The Sumo Scene / Summer Children’s Vacation Event Can Bring More to the Ring

By Kuniyuki Kamimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

10:46 JST, August 7, 2024

Japan’s lengthy summer vacation is in full swing. Despite the heat, the energetic voices of children playing outside are likely echoing throughout neighborhoods.

The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) captures some of that energy by holding an annual summer event called “open sumo stable,” which gives elementary and junior high school students a chance to experience the sport.

The main purpose of this event is to show off the positive aspects of sumo wrestling, not only to the children who have been involved in the sport through school club activities, but also to the those who have no experience at all.

Kasugano, the stablemaster before last and someone who left his mark on the sport as legendary yokozuna Tochinishiki in the Showa era (1926-1989), came up with the idea for this event during his tenure as president of the JSA.

The event, which has a history of more than 40 years, was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic but returned in 2023 for the first time in four years. This year, children donning mawashi belts are participating in the event at four stables.

At the Kasugano stable in Ryogoku, Tokyo, it is tradition for elementary school students from Keio Yochisha Elementary School in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, to participate in the annual event.

Former sekiwake Tochiozan, now master Kiyomigata and two wrestlers from the stable serve as instructors, offering the children tips on the basics of sumo training. This includes the “shiko” ritual, rocking to each side and alternately raising and stomping the right and left feet, and “suriashi,” the sliding of the feet.

The event includes a tournament featuring the young participants. The children can also feel firsthand how large actual sumo wrestlers are by crashing into them.

On the last day of the event, the children are served chanko stew, a special dish made by the stable. Many of the young participants are usually so energetic that they go back for seconds or thirds, according to the stable.

The number of young people aspiring to become sumo wrestlers has been declining rapidly in recent years, but this event is designed to improve children’s physical fitness and to bring in new fans, rather than as a recruiting tool to attract wrestlers.

Some of the elementary school students who participated said that they now felt like cheering on the wrestlers at an official sumo tournament, and many of them went to Ryogoku Kokugikan to see bouts.

“The experience of putting on the mawashi will be a good memory from their summer vacation,” said a Kasugano stable official.

A summer of unforgettable experiences will surely be deeply instilled in their hearts and minds.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.