Sumo wrestling top titles. Sumo: description, history, rules, equipment. The duration of the fight is

Court sumo

The first written mention of sumo is found in the Kojiki, a book dated 712 that is the oldest existing source of Japanese writing. According to the legend given there, 2500 years ago the gods Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata fought in a sumo match for the right to own the Japanese islands. According to legend, Takemikazuke won the first fight. It is from this ancient hero that the Emperor of Japan traces his ancestry.

Sumo is mentioned in ancient Japanese texts dating back to the 8th century under the name sumai. In addition to its main purpose, sumo has been associated with the ritual of the Shinto religion. To this day, in some monasteries you can see ritual fight between man and god.

In parallel with the temple and court sumo, there was also street, folk, square sumo, fights of strongmen or simply townspeople and peasants for the crowd’s own amusement and amusement. There were various wrestling games, similar to sumo, in the gay quarters, such as women's fights (often with obscene wrestling names), women's and blind men's fights, comic wrestling and the like. Street sumo was repeatedly banned because street fights sometimes escalated into mass brawls and city riots. Women's sumo was also subject to restrictions and practically disappeared by the beginning of the 20th century, surviving only as a rare temple ritual and at the amateur level.

Basic information

Ground for wrestling

The sumo wrestling area is a square platform 34-60 cm high, called dohyo. The dohyo is made from a special type of compacted clay and is covered with a thin layer of sand. The fight takes place in a circle with a diameter of 4.55 m, the boundaries of which are laid out with special braids made of rice straw (the so-called “tawara”). In the center of the dohyo there are two white stripes indicating the starting positions of the wrestlers. The sand around the circle is carefully leveled with brooms before the start of each bout, so that the footprints in the sand can be used to determine whether one of the opponents has touched the ground outside the circle. On the sides of the dohyo, steps are made in clay in several places so that wrestlers and gyoji can climb onto it.

The site itself and many objects surrounding it are full of Shinto symbols: the sand that covers the clay dohyo symbolizes purity; throwing salt symbolizes purification, expulsion of evil spirits; The canopy over the dohyo (yakata) is designed in the style of the roof of a Shinto shrine. The four tassels on each corner of the canopy represent the four seasons: white for autumn, black for winter, green for spring, red for summer. The purple flags around the roof symbolize the drift of the clouds and the changing of the seasons. The judge (gyoji), among other duties, serves as a Shinto priest.

According to ancient tradition, entry to the dohyo is prohibited for women.

Training dohyos are made in a similar way, but the circle is located flush with the floor. A purification ceremony is also held for them.

In amateur sumo, a dohyo is simply a designated circle, not necessarily located on a hill. The ban for women is not observed, and women's amateur sumo also exists.

Gyoji Kimura Shonosuke

Clothes and hairstyle

The only clothing a wrestler wears during a fight is a special belt called a “mawashi”. This is a dense wide fabric ribbon, most often in dark shades. Mawashi is wrapped several times around the naked body and between the legs, the end of the belt is secured behind the back with a knot. An unwound mawashi will lead to the wrestler's disqualification. High-level wrestlers have silk mawashi. Hanging ornaments called “sagari” are hung from the belt and do not perform any function other than purely decorative. Wrestlers of the two highest divisions have another, special, kesho-mawashi belt (Japanese: 化粧回し, 化粧廻し kesho:mawashi) , outwardly resembling an apron decorated with sewing, each has its own way, which is used only during rituals. In amateur sumo, mawashi is sometimes worn over swimming trunks or shorts.

The hair is collected in a special traditional bun at the top of the head; in the two highest divisions the hairstyle is much more complex. In addition to beauty, this hairstyle has the property of softening the blow to the crown of the head, which is possible, for example, when falling head down.

The clothing and hairstyle of wrestlers is strictly regulated outside of competition. The prescriptions depend very much on the level of the wrestler. As a rule, the clothing and hairstyle prescribed for wrestlers in everyday life are very archaic. Hair styling requires a special art, almost forgotten outside of sumo and traditional theater.

Rules

In sumo it is forbidden to hit with anything other than an open palm, as well as in the eyes and genital area. It is forbidden to grab the hair, ears, fingers and the part of the mawashi covering the genitals. Chokeholds are not allowed. Everything else is allowed, so the wrestlers’ arsenal includes slaps, pushes, grabs of any permitted parts of the body and especially belts, as well as throws, various kinds of trips and sweeps. The fight begins with a simultaneous rush of the wrestlers towards each other, followed by a collision (“tatiai”). Offensive fighting is considered good form, as well as a more successful tactic. Tricks based on subterfuge (such as dodging contact at the beginning of a fight), although acceptable, are not considered beautiful. Due to the wide variety of techniques, rarely does anyone have a full arsenal of them, so there are wrestlers who are more prone to either grappling and belt wrestling (for example, ozeki Kayo), or, on the contrary, to fighting with pushes from a distance (for example, Chiyotakai).

Two basic rules are used to determine the winner of each fight:

• The first person to touch the ground with any part of the body other than the feet is considered a loser.
• The first person to touch the ground outside the circle is considered a loser.

Everything is considered a body, right down to the ends of the hair. In some cases, the referee declares the winner to be the wrestler who touches the ground first. This happens when his opponent, even if he touched the ground second, had no chance of winning: he was very effectively thrown, or carried out of the circle, torn off the ground (the “dead body” principle). An attempt to perform a prohibited technique, for example, grabbing hair, also leads to unconditional defeat.

Often the match lasts only a few seconds, as one of the wrestlers is quickly pushed out of the circle by the other, or knocked down by a throw or sweep. In rare cases, the fight can last several minutes. Particularly long matches may be paused so that the wrestlers can take a breather or tighten weakened belts. At the same time, the position and grip are clearly recorded by the gyoji, in order to accurately restore the relative position of the wrestlers on the dohyo after a timeout.

Life of a fighter

The association manages a significant portion of the funds raised, distributing them among heyas according to the level of performance of their wrestlers. In addition, heya may receive funding from third-party sources, such as sponsorship groups or through Association-approved advertisers.

The life of the association is governed by many unwritten rules.

Fixed matches in sumo

Until very recently, the existence of paid contractual bouts or gratuitous “mutual assistance” between wrestlers was not proven. The topic was loved by the “yellow press”, suspicions were most often based on the fact that wrestlers perform noticeably better if the fight means a lot to them (for example, with a score of 7-7). On the other hand, this phenomenon could be explained by the fighter’s high motivation. At the end of January 2011, a scandal erupted when the police, studying (for a completely different reason) SMS messages on the phones of some wrestlers, discovered messages clearly indicating fixed fights for money. The amounts amounted to thousands of dollars. The scandal that erupted led to exceptional consequences, for example, the March spring tournament in Osaka (Haru Basho) in 2011 and all exhibition performances (jungyo) in 2011 were cancelled. This indicates enormous problems - tournaments are canceled extremely rarely; the last time a regular tournament was canceled was in 1946 due to the post-war difficulties of the devastated country. Throughout the previous war, even after the atomic bombings, tournaments were not cancelled.

Kinds

University sumo

Amateur sumo

In 1980, the Japan Sumo Federation held the First All-Japan Amateur Championship, inviting teams from overseas to increase competition. As a result, the first international amateur sumo tournament took place. From then on, the number of foreign teams participating in the event increased every year, and in July 1983, Japan and Brazil created the organization that became the predecessor of the modern International Sumo Federation (IFS). In 1985, due to an increase in the number of participating teams, the name of the tournament changed to the International Sumo Championship. In 1989, the 10th anniversary championship was held in Sao Paulo. On December 10, 1992, to commemorate the creation of the IFS, the name of the championship was changed again.

Professional sumo

The first World Sumo Championship, held under the auspices of the IFS, attracted a total of 73 participants from 25 different countries. The tournament has become an annual event, and the number of participating countries continues to grow. The World Championship is held in individual and team competitions. Athletes are divided into four weight categories: light, medium, heavy and absolute weight.

In 1995, five continental amateur sumo federations were created, which hold qualifying tournaments for the right to participate in the world championship. Currently, the IFS has 84 member countries. In 1997, the first World Sumo Championships for women were held. The Federation actively promotes women's sumo.

Foreigners in sumo

Although sumo has long been played by assimilated Koreans, the real starting point of the internationalization process should be considered 1964, when the American sumotori Takamiyama, known worldwide as Jesse Kuhaulua, appeared in Doha. The Hawaiian-born wrestler became the first foreigner to win the Imperial Cup. He reached the level of sekiwake, which is a sign of a very successful career, and was very popular. He also became the first foreigner to head the hei. Following him and under his influence, such prominent wrestlers as Konishiki, Akebono (Takamiyama’s best student) and Musashimaru appeared in sumo. Many foreign wrestlers, notably the Chinese, Americans, Brazilians, Argentines and even the Senegalese, did not do well and went unnoticed. Since the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century, the most noticeable influx of wrestlers from Mongolia, as well as from the Caucasus. The first ozeki of European origin and the first European to win the Imperial Cup is Kotooshu Katsunori, a Bulgarian professional sumo wrestler with the rank of ozeki.

