I can hear you ask “Sumo wrestling, seriously?”
Yes.
The national sport of Japan has a storied history dating back centuries, and a strict code of honour which the combatants must abide by. I will go into more detail below.
I first watched sumo in university when I was still up after a party, noticed it trending online and watched out of curiosity. I fell out of the routine of watching until about a year ago, and now I’m more hooked than I ever was.
Top division sumo in Japan follows a schedule of 6 major tournaments every year. 3 hosted in Tokyo (January, May and September), and one a piece in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Kyushu (November). Within the top division, there are various ranks. The most prestigious being Yokozuna, with less than 70 reaching this rank in the sports history. Once a rikishi (a sumo wrestler) reaches Yokozuna, they cannot be demoted from this rank until they retire. The second highest rank is Ozeki, followed by sekiwake and komusubi. Then there are the general rank and file top division members (maegashira). The rank of sumo wrestlers outside of the top division is just whatever division they are in; Juryo and Makushita being the 2nd and 3rd division championships.
Enough about the technicalities, let’s get into why you should try watching it.
The rules
As a new follower to the sport, all you really need to know is no punching, no kicking, no hair pulling, and you aren’t allowed to touch the ground with a part of your body other than the soles of your feet, and you can’t leave the circle. If you do you lose. You’ll pick up the rest of the rules as you watch along.
The excitement
Seriously. 2 large combatants who do not just bounce off one another as you may believe, there is technique involved with their sport, and it’s not always a case of the biggest guys winning. Midorifuji is one of the smaller rikishi, and he is always capable of pulling off upset victories, even against the higher rankers. And rookies often come up and are capable of challenging for the title too with Atamifuji coming close, though Takerufuji was the first rookie to win in their top division debut (March 2024) in 110 years.
You genuinely begin to like some of the Rikishi
The first tournament I watched in my second stint as a fan saw Kiribayama (now renamed as Kirishima II, after his mentor Kirishima I) win his first top division title. I also saw Hoshoryu do likewise, and always feel myself rooting for them. The pint sized (compared to others) Midorifuji has earned my admiration with his feisty attitude to never give up, and down opponents significantly heavier than him. The unorthodox Ura is also very entertaining, moving like nobody else in the top division, and often flipping forward to prevent injury when he knows he’s going to lose a feat.
After seeing Atamifuji put on a determined challenge for the tournament, and just seem so happy the whole time instantly made him one of my favourites too. Win, lose or draw, he just seems happy to be competing – and when he has the talent to go far in the sport, I am eagerly excited to follow his career.
On the flip side, you’ll find yourself disliking certain sumo too, for me, it’s Kinbozan, the Kazakh Rikishi who just seems extra aggressive at times when having already won a bout, perhaps risking injury to his fellow Rikishi.
Honour
There is a strict code of honour for Rikishi to follow, with the highest rankers expected to set the best example. Yokozuna have been forced to retire for serious incidents like assault, but in the past Yokozuna have even been forced to retire for missing bouts “sick” and then being spotted at baseball. Lower rank Rikishi have also been pressured into retiring over cannabis usage, and also assault incidents, and bullying of junior trainees in their stables. The dedication to following the highest demands of yourself not only within training and competitions, but also outside the doju shows the commitment competitors have towards the sport.
The storytelling
It is not a scripted sport, but it still develops narratives over the course of a Rikishi’s career. From rookies trying to leave their mark, to redemption arcs, the sport can have phenomenal stories being told. Hakuoho, the prodigy of sumos most decorated Rikishi Hakuho had burst onto the scene competing for the title in his first top division tournament before picking up an injury. His missed tournaments as a result of the injury saw him relegated 2 divisions, and fans eagerly anticipate his promotion back to the top division. Asanoyama, who was Ozeki, was issued a one year suspension for lying about breaching COVID protocols. His suspension meant he suffered relegation to the 4th division, though he has clawed his way back to the top division in an incredible redemption arc, seeming genuinely remorseful for his mistakes.
Accessibility
Unlike many sports these days, where the average fan is forced into costly subscriptions to follow, and highlights are even barred depending on your geolocation, Sumo is accessible through Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK Japan – who then post the daily highlights onto YouTube and their own app. During the 15 day tournaments, I will watch the daily highlights, and then get up early on the final day of the tournament to see who is crowned winner (if it hadn’t been decided already)
It isn’t time consuming
With bouts normally lasting less than half a minute (I think the longest I’ve seen was 5 minutes, with the shortest being a second), you can watch without requiring major concentration.
How to watch
Download the NHK World Japan app, or alternatively, search for the results on their YouTube channel.
