Re: Women forbidden on the dohyo?

[abe@kaleida.com (Masumi Abe)]

I think that religion is always aware of sex and gender difference. 

Sumo is not mear a sport but traditionally it's part of religion. Sumo was
presented to Shinto gods and goddeses as an offering at many (or most of)
Shinto shrines. If you visit a large local Shinto shrine, you often see a
dohyo with a roof in the shrine teritory. Each time and anywhere in Japan,
when they build a dohyo, they need to purify with dohyo-biraki with Shinto
style ceremony, with salt, a stick with lightning-shaped paper and a
"sakaki" branch. Either local Shinto priest or Sumo Gyoji conducts the
ceremony.

Dohyo is Shinto sanctuary. 

I think females are originally forbidden because they are related to
menstrual period. Not only that, females were considered as a weaker
gender, softness, harmony and peace. Those are opposite characteristics
from those of sumo and rikishi.

Even now, even those rikishi who love to be around many females "hate" to
be touched his body before the match. They really think that the touch
particularly by female make them weaker, and lose their power. It is a
psychological thing, of course. But when he believes, it happens.

You cannot even imagine the scene of a rikishi acompanied by a lady, just
like the way WWF and WCW promote their, supposedly, matcho professional
wrestlers. I better die than living long enough to see that type of sumo.

One way to solve the problem of a woman minister presenting a prize to
yosho rikishi is to limit the prize giving ceremony on dohyo only to the
best possible official prize, The Emperor's Cup. And let commercial TV
company or companies to broadcast the other prize giving scene in the
sumo-equivalent of locker room shampane poring scene. The Emperor's Cup
will always be given by as Oyakata, most probably by Rijisho, the Managing
Director of Sumo Kyokai. This way you could keep the tradition and let her
give another big prize to yusho rikishi in Shitaku-beya. Sumo kyokai will
be happy to get extra revenue from the sponcer of both prize and commercial
TV deal, etc. NHK will be happy not to show those "official" Pan American
commercial ceremony, and other "TV commercial avertisements". If
shitaku-beya is forbidden to women, then Sumo Kyokai difinitely should add
a new "ceremony" room for that occasion.

-Masumi

>Good Grief!!
>
>Is there no peace?  Politically Correct Sumo?  I
>shudder to think of it.
>
>I try to be as politically correct as my age and 
>cultural biases allow, but women in Sumo - the Kyokai
>would be out of its mind!!
>
>Plus, there are very good Shinto reasons and customs for
>not having women on the Dohyo.  The Shintoists and probably
>the Rightists would riot!!  Abe-san, would you care to 
>elaborate those reasons?  You're probably better qualified
>than I.
>
>Someone please tell me it's not true!!!???
>Sorry, All, I'm so sick of this P.C. nonsense
>occasionally I lose my perspective.
>
>Jack Gartin
>usemb@servis.net.tr
>CIS 100330,705
>US Embassy, Turkey

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Masumi Abe                                      Tel: (415) 966-0824
Kaleida Labs, Inc.                              Fax: (415) 966-0496
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