Restrictions on the number of foreigners are constantly being tightened. The general quota introduced (40 people) was later replaced by the requirement: one person per heya. In February 2010, the Board of Directors of the Association further tightened the conditions for the admission of foreigners: a wrestler is considered a foreigner not by citizenship, but by origin. This finally closes the loophole for the oyakata, who previously resorted to tricks - collecting entire communities according to a general quota (like the Ooshima school) or transferring wrestlers to Japanese citizenship. The new restriction came into effect at the end of the traditional spring recruitment in 2010. In part, access for foreigners is limited by the age limit for a debutant, 23 years. Since a foreigner enters wrestling on a general basis, non-Japanese amateurs who have proven themselves very often risk not making it in time or end up “on the last step of the last carriage.” In practice, the quota leads to incidents, for example, brothers who were supposed to train together - Rojo and Hakurozan - end up in different heyas. There are heyas that fundamentally do not accept foreigners, there are heyas that are breeding grounds for foreigners, for example, Ooshima and Tatsunami, which actively attract Mongols. Quotas do not save from the dominance of foreigners in the major leagues, for example, in the November 2010 Basho in the major league of Makuuchi there were 20 wrestlers of foreign origin (out of 45 positions), of which in sanyaku (ranks of komusubi and above) - 7 (out of 9 positions). including three ozeki out of four and the only yokozuna. As of November 2012, the last time a Japanese wrestler won the Imperial Cup was in 2006, the rest were won by the Mongols, except for two cups, which were won by a Bulgarian and an Estonian.

The restrictions are justified, since it is generally accepted that sumo is not only and not just a sport, and the influx of foreigners, with alien manners and views on things, can disrupt the purely Japanese spirit inherent in sumo. This, as a consequence, will supposedly reduce interest in sumo in Japan and, ultimately (although it is not customary to talk about this openly), the income of the Association. On the other hand, repeatedly it was foreigners, such as Musashimaru and Akebono, and then Asashoryu, who greatly fueled interest in sumo, both in Japan and in the world.

A foreigner does not have full rights as a wrestler. Thus, foreign yokozuna and ozeki, unlike their Japanese colleagues, do not have voting rights in the Association. Without transferring to Japanese citizenship, a foreigner cannot remain a coach after retirement.

Last time [ When?] foreigners were involved in a number of scandals that led to their disqualification: Kyokutenho was disqualified from a tournament for driving a car, Asashoryu was disqualified from two tournaments for playing football in public, despite the fact that he did not participate in official exhibition performances as injured, and three Russian wrestlers - Wakanoho, Rojo, Hakurozan - for life, after a scandal related to their alleged use (and Wakanoho’s also proven possession) of marijuana. The last incident had a great resonance and led to the resignation of the President of the Association, Oyakata Kitanoumi.

Sumo in Russia

After finishing his career, Taiho tried to establish friendly relations between Japan and the countries of the former USSR. He founded a sumo association in Kharkov, the city where his father was a native. A stroke prevented Taiho from visiting the city in person.

• In some countries close to Japan, such as Mongolia and Korea, wrestling styles similar to sumo are common. However, Mongolian Bukh wrestling has one significant difference: it is not held in the ring, but in an open field, without designated boundaries.
• According to one version, until the 16th century, an analogue of the dohyo was located on a hill, and beyond it there were sharp stakes. Historical data confirms the existence of this type of “sport,” but it is not clear whether it is related to sumo.
• The proportion of fat in the mass of an average sumo wrestler is almost the same as that of an average person of the same age. If you are overweight, your muscle mass is also very large. A number of sumo wrestlers, such as the great wrestler Chiyonofuji, were significantly drier than average.
• Wrestlers of any level are prohibited from driving independently. Those who violate this rule will face punishment, for example, Kyokutenho, who was caught in 2007, was disqualified for one tournament, which meant a significant loss in rank. Typically, wrestlers travel by taxi or are transported in special minibuses.

see also

• List of sumo records (

Sumatori (sumo wrestlers) fights take place on a doha: a special adobe platform covered with fine sand. In the center of a square (7.27 x 7.27 m) platform there is a circle with a diameter of 4.55 m. The sumo wrestler must either push the opponent out of this circle or force him to touch the surface of the circle with any part of the body - except the feet. Wrestlers are prohibited from striking each other with their fists, with the ribs of their palms and legs, strangling each other, or pulling hair - from the outside, sumo wrestling looks like persistent “pushing” each other. At the same time, sumo fights are extremely short-lived: they usually last one to two minutes; fights lasting more than five minutes are very rare.

The course of the fight is monitored by 4 side judges, the chief referee and a referee on the platform.

For sumatori, its own weight is important. Modern sumo wrestlers are large people. And since the technical arsenal of this type of wrestling does not include painful techniques and aggressive attacking actions, the bulk of the body mass of sumo wrestlers is not muscles, but fat deposits, which gives the fights a unique uniqueness: in fact, huge fat men perform in front of the audience, most of whom do not have an athletic physique . Along with physical strength, a sumo wrestler must also have a good reaction and a sense of balance, which is very difficult to maintain during the fight, given the large weight of the opponents.

The equipment of sumo wrestlers includes only special belts - mawashi, which are tied through the groin at the waist. The absence of any clothing on sumo wrestlers is not accidental; this emphasizes the “pure” nature of this noble, by Japanese standards, wrestling: opponents do not have the opportunity to hide weapons in the folds, for example, of the kimono in which judokas perform. The opponent's mawashi is often used by a sumo wrestler when making grabs and throws, since it is simply impossible to grab onto most parts of the body of an athlete burdened with a large fat mass. It is prohibited to deliberately tear a belt from an opponent, and the loss of a belt through the fault of the wrestler himself leads to his disqualification (although this happens extremely rarely).

Sumo seems simple and unpretentious only to the uninitiated viewer. It is not easy to throw a giant sumo wrestler onto the platform or push him outside the circle. This is hampered by the gigantic weight of the wrestlers. In addition, in sumo, as in any other form of wrestling, there is a set of techniques that allow the athlete to attack and defend technically competently. In modern Japanese sumo there are 82 basic techniques. The most common techniques include such techniques as “yorikiri” - a mutual grab in which the athlete, whose back is to the edge of the circle, is forced out by the opponent (on average, about 30% of victories in modern sumo are achieved with this technique), and “kakezori” – throwing an opponent over the hip. One of the most difficult and, at the same time, the most beautiful and spectacular techniques is “ipponzoi”, grabbing one of the opponent’s hands with both hands and then throwing him over the back (from 1990 to 2001, this most difficult technique brought victory to only one sumo wrestler - Kayo, who with his own weight of 170 kg, he managed to throw the 220-kg Musashimaru).

Unlike international sumo tournaments, where fights are held according to weight categories, in classic Japanese sumo wrestlers participate in fights regardless of their weight. This gives it exceptional entertainment - and clearly demonstrates that in sumo not only weight is important, but also the technique of the athlete.

The duel is like a ritual.

Japanese sumo, being a national sport with a long history, is extremely conservative in its essence. The fight is held according to traditions established centuries ago. Its ritual side is of no small importance.

Before the start of the fight, athletes are required to perform the traditional ceremony of shaking off the mortal dust from their hands: they fold their palms in front of them and then spread them to the sides, thereby showing their intention to fight “cleanly”. Then the wrestlers do half squats, resting their hands on their bent knees and looking into each other's eyes (the so-called sonke position). Nowadays, such movements are nothing more than a tribute to tradition, but in ancient times it was a kind of psychological duel between fighters who tried to suppress their opponent morally with a stern look and a menacing pose. Such a “psychological confrontation” lasts, as a rule, several minutes – 3-4 times longer than the fight itself. The wrestlers sit down opposite each other 2-3 times, and then straighten up and move apart, thereby increasing the tension in the hall. These ceremonial preparatory actions are accompanied by throwing salt: the participants in the fight throw handfuls of it in front of them on the platform, which is a symbol of expelling demonic spirits from the sports field. Only after such a rather lengthy ceremony do the wrestlers sit down for the last time, rest their fists on the platform and, at the judge’s signal, rush at each other.

At the end of the fight, the winner again takes the sonke position - awaiting the official decision of the judges. After it is announced, the wrestler moves his right hand to the side, palm down, and only then leaves the platform.

Professional Japanese sumo.

