Sumo a Pocket Guide

Оглавление

David Shapiro. Sumo a Pocket Guide

Отрывок из книги

A Pocket Guide

REVISED EDITION

.....

By the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), kanjin-zumo was becoming more professional and less charitable. This 268-year period, known in some sources as "The Pax Tokugawa," brought more than two centuries of peace and prosperity to the nation. With the rise of Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, the constant warring between various feudal lords was put to an end. As a result, even more warriors found themselves out of work, expanding the ranks of the wandering professional wrestlers.

This peace also led to the rise of a wealthy merchant. class with money to bum and on the lookout for entertainment. Sumo fit the bill, and kanjin-zumo became less a means of raising money to repair important religious structures and more a means of lining the pockets of the participants. It reached the stage where a form of pickup r-out called tsuji-zumo, or "street comer sumo," became popular. These were strictly cash bouts held wherever there was open ground. Gambling was rampant and the events often degenerated into brawls and sword fights.

.....