Kyushu Basho 2005

Next time you feel a tremor beneath your feet, it may not be the aftershocks of the latest ji shin. Dotted around Fukuoka in the coming weeks will be sumo’s greatest wrestlers, all here to prepare for the Kyushu Grand sumo Tournament, and there will be a lot of rumbling going on as they continue their hard daily training in preparation for the final basho of the year.

Since the last tournament, all eyes are on Bulgarian sensation and media-styled lady’s man Kotooshu, and Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu. These two well-fed lads are sure to make waves this tournament; Kotooshu, as well as being dashingly handsome (apparently) is currently enjoying a meteoric rise towards sumo’s higher ranks, while Asashoryu is aiming for his seventh consecutive tournament win and sixth basho in a calendar year, both of which have never been done before in modern sumo.
Sumo ﾐ Sport of the Gods

Historians say that since a supposed match between two gods of yore in what was perhaps Japan’s first leadership battle, sumo has existed in one form or another. In reality, over the past 2,000 years, this most simple of sports has developed gestures, actions, techniques, tactics and rituals that are unique to the archipelago of Japan. Still, that hasn’t stopped a strong foreign contingent poking their bellies in and doing pretty well for themselves. Mongolia, Russia, Bulgaria, South Korea, Brazil, Estonia, Georgia, China and of course Japan are just some of the nations represented in today’s international as never before. In case you haven’t heard, the 14 men from afar in the top makunouchi and juryo divisions, and the best of Japan’s sumotori will soon be in Fukuoka for the November 13th ﾐ 27th Kyushu Grand sumo Tournament ﾐ and there has never been a better time to go and see them in action.

What an event it will be! Between the record-smashing antics of yokozuna grand champion Asashoryu and the ladies swooning over Kotooshu, you’ll see a wealth of other talent is on its way up into the upper echelons of sumo, and not all faces are Asian. Youth mixes with experience and Japanese with their non-Japanese counterparts to make for a great day at the sumo nowadays so pick your fave and shout until your heart’s content.
A Day at the sumo

The Fukuoka Kokusai Center will be hosting this November’s basho, and with tickets ranging in price from the very affordable ｴ3,100 for a reserved seat to the more expensive ｴ45,200 for a four person box, there are seats available for all, rabid fan and awestruck newcomer alike.

For the early risers and those out for the ‘full monty’ sumo experience, try and get down to the Kokusai Center as early as possible. Bouts start at around 8.40am on any given day with the lowest ranked jonokuchi boys trying to outwit each other with the limited moves at their disposal. This early in the day, with a thin crowd made up of friends and family and sumo uber-fans, the opportunity is there to sit beside the dohyo and feel the action close-up. You might be lucky enough to find yourself sitting shoulder to shoulder with a former yokozuna.

As the day passes, you’ll notice the tension beginning to rise and get the feeling that people are waiting for something really big (stop laughing in the back). That ‘something’ generally comes along in introductory form at around 2:50pm when the sport’s second highest juryo division performs its colorful dohyo-iri entrance ceremony. Clad in beautifully decorated ceremonial aprons known as kesho mawashi, each competing wrestler is introduced by name, home town and stable and then walks around the dohyo for all to see. Whilst taking pictures is recommended at this time, as it is still possible to get down near the front, save some of the power in your batteries for the similar ceremony at 3:45pm or so when the top makunouchi division wrestlers enter followed by the yokozuna in his own special version of the dohyo-iri. Flanked by two other wrestlers, Asashoryu’s gestures are his attempt at appeasing the sumo gods.

From now on it’s back to the seat and eyes peeled as the big boys, the names that will make the next day’s headlines, do their thing. The senior ranked men may be big, but boy are they fast; don’t take your eyes off them as the average sumo bout lasts but six seconds.

