the decorations behind them, and it would have been really interesting to find out why each town had created their float like they did.

My favourite snake of the day

A couple of snakes caught in battle!

So when we got to the festival, we found ourselves to be straight in the action, turning up right next to two floats who were lining up to fight. These floats are massive and it takes at least 30 or so men to carry them on their shoulders. Being so heavy meant they were also pretty hard to control at times, so as a spectator you really had to be on your toes and on the look out at all times so that you don't get squished! It was great to watch these fights, which were controlled and watched over by a few members on each float using whistles to communicate what needed to be done. Once one float has overturned the other, the town then moves on to find another float to challenge. We saw many fights during the day and enjoyed wondering up and down the Shrine's road checking out all the different decorations, floats, and also checking out the festival's food stands!

Supporting the sagicho looks like back-breaking work!

The first stage of attack is to lock the front supporting beams

The aim of the game is to tip the opponent's float over!

I have actually already been to Omihachima way back in the first September I was in Japan, visiting Danny with Austin and a couple of other friends, and I remember thinking at the time how quiet and peaceful the town was. Apparently it's a whole different ball game when the festival is on as it seemed like the entire population had come out to join in this brilliant festival. It was a great atmosphere.
So after a full afternoon of fighting, the float bearers headed back to have a break and grab some food. This gave us a full (rather chilly) 2 1/2 hours to look around, grab food, and hang out before the final part of the festival. At 7:30pm the floats started coming back into the shrine area, and you could see how the men and women carrying the floats had had a little more time to get some drink into them! Spirits were high as the floats were paraded around the area before being set down and their supporting beams removed. Large torches where then brought out from inside the temple and at around 8 o'clock the first stage of burning happened.

Using the lantern (bottom) to set fire to the floats

The snakes look so realistic at times.

It was crazy how quickly these things went up in flames! What was even more crazy was how quickly our feelings towards the fires change from 'ooh, that's better a bit of warmth' to 'dear god I think my face is about to melt!' to when the fires burn down and we are back to feeling pretty cold. The change was somewhat intense!
We got to watch a few rounds of the floats going up in flames which was great as it meant we could attempt to get photos from many angles. I tried to get a few good photos of the snakes coming out of the fire, and I'm pleased with some of them, but it proved to be very difficult as if you were too far back in the crowd, you couldn't really get a good shot, but if you were too near the front, you had the disadvantage of being a flame blocker for the people behind you! There was a lot of jostling but it was still great to see and an absolutely fantastic event! I'm not sure if I'd go again, as the travel was a bit extreme for one day (we didn't make it back to my house until 6am Monday morning!) but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone - it was a great experience and definitely lots of fun!