Sumo Wrestling
Ahead of the Olympic Games scheduled on 24th July 2020 and with all eyes on, Olympic organisers plan sumo wrestling tournament in Tokyo. These traditional Japanese sports, a sumo tournament will be introduced and is planned to be organized by Japan Sumo Association and local Olympic organizers after the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, probably on 12th-13th August.
Organizers revealed it on Tuesday that the Sumo Wrestling event is likely to take place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, famously known as the sumo arena in east Tokyo.
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Sumo Wrestling is a popular sport in Japan, and these time organisers are planning to attract overseas visitors by organising the event just days after the Olympic event. The venue for the tournament is designated to the same place in Tokyo, where US President Donald Trump attended last year.
This sport discipline holds an age-old shino ritual for a good harvest in the 8th century. Initially, Sumo sports gained popularity and became an entertaining component during the Edo period – 1603 to 1868, which was used as a martial training for Samurais.
Stylized rules were included in the sports like the art of entering the ring, the use of loincloths, top knots, and kimonos, as well as fighting regulations during the Edo period.
Sumo Wrestling is known to be one of the most traditional sports genres in Japan, mostly closed to outsiders.
Also, grand champion or the highest rank of Sumo Wrestler, Yokozuna holds a special place in Japanese customs.
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Yokozuna, unlike other athletes, are considered living performers of the cultural tradition. They find a favorite place among Japenese people, considered as a role model.
According to the Shinto tradition, women are considered unclean and are prohibited to enter the ring. Only men athletes can become professional sumo wrestlers.
In one such case, a sumo referee obstructed women from entering the fighting ring to provide medical aid for a mayor who collapsed in a ring while addressing at a sumo event in Kyoto. Sumo officials were criticized for this act, blamed for their gender-based traditions.
According to the Shinto belief, before the start of the Sumo Wrestling, Shinto priests perform rituals to appease the gods by pouring sake, rice, and other offerings into a little hole in the center of the ring. The elevated ring or dohyo is considered sacred.
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