Sumo wrestling
Sumo wrestling is a form of full-body contact attempting to force the opponent to move out of the circular ring or making the opponent to lose balance and touch the ground with any other body part except the soles of the leg. Sumo began in Japan, and it is the only country where the sport occurs professionally. It is a martial art in Japan. Sumo has a lot of history and traditions of Japan that it preserves and even currently, rituals are performed before the game starts, such as salt purification from Shinto.
The wrestlers are regulated by the Japan Sumo Association which gives the rules of the game. They are also provided with shelters at the communal training stables called heya, where they are provided with all their basic needs that are guided by very accurate culture and tradition. Scandals and a lot of conflicting information worldwide about Sumo have greatly affected the reputation and a sudden fall in ticket sales. Accusations have also led to the fall of the number of recruits. However, with all these as a negative setback, Sumo is still a growing sport due to a strong foundation of grand champions (yokozuna), and for the record this year there have been two very successful rising stars in the game that is Endo and Ichinojo who emerged and took the public’s attention.
Rituals are significantly associated with Sumo as they believe that human used to fight against the divine spirit in their shrines. Imperial court also much depended on these rituals which were attended by all influential people around all the provinces and Sumo wrestlers were supposed to pay for their transportation funds to reach the court to contest. The popularity of the game depends on the sitting ruler. Others encourage it while others are never interested. Sumo’s winner is the one who becomes first to make the opponent touch the ground with any part of the body, fall or move out of the ring.
Sumo compares significantly with wrestling as it’s a one on one bare hands fight, but the most significant difference is that in Sumo one is only allowed to touch the ground with the feet which are quite the opposite too wrestling.
References
“Revival of Sumo’s Popularity” Saga Shinbun December 8th 2017
Hall, Mina (2018). The Big Book of Sumo: History, Practice, Ritual, Fight. Stone Bridge Press
Seales, Rebecca (December 1 2017). “Inside the Scandal Hit World Of Sumo”