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CHAPTER 2

Odds and Ends, Past and Present

The first recorded sumo bout was a rather straightforward affair, fought at the request of Emperor Suinin around 23 B.C. This fight pitted the formidable wrestler Taima-no-Kehaya against Nomi-no-Sukune, who supposedly stood 2.38 meters tall (seven feet ten inches). After a long, pitched battle that reportedly thrilled the audience, Sukune dealt Kehaya a powerful, well-placed kick that broke his ribs and killed him on the spot. The property of the loser was seized and given to Sukune, who was also awarded a position as a retainer of the emperor. This bout appears in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), Japan's earliest written history, compiled around 712. Shrines to both of these early sumo wrestlers can be found in Western Japan in what was once known as the land of Yamato, the area ruled by Suinin and his descendants.

A thirteenth-century text chronicles an instance of the imperial succession being decided by the outcome of a sumo bout. When Emperor Montoku announced his intention to retire in 858, the throne was claimed by both his eldest son, Koretaka, and his fourth son, Korehito. The emperor decreed that the matter would be settled by a match, and men were chosen to represent each side. The eldest son was championed by a powerful-looking giant named Natora, while Korehito was represented by a scrawny little fellow named Yoshio. Unknown to all, however, the most important player in the drama was a Buddhist priest in a nearby temple who was praying fervently for a miracle.

As the bout opened, Yoshio was grabbed by his much bigger opponent and hurled into the air. To the spectators watching the match, it appeared that Natora had won without even trying, but Yoshio was able to land on his feet. Suddenly, in response to the priest's prayers, a huge water buffalo in a nearby rice paddy began to bellow. Before the much-larger Natora could attempt his next technique, the sound of the buffalo's cries seemed to sap his strength. Yoshio, seeing this, quickly went on the offensive and won the bout. Korehito became the emperor Seiwa, who went on to rule until 876.

Sumo wrestlers are, and in the main always have been, men. But there have been some interesting exceptions. Legend has it that at a benefit sumo tournament held in Kyoto in 594, victory seemed all but assured for a wrestler called Tateishi. After he had beaten all of his opponents, the referee stepped forward and called out to the crowd for more challengers. It appeared that no one was going to respond, when up stepped a young nun. Tateishi at first refused to fight, but the audience was so amused that he figured he would play along with the jest.

As the nun moved toward him, he simply stood with his arms spread. But when she began to actually push him backward, he became horrified and began to wrestle in earnest. When he crouched and grabbed for her arm, however, she took hold of his thigh and threw him to the ground. The crowd went wild. Tateishi was mortified, but his embarrassment was somewhat mitigated when the nun threw the next three challengers. The wrestling nun later appeared in several more tournaments, always winning.

In the Edo period, bouts were actually held between women. These were not really displays of combative skill but reflected the sport's growing role as a popular entertainment; the women's mud wrestling of its day. The wrestlers themselves were not much to look at, if contemporary prints are any reliable guide, and they had names as grotesque as their appearance, such as Chichigahari, or "Swollen Tits," and Anagafuchi, or "Deep Trench." For the crowd's amusement, the women were often matched against blind men, leading to much groping and grabbing.

On the more serious side, wrestlers have figured in some important political transitions, and not only of the legendary kind related above. A group of them participated in the taking of Shimonoseki during the Choshu Civil War of 1865. Their successful resistance against the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate helped to contribute to the eventual restoration to power of the Meiji emperor in 1868, an event that heralded Japan's drive to modernization.

Wrestlers are referred to by the term rikishi (literally "gentleman of strength"), which dates from the early eighteenth century. Another term, sumotori, or "someone who does sumo," is often used by the Japanese public in general. Sumotori, however, does not accurately express what being a professional participant in this sport is all about, and it is not the term used by the men themselves. Professional sumo's governing body also prefers the former term to the latter.

Whereas many rikishi once came from the ranks of unemployed samurai, today they are mostly the sons of farming or fishing families. Many hail from northern Japan, particularly the great island of Hokkaido. One reason for this, it has been suggested, is that trudging through the heavy snows that blanket northern Japan during the winter strengthens the hips and legs, which is something vital for success in sumo.

There may be some merit to this argument. To avoid being toppled, a rikishi's center of gravity should be as low as possible. A "natural" would then have relatively short legs with wide hips and well-developed thighs, as well as a thick upper torso. The weight and stability of his lower body make him difficult to move or throw, and that is a key to the sport. Life in Japan's "snow country" certainly produces such a physique. As for the great number of rikishi from Kyushu, Japan's relatively snowless southern main island, many of these men come from fishing families. Long hours on small boats hauling heavy nets will also help to create a physique perfect for sumo.