Competitions.

In modern Japan, professional sumo tournaments (or as it is called “ozumo” - literally “big sumo”) largely determine the national calendar, setting the cyclical rhythm of life throughout the country. The regularity of tournaments gives the Japanese confidence in the inviolability of ancient traditions and the stability of their own existence. Tournaments are held 6 times a year (on odd-numbered months, starting in January). Their locations are also constant: in January, May and September - in Tokyo, in March - in Osaka, in July - in Nagoya, in November - in Fukuoka. The duration of one tournament is 15 days. The first and last day of tournaments is always Sunday. Fights are held in six “rating” categories with a total of almost a thousand athletes participating. The highest category - makuuchi - currently includes 40 sumatori, who fight one fight per day, wrestlers of lower “divisions” fight once every 2 days. The winner of the tournament is the wrestler who achieves the greatest number of victories in fights (maximum 15). If two or more wrestlers have the same number of victories during the competition, additional fights are held between them to determine the strongest. The fights of the recognized leaders of sumo - "ozeki" (2nd rank wrestlers) and "yokozuna" (1st or higher rank wrestlers) usually begin at 16.30 and end at 18.00, when the traditional evening news broadcast of the NHK television company airs , which has owned the exclusive right to television broadcast sumo tournaments for many years.

The disadvantage of these competitions has long been considered the fact that representatives of the same sumo schools (or “rooms” - Japanese heya) cannot fight each other in them. According to tradition, representatives of one or another “room” (now there are more than 50 of them) must compete only against wrestlers from other schools, but not against their own comrades. The only exceptions are additional matches in the finals of the tournament.

In addition to six official tournaments, professional sumo wrestlers take part in demonstration performances throughout the year in various cities in Japan and abroad.

Yokozuna.

The title "yokozuna" (literally, great champion) is awarded for excellent athletic results that a wrestler achieves over a long period of time (at least 3-5 years), as well as for outstanding achievements in the field of sumo. The title is awarded by a special commission that carefully and meticulously studies each candidate. Unlike ozeki, yokozuna is a lifelong title. It is awarded infrequently: over the past 300 years, only about 70 sumo wrestlers have been awarded it.

According to the rules, no more than five yokozuna can participate in one sports season. At the same time, there are seasons when there is not a single yokozuna among the tournament participants.

If an active yokozuna begins to lose ground, he must leave sumo.

Sumo is the sport of fat people.

It is believed that the “exterior” of sumo wrestlers corresponds to Japanese ideas about the male ideal. Like the ancient Russian heroes, Japanese sumo wrestlers personify the greatness of powerful flesh and the good spirit clothed in this flesh.

It should be noted that the weight of sumo wrestlers has become truly gigantic only in recent decades. Moreover: until 1910, Japanese who weighed more than 52 kg were not allowed to participate in sumo. In 1926, those whose weight did not exceed 64 kg were allowed to compete in tournaments, and in 1957 the minimum allowable weight of a sumo wrestler was officially introduced - 66.5 kg; the Japanese Sumo Association (formed in 1927) refused the maximum limit.

Currently, sumo schools accept teenagers with a height of at least 173 cm and a weight of at least 75 kg. The average weight of a modern professional wrestler ranges from 120–140 kg, although the recent history of sumo knows both unique giants (for example, the Hawaiian Konishiki weighed from 270 to 310 kg in different years of his sports career) and lively “kids” (one of few sumo wrestlers with higher education Mainoumi weighed less than 95 kg).

The basis of sumo wrestlers' nutrition is, as a rule, fatty hot soups with meat and vegetables, which wrestlers eat twice a day, up to 3 kg in one sitting, washed down with beer.

As practice shows, after finishing their sports career, most sumo wrestlers lose weight: their weight drops to 85–90 kg.

Historical reference.

Initially, sumo was hand-to-hand combat between warrior-wrestlers, identical to those that existed in the Tatar-Mongol armies. Its historical roots have not yet been precisely determined, but most researchers are inclined to believe that the chronology of sumo goes back at least 2000 years, and it came to Japan from Mongolia in the 6th–7th centuries. (There is also a “Japanese” version of the origin of sumo, according to which the Shinto god Takamikazuchi won a hand-to-hand fight with a barbarian deity, after which heaven allowed the Japanese to settle on Honshu, the main island of the Japanese archipelago.) The first mention of sumo in Japanese historical documents dates back to 642 year.

Since the 12th century, there has been a division of sumo into combat and sports. In the XIII–XIV centuries. it acquired the status of Japanese folk wrestling, competitions were held according to the agricultural calendar - in connection with the end of autumn field work, and later for other “economic reasons”. In addition, sumo tournaments began to coincide with certain religious (Shinto) holidays.

The heyday of sumo dates back to the 17th century, when tens of thousands of Japanese became its avid fans, and sumo wrestlers became public favorites. Competitions were held on the occasion of national and local holidays. It was in the 17th century that the basic principles of sumo as a wrestling sport were fully formed, and the rules for holding tournaments were clearly regulated, which are observed to this day.

For a long time, Japanese sumo remained a sport exclusively “for its own people.” Until the end of the 60s. In the 20th century, non-Japanese were not allowed there: rare exceptions were naturalized foreigners - the Chinese and Koreans. Since the late 60s. “ordinary” foreigners began to compete in Japanese sumo. Starting from the second half of the 80s, some of them, primarily immigrants from the Hawaiian Islands, began to achieve noticeable success in Doha.

At the end of the 20th century, amateur sumo developed noticeably in different countries. In 1992, the International Sumo Federation (ISF) was created: initially it included 25 countries, in 2002 there were already 82. In the same 1992, the World Sumo Championship debuted. Three years later, the European championship was played for the first time. At first, representatives of other types of martial arts participated in such competitions, having simultaneously mastered the technique of sumo wrestling, but by the end of the 90s, an elite of “pure” sumo masters had formed.

Amateur tournaments are held in four weight categories: light (up to 85 kg), medium (85–115 kg), heavy (over 115 kg) and absolute (athletes participate in fights regardless of their weight). Women sumo wrestlers have the same categories: light (up to 65 kg), medium (65–80 kg), heavy (over 80 kg) and absolute. Amateur competitions are held in both individual and team competitions.

Currently, the strongest sumo wrestlers in the world, besides the Japanese themselves, are considered to be wrestlers from Brazil, Mongolia, Russia, Poland, Germany and the USA.

Sumo is included in the program of the World Games (World Games - competitions in sports disciplines that are not included in the official program of the Olympic Games, have been held since 1980). The issue of assigning it the status of an Olympic sport is being considered. According to the IOC rules, a sport is declared Olympic only if male and female varieties of a given sports discipline are cultivated in different countries of the world. Now women's sumo is actively developing in the USA, Germany, Russia and many other countries - except Japan. There, sumo is still considered a purely male sport. There are some sumo wrestlers in the country, but so far they cannot count on universal recognition and holding their own tournaments. Therefore, the quick recognition of sumo as an Olympic sport is very problematic.

Sumo in Russia.

Initially, a sumo section functioned under the Russian Judo Federation. In 1998, the Russian Sumo Federation was established, which currently holds championships in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a number of other regional competitions, and also plays a national championship.

Our sumo wrestlers successfully perform at international amateur sumo competitions. The Russian team had no equal at the European Championships in 2000 and 2001, as well as at the 2000 World Championships. The most titled Russian sumo wrestlers today are Ayas Mongush and Olesya Kovalenko.

In recognition of the merits of our sumo wrestlers, Russia received the right to host the 2002 European Championships and the 2003 World Championships.

In 2000, 16-year-old Buryat schoolboy Anatoly Mikhakhanov was the first Russian to debut in professional sumo - under the name Asahi Mitsuri. In 2002, he was accompanied by two more immigrants from Russia - brothers Soslan and Batraz Boradzov.

Alexandra Vlasova

Historians do not have reliable information about whether this struggle originated in Japan itself or whether it was introduced from the mainland. However, Japanese experts, who meticulously study the history of the origin and development of sumo, reasonably believe that sumo appeared on the Japanese Islands at least 2 thousand years ago.

Among Japanese myths and legends, there are many tales related to sumo. Thus, the ancient Japanese chronicles “Kojiki” (“Records of Ancient Affairs”) tell how the sun goddess Amaterasu-omikami (the main Shinto goddess who created the Japanese islands) sent a new appointee to the god Okuninushi no Mikoto, who ruled the country of Izumo Takemizuchi no kami so that he would take the reins of government into his own hands.

The son and heir of Okuninushi, the god Takeminakata no kami (at that time, all rulers were gods), who expected to gain power over the country from the hands of an aging ancestor, did not dare to directly disobey the order of the supreme goddess and declared to the appointed god: “Let’s measure our strength, let’s fight, and he "Whoever wins will become the ruler." And so, two gods came together in a wrestling match. Takemizuchi won and became the ruler of the country of Izumo.

