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Agence France-Presse

Their interest piqued during Covid lockdowns and by a new Netflix drama, a fresh rush of foreign tourists are flocking to Japan for a look inside the insular world of sumo.
Japan’s national sport – hundreds of years old and steeped in tradition – has long been a source of fascination outside the country, but those in the industry say interest has spiked in recent years, with some making the most of the new attention.
At a recent lunchtime “performance”, two imposing sumo practitioners strutted their stuff in a Tokyo restaurant full of cheering tourists.
Afterwards, the spectators took selfies with the hulking athletes and donned padded sumo costumes and wigs to try their hand at the ancient art in a bout against retired professionals.
“The kids had a blast. I had a blast getting up there and fighting with them,” said Kiernan Riley, 42, from Arizona.
“They put on a good show. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.”

Tickets for the thrice-weekly event, which includes commentary in English and a slap-up meal, go for 11,000 yen (US$76) each and were sold out for the following six weeks.
One of the stars is former top professional wrestler Takayuki Sakuma, aka Jokoryu, who stands six foot two inches (1.87 metres) tall and weighed 170kg (375 pounds) at his peak.
“When you’re a professional, your life depends on sumo,” the now-retired 35-year-old said. “And it’s not to be taken lightly.”
“But to entertain people we add humour. The most important thing is to make people appreciate sumo as culture.”
Former amateur sumo wrestler John Gunning, who competed for his native Ireland and commentates – in English – on Japanese television, said there has been a “huge increase” in the sport’s popularity abroad over the last five to 10 years.

But that popularity grew even more during Covid, when people stuck in lockdown explored new interests.
And the release this year of Sanctuary, a new Netflix series set in the world of sumo, also helped introduce the sport to a new audience.
“I’m seeing a lot of people saying that that was their first exposure to sumo,” Gunning said.
The Japan Sumo Association last year also launched an English-language YouTube channel, “Sumo Prime Time”, whose videos rack up tens of thousands of views.


Ken Miller, 68, shows groups of American tourists the area of Ryogoku, a mecca for the sport, including the Kokugikan arena.
Each one pays several hundred dollars for the experience, and he says he is booked up for the next year.
Three times a year, in January, May and September, Kokugikan hosts the top stars of sumo in national tournaments in front of more than 10,000 cheering fans.
“I try to explain to them [the tourists] that sumo is not just a sport, it’s part of the culture. And it’s very much connected to Buddhism, Shinto,” Miller said.
“It’s a way of life.”

Tourists have long been able to visit the hallowed interior of a “heya”, one of the traditional “stables” where sumo wrestlers live and train according to strict traditions.
But because of the growth in interest, many stables have banned individual visits and only allow group tours booked through an agency, said guide Yuriko Kimura.
“When we started sumo stable training tours, it was maybe held once or twice a week, people didn’t know about sumo. But then it surged around 2018-2019,” she said.
“I tell them that what is important is to show respect towards the stable and sumo wrestlers. If people from other countries know the dos and don’ts, they won’t do something wrong.”
Inside, visitors must stay seated and quiet so as not to disturb the wrestlers while they train.

One stable, Arashio in central Tokyo, has a large bay window where dozens of people gather every day to watch the training sessions.
Yuka Suzuki, 61, the wife of the former master who installed the window, said that the original aim was to chip away at the reputation of sumo being “secretive”.
“But instead of locals, it’s people from all over the world who have started to come,” she said.
She added that she hoped that as a result, Japanese people would start to rediscover their national sport, which she said was essential for its survival.
“Young wrestlers came into this world [of sumo] to test themselves, but if there are fewer and fewer Japanese people who feel that way, sumo will also disappear,” she said.


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Japan

Renewed interest in sumo, Japan’s national sport, proves big pull for tourists

Foreign tourists posing for photographs with former sumo wrestlers at a restaurant in Tokyo in July. Photo: AFP

A foreign tourist (right) wearing a costume tries to push a former sumo wrestler out of the ring at a restaurant in Tokyo in July. Photo: AFP

Fformer sumo wrestlers stretching during a demonstration in front of tourists from abroad at a restaurant in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Sumo wrestlers during a training session at the Tamanoi-beya sumo stable in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

A group of people, many of them tourists, try to watch a sumo training session through the glass windows at the Arashio-beya sumo stable in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Japan’s ‘crying baby sumo’ festival returns after coronavirus pandemic

Children held by their parents start their “Baby-cry Sumo” match, resumed for the first time in four years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: AFP

“In Japan, we believe babies who cry powerfully also grow up healthily”. Photo:  AFP

Children held by their parents start their “Baby-cry Sumo” match at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

In Netflix Japanese series Sanctuary, bad-boy sumo wrestler tag teams with hard-nosed journalist

Wataru Ichinose as Kiyoshi Oze (left), who joins a Tokyo sumo stable in a still from Netflix’s Sanctuary. Photo: Netflix

Shioli Kutsuna as journalist Asuka Kunishima in a still from “Sanctuary”. Photo: Netflix

Ben Miller as Jasper Tempest in a still from “Professor T”. Photo Beta Film

Emma Naomi as Lisa Donckers (right) and Barney White as Dan Winters in a still from “Professor T”. Photo: Beta Film

Frances de la Tour as Adelaide in a still from “Professor T”. Photo: Beta Film

A Japanese sumo-wrestling champion walks into a Tamil film. Hilarity ensues

Sumo is set to be released in India on January 15, 2020. Photo: Handout

Tashiro with his family. Photo: Instagram

Filmmaker Hosimin with wrestler Tashiro. Photo: Handout

A still from the film. Photo: Handout

Sumo wrestlers struggle for work and relevance when they step away from the sport

Keisuke Kamikawa is a retired sumo wrestler and the owner of the Hanasaki daycare centre. Life after sumo can be tough for retired wrestlers. Photo: AFP

Former wrestler Kamikawa runs two day centres for the elderly, staffed in part by retired rikishi. Photo: AFP

Kamikawa (back) eating lunch with his family in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Retired sumo wrestler Takuya Saito decided to become a legal professional after leaving the sport. Photo: AFP

Retired sumo wrestler Hiromi Yamada taking care of an elderly woman at a day care centre in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Yamada (right) working out with an elderly woman at a day care centre in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

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Covid-19 lockdowns and the release of Netflix drama Sanctuary have helped boost interest in the insular world of sumo
Tours to watch sumo training and ‘performances’ at themed restaurants are being booked up


Covid-19 lockdowns and the release of Netflix drama Sanctuary have helped renew interest in the insular world of sumo, with tours to watch training and ‘performances’ being snapped up.


Tourism