on this day: 1946

["Rowan Klein" <rowanchan@hotmail.com>]

Nippon Times, Saturday 16th November 1946

Sumo Tournament Draws Huge Crowd

Ring Entry Ceremony Features Bouts Closing Monday at Memorial Hall Arena

    Sumo (Japanese Wrestling) performances of the Eastern and Western camps 
at the Memorial Hall arena, Asakusa Ward are a triumph again for the 
wrestlers, who are stubbornly attempting to justify their 2,000 year old 
domineering role in the field of sports amidst challenging changes that are 
sweeping the country.
    The autumn main sumo tournament, the loud noise of the radio is drawing 
capacity crowds of sports fans each day. The number, nevertheless, falls 
short of any in the past. The four storied amphitheater renamed Memorial 
Hall dedicated by American forces to athletes who died in World War II, has 
a seating capacity of 16,000.
    Each day between 9.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m., several spectacular bouts take 
place between the several teams of the Eastern and Western camps the 
traditional participants in the tournament which will draw to a close 
November 18.
    The most spectacular show perhaps is the dohyo-iri (ring entry), on 
which occasion the otherwise motionless crowd cheer and yell as Haguroyama, 
the yokozuna (Champion of Champions) of the Western Camp, enters the ring, 
claps his hands in the manner of a noble, stamps his feet on the sand laid 
ring, and displays his muscles.
  The issue between two contestants is decided by one encounter -  a matter 
of few minutes. There are hardly any cheers from the breathless audience as 
the referee motions his commanding fan toward the winner. The alert referee, 
who constantly interjects words of encouragement in duration of the 
encounter, is ready to command defeat also to one if any part of his body, 
except his feet, touches the sand.
    There arise occasions which put the referee on the horns of dilemma. An 
encounter ending in an certain manner brings forth loud cat-calls from some 
of the spectators who back their favorite by calling out his name as the 
winner. After consultation with each of the judges, the referee reenters the 
ring and motions his commanding fan toward the one whom the judges 
apparently decided to be the winner. The contestants, who had withdrawn from 
the ring reenter simultaneously and the loser bows toward the winner who 
accepts the salutation with a similar gesture.
    The ring is set up on a square platform, made of earth, upon which is 
laid a thick layer of sand. A circle  feet in diameter is marked with a 
boundary line. In the four corners of the platform stand the four posts in a 
slightly slanting position carrying a beautiful canopy on top. The posts are 
wound round with cloth of four colors, white, red, black, and green, 
symbolic of the four seasons.
    In this colorful ring perched in the center of the hall exposed to full 
view of the spectators from all four stories, enters a yobidashi (caller) 
with a fan spread in his right hand. Solemnly he faces the east and calls 
out in his chanting voice the name of the next contestant from the Eastern 
team. The caller then turns toward the West and similarly calls out the name 
of the contestant from the Western camp.
    The two large sized top-knotted wrestlers, with their muscular bodies 
and large bellies, wearing a piece of cloth around their waists and between 
their legs, approach near the platform and rinse their mouth with 
purification water before making their entry into the ring. The spectators 
are now holding their breaths as the contestants enter the ring, bow to each 
other and embark upon their repeated performances of watching postures, 
rising and then back to watching to study the weak spot for striking. 
Finally they come to grips and in the exciting pandemonium one of them is 
toppled out of the ring and down below the platform.

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