This legend is significant in many ways.

Firstly, this was probably the first sumo match in the history of Japan, and it took place in time immemorial - none of the historians will undertake to even approximately determine when these gods lived and ruled the country of Izumo.

Secondly, one of the first self-names of the Land of the Rising Sun is consonant with sumo. Maybe the ancient Japanese associated the very formation of their country with sumo?! And the most interesting thing! This, apparently, was the first case in history of a relatively peaceful outcome of the struggle for power!

Other ancient Japanese scrolls - "Nihonshoki" ("Japanese Chronicles") set out a legend about how on the 7th day, 7th month, 7th year of the Suinin era (29 BC - 70 AD) . AD) before the eyes of the Emperor, and according to legend he was already the eleventh emperor of the country, two famous warriors, Nominosukune and Taimanokehaya, competed in a sumo match.

According to the ancient (lunar) calendar, the 7th month fell on August - the period of harvesting the first rice harvest. Apparently, already in those days, sumo fights were held regularly on days of celebration - thanksgiving to the gods for a rich harvest and were part of a religious ritual.

Thanks to legend, the winner of this fight, Nominosukune, was deified, became one of the Shinto gods, and is still revered in Japan as the founder of sumo.

Sumo in ancient Japan

By 3-6 centuries. n. e. include archaeological finds indicating the widespread use of sumo and its acquisition of new functions.

In those days, there was a ritual of burying rulers in high burial mounds - kofun. This period in Japanese history is called the Kofun era.

Among the things found during the excavations of burial mounds, clay figurines of haniwa were discovered, made in the form of rikishi (sumo wrestlers, literally - a strong warrior), as well as ritual and household pottery, on which paintings depicting scenes of sumo fights were preserved.

Apparently, sumo fights also become part of the funeral ritual. Interestingly, the founding god of sumo Nominosukune was also revered as the ancestor of a clan of pottery makers responsible for making ritual utensils for the burial of emperors.

It is significant that the paintings depicted not only pairs of rikishi engaged in a duel, but also figures of spectators. This means that sumo in those days was already a spectacle.

The first historically substantiated fact of holding a sumo tournament, apparently, can be considered evidence from the same “Japanese Chronicles” (Nihonshoki)

Emperor Kogyoku, in the first year of his reign (642 AD), on the 22nd day, 2nd month, receiving the envoy of the country of Kudara (southern part of the Korean Peninsula), gathered from all over the country the best, chosen strongmen warriors ( in Japanese - kondei, the same as in Russian - bogatyr) and organized a sumo tournament in his honor.

Japan in those days was, if not a colony, then a “younger brother,” a satellite of the Korean kingdom: statehood on the Korean Peninsula began to take shape somewhat earlier than on the Japanese Islands. That is why Emperor Kogyoku received the envoy from the country of Kudara as a high-ranking person.

The holding of a sumo tournament in honor of the Korean envoy indicates that sumo by that time was also becoming an integral part of the court and secular ritual.

Sumo in the early Middle Ages.

In the Nara era (710-794), the court ritual of “viewing sumo” (sumai no setie) began to take shape. Sumo tournaments are held right in the imperial palace. The appearance of the Emperor and his retinue in places of honor for spectators, the entry of wrestlers and judges onto the competition site, becomes ritualistic.

During the Heian era (794-1185), sumo tournaments at the imperial court were regularly held several times a year. The main tournament was organized on the 7th of the 7th month in honor of the duel between Nominosukune and Taimanokehaya. However, over time, these dates were no longer observed so strictly.

Wrestlers, and they were then called sumaibito, were collected throughout the country. The role of selectors was played by the highest ranks of the imperial guard, who before each tournament traveled to the farthest corners of Japan and selected among the strongest sumaibito warriors.

By this time, a tournament system, a system of rules and refereeing had already developed.

On the day of the tournament, the wrestlers were conditionally divided into two groups - “right” and “left” (on the right and left hand of the emperor). At the first stage, the “right” and “left” fought only among themselves. Each sumaibito fought approximately 20 fights during the tournament.

There was no dohyo (wrestling ground) then; the fight took place on an unlimited area, and the winner in the duel was the one who knocked his opponent to the ground. Wrestlers were prohibited from grabbing an opponent's hair, punching their opponents in the head, or kicking them.

And the winner of the tournament, as now, was already determined by the ratio of victories and defeats. If two sumaibito had the same indicator, a decisive battle was arranged between them.

The referee was then called the idea, and he was the main and only arbiter. However, if it seemed to the emperor that the outcome of the duel was doubtful, at his sign the chief of the guard could give instructions to re-fight (torinaoshi).

There were the concepts of preparation, starting position (neriai) and restart (shikirinaoshi), and therefore, the referee had to monitor the synchronization of the wrestlers' start and assign shikirinaoshi if any of them made a false start.

During this period, a certain tournament ritual developed, and the equipment of the sumaibito was regulated. The wrestlers entered the fight wearing loincloths, which were then called tosagi. True, it is not clear whether they were tied in the same way as in modern sumo or simply tied around the waist.

Before the tournament, for the ceremonial appearance in front of the Emperor, all sumaibito wore a special hunting kariginu kimono over their tosaga, and a specially shaped, pointed headdress with short, upturned brim, the color of a raven wing, called eboshi, was placed on their heads.

In later times, kariginu and eboshi became the main elements of everyday clothing of the samurai court nobility, and in modern ozumo - the uniform of a referee (gyoji).

Subsequently, as the military class (bushi) strengthened and the imperial power weakened, court tournaments began to be held with long interruptions, and in the 4th year of the Shoan era (1174), the “contemplation of sumo” as a court ritual was held for the last time, and four century, this page of imperial rituals was closed.

Sumo in feudal Japan.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, in the Kamakura era (1185-1333), when the power of the shogun (supreme military ruler) was finally established in the country, and, especially, in the Muromachi era (1392-1568), sumo became widespread as a type of applied martial art. , a means (path) of educating the spirit and strengthening the body of samurai warriors.

In the well-known chronicles of that period, “The Eastern Mirror” (Azumakagami), compiled by the Minamoto government (the dynasty of shoguns who ruled during the Kamakura era), entire sections are devoted to “viewing sumo” as a ritual performed at the shogun’s court.

The “Mirror” especially emphasizes that the shogun was necessarily present (and perhaps even participated) in the knightly tournaments regularly held at the main temple of the God of War Hachimangu in the city of Tsurugaoka, which is not far from the then headquarters of the supreme ruler, and watched the competitions of horse archers (yabusame), horse racing (kema) and sumaibito fights.

At a later time, during the Muromachi era, when the Ashikaga shogun dynasty ruled, even special priests appeared at the Hachimangu Temple - sumoseku, who were responsible for holding sumo tournaments. Tournament ritual, wrestling rules and refereeing regulations are being improved, and, in fact, during this period the foundations of professional sumo are laid.

Along with the applied, military form of this wrestling, “folk” sumo is widely spreading throughout the country. “Folk” sumo originates from the most ancient ritual fights on festival days - thanksgiving to the gods for the harvest.

Sumo tournaments dedicated to the harvest, the start of construction or the opening of a new bridge are held in all corners of Japan.

In most cases it was a so-called sumo sacrifice. Sumaibito fights were part of a prayer for the harvest or ritual thanksgiving for the harvest. Later, charity sumo tournaments began to be widely held, at which donations were collected for the construction of roads, bridges and other public works.

Peasants, artisans, merchants and other common people take part in such tournaments. Fights often took place right on the streets and squares of cities and towns and attracted countless crowds of onlookers. There was no dohyo, no referee, no ritual attire for the wrestlers at such fights. The winner was determined in the most democratic way; he became the one who knocked his opponent to the ground or pushed him into the crowd of spectators.

The image of this sumo today can be seen in various folk festivals and Shinto rituals that are still widely held throughout Japan.

During the Sengoku Jidai period (era of the Warring States) (1467-1568), in the second half of the reign of the Ashikaga shogun dynasty, when feudal fragmentation reached its limit, sumo became a truly massive folk spectacle. Both knightly and “folk” sumo are thriving.

Large landowners and daimyo princes, trying to outdo each other and even the shogun, organized magnificent mass sumo tournaments in their castles, in which several hundred sumaibito took part.

So, in 1568 alone, two major tournaments were held, which, probably, can safely be called the Sumo Games, since 300 wrestlers took part in one of them, in the province of Omie, and 1,500 (!) sumaibito gathered in the other in Kyoto .

