Looking at this picture, you may think that the sport of Sumo was dying because no one wants to become this big to fight in 30-second matches over the course a few months of a year.
Well, that would be wrong. Two Russian Sumo wrestlers were recently expelled for marijuana (Read Story). In a country where you can be stuck in a dark box for 5 years for smelling like marijuana, that is quite expectable.
However, the fact that only two Russian wrestlers that happened to be pretty good were expelled is a little fishy. When I saw sumo back in 2006, I told my students all about it during our "Lobby Talk" sessions when we talked about our weekends etc. I told one older gentleman who plainly said, "I don't like sumo wrestling anymore. I don't like how foreigners are taking the sport over."
Speaking to a foreigner like that is pretty shocking in a country where people apologize to you when you make a mistake yourself (as if they were to blame for your own stupidity). But, it is unsurprising to a foreigner who has been here for as long as I have. People who are here long enough get tired of being "gaijin." Gaijin is a shortened form of the word "gaikokujin" or foreigner and is used in negative contexts such as, "that stupid foreigner talks too loudly."
Some people really want to get to know you and talk to you as a guest in their country, but others look at you with a gaze that would kill you if it could. When I sit down in public spaces, people will get up and move somewhere else or even stand so that they don't catch the gaijin cooties. (On a personal hygiene note, I bathe and brush my teeth regularly and put on lots of deodorant and eat lots of mints).
This racial prejudice is extremely dangerous in a country with a birthrate of 1.3 children/family and in danger of having an overburdened healthcare system as the population ages with no one to support it.
Still, gaijin....gaikokujin... only account for less than %3 of the total population and are located mostly in large urban areas such as Tokyo or my home here in Kyoto. Sumo wrestling may not be exciting enough for the younger generation, but I believe those that are turned off by a Mongolian or Hawaiian Yokozuna are the danger to Japan showing the larger problem inhibiting Japan from growing. Racial discrimination is a problem that Japan will need to tackle to cure it from itself and its low birthrate problem.
By the way, not only did the wrestler in the picture win his match, he was also awarded a trophy for largest man-boobs...that was until they compared them to mine.
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2 comments:
The main reason foreigners are being more involved in sumo is that the Japanese don't want to be a part of it enough to keep the ranks stocked with quality Japanese players. Sumo life is really hard and there's no guarantee of great financial success even if you become a yokozun, so most athletes would rather go for the glamour and higher pay of things like soccer and baseball than sumo. Farm boys and people who are the children of existing oyakata are the likeliest candidates to enter sumo. Foreigners are filling the gap.
It's disappointing that the Japanese continue to be so racist about sumo. You don't find people in the U.S. saying they don't want a major league pitcher to do well or break an existing record because he's Japanese, Cuban, or whatever. They're just happy for a team to do well and they don't care which players shine.
Sumo likely won't die because its Japan's national sport, but it may become increasingly marginalized and eventually end up subsidized or shunted to a smaller venue than the Kokugikan to keep it going. The system is incredibly corrupt though. If it would help to force the foreigners to lose, that's what would happen, but I think that the sumo kyokai knows that the big issue is a lack of interest in general in the sport.
Sorry, just noticed the comment. I'll be better about getting them in the future.
I think what you said nails it. Only Tommy Lasorda is mad that the US didn't win the WBC.
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