Sports Japan - 2012/11/04

Nov. 4, Sun.

Sumo regional tour Jungyo and Gyoji
[Focus]
1. Sumo on Tour - Different Attractions from the Main Tournaments
Aside from its six main tournaments - Honbasho - each year, sumo also goes on tour around the country to delight its fans. Sumo recently returned to Toyama on the Japan Sea coast for the first time in six years. Nearly 3,500 people packed the arena for this rare opportunity to enjoy sumo in the flesh. The touring events include such special attractions as photo opportunities and wrestling with children that don't take place at the Honbasho main tournaments. The wrestlers fool around, too, doing things which are usually banned such as drinking the purification water or splurting it over their opponent. The touring events also attract fans by plenty of bouts between popular wrestlers and their unusual expressions/behaviours different from those at the main tournaments which wrestlers deliberately show so as to convey the fun of sumo to the people at large.
2. The Roles of the Sumo Referees
The roles of the sumo referees - Gyoji - on the ring are said to trace back 500 years. Their total number is now limited up to 45 and, like wrestlers, they are graded according to ability by rank. Makushita-kaku Gyoji mainly referee the bouts between Makushita wrestlers and below, Juryo-kaku Gyoji referee the Juryo bouts, and so on up through Sanyaku-kaku Gyoji who officiate Sanyaku bouts to Tate Gyoji who officiate Yokozuna bouts at the very top. These ranks are reflected in the costumes, hand-held fans and use or non-use of footwear. There are just two top-ranking referees, called by the names Kimura Shonosuke and Shikimori Inosuke. They are allowed to bear short swords as a symbolic statement of their resolve to commit ritual suicide if they make a misjudgment at a bout. The referees must perform diverse duties, including announcing the wrestlers and leading them through the ritual. On tour, it is the referees who also arrange the transport and accommodation. The drawing u p of tournament lists is another important task. It is said to take a decade to master the distinctive sumo calligraphy. We take a look behind the scenes at the roles of the referees.
[Science Lens]
Skipping
Skipping is winning popularity as a new sport. There are all sorts of variations around the world and also world championships. We look at such difficult techniques as quintuples and the beautiful Double Dutch where one or more jumpers skip between the two long ropes turning in opposite directions.
[Guest]

Akebono Taro

A former sumo Yokozuna (the 64th) born in Oahu, Hawaii (the United States). The first foreign Yokozuna, he had many tremendous bouts with the Takanohana, considered by many the great Yokozuna of the Heisei period. Akebono says he learned much about sumo history and manners from the 28th Kimura Shonosuke, likewise lauded as the great Heisei referee. Currently a professional wrestler.

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