At the end of this era, the first professional sumotori associations appeared - the prototype of modern professional club houses (heya). They even had their own charter, but were extremely small in number - 8-10 people, and largely depended on the financial and material support of local daimyos.

"Golden Age" of sumo.

Sumo received a new impetus for the further development in the Edo era (1703-1868), when, after the unification of the country through the efforts of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, a new political and socio-economic situation emerged in Japan, favorable for the development of trade, crafts, and the arts.

“People's” sumo spread especially rapidly during this period. Fights and mass sumo tournaments were regularly held by peasant communities, communities of artisans and traders. Concerned about the threat of erosion of the foundations of “pure”, knightly sumo, the shogunate tried at the beginning of the 18th century. a special decree to ban “street” sumo.

This attempt was, naturally, unsuccessful, and a few years later the decree was practically annulled. The new decree encouraged the holding of “charity” tournaments in specially designated places.

Restrictions were imposed on “street” sumo, since when determining the winners of fights held in squares and crossroads of cities without any refereeing, mass brawls and even armed clashes between townspeople arose.

In the three largest cities of Japan - Osaka, Kyoto and the new capital of Japan - Edo (Tokyo) in the 18th century. Professional rikishi communities, similar to associations of artisans, were already operating.

However, sumotori had a higher social status than artisans and merchants. Since most of them came from a military environment, they were equated to placeless samurai.

The shogunate began to regulate the activities of rikishi communities through licensing measures. In "charity" tournaments from the end of the 18th century. Only members of these communities were eligible to participate. The history of modern sumo is directly traced back to these tournaments.

During the same period, special venues for sumo fights appeared. At first they were square; later, inside the area, bags of earth began to enclose a circle in which the fight took place. Thus, the dohyo was born, which gave the ancient struggle a special entertainment and emotional overtones.

The rules of wrestling, the regulations and the ritual of tournaments are finally formed, the judging system is approved, which has survived to this day with minor changes. At the same time, a system of ranks in sumo began to take shape. The highest lifelong title of yokozuna also appeared.

The Edo era is rightly called the “golden age” in the formation and development of sumo. Tournaments of professional rikishi (basho) since the end of the 18th century. are held regularly twice a year.

Having become an integral part of the life of the Japanese people, sumo had a serious influence on the culture and art of the country. Literary works appear in which sumo tournaments are described in a chronicle-report style; performances are staged in the traditional Japanese Kabuki theater, where popular rikishi become the main characters.

In the now world-famous color Japanese ukiyoe prints, even an independent genre has developed - sumoe. Colored engraved portraits of wrestlers - favorites of the public or pictures-sketches of heated sumo fights were affordable even for low-income Japanese, and were distributed throughout the country in huge circulations for those times. This ukiyoe genre is alive and well in modern ozumo.

Sumo in modern and contemporary times

Japanese sumo had to go through difficult times after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when the shogunate regime was overthrown in the country, autocratic imperial power was restored, and the young bourgeoisie rose to the political arena.

Japan, after almost three centuries of seclusion, under the threat of the guns of the American squadron, was open to the outside world and greedily began to absorb everything new, Western.

Japan's rapid modernization had a profound impact on emerging public opinion. Supporters of native Japanese, original phenomena in the cultural and social life of the country were loudly declared retrogrades and reactionaries. Sumo was also subjected to fierce attacks.

The most zealous Japanese progressives demanded that sumo be banned by law as a relic of the feudal era.

Sumo lost the support of its patrons. Professional clubs (heya) and an entire army of rikishi were left without a livelihood. The most popular wrestlers were forced to look for additional sources of income.

Thus, in Edo, renamed Tokyo, by decision of the Sumo Community, an independent fire department was organized, in which 56 rikishi of an entire professional division heroically worked.

The crisis was overcome thanks to the universal love of the people and the efforts of the Sumotori themselves. The community was transformed into the Tokyo Sumo Association, which, under the influence of general democratization, introduced several progressive amendments to tournament regulations.

In 1873, female spectators were allowed to attend sumo tournaments, who immediately became ardent fans and supporters of the revival of the former glory of sumo.

The emperor put an end to the struggle for the future of the ancient Japanese struggle. By his highest permission, in 1885, a demonstration sumo tournament was held in the special Enryokan hall in the presence of His Majesty. The Emperor thus reminded his subjects of the ritual of “viewing sumo” and made it clear that sumo was in the sphere of his close attention and care.

Until the outbreak of World War II, sumo in Japan developed without any cataclysms, finally winning the love and support of the entire nation from the emperor to the common people.

The history of sumo during this period is marked by such important events as the construction in 1909 in Tokyo, in the Ryogoku area of ​​the Sumo Palace - Kokugikan, in which all Tokyo basho were henceforth held, and the unification in 1927 of regional Sumo Communities into a single Great Japan Sumo Association , which became a commercial organization, i.e. purely professional.

The most popular figure in ozumo of this era was yokozuna Hitachiyama, who achieved an outstanding record during his time in the top division, makuuchi, with a win-loss record of 150-15. Hitachiyama was, among other things, an intelligent and highly educated man.

Thanks to his efforts, ozumo adopted new regulations for the behavior of rikishi in society, according to which sumotori had to appear in society “dressed strictly and beautifully” in a kimono appropriate to their rank and “behave courteously and politely, as befits a knight.”

Hitachiyama carried out extensive educational activities and contributed in every possible way to the popularization of sumo, not only in Japan, but also abroad. In 1909, he visited the USA, where he was received by President T. Roosevelt and gave several demonstration performances.

An important stage in the development of sumo in 1928 was the start of live radio broadcasts of sumo tournaments. Some changes occurred in the rules of the fights: two white starting lines - shikirisen - began to be applied to the dohyo, and the dohyo itself was slightly expanded in diameter from 13 (about 4 m) to 15 shaku (4.55 m).

The number of judges was increased: in addition to the referee on the dohyo - gyoji and four side judges - simpan, a chief referee - simpantyo - was added. Tournaments, thanks to these innovations, began to take place more dynamically and spectacularly.

The pre-war years were marked by the appearance of the brightest ozumo star of the Great Yokozuna - Futabayama. Having risen to the top of sumo in the spring of 1936, Futabayama went undefeated for three years. He won 69 fights and won 5 basho in a row with an absolute result.

In March 1939, the day after Futabayama's first defeat in three years by the famous rikishi Akinoumi, all Japanese newspapers launched special editions and sold out in huge quantities. This was a national event, much more significant than the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers.

In 1941, the Pacific War began, and the life of the ozumo, like everyone else in Japan, froze for five long years.

In the first post-war years, sumo again had to go through a test. At the peak of a new wave of democratization, zealous supporters of the country's modernization again tried to anathematize the historical heritage of the Japanese people. But, just like a century earlier, popular love and attention from the upper strata of Japanese society helped sumo survive.

Already in the spring of 1946, the first post-war tournament was held in Tokyo, and since 1947, a number of reorganizations were carried out in ozumo under the influence of general democratic processes. In particular, the order of holding basho was slightly changed, their number was increased from 3 to 6 (now they are held not only in Tokyo, but also in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka).

Since the mid-60s, the Japan Sumo Association, in order to promote ozumo, began to regularly hold demonstration performances abroad, and the first tours of Japanese rikishi took place in 1965 in Moscow and Khabarovsk. So, Russians got acquainted with sumo before many other nations.

Sumo is a type of wrestling in a loincloth (mawashi) on a specially equipped area (dohyo).

The following weight categories are defined in sumo competitions:

• Boys 13-18 years old: up to 75 kg, up to 100 kg, over 100 kg and absolute weight category.
• Men: up to 85 kg, up to 115 kg, over 115 kg and absolute weight category.
• Women: up to 65 kg, up to 80 kg, over 80 kg and absolute weight category.

Cloth

Competitors must wear a loincloth - mawashi. However, in amateur sumo it is allowed to wear swimming trunks or tight black shorts under the mawashi. The width of the mawashi is 40 cm, there is no specific length prescribed, but the length of the mawashi should be sufficient to wrap it around the athlete's torso 4-5 times.

Athletes are prohibited from entering a fight wearing objects that could injure their opponent. This primarily applies to metal jewelry (rings, bracelets, chains, etc.). The wrestler's body must be completely clean and dry, his fingernails and toenails must be cut short. Emblem of the club, federation, number, etc. it is allowed to attach (tie) to the mawashi.

Venue: Dohyo

Sumo competitions are held on a square area with a side of 7.27 m, which is called dohyo.

There are two types of dohyo:

• mori-dohyo - a clay or earthen trapezoid 34-60 cm high;
• hira-dohyo - a flat dohyo, which is used for training and for competitions in the absence of a mori-dohyo.

