Sumo - a couple of fat guys whacking each other in a small ring. That’s the first impression of many Americans of Japan’s famous national sport. Before you dismiss it as something to scoff at, please take a deeper look. Why now? For the first time since 1993 there will be a Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament in June 2007 featuring Japan’s top wrestlers.

I’ve been a sumo fan for a long time. As a young boy growing up in Hawaii in the 70’s, I remember watching sumo on TV with my grandfather. Of course at that time, the broadcasts were only in Japanese, so I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I enjoyed the spectacle and pageantry of the sport. Over the past ten years, I’ve religiously watched nearly every tournament. And because TV broadcasts are now in English, I was able to deepen my understanding of the sport. Believe me, it’s much more than a bunch of fat guys knocking each other around!

The ties between Hawaii and sumo have deep roots. As many Japanese immigrants settled in Hawaii to work in the sugar plantations, the tradition of sumo came along. In 1964, Hawaiian Jesse Kuhaulua became the first American to enter the world of Japanese professional sumo. Kuhaulua, who fought under the name of Takamiyama (6′3″, 450lb), had a long 20 year sumo career in Japan and was the first foreign born wrestler to win a Grand Sumo Tournament in 1972.

Takamiyama holding the Emperor’s Cup

Takamiyama paved the way for a parade of Hawaiian sumo wrestlers who went on to make big names for themselves in Japan. Like many Hawaii residents, my interest in sumo peaked as Hawaii boys Konishiki (6′2″, 582lb), Akebono (6′8″, 517lb) and Musashimaru (6′4″, 517lb) went on to fame and fortune starting in the 80’s and 90’s. Konishiki become the first non Japanese to achieve sumo’s second highest rank, Ozeki. Akebono furthered that accomplishment by becoming the first foreigner to reach sumo’s highest rank, Yokozuna. Later, Musashimaru also went on to gain the rank Yokozuna and became the most successful foreign born wrestler in the history of sumo (at that time) after amassing 12 top division tournaments. Sadly, with Musahimaru’s retirement in 2004, the run of successful Hawaiian sumo wrestlers ended. See classic video clips of Konishiki, Akebono and Musashimaru in action.

Konishiki, Akebono and Musahimaru

Today, sumo has grown into a truly international sport. While there are currently no Americans fighting in sumo’s top Makuuchi division, the number of non Japanese wrestlers is surprising. Out of 42 wrestlers in the top division, there are 7 from Mongolia, 1 from South Korea, 2 from Russia, 1 from the Republic of Georgia, 1 from Bulgaria and 1 from Estonia. It is interesting to note that the rise of these foreign born wrestlers in high ranking positions coincides with sumo’s waning popularity in Japan. Many feel that with no Japanese heroes to cheer for, young Japanese sports fans have turned their attention to baseball and soccer. In fact, most of the homestay students who have lived with us (but remember, most of our students have been young women - not exactly sumo’s demographic) have never even watched a sumo tournament! So it makes sense that the Japan Sumo Association wants to extend sumo’s reach by holding exhibition tournaments in places like Hawaii.

Who to Watch in the Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament
Sumo’s current top ranking wrestler (or yokozuna) is Mongolian, Asashoryu. Still at the young age of 27, Asashoryu is totally dominating the sport and has already amassed 20 tournament victories (the most ever won by a single wrestler is 32). Asashoryu, at 6 feet tall and 326 pounds is small by professional sumo standards, but has tremendous speed, strength and technique. He has to be the odds on favorite in any match.

Yokuzuna, Asashoryu

Sumo’s second highest rank, ozeki, is held by five men. Kaio (6′1″, 385lb), Chiyotaikai (5′10″, 352lb) and Tochiazuma (5′10″, 341lb) are currently the top Japanese born wrestlers. However, they are all fighting in the twilight of their careers and none are likely to ascend to the rank of yokozuna. All three posted very poor records in the most recent tournament, and one must wonder how soon they will each retire.The last two ozeki are both young and healthy. Twenty four year old Kotooshu (6′7″, 335lb) from Bulgaria is a popular crowd favorite. As a relative newcomer to the sport, one can only wonder at how far he will go. Twenty two year old Hakuho (6′3″, 339lb) also Mongolian, captured his 2nd tournament title in March 2007 and will be gunning for yokozuna promotion if he does well in the next tournament. Hakuho will be someone to watch in the Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament.

Ozeki: Kotooshu and Hakuho

For more of my observations about sumo, please see my primer on sumo’s ranking and promotion system, as well as more detailed profiles of key wrestlers. For more tickets and information about the June 9 & 10, 2007 Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament, please see their website at http://www.sumohawaii.com.For background information on sumo, I recommend the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumo
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/

Posted by Netsato on Saturday, April 7th, 2007 at 2:29 am.