Sumo Wrestling Facts

Written by Phin Upham

Sumo was a popular sport in Japan with deep historic roots. Today, it is hardly enjoyed by audiences under the age of fifty, but there are still some interesting facts related to the sport. Here are a few of the lesser known facts concerning the sport of sumo wrestling.

Size

Sumo wrestlers are known to be rotund and muscular today, but that wasn’t always the case. Original sumo fighters were quite skinny and stocky. There are also no weight divisions in sumo wrestling, so top wrestlers can vary in size by quite a bit.

Foreigners

There were no restrictions on the amount of foreigners that could compete in sumo wrestling circuits in the early days of the sport. At one point, there were six Mongolian fighters that sent the league into a “gaijin” (foreigner) panic. Today, the sumo society limits foreigners but they are still prevalent in the high ranks of wrestlers.

Tradition

Much of a sumo’s life is dictated by ancient traditions. When a wrestler enters the ring, it’s not uncommon for him (or her, there are female wrestlers too) to sprinkle salt in the ring. Wrestlers also stomp their feet and clap their hands ritualistically before the fight. There is also an ancient traditional stance, where the wrestler stands with arms and legs parted to show that he is carrying no weapons.

Yakuza

People under 50 don’t have as much of an appreciation for sumo as those in the boomer generation. The one exception is the yakuza. Yakuza bosses enjoy sumo so much that the organization arranged to purchase prominent seats during a televised event to cheer up their incarcerated boss.