The bout arena is a circle with a diameter of 4.55 m, the center of which is the intersection of two diagonal lines of the square specified in clause 5.1. The perimeter of the fighting arena is limited by a rope of rice straw - Cebu Dawara.

In the center of the circle on the eastern and western sides of the dohyo, two white starting lines (shikirisen) are applied to the surface at a distance of 70 cm from each other. The length of the shikirisen is 80 cm, width is 6 cm.

The inside of the circle is sprinkled with sand. Sand is also scattered outside the circle, along the sebu dawara, to a width of about 25 cm, to form a “control” strip - janome. In controversial cases, the presence or absence of marks on the jianome helps to correctly determine the outcome of the fight.

Composition of the panel of judges

The panel of judges includes: the chief judge of the competition, the deputy chief judge, the chief secretary, judges, informants and other service personnel.

The Chief Referee is responsible for the implementation of all provisions relating to the general rules of refereeing, including the appointment of referee teams.

Composition of the judging panel

The refereeing panel should consist of 6 people:

• team leader - simpante,
• referee - gyoji,
• 4 side judges - simpans.

Wrestling rules

Except in special situations, the following provisions determine the winner of the bout:

• the wrestler who forces the opponent to touch the dohyo with any part of the body outside the sebu-dawar wins;
• The winner is the wrestler who forces the opponent to touch the dohyo with any part of the body other than the soles of the feet, within the cebu-dawar.

Special situations include the position of shinitai (“dead body”) - a complete loss of balance, inevitably leading to defeat.

The attacker does not lose the fight by touching the dohyo with his hand in order to soften the fall and avoid injury when completing a technical action, as a result of which the opponent ends up in a shinitai position. This situation is called kabaite.

The attacker does not lose the fight by stepping behind the sebu-dawara in order to soften the fall and avoid injury when completing a technical action, as a result of which the opponent ends up in a shinitai position. This situation is called kabaiashi.

The attacker does not lose the fight by standing up for the Sebu-Davara when he, having lifted the enemy, takes him out and lowers him behind the Sebu-Davara. This situation is called okuriashi. However, the attacker loses the fight if, while carrying out this technical action, he goes behind the Sebu-Dawar with his back forward.

The attacker does not lose the fight if, when performing a winning throw, the rise of his leg touches the dohyo.

It is not a failure if the horizontal front part of the mawashi (orikomi) touches the dohyo.

A wrestler may be declared defeated by a decision of the judges in the following cases:

1. If he cannot continue the fight due to injury,
2. If he performs kinjite (prohibited acts),
3. If he ends the fight on his own,
4. If he deliberately did not rise from his starting position,
5. If he doesn't follow the gyoji's commands,
6. If he does not appear in the waiting sector after the second official call,
7. If the maebukuro (codpiece) of the mawashi comes untied and falls off during a fight.

If the fight lasts longer than the set time, but the winner is not determined, it is stopped and the fight is repeated.

Prohibited actions (kinjite):

• Punching or finger poking.
• Kicks to the chest or stomach.
• Hair grabs.
• Grab by the throat.
• Grabs the vertical parts of the mawashi.
• Wringing the opponent's fingers.
• Biting.
• Direct blows to the head.

Rituals

Sumo, like other traditional martial arts in Japan, maintains and honors rituals and etiquette.

The rituals consist of ritsu-rei (standing bow), chiritezu (water purification) and shikiri (preparation).

Chiritezu is a unique ritual that originates from the ancient Japanese custom of washing a warrior before battle.

Chiritezu is performed by both wrestlers simultaneously when entering the dohyo. They squat down in a sonoke position, balancing on their toes. The heels are lifted off the floor, the torso and head are held straight, the hands are placed on the knees. The wrestlers lower their hands and nod to each other. Then the athletes bring their outstretched arms together at chest level, spread them to the sides with their palms down and bring them back in front with a clap of their palms, straighten their arms and spread them to the sides parallel to the ground with their palms up, and at the end of the ritual turn them with their palms down.

Sikiri- pre-launch preparatory movements. The wrestlers squat down with their legs spread wide and their torso bent forward. At the same time, the hips and shoulders are held horizontally, and the hands, clenched into fists, rest on the surface of the dohyo along the shikirisen, without touching, which corresponds to the “ready!” position.

The transition from shikiri to tachiai (starting jerk-lift) must be carried out by athletes simultaneously.

Rituals are an integral and important part of sumo and must be performed without haste, with dignity and calm, emphasizing the harmony and greatness of sumo.

Fight

The duration of the fight is:

• for the age group 13-15 years - 3 minutes;
• for the age group 16-17 years - 5 minutes;
• for adults 18 years and older - 5 minutes.

If after the specified time the winner is not determined, a re-fight (torinaoshi) is scheduled.

There is no break between contractions. The next contraction begins immediately after the end of the previous one.

Calling participants

Competitors enter the dohyo-damari in the following order:

• in team competitions, the two teams to compete next must enter and position themselves in the dohyo-damari until the end of the previous match;
• in individual competitions, the wrestler must be in doha-damari 2 grabs before his own.

While on dohyo and dohyo-damari, competition participants must behave with dignity and avoid rude expressions so as not to hurt the feelings of others.

Wrestlers are invited to the dokhio by the judge-informant via a microphone in a loud and clear voice 2 times. If after the second official challenge the participant does not enter the dohyo, he is considered a failure.

Presentation of participants

Wrestlers take part in the competition under the numbers they received in the draw. The informant judge introduces all wrestlers in each weight category at the beginning of the competition by name. Before the start of each fight, the participants are introduced by name, indicating their data (age, height, weight), titles and ranks.

The beginning of the fight

The fight begins at the command of the gyoji after performing the necessary rituals.

Stopping the fight

Gyoji may stop the bout one or more times due to injury, improper clothing (mawashi), or any other reason beyond the participant's wishes.

The time spent on breaks per wrestler may be established by the Competition Regulations.

End of the fight

The fight ends when the gyoji, having determined the outcome of the fight, announces: “Sebu atta!” - and pointing with his hand in the direction of the dohyo (East or West), from which the winner began the fight. The wrestlers on this team must stop wrestling.

Announcement of the winner (katinanori)

After the end of the fight and the announcement of “Cebu atta!” gyoji and wrestlers return to their original positions.

The loser bows (rei) and leaves the dohyo. The winner assumes the sonkyo pose and, after the gyoji, pointing at him with his hand, announces: “Higashi no kachi!” (“Victory of the East!”) or “Nishi no Kati!” (“Victory of the West!”), extends his right hand to the side and down.

If the bout is terminated due to the use of a prohibited technique by one of the wrestlers, the winner is declared in the prescribed manner.

If it is impossible for one of the wrestlers to continue the fight due to injury, his opponent assumes the sonkyo position, and the gyoji, in the established order, declares him the winner.

If one of the wrestlers fails to appear, the wrestler who comes out in doha assumes the sonkyo position, and the gyoji, in the prescribed manner, declares him the winner.

One to one

wrestlers, entwined with silks,—
autumn day...
Ransetsu, XVIII century.

While in Japan, English photographer Paolo Patrizi took a series of photographs “Sumo”, illustrating the daily life of Sumo wrestlers.

Opening a popular magazine or Sunday edition of a newspaper, a modern Japanese reader can easily find, next to the names of movie stars and pop idols, a column dedicated to the masters sumo —rikishi. Handsome, portly giants are shown in the ring and with their families, at a friendly dinner and at the hairdresser. Their gigantic bodies, exotic outfits and high hairstyles make up a seemingly striking contrast with the entire way of life of the average Japanese of the 20th century. And yet sumo invariably remains the same symbol of Japan as geisha(currently receiving education in special institutes), ikebana, tea ceremony, dry gardens, netsuke, judo, karate. Representing a cross between traditional martial arts, sports and variety shows, sumo, just like two hundred years ago, attracts millions of fans. Well, they can be understood. Anyway, going to the match sumo or sitting comfortably in front of the TV screen, every Japanese can console himself with the flattering thought: such a spectacle cannot be found in any country in the world.

Of all the martial arts known in the world sumo without any exaggeration it can be called the most spectacular. For all its cultural originality, there is probably no struggle on our planet that is more popular and attractive. Although for many uninitiated fans sumo is something mysterious and inexplicable. However, probably the same as the Land of the Rising Sun itself, incomprehensible to Europeans.

Story sumo goes back to the deepest antiquity. Already in Chinese historical and literary monuments of the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. martial arts is mentioned Xiangpu. The hieroglyphs of this name in Japanese reading give the word sideways, and in modern sound - sumo. Another hieroglyphic designation of the word sumo traces its genealogy to Chinese folk struggle juedi, which has also developed since prehistoric times. More scrupulous researchers find references to a certain variety sumo in the canonical Buddhist Lotus Sutra, where bunk(Indian version sumo) is mentioned among other useful sciences that a virtuous husband should master. They also refer to the biography of Siddhartha Gautama, who, before becoming Buddha, was diligently involved in wrestling and fist fighting. However, all these facts are very indirectly related to Japanese sumo, although they make it possible, to a certain extent, to identify its prototypes in the distant past.

