Re: [sumo] Sumo and its People

["Josh Reyer" <reyer@benchsumo.zzn.com>]

> These are very relevant observations!  It's ok that a significant 
> number of SML members view sumo as nothing more than entertainment 
> but I'd be interested to know if a similar proportion of Japanese 
> sumo fans have the same view.  Since I don't live in Japan I'm not 
> in a position to know but I suspect the proportion is nowhere near 
> as large.

Well, I can provide some massive generalizations, but I would greatly 
appreciate if any of the Japanese fans on the list would like to 
correct or refine these.

In general, tradition is extremely important in Japanese culture.  
Religion, much less so.  But everything, from carpentry to comedy, 
has its own particular set of traditions and history.  Yoshimoto 
Kougyou, a production company and talent agency, has a history 
reaching as far back as 1912, and the entertainers there go through 
an apprentice process not unlike the one young rikishi do.  The 
term "tsukebito" tends to refer to the sumo world, but there is the 
related word "tsukibito", with essentially the same meaning, that is 
used to describe any attendant of somebody.  From making candy, tofu 
and sake to training police officers, television announcers, and 
front-desk secretaries, much attention is paid to tradition, to 
ceremony, and to decorum.  In just about every walk of life and any 
situation, *how* you do something is as important, and sometimes 
moreso, than *what* you do.

The traditions of sumo do not appear especially exotic to Japanese 
people; they are embedded in the culture and show up in a variety of 
circumstances.  Even a complete non-sumo fan in Japan is familiar 
with the phrase "gunbai ni agaru" (the gunbai raises) as an idiom 
meaning "to win".  A parallel between chon-mage and the barrister 
wigs worn by those in an English court of law could perhaps be 
drawn.  It may certainly appear old-fashioned, but not particularly 
exotic or unique.  

So what you have, basically, is a situation where all the tradition, 
pomp, and ceremony of sumo is taken for granted, and the matches 
themselves can be focused on.  Which is not to say that no one 
*cares* about the tradition and ceremony; only that it is expected 
and taken as a matter-of-fact, because tradition and ceremony is an 
inherent part of all Japanese life.  It is sometimes a tough concept 
for Americans (of which I am one) to understand because we can so 
easily abandon tradition if it suits our needs (and this is indeed at 
times thought of as a virtue).  But Japan is a culture in which it is 
honestly and earnestly believed (and thus probably true) that beer 
drunk while watching cherry blossoms fall tastes much better than 
beer drunk while not watching cherry blossoms fall.

To the Japanese, sumo is more than a simple sport.  But by the same 
token so is baseball.  So is kendo.  So is marathon-running.  
Tradition and ceremony is used to enrich everything in Japanese life, 
so to remove such tradition does in fact, in the minds of many, 
diminish a thing.

> Those of us (myself not included) who subscribe to this view may 
> feel things like reverence for tradition, deportment, etc. are 
> unimportant but IF THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO THE KYOKAI they should be 
> important to us because they directly affect the entertainment we 
> enjoy.

I disagree, to a point.  I do not think they need be important to us, 
particularly if we approach sumo from a different cultural frame of 
reference than the Japanese people do.  I do think, however, that it 
is incumbent on us to *understand*, that these things are part and 
parcel of Ozumo.  Certainly I could do without the Yokoshin, I 
wouldn't mind a shortening of shikiri, I think women on the dohyo 
would be a good thing, and think the Kyokai could benefit from a 
general loosening up.  However, I also realize that I am not by any 
means part of the Kyokai's target audience, so the Kyokai doesn't 
give a damn about what I think.  Their target audience thinks the 
Yokoshin does a good job, shikiri is short enough, don't like the 
idea of women on the dohyo, and that in these times of difficulty 
that a stricter adherence to tradition is preferable.  I may 
disagree, but there's no right or wrong, and so that target 
audience's feelings get priority over my own.

> In light of Asashoryu's behavior during and after the Nagoya Basho, 
> it's not difficult to envision a Futahaguro-type blowup.  If that 
> happens the Kyokai will be in an awful position.  Could they 
> justify giving Asashoryu more slack than Futahaguro received?  Few 
> tears were shed when Futahaguro was forced to resign his yokozuna 
> rank in 1987 since his performance on and off the dohyo had been 
> dreadful and there were also three other yokozuna.  In Asashoryu's 
> case though, they would be looking at blowing up their only 
> lifeboat on a sinking ship; but don't think for a second they 
> wouldn't do it if the indiscretiion was bad enough...and where 
> would that leave us?  Rail against the Kyokai all you want but he'd 
> still be just as gone and sumo would go into even more of a decline.

I don't think Asashoryu has really been a problem.  The "Asashoryu 
Problem" has had most life on this mailing list, not on the Japanese 
Sumo ML, not in the sports papers, or even in the sumo magazines.  
The worst I think can be said about his behavior is that it has been, 
at times, uncouth.  Undesirable in a Yokozuna, yes, but only slightly 
more so than a lack of performance, which Asa has delivered in 
spades.  I don't think Asashoryu is in any danger of getting tossed 
out of sumo.  Asashoryu is not the Kyokai's problem, but nor is he 
the solution.  IMO, the loss of Asashoryu would not impact sumo's 
popularity very much at this point.  What the Kyokai needs is an 
upswing in the economy to encourage the enormous middle class to buy 
tickets.

> Regardless of how we foreigners feel, it's clear that the Kyokai 
> feels they are entrusted with a kind of covenant that doesn't exist 
> with any other sport anywhere in the world.  It is their's to shape 
> and change as they wish because it represents their heritage, 
> culture and values...not ours.  It doesn't mean we can't disagree 
> with their decisions but we should temper our criticism with the 
> realization that sumo is their inheritance...it's a giddy little 
> diversion for us.

Perhaps a little stronger than I would put it, but essentially true.  
The Kyokai's only goal is the good health of sumo, and while we may 
disagree with their strategies and decisions, they are operating 
according to the logic and beliefs of their culture.  That is 
something we need to consider when we examine their decisions and 
actions.

Josh Reyer

If a first you don't know what to do... henka
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[EndPost by "Josh Reyer" <reyer@benchsumo.zzn.com>]