It is wonderful seeing the Sumo wrestlers in London, all over the news programmes right now. My grandfather was a huge fan of Sumo and I remember going with him sometimes to see the tournaments in the centre of Tokyo.
He always suggested I should wait by the runway leading from the ‘dohyou’ (the ring) back to the waiting room, so I could see the sumo wrestlers close up as they came out, and I remember seeing the steam rising from their bodies. A junior wrestler was there to give them a tenugui cloth to wipe the sweat from their face. I wasn’t so keen to see the match itself, but I enjoyed the family outing enormously. We sat down on a tatami mat and drank sake and tea, and had some food, while watching what was going on. It was really exciting seeing the large bodies of the famous wrestlers, and what they were going through, so near me on the runway. And I liked all their different yukata (cotton kimono) designs too.
Sumo was held every year as a festival ritual to predict the year's harvest, and which later became an Imperial court event, one that has continued for 300 years.
The Kamakura period (1185-1333) through to the Sengoku (or ‘Warring States’) period (1467-1600) was the age of the samurai, and was the time when sumo was widely practiced as a form of training for samurai combat.
Then during the Edo period (1603-1868), which was a time of relative peace in Japan, some strong-willed people began to take up sumo as a profession, and raised funds for sumo tournaments to begin to be held all over the country. By the middle of the Edo period, sumo matches were being held regularly. Sumo, alongside kabuki (historical Japanese theatre), came to play a major role as entertainment for the general public.
Over its long history, sumo has gradually become regulated, refined, and stylized, taking on the form of a sport and becoming a traditional culture unique to Japan. Ranking lists, kesho-mawashi (the apron), topknots, kimonos, and sumo matches ... those many aspects of sumo that are part of the sport today, are in fact unchanged since the sumo of the Edo period.
Sumo is deeply rooted in Japanese culture and seems that to have always been part of people's lives.
It has many aspects for Japanese people, including history, culture, religious rituals and competition, each of which has its own profound elements.
In fact, in that sense, it is quite similar to the tea ceremony! Although, its movement is very different.
If you are interested in watching the sumo, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer. I will certainly be watching, and I am sure it will remind me of my childhood and family, and all that