The first information about the real sumo are contained in the “Records of Ancient Affairs” (“Kojiki”, VIII century), published in 712 and covering the period from the “era of the gods” to 628, a collection of cosmogonic and historical myths that put forward a version of the divine origin of the Yamato race. It is narrated, in particular, how during the advance of the Japanese to the northeast of the island of Honshu, the leader of the local tribes, Takeminakata no kami, challenged the Japanese commander to a duel. The prize for the winner was to be all the movable and immovable property of the loser. In a fight that took place without the use of weapons, the arrogant warrior was defeated, and all his possessions legally passed to the Yamato tribe.

“...and he took his hand like a reed, grabbed it and crushed it and threw it away” (scroll 1, chapter 28). And although it is probably not worth treating this episode as a description of sumo specifically, since both gods used magic during the fight to achieve victory, the Japanese insist on the opposite.

Another episode concerning a struggle like sumo, can be found in another written source - “Nihon Shoki” (“Annals of Japan”), which appeared in 720. It tells the story of a duel between two strong men. One of them was called Kekaya, he was a resident of the village of Taima and was famous throughout the area for his invincibility. When rumors of this reached the ruler of the country, he ordered that another strongman be found so that they could fight. Worthy - Nomi no Sukune was from Izumo, and then on the 7th day of the 7th month of the 7th year of the reign of Emperor Suinin (29 BC) “they stood opposite each other and kicked alternately with their feet. And Nomi no Sukune broke Taima no Kehai’s rib, and then broke his lower back with his foot, and so killed him” (scroll 6, chapter 4). As the book further narrates, all the property of the murdered man was given to the winner, but he himself remained to serve at court, and after his death he became the patron god of wrestling, as well as pottery masters.

However, both the first and second mentions relate, rather, to legends. The very word " sumo"(sumachi) is first found in the Nihon Shoki (in the 9th month of the 14th year (469) of the reign of Emperor Yuryaku). The word "sumo" was transformed from the noun "sumahi" from the ancient Japanese verb "sumafu" ("measure strength") and over hundreds of years turned first into "sumai" and then into "sumo". Many believe that wrestling came to the Japanese islands from Korea. And this is not surprising, because the Japanese state was built on the model of the Land of Morning Freshness. This is also evidenced by the etymological similarity of the name: another Japanese reading of the hieroglyphs “sumo” - “soboku” is very similar to the Korean “shubaku”.

Reliable information about the competition sumo date back to 642, when, on the instructions of the emperor, a holiday was held at court in honor of the Korean ambassador. Soldiers from the palace guard and Koreans from the embassy guard took part in the wrestling competition. Let us note, by the way, that in Korea there has long been a struggle shubaku, related to Japanese sumo both in hieroglyphic writing and in internal content. Since then, competitions have been held annually at court sumo. They were timed to coincide with Tanabata, the holiday of the end of field work and the beginning of autumn, which is celebrated in Japan on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. With the end of rice harvesting (Japanese) sumai) is also associated with the origin of the name sumo. Long before the establishment of ritual holiday competitions sumosechi wrestling was part of the entertainment program for peasants at Tanabata, one of the busiest folk festivals of the calendar cycle. Tournament sumo at court, it usually followed a poetry tournament, and often the participants sought to equally demonstrate their creative talent and military prowess.

Before the start of the fight, the sumotori clap their hands and, raising their legs high, hit them forcefully on the floor. Wrestlers in the top two divisions also rinse their mouths and scrub their bodies with cleansing, “strengthening” water. Some superstitious wrestlers lightly touch a beautiful woman with their hand before starting a competition. During the fight, sagari (special braids) are attached to the tori-mawashi (a belt for fighting measuring 80 cm x 9 m).

The tradition of holding palace championships sumo developed already in the Heian era - the time of the Japanese Renaissance (794-1192). To select the strongest, court heralds left the emperor's palace in the spring, so that soon after the Tanabata holiday, which falls on the 7th day of the 7th month according to the lunar calendar, fighters from all over the country could measure their strength before the ruler in the “capital of peace and quiet” Heian (Kyoto).

There was no referee as such; the fight was watched in turn by the military leaders of the palace guards, who prevented the use of prohibited techniques (hitting the head, grabbing the hair, kicking the fallen), and also monitored the synchronized start. If the result of the fight was doubtful, then a person from the aristocracy was asked to judge, but in the case when this judge hesitated, the emperor himself acted as the supreme arbiter, and his decision was final. The absolute winner was awarded the title of champion and received valuable gifts. Since large-built wrestlers took part in the tournament, regardless of class, quite paradoxical situations also occurred. For example, peasant wrestlers, due to a tournament that occurred during the harvest period, were not engaged in their main activities, therefore, according to the law, they were subject to imprisonment upon returning home. The governors who recommended them also got it. The last tournament was held in 1147, shortly before the establishment of samurai power in the country.

Several hundred years sumo was in decline, but thanks to the Japanese commitment to their culture and traditions, it did not disappear. Its rise began during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1603). Large feudal lords of the Middle Ages (daimyo) kept the best wrestlers, from time to time organizing tournaments. At the same time, the first professional sumotori appeared from among the ronin - samurai who had lost their master.

The power of the Tokugawa shoguns established at the beginning of the 17th century and the subsequent isolation of the country contributed to the growth of folk crafts and the development of fine and performing arts. The famous wrestlers were incredibly famous, like actors in the Noo or Kabuki theaters. The popularity reached the point that printing houses began to publish lists of wrestlers listing their titles and features (bandzuke), which have survived to this day. Engravings depicting famous sumotori were printed in huge quantities and were always in demand. Sumo had its golden age. The rules for conducting fights, the system of ranks and champion titles were almost completely formed; with some additions, all these settings still exist today. Yoshida Oikaze introduced the title of yokozuna to distinguish the best of the best. During the Tokugawa period, 72 canonical sumo techniques, called kimarite, were established.

After the reform of the army and the beginning of Westernization of the country, Sumotori remained, perhaps, the only ones who did not lose their originality and the magnificent samurai hairstyle temmage. Some proponents of deep reform tried to ban sumo as a relic of samurai Japan, but, fortunately for everyone, this did not happen. Thanks to the support of Emperor Mutsuhito, who came to power in the country, sumo was not abolished; moreover, in 1909, a huge Kokugikan complex was built to hold annual championships.

In modern Japan sumo is an integral part of culture, carefully preserved by generations. A true sumotori walks a difficult path that few can achieve. Anyone who one day decides to become a fighter must devote himself to this cause without reserve. The entire life of members of the Japanese Professional Sumo Federation is strictly regulated and resembles the life of a military man rather than an athlete. To become a sumotori of the major league, you need years of hard training and persistent pursuit of advancement in the table of ranks. A person who comes to sumo needs to think about two seemingly incompatible things: flexibility training and weight gain. And they achieve this - all sumotori, even those that reach a weight of up to 300 kg, can stand on a gymnastic bridge or do the splits with extraordinary ease. Although not only weight is important for victory, agility and intelligence play an equally important role in the actions of wrestlers. Judge for yourself: in one of the fights at the 8th World Championships, held in 1999, the 105-kilogram Russian Yuri Golubovsky managed to defeat the American Yarbrow, who weighed 350 kg.

Having ascended to the lowest level of the hierarchical ladder, wrestlers begin to advance to the top, annually competing in tournaments of the professional, so-called “big sumo” - oozumo. Despite the fact that there are no strictly designated weight categories, wrestlers no lighter than 70 kg and height no lower than 173 cm are allowed to compete (by the way, until 1910 there was no height limit, weight had to be no less than 52 kg, but already in 1926 the rules were tightened to 64 kg and 164 cm).

Each of the six championships sumo(hombasho) is an unforgettable, colorful spectacle, every action of which strictly obeys the ritual established in ancient times. 13 days before it starts, the Japan Sumo Federation releases a banzuke (table of ranks), in which all sumotori are listed in descending order. This document is drawn by hand, in a special font, and the higher the merits of the wrestler, the larger his name is written. The names of the beginners are written in almost like a needle. Until the document is released, all information is kept in the strictest confidence, and those responsible for it are under “house arrest.”

