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Sumo (Page 4)

Big dudes CAN jump: Frolicking sumo means it’s officially springtime again in Japan!

It’s been a rather hard winter, with some areas up north experiencing heavy snowfalls and other parts with hard-hitting low temperatures. But, as heralded by the ume and cherry blossoms, spring has finally sprung.

And what could be a better symbol of these sunny days coming to Japan than some scantily clad sumo taking advantage of the pleasant warmth.

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What do sumo wrestlers have in common with Tinker Bell?

Sumo wrestlers and Disney fairy Tinker Bell are not two things you would think have much in common. Yet their uncanny similarity is exactly what netizens in Japan have noticed, following a series of photos published recently on the Internet.

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Four things women are banned from doing in Japan【Women in Japan Series】

Women have been prohibited from doing certain things (entering places, using facilities, etc.) for as long as civilization has existed. Restrictions are still common, albeit usually in religious contexts only. While religions themselves evolve and change with the times and bans are lifted, it doesn’t mean all of them get an update.

As women, we all know the purported reasons behind these bans: women are “impure” because we menstruate (the same impure biological process that allows us to give life to men), we are the physically weaker sex, and we distract men with our beauty. Yada, yada, yada.

Today, in our Women in Japan Series, we take a look at four things women are still not allowed to do in Japan. I’ve divided them into bans and semi-bans. Bans allow no women; semi-bans allow women–but only sometimes.

Of course, it’s high time these restrictions were lifted. While much headway has been made in the past, such as the lifting of the rule preventing women from climbing Mount Fuji, other bans are proving more stubborn despite protests by Japanese women’s groups. Will these restrictions be lifted anytime soon? Only the Japanese people can decide.

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Sick of BABYMETAL? How about some sumo metal!

Japan has a few, shall we say, unusual commercials that have raised eyebrows around the world. While you may laugh, when you think about it, it just shows that Japan’s marketers really know how to get the audience’s attention–and isn’t that the job of a commercial, to get people’s attention? We’d say so, and we think we may have found our favorite new eyebrow-raising Japanese commercial!

An exhilarating, upbeat sound track? Check. A simple, direct message that makes almost no sense at all? Check. Half naked people? Oh, holy hell, yes, check! 

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It seems like everyone in Japan wants this pillow featuring a famous sumo wrestler’s butt

In the past year, sumo wrestler Endō Shōta has been busy outside the ring, showing up in special edition photo booths and using his muscular arms to carry contest winners like a princess. Now, this 24-year-old rising star has been making his way into Japanese homes in the form of a pillow. Featuring Endo in his work attire, this limited release pillow was only given out to five thousand lucky winners, who weren’t shy about showing off their love for this young man’s backside.

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Congratulations on being awesome at sumo! Have a giant macaron!

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, nor is the above image an extraordinary work of Photoshop. That is a giant, green macaron, and it is being presented as a prize for the runner-up of a sumo championship in Japan.

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Sun, sea, and sumo: Fans of Japan’s oldest sport can soon book their dream vacation

Rikishi, oyakata, tokoyama, and Yokozuna. If these Japanese words mean anything to you, then you are likely a super sumo fan. Like any popular sport, it’s expensive to see your favorite athletes compete – and actually meeting and chatting with them seems like a distant dream. This is not so different for Japan’s national sport of sumo, with 13,000 fans at each tournament cheering for their favorites, you are just one in the crowd.

But, of course everyone wants more – more chances to take pictures and more chances to meet your favorite stars. Well, if you have nothing else planned for December, right now is your last chance to sign up for the Grand Sumo Cruise! Just be ready to open up your wallet!

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Shokkiri: The obscure art of sumo comedy

Sumo is often thought of as a frighteningly strict sport in which every aspect of a wrestler’s life, from the clothing they wear in public to etiquette in the ring, must adhere to a traditional set of rules. In other words, it seems like the least fun sport to be a part of in the world.

That’s why you might be surprised to learn that there’s a sumo comedy routine out there in Japan that’s been going on for over a century. It’s known as shokkiri and is essentially a sumo match where anything goes, sort of like a Harlem Globetrotters game. And despite being based on such uniquely Japanese traditions its humor is pretty universal and sure to crack smiles anywhere in the world.

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Adorable sumo egg cups are here to turn your breakfast table into a wrestling ring

Maybe it’s a result of having lived in one too many apartments with a cramped kitchen, or just a desire to reduce the number of dishes I need to wash, but I’ve never really understood the point of tabletop egg cups. I can’t imagine eating hard-boiled eggs frequently enough, or giving them such prominent billing in my diet, that I’d need to go out and buy specialized kitchenware for them.

