Sumo times

On our penultimate day in Japan, we were back in Osaka as this was where we would be catching the ferry to China. As luck would have it there was a Sumo tournament on, this only happens once a year in Osaka. Matt had wanted to go to a competition for ages but I knew very little about it and didn't really know what to expect. 

The tournament started in the morning with the lower ranking wrestlers or ionokuchi and ended with the last bout at 6 pm with the highest ranking competitors. As the higher ranking bouts started the atmosphere in the arena was electric, like nothing I have experienced before. 

The pre match rituals were as important as the actual wrestling. At the start of each match ancient Shinto traditions such as purifying the ring with salt were carried out. If you watched closely enough you could foresee who would win the match before it even started by the body language of the Sumo or rikishi to give the proper name.

The rikishi themselves are fascinating, their lives are dominated by the sport and thus live highly regimented lives. The rikishi live in their own community and follow strict diets and routines. The rickishi are so important they are not even allowed to drive incase they have an accident. When not wearing the rather fetching mawahi (read: man nappy) they also have a strict dress code to adhere to. 

Needless to say we both had a fantastic time, the bouts were mesmerising and fascinating in equal measure. Another bonus was it took our minds off the fact that this was to be our last day in Japan.