SUMO - not as Japanese as you think!

Mark Buckton, Editor-in-Chief of Sumo Fan Magazine

Despite its long history and many legends, the sport of sumo today is undergoing a change in its existence; a change that is increasingly taking this unique form of wrestling onto the global stage. Sumo, which has been around for almost two millennia, has long been under the almost exclusive control of the local Japanese rikishi (wrestlers).

Tanikaze, Raiden, Hitachiyama, Tochigiyama and a host of other sumo legends from the Edo and other eras in Japanese history are names that sumo buffs will happily lecture you on. But even though they once ruled the dohyo (sumo ring), such names today are only seen in history books. In the early 21st century - as the faces have changed, the skin colors have too and different nationalities now abound.

The second openly foreign invasion
Changes in the sumo world are not just recent. Four of the 68 yokozuna (grand champion) to date have been reported as having (had) Korean backgrounds. The sport's greatest ever yokozuna, Taiho was fathered by a Ukrainian. And, of course, two Americans - Akebono first, then Musashimaru, reached the top rank in the 1990s.

That said, it wasn't until the late 80s and early 90s that sumo started to feel less domestically dominated and more internationally interesting. Long after the sekiwake-turned-wrestler of the 1950s, Rikidozan, proved extremely popular for the 'square ring' wrestling beatings he handed out to American 'puroresu' visitors (he left sumo as he believed his North Korean nationality would be an obstacle to promotion). Japan is starting to fall under the feet of the second openly foreign invasion - one led by Mongolian Asashoryu and Bulgarian Kotooshu.

Asashoryu, the 68th yokozuna, has dominated the sport for the past three years. Around six other Mongolian sekitori (salaried wrestler) can be seen in the sport's top two divisions at present and a further thirty or so are doing their best to climb through the lower four divisions to compete at the very top.

A pair of Russian brothers (Hakurozan and Roho) have performed consistently enough to see both enter the sekitori ranks in under three years. Furthermore, from Eastern Europe further sekitori include the popular 204cm Bulgarian Kotooshu - known equally for his good looks as for his sumo skills - and a Georgian, Kokkai (named after the Black Sea that borders his homeland).

Yet it is back to Mongolia we must look to see the greatest potential for a future yokozuna at present, although many would see Kotooshu as being this individual. The person in question is the Ulan Bator native, Hakuho. Whilst much has been said about this White Phoenix (literal translation of his name) amongst his fellow foreign legion of sekitori, his rank at sekiwake is letting him gain some valuable experience as he is still young at a little over 20. Just over a year ago he even defeated the yokozuna, Asashoryu.

Expected Rikishi
From elsewhere, an Estonian giant - the 197cm, 157kg Baruto (from Baltic (Sea)) is aged just 21 and fights out of the Mihogaseki Stable. He will soon be in the top makunouchi division. Brazilian Takaazuma is climbing fast. Chinese Nakanokuni took a fourth division title not too long ago and like Hungarian Matsutooh is moving up the rankings.

Sadly though, for the domestic Japanese fan the future looks limited at this time. A couple of hopes have been around for a while now. Kisenosato in the top division is still 19 and therefore a legal child in Japan. Yoshikaze from Oita Prefecture is still in his early 20s and is climbing well but not really well enough.

For this reason - of the 13 nationalities currently competing in professional sumo from lands as varied as Tonga and Kazakhstan, Brazil and China, the future of this historically Japanese sport is looking less Japanese and more foreign.

Anybody interested in attending a tournament is advised to look at the Nihon Sumo Kyokai (Japanese Sumo Association) homepage for information in English and Japanese. Tournaments are held in Tokyo in January, May and September, in Osaka in March, in Nagoya in July and in Fukuoka in November. Each tournament runs for 15 days starting from the Sunday closest to the 10th.

Glossary:

Dohyo:
the raised earth platform on which sumo bouts take place

Emperor's Cup:
the trophy awarded the winner of the makunouchi division

Juryo:
the second division of sumo - so named after the original salary of 10 'ryo'

Komusubi:
sumo's fourth rank (in the makunouchi division)

Makunouchi:
sumo's top division

Ozeki:
sumo's second rank (in the makunouchi division)

Rikishi:
any sumo wrestler (including unsalaried men in the lower four divisions)

Sekitori:
a sumo wrestler in the top 2 divisions (salaried)

Sekiwake:
sumo's third rank (in the makunouchi division)

Yokozuna:
sometimes called 'Grand Champion' - sumo's top rank.

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