I find myself warming to the idea, though, now that someone’s designed egg cups in a way that lets tiny edible sumo wrestlers grace your table.

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Meet Chiyomaru: the cutest gosh-darn sumo wrestler you’ll ever see

One proven way to go viral on the internet is to be unbearably cute. Although it’s a path often taken by pets, women, kids, and pastries, it’s pretty rare to come across a sumo wrestler who pulls in online comments such as “I feel soothed by his unmatched cuteness.”

However, that’s just what Kazuki Kinoshita who wrestles under the name Kazuki Chiyomaru has done in Japan. A candid shot of him napping has become an internet hit and led to other pictures which further consolidate his new title of the world’s cutest sumo wrestler.

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Women’s sumo: slightly less traditional, but maybe even more fun than the original

Although Japan has several martial arts that could claim to be national sports, few are quite as distinctive as sumo. With its massive yet lightning-fast athletes who must live a strict and traditional lifestyle, sumo continues to be an attractive sport to watch.

However, how many people out there knew that there is also a women’s sumo federation? Almost certainly not as many as there ought to be, because women’s sumo is entertaining on a few different levels, as we’re about to see in this video from the 1st International Women’s Sumo Tournament.

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London’s Sumo Run has Japanese confused, kind of offended

This week the annual charity event known as the Sumo Run took place in London’s Battersea Park. To raise money for education in sub-Saharan Africa, participants don inflatable sumo suits and run the 5km course around the park, no doubt delighting passersby in the country that gave us Monty Python.

But when media outlets in Japan reported on the event, the audience here was not universally pleased, with some people calling it racist cultural appropriation.

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Contest in Japan gives you the chance to be held like a princess by a sumo wrestler

In commemoration of reaching 30,000 followers on Twitter, the Japan Sumo Association announced a special contest that will give winners the chance to be “carried like a princess” by a real sumo wrestler. If the picture is anything to go by, the wrestlers will be fully clothed instead of appearing in their traditional loincloths used during matches…darn.

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Perfectly timed photo at sumo match captures moment of surprising beauty, sumo super powers

Its popularity may be dwindling in today’s world of ultra-rich football and baseball teams and their players, but there’s something wonderfully dignified, almost majestic, about sumo. And as one photograph shared last weekend by the Japan Sumo Association shows, there is perhaps even more magic to be seen if only we could all just slow down and open our eyes a little more often.

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Special photo booths let you pose with sumo wrestlers without having to strap on a loincloth

Should your visit to Tokyo coincide with a sumo tournament being held in the city, you really owe it to yourself to see the sport in person. Tickets are reasonably priced, the matches are fast-paced and showcase a surprisingly large variety of techniques (many similar to those of offensive linemen in football), and there’s really no way to properly convey the amazing controlled ferocity through a television screen. Best of all, the arena is compact enough that even the cheap seats provide a good view of the action.

And in case you need an added incentive, the venue is now home to two special sticker picture booths, where a little digital photo manipulation allows you to take a snapshot with your favorite sumo wrestler.

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Twitpics show sumo wrestlers getting health checks… in spaaaaaaace!

Now here’s something you don’t see every day – a bunch of enormous men in their underpants sitting in fiberglass pods that look like something NASA might fire out of a space shuttle.

Shared on Twitter earlier today by the Japan Sumo Association, these photos show some of the sumo community’s most famous faces attending a health check session prior to a series of upcoming bouts. They’re also kind of hilarious.

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Epic body slam action at US Sumo Open【Video】

One of Japan’s most ancient sports, sumo is both steeped in tradition and considered to be one of the most demanding in the world. Professional sumo wrestlers, or rikishi, must not only commit to a strict regime of physical training and the daily consumption of gargantuan meals in order to maintain their enormous mass, but also obey rules that cover everything from their hairstyles and the clothing they may wear in public to the use of vehicular transportation.

Although sumo’s popularity in Japan is on the wane, the sport is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries, particularly in the United States where groups such as USA Sumo are growing ever larger and receiving more and more media attention with each year that passes. And we’d be willing to bet that after seeing the following video taken at the US Sumo Open 2013 event, even the most sceptical of Western sports fans will start taking sumo a little more seriously.

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On April 23, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan sumo hall in Tokyo underwent a massive makeover on Google Maps. Now, the street view reveals a line-up of smiling sumo wrestlers. Once you get past them, you’re free to explore the entire building inside, from the seating area, to the food and souvenir stands and even the sacred dohyō, the ring where the bouts are held. We bring you all the best parts to explore, in easy to navigate clips straight from our page, after the jump.

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