Henry and I were fascinated about all things Japanese. One of the truly Japanese sports which we had missed seeing on our first tour of Japan was Sumo wrestling. When we inquired at the hotel, their best advice was to sign up for a Sumo Training Stable Tour. These are offered only during the months that tournaments do not take place. We grabbed the chance to see Sumo wrestlers in training on our last Saturday morning in Tokyo. We were instructed to meet at Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal. From this bus station/ subway stop, we took one more subway to Ryogoku Station. The tour leader (complete with little flag) then guided a dozen of us through the neighborhood, past the National Sumo Stadium (Kokugikan), where the Sumo tournaments are held. We walked down Ryogoku “Avenue” through the grounds of a modern temple, viewing burial stones and a memorial to Sumo and those spirits who were “big” in the sport. We then walked through the narrow streets to a  traditional Japanese house that was a Sumo Beya, or Sumo Stable. The entire neighborhood of Ryogoku is a shrine to the sport. In fact, the avenue is lined with bronze figures of famous wrestlers. Handprints of high ranking sumo wrestlers, cast in bronze, adorn the plinths of these installations . According to our brochure, aspiring wrestlers must pass a physical examination before joining a “Beya” or stable. The aspirant must be 15-23 years of age, a minimum of 167 cm (5 ft. 5 in.) tall and weight at least 67 kg (147 lb). After entering the Beya, they live together while receiving instruction from the stable boss or oyakata. The wrestlers rise at 5 AM and practice until 10 AM. They then shower, have a meal or chanko. The sumo wrestling world is hierarchical, the ranking of the wrestlers is determined by the results in the tournaments. This rank determines the order within the Beya of many aspects of  their lives in the stable: when they take showers, when they get to eat, what chores they do, etc.  When we arrived at the Beya, we entered the front door of the narrow townhouse, left our shoes at the entry, then quickly and silently found a cushion to sit upon on a raised concrete platform above the clay covered ground. The wrestlers were working out in this rear, ground floor room of the building. My attention was immediately drawn to several sensory sensations, including visual surprises. The first of which was the sound of a sumo wrestler rhythmically and vocally slapping his hands against a thick wooden pole in the far corner of the room. His back was to the room. Revealed, was his whole naked body, save for the white canvas thong loin cloth that covered his private parts and thickly girded his waist. The second sensation was the heat in the room, moist and humid from the perspiration that glistened on the fourteen or so men in training. The third surprise was the amount of tape that adorned the feet, toes, wrists, fingers, knees and ankles of the sumo wrestlers. The final sensation was surprise and awe at the size of these men, the mass of flesh that was revealed in total candor as we, a tour of about a dozen international men and women, took our places, cross-legged on pillows on the floor, to watch the session in progress. The training session was riveting. The room was rectangular with a slightly sunken circle in the center of the training room, which had a door opening to the outdoors. A row of high, etched glass windows were partially opened to let in fresh air. The windowsills were littered with crumpled beach towels, which the men would grab, from time to time, to wipe the perspiration off their bodies.  The entire surface of the floor was covered with a fine, brown clay. Occasionally, one of the wrestlers would sprinkle water on it from a watering can. Another would scatter white powder-like salt on the surface. The salt was ritualistic, purifying the ring and the fight to come. The wrestlers appeared to be in a state of relaxed attention. They seemed to be comfortable with their sport, their bodies, their Beya, their team, their training, and us spectators. In the front row center sat an official, whom, we imagined, to be their “boss” or oyakata. He didn’t say much until the end, when he gave a select few wrestlers, those of the highest ranking, some explicit instructions. What we watched was fascinating. We weren’t allowed to take photos until the end of the practice session. It was obvious to me as an observer, which sumo wrestlers had the highest ranking within the Beya. The lowest on this heap was the youngest member, in this case a boy of 15. I counted four others who appeared to be on the lowest rungs of the hierarchical ladder. These were the young