Come 6pm, the day’s action peaks with the musubi-no-ichban, the day’s last fight, which will feature yokozuna Asashoryu. Feel the tension increase even more, hear the fans reach fever pitch and just go with the flow as past meets the present, domestic becomes just a little more international, and sumo takes another step on the road to becoming a world sport. But, above all else, enjoy it for what it is ﾐ the sights and the smells of Japan’s national sport. After all, how many times will your friends back home be able to say they saw sumo live and in all its glory?
Kyushu’s Finest

Kaio
Born Hiroyuki Koga July 24th 1972, the Fukuoka native more commonly known as Ozeki Kaio of the Nihon sumo Kyokai (Japanese sumo Association), will be returning to the town of his birth this November for perhaps the last time as an active rikishi. In a career spanning over 17 years, including five at the second highest rank of ozeki, Kaio has secured five Emperor’s Cups, a couple of lower division titles, fifteen ‘sansho’ (special performance prizes) and even six ‘kinboshi’ (victories over a yokozuna grand champion).
Chiyotaikai
Some three years younger than Kaio, and listing Oita as his home, the ‘pusher thruster’ ozeki known as Chiyotaikai is nearing his own ‘decision time’. The 181cm, 158kg wrestler has not performed as he could have in the past couple of years although he has collected a total of three makunouchi titles in the eight years since he broke into the top division. Famous for his in-your-face pushing and slapping down sumo, Chiyotaikai still has another year or two left in the boiler.
Sumo Info Chunks
– Sumotori sleep after eating to facilitate weight gain
– Lower ranks have to wake up earlier and cook and clean for the seniors
– Sumotori do not eat breakfast
– Beer at lunch? Yes please. Sumotori often drink beer to bulk up and maintain weight
– sumo wrestlers receive specialized intestinal massages to be able to accommodate the huge quantities of food they consume
– One reason sumo cannot be considered for the Olympic games is its strict no-female policy
– At the start of 2005, the number of registered, professional rikishi was 695 – of that number, 39 came from Fukuoka
– Women are not allowed anywhere near the dohyo lest the gods of sumo be offended!
– Each envelope collected by upper division winning rikishi is worth ｴ55,000, and the record amount collected is 49
– The first American national in sumo was actually of Japanese parentage, born in Colorado and named Harry

The Skinny on the Kyushu Basho

Where: Fukuoka Kokusai Center
When: Nov. 13th ~ Nov. 27th
Contact: The Nihon sumo Kyokai Fukuoka Office
Tel: (092) 291-9311 / 9312 (10:00~17:00, closed Sun. & hol., Japanese only)
Prices: 3,100 yen ~ 45,200 yen
Seating: From single ringside seats to different tiers of box seating, to various levels of arena seating. Check out the
official sumo home page listed below or get a Japanese-speaking friend to call.
English ticket information: www.sumo.or.jp/eng/ticket/

Sumo Speak

Don’t know your mawashi from your rikishi? Using this glossary, even the feeblest of sumo fans can pass themselves off as towering intellectual greats of the sport of the gods.

Basho
– A sumo tournament held over a two-week period. There are six each year.

Dohyo
– The raised clay platform where sumo bouts are held. Buried for traditional reasons within the dohyo are salt, washed rice, Torreya nuts, squid, kelp, and chestnuts.

Dohyo-iri
– Entrance ceremony performed before the juryo and makuuchi division begin their bouts.

Heya
– A ‘stable’; a building used to house and train rikishi. There are dormitories, cooking facilities and a training dohyo.

Makunouchi
– Also called makuuchi, this is sumo’s top division.

Mawashi
– The thick belt wrapped around a rikishi. Protects the genitals as well as offering a place to grip. Juryo level and higher wear silk of various colors, lower levels wear black cotton.

Ozeki
– The champion rank of sumo. Other ranks can be attained by consistent wins, this rank must be granted by the Sumo Kyokai.

Rikishi
– The big guys doing all the pushing and shoving.

Yokozuna
The rank of grand champion, the pinnacle of sumo.

Do You sumo?

You’ve read about it – so how about taking a shot at Japan’s national sport yourself. The Fukuoka City sumo club holds classes in Japanese twice a week, but as with many martial arts, it’s possible to learn through gestures. Classes areﾊfromﾊ18:30~20:30 on Wednesdays at Sumiyoshi Shrine in Hakata and Saturdays at the Budokan, near Ohori Park.ﾊPlease have a Japanese-speaking friend call Fujinata-san before you plan to visit atﾊ090-7927-4803. You can wear short pants, butﾊmawashi are provided if you have the ‘stomach’ for it.
Textﾊby Mark Buckton
Editor-in-Chief / Sumo Fan Mag
www.sumofanmag.com