During the 15-day tournament, each major league wrestler competes one match per day. Sumotori of the lower divisions must have 7 fights. Thus, in order to become the owner of any prize, each sumotori must defeat from 8 to 4 opponents. There are prizes for technical skill, for fighting spirit, for the best performance. Each prize has a cash reward equivalent to approximately $20,000. The main prize is a 30-kilogram Imperial Cup along with prize money (about 100 thousand dollars). The cup is awarded to the winner temporarily, until the next tournament, but a smaller copy of it remains with him. Gifts from sponsors are also provided. If bets have been placed on the fight, the referee presents the envelopes with the money won to the winner on the fan.

Immediately before the fight, both wrestlers synchronously perform the “washing off the dirt” ritual, then stand in their starting position on the starting lines. With their legs spread wide and their hands clenched into fists, the wrestlers look intently into each other's eyes, trying to psychologically defeat the opponent even before the fight. In past centuries, this psychological duel (shikiri) could last indefinitely, and sometimes it happened that one of the participants gave up without a fight. These staring contests are repeated 3-4 times.
Professional sumo is divided into 6 divisions: jo no kuchi, jonidan, sandamme, makusta, juryo and the highest - makuuchi, in which the best wrestlers with the ranks of maegashira, komusubi, sekiwake, oodzeki (increasingly) perform.

All of the above titles are won and confirmed at regular championships, held 6 times a year: three times in Tokyo and once each in Osaka, Nagoya and on the island of Kyushu. The title of absolute champion (yokozuna) is awarded, according to the Japanese Sumo Association, extremely rarely - only to the most successful sumotori, who managed to win the title of ōzeki two times in a row and establish himself among his comrades at the very best. This title is for life, however, in order to maintain a high brand, the recipient must constantly delight fans with a beautiful and undefeated performance. In the entire history of Japan, only a few dozen people have been awarded this title.

First, two sumotori and a referee (gyoji) appear in the ring (dohyo). Another 4 judges (simpan) watch the fight from 4 sides outside the ring. The fight of champions is judged by the chief referee (tate-gyoji).

The fight begins at the referee's sign. The wrestlers must begin wrestling at the same time by touching the ring with their hand. In case of a false start (if one of them did not touch the ring), they start all over again, and the culprit is subject to a fine of $500 to $1,000.

As soon as the result of the fight becomes clear, the referee raises his fan and says “Shobu atta!” (“end of the fight”), and after this the winner is confirmed and the result is announced, indicating the technique used, and instead of the name of the sumotori, the side from which the winner competed is called “west” or “east” (this custom dates back to the historical Edo period, when the main opponents in the fights were sumotori from the west of the country (from Osaka and Kyoto) and the east (from Tokyo).

Text: Kirill Samursky

And now some interesting details:

* In some countries close to Japan, such as Mongolia and Korea, wrestling styles similar to sumo are common.

* According to one version, until the 16th century. an analogue of the dohyo was located on a hill, and beyond it there were sharp stakes. Historical data confirms the existence of this type of “sport”, but it is not clear whether it is related to sumo.

* Students are accepted into sumo rooms at the age of 10-15 years. In addition, sumo is replenished with amateurs, as a rule, after they graduate from university, if they have been able to prove themselves. Particularly advanced amateurs begin their performances immediately from the 3rd division (makushita). The upper age limit is 23 years for debutants and 25 for amateurs from student sumo.

* The proportion of fat in the mass of an average sumo wrestler is almost the same as that of an average person of the same age. If you are overweight, your muscle mass is also very large. A number of sumo wrestlers, for example, the great Chiyonofuji, were significantly drier than average.

* A fighter's access to life's blessings is almost entirely determined by his success. The level achieved by the wrestler determines what clothes and shoes can be worn, whether he can use a mobile phone, the Internet, sleep in a common ward or his own room. The same level determines the type and volume of household responsibilities - for example, junior wrestlers get up before everyone else, clean and prepare food.

*Wrestlers of any level are prohibited from driving independently. Those who violate this rule will face punishment, for example, Kyokutenho, who was caught in 2007, was disqualified for one tournament, which meant a significant loss in rank.

* Whether contractual fights exist or not is still not clear. Existing suspicions are most often based on the fact that wrestlers perform noticeably better if the match means a lot to them (for example, when the score is 7-7). However, with the same success, this fact can be explained by increased motivation.

Sumo wrestlers train at a summer camp at a newly built base in Soma, in Fukushima Prefecture in northern Japan. The photo was taken on August 6, 2011. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

For many Japanese, the arrival of sumo wrestlers became a symbol that life in the region goes on, and radiation is still not as terrible as it previously seemed. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The founder of the training base, Hayao Shiga (in the center, with his back to the camera), watches the athletes train. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

Sumo wrestler Otsuma (center) throws his opponent. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The metal roof is the only thing left of the summer gym at the arena after a terrible earthquake with a power of 9 points, which triggered a tsunami and turned Soma into a pile of garbage. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

But especially for the arrival of sumo wrestlers, who have been coming to the training camp for 20 years, the sports arena was rebuilt. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

7. Preparation by a sumo wrestler of a circle for fights. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

8. The return of sumo wrestlers to this region affirms life and lifts the spirits of the surviving people. This should contribute to faster recovery and renewal of life destroyed by a large-scale disaster. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

9. A junior sumo wrestler watches an older comrade eat. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

10. The founder of the training base, Hayao Shiga, oversees the training of athletes. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

11. Sumo wrestlers on rest after training. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

12. Sumo wrestlers before lunch. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

13. Preparing for lunch at the training base in Soma. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

14. A sumo wrestler training at a summer camp. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

15. Wrestlers before lunch after training. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

16. Tamanbel wrestler Yushima gives a boy an autograph after training. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

17. Wrestlers training on the street at a summer camp. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

18. Training at a summer camp for sumo wrestlers at a restored sports base in the city of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

19. A sumo wrestler does stretching. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

20. The Japanese view the return of athletes to the place of their usual summer activities as a sign of the victory of life over the elements. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

21. A boy shows off a booklet signed by one of the sumo wrestlers. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

22. Sumo wrestler in the sand. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

23. A sumo wrestler prepares a towel to wash the founder of the training base. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

24. Let us recall that an earthquake off the coast of Japan occurred on March 11, and the tsunami it caused claimed the lives of more than 13 thousand people. The same number were still missing. The earthquake also caused an accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

1. Only a little over a decade ago did foreigners reach such a level of skill that they were able to take the lead in sumo competitions. At a recent tournament in Nagoya, only one Japanese took part in the competition in the two highest categories. A top-ranked wrestler, Baruto, pictured on the right, is from Estonia.

2. Kiosk with souvenirs. Bath towels sold at Nogaya Basho in July feature new sumo heroes. Together with the Estonian Baruto, two Mongolian top division wrestlers can be seen on the towels. According to 67-year-old Koya Mizuna, a spectator at the Nagoya competition, foreign wrestlers are trying hard and deserve to win, but Japanese spectators watching their national sport feel resentful that there are no such strong wrestlers in Japan at the moment that could compete with them.

3. Photo archive. The photos show the Saitama Sakae High School wrestling team, which prides itself on being the best sumo wrestling team in Japan.

4. School grounds. Members of Saitama Sakae's school sumo club hang up their belts while other students at the school learn to play the trombone.

5. Michinori Yamada, right, is the coach of the successful Saitama Sakae High School team. At the same time, he is a teacher and replaces his father with his ward. He says that in the past, Japanese families sent their children to sumo classes because they made sure they were well fed. Children in Japan today have every opportunity to eat whatever they want, they go to college and don't want to study hard.

6. Training. Sumo embodies the national spirit of the Land of the Rising Sun, more than other athletic sports. According to Yamada High School teacher, sumo itself is not a subtle sport, its grace lies in preserving traditions. This is what gives Japan its uniqueness.

In the ring. Training battle of students during a morning lesson.

Main hopes. 18-year-old Daiki Nakamura, weighing 132 kilos, trains in Saitama Sakae. He says that seeing so many foreign wrestlers in sumo awakens in him, as a true Japanese, the desire to become successful in this sport.

Blows of fate. After several practice bouts, one of the students has a cut lip, while another is bleeding from his elbow. As Yamado says, the daily training of sumo wrestlers is akin to a traffic accident.

Fitness. Flexibility is a key factor in how long you can stay in this sport, so Saitama Sakae's program devotes a large amount of time to stretching.

A young wrestler sweeps the ring after training, this is one of the student's daily tasks. “When we visit nursing homes, the old people like to touch us, and sometimes they get tears in their eyes,” says Yoshinori Tashiro, a retired sumo wrestler who competed under the name Toyoyama. “There is some kind of spirituality in sumo.”

sources
http://muz4in.net/news/interesnye_fakty_o_sumo/2011-08-21-22081

http://bigpicture.ru
http://sportpicture.ru
http://fight.uazone.net/?page_id=149

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