Sumo in Osaka: Wakayama Road Trip Part III

We awoke early Monday morning (3/21) to join the line for unreserved sumo seats in Osaka. We met up with Angie and Gustavo in line, which was already wrapped around the building. Luckily we still snagged some tickets.


After getting our tickets, we learned the matches wouldn't start up for a bit longer. So I set out to wander the nearby Namba Park, a complex I had scene online for it’s architectural brilliance many years ago, but I had no idea where it was. So stumbling upon it was pleasant surprise. IT is a terraced complex of shops and restaurants, but filled with plenty of trees and gardens which serve as a great escape from the bustle of the city.


After returning to the stadium, some matches had already begun. Sumo starts with amateur and lower ranks, so practically no one in in attendance. During this time people are free to wander the complex, so we went up to the front rows and got to watch the matches up close. These matches are just as intense as the later bouts, since they are not subpar competitors, merely unproven athletes. Some of these wrestlers will probably become highly ranked later in their careers as they become more seasoned and get more wins under their belt.

The actual stadium is quite small is small, and seats are placed everywhere. This puts the audience in a similar position to court-side basketball seats. Meaning that front row audience can get crushed. The judges also sit front and center, which made sense to me until one judge just got repeatedly abused by having two different wrestlers be thrown out of the ring onto him. But had to dutifully stick it out, despite being in visible pain, and he even had to walk out under his own willpower at the end of the round of judging. Admirable, but the situation was pitiful.

The sumo trophies are impressive, and are put on display in the venue, similar to the Stanley Cup. Within the hall are also life size cardboard cutouts of famous sumo wrestlers. While they are somewhat tacky and funny, it is fun to know how big (or small) many of these athletes actually are.

After going out for a quick lunch we returned to a packed stadium, with people waiting outside to get signatures and witness their favorite wrestlers since everyone, including the wrestlers, enter through one entrance. It was odd reentering in the same area as all of the athletes. But our timing was great as right after we entered, Hakuho and the other high ranks walked into much fanfare.  We returned to a full house, everyone eagerly anticipating the highest ranked matches. The wresters proceeded in, encircling the ring to thunderous applause. Then a couple of the top tier wrestlers shuffled across the ring in a performance of dexterity and strength, rallying the crowd even more.

Sumo itself has a lot of ritualism behind it, but functionally very similar to boxing. Some fights are sponsored, there is always announcements, and wrestlers have custom skirts. Surprisingly sumo only consists of one round per person per match. This turns it into a head game. The matches are fast and brutal. They start with a short blessing of the ring followed by announced introductions. The wrestlers then enter the ring, and go through a series of false starts, pausing to wipe sweat and throw salt into the ring. Once they are ready the get in position, and when both wrestlers touch the ground with their fists, the match begins.  But it's better to just watch it and experience it yourself:


Over the course of almost two weeks, these wrestlers have one bout per day, and are re-ranked every single day. Wrestlers will have 15 matches during the tournament, so winning 8 is what is needed to rank up after a tournament, but the risk of losing 8 matches means a wrestler will drop down a rank. This rather fluid ranking system seems to allow the best to rise to the top, since they must consistently perform well through their entire career.