trainees who swept the ring from time to time. They used long straw brooms in an arch-like sweeping motion. The youngest members spent most of their time caring for the senior men, while watching the practice from the sidelines. They would work on their agility and their strength while being on the edge of the action. The action took place at center ring. One of the younger men, after sweeping the circle, walked across the circumference with his legs the width of his shoulders.. The lines drawn in the clay by his stride, became the boundaries behind which the two opposing sumo wrestlers stood. Both men squatted, in what I define as ‘first position grand plier’, in ballet terms. Often one or both would clap his hands, stamp his feet, or make some loud guttural sound. Then, without signal, one of the two would make the first move to lunge toward the other. There were often false starts, with pulled muscles, bruises or sprains being considered. Once more, the two men would face one another, squat, stamp feet, make noises, clap hands, then meet. The goal of the “game” is to move the opponent outside the circumference of the circle or knock him off his feet, or both. We watched pairs of wrestlers sparring with one another. Finally, the highest rankling wrestler in this Beya stepped into the ring. He was a Mongolian, very tall, not too fat, had almost no cellulite, and was, of course, masterful. The top contenders would step opposite him as opponents. With few moves and total confidence he marched the heaviest of men outside the ring. He grabbed the girdle of his opponent and lifted him off the ground, he threw his opponent down on his back; or, using his thick thighs, he simply walked his opponent, like a dancer leading, out of bounds. This was an amazing spectacle. Man after man hit the dirt, and returned to try again or learn the master’s moves. There are 48 recorded “moves” in sumo wrestling, but there are many more that are unrecorded. When practice included weight training, the training was to push one another across the full circumference of the circle. The younger wrestlers had the most trouble with the really big guys, some weighing in excess of 350 pounds (160 kg.). It literally took every bit of muscle and weight for the younger, smaller, less developed trainees to make this work. When the struggle was too much, the big, heavyweight sumo wrestlers would sometimes cheat a little to help out the smaller guy. This is where the camaraderie amongst the wrestlers was revealed. The sumo wrestlers ended their workout with a ritual. They filled the area in a grid pattern, squatted, clapped hands rhythmically in unison, thus ending their work for the day. At the end, when we spectators posed as a group with the Beya for photos, the younger members took our cameras, clowning with us and the other sumo. It was good natured fun with a bit of tweaking going on that made all of us laugh. While the wrestlers showered, we went to the third floor for chanko, or a meal. Three tables were set with glasses for iced tea, chopsticks, bowls and plates. A propane fire sat under a stew pot or nabe filled with vegetables, chicken broth, fish and tofu. A cold frittata or omelet dish was served on one plate, while a stir fried vegetable and noodle dish was served on another. We divided into groups and sat down on mats at the low tables, chatting with our tour group, members of which were  from Japan, Austria, America, Switzerland, Holland, and England. We took photos of one another with the Sumo wrestlers, and watched them get their hair “done”. For more information about the hair style, see Sumo Hair.

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1. Exterior, National Sumo Stadium (Kokugikan) in Ryogoku District with cherry trees in blossom and frescoes of sumo wrestlers on the facade. 2. Sumo wrestlers, wearing yukata (cotton kimono) and towels arriving at their Beya on bicycles. 3. Henry and Jourdan at Chanko in the house of a Sumo Stable/Beya. 4. Jourdan and Henry posing with one of the young (22 year old) members of the Beya.  He served the food with his yukata folded to his waist. Center Top: Sumo wrestlers, just having had his hair coiffed. Center Bottom: Neighborhood Sumo  wrestler, his dusty back indicating he had just been flung to the floor during his training session at his Beya. Right Column: 1. Young sumo athlete sweeping the ring during practice. 2. A pair of wrestlers in training. 3. Two sumo wrestlers and guests being served at Chanko. 4. Henry and Jourdan with the #1 ranked sumo wrestler in this Beya. He is a Mongolian “star” sumo wrestler.    

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                            BACK TO MAP PAGE