Re: Another Sumo guessing game

[pat cavanagh <pat@ai.cs.fujitsu.co.jp>]

Richard Webb wrote:
> 

> >http://members.tripod.com/pigsfly2/flyingpig/sumoposter.jpg

> They look fake to me.  Note the wiry strings (sorry for the technical term
> there ;-) that hang down from the mawashi.  They are soft and limp which is
> definitely not real.

Soft and limp strings (sorry about the technical term!) are
not a sign of fakeness. 

Here is an excerpt from the faq at: 
http://www.scgroup.com/sumo/faq/

Basically, the "strings" (sagari) are starched for sekitori
rikishi, and not for lower ranks. Note that in the picture
the wrestlers don't have oitchi-mage either.

Being "in front of the curtain" from professional sumo means that even
your appearance shows
your rank. Being a sekitori means having tsukebito, oitcho mage (your
hair styled into a fancy
ginko-leaf shaped topknot), fancy embroidered Kesho-mawashi, colored
mawashi for matches,
rigidly starched sagari (the starched fringe that hangs from the front
of a mawashi), whitish
mawashi for practices, seasonal kimono and yukata. You sit down to eat
first and be served by
the lower ranked deshi, have your own room, and take part in a
dohyo-iri, which is like a parade
to exhibit your rank. Not having this rank means being tsukebito, having
a simple chon-mage
topknot, no Kesho-mawashi, dark grayish mawashi for both matches and
practices, soft sagari,
and wearing only yukata even when it's a bit chilly out. You also get to
do grocery shopping and
cook under the guidance of the Okamisan (Oyakata's wife), and you have
to eat last even having
done all the work.