And then there is the foreign contingent. Japanese society has been described as being for the most part closed to foreigners. Until not long ago, the tightly knit world of sumo was even more so. In 1885, the request of an American to join the sport was refused. During World War II, however, an American-born Japanese reached the top division in professional sumo's ranks. A few years after mat, he was followed by a Japanese-born Korean named Rikidozan. Quite a colorful character, Rikidozan abruptly quit sumo in 1950. As one of his reasons for leaving, he charged that as a foreigner he was not allowed to advance to the rank of champion. However, it is likely that monetary difficulties subsequent to a prolonged illness played the biggest role in his decision to quit.

After his retirement, Rikidozan shocked the sumo world by going into professional wrestling. Although Japanese professional wrestling at me time was filled with former rikishi who never made it to the top two divisions, Rikidozan was the first former top division star to join the "grunt-and-groan circuit." He became quite popular and successful, however, and later retired to manage a number of nightclubs. He died tragically in 1963, stabbed to death by a gangster outside one of his clubs.

As Japan became more prosperous and international in its outlook, the world of sumo also opened up a bit. Koreans, Chinese, Brazilians, Tongans, and mainland Americans have all tried their hand at it. Most have given up and returned home, not due to any overt discrimination but simply because, as we shall see, the life of a novice wrestler is difficult for many to cope with. Some foreigners have achieved outstanding success, however, with a string of four Hawaiians taking turns rewriting the pages of sumo history.

The first of this quartet went by the ring name of Takamiyama. Today as a stable master, he goes by the name Azumazeki, and is better known as the man who coached another Hawaiian, Akebono, to sumo's highest rank. In his heyday, however, he was a real trailblazer, and it is safe to say that the recent successes of the Hawaiian contingent would have been a lot more difficult to achieve without him.

Born Jesse James Walani Kuhaulua, Jesse, as he is still popularly known, entered sumo in 1964 at the age of nineteen. Four years later he was fighting in sumo's top division, and four years after that he became the first foreigner ever to win a top division championship. During the awards presentation following his victory, the American ambassador to Japan read a congratulatory telegram from President Richard Nixon. An amiable bear of a man, Jesse was one of the most popular rikishi of his day.

This accomplishment in and of itself would have been enough to guarantee the former sekiwake (sumo's third highest rank) an important place in sumo history, but Jesse was also one of the true "iron men" of his sport, spending twenty years in sumo. His amazing durability resulted in several records: for the most tournaments in the top division, ninety-seven; for the most career bouts in the top division, 1,430; and the most consecutive appearances in the top division, 1,231. He is also ranked fourth on the list for top-division victories, with 683. What makes this achievement all the more impressive is the fact that the three rikishi ranked ahead of him are considered to be three of the greatest yokozuna, or "grand champions," who have ever lived. Jesse became a Japanese citizen in 1980 and opened his own stable two years after his retirement in 1984.

The second in this Hawaiian group, Konishiki, was recruited by Jesse for his old stable, Takasago, and entered professional sumo in 1982. He raced up the ranks in lramatic fashion, reaching the top division in 1984. Three years later, after the 1987 May Grand Sumo Tournament, Konishiki was promoted to sumo's second highest rank, ozeki, becoming the first foreigner to gain this honor. He successfully defended the rank for thirty-nine consecutive tournaments, taking third place on the all-time list in this category. During that period, he won the top division title three times. He also has the dubious honor of being the heaviest man in sumo history, weighing a whopping 269 kilograms (591 pounds).

The third and fourth Hawaiian-born rikishi, Akebono and Musashimaru, have put themselves in the position of leading professional sumo into the twenty-first century. When Akebono, or Chad Rowan, entered the professional ranks in 1988, most of the experts felt that although his size was impressive, his hips were much too high for him to achieve any kind of success in the sport. He proved the experts wrong, and in January of 1993, after winning two consecutive top-division titles ranked at ozeki, was promoted to become the sixty-fourth yokozuna, marking the first time a foreigner would hold sumo's highest rank. To date he has won seven top-division championships and, following successful arthroscopic surgery on both knees, is expected to playa dominant role in sumo for many years to come.

Musashimaru, like his three fellow Hawaiians, has also been working hard to rewrite the record books. In the six years since his professional debut in September 1989, he has gotten as far as ozeki, winning his first top-division title in July 1994 with a perfect 15-0 record, only one of fifteen men to achieve this feat in the modern era.

From wherever they hail, aspiring rikishi must be of a minimum height and weight. These standards have been raised gradually over the years, as improvement in the Japanese diet has produced successively taller and more massive competitors. Today, young men who desire to join sumo must stand at least 1.73 meters (five feet eight inches) and weigh at least seventy-five kilograms (165 pounds).

Considering the size of the top-ranked rikishi, these standards seem very minimum indeed. For even taking into account legendary giants, the biggest men in sumo history are those wrestling today, with the top-division average weight now 157 kilograms (346 pounds). Obviously, then, most of the rikishi's bulk results from the diet and training regimen that he undertakes after entering sumo. These and other aspects of the newcomer's long and difficult struggle to the top are the subjects of Chapters 3 and 4.