Sumo grappling with an existential crisis
When an unknown young wrestler won a historic victory in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka, it seemed like a gift from the Shinto gods.
Takerufuji entered the tournament as the lowest in the rankings; on the penultimate day he was in a wheelchair with an ankle injury. Yet 24 hours later, the 24-year-old was holding the Emperor’s Cup. It was the biggest upset of the modern era, the first time in 110 years that a wrestler has won a tournament on his first top division appearance.
But for sumo fans it also delivered a badly needed moment of jubilation in a sport stricken by scandal and gloom.
“[Takerufuji’s victory] is a temporary boost, but it will soon subside,” said Shuhei Mainoumi, a former rikishi, or wrestler, who fought in the top division in the 1990s. “Sumo could disappear in 50 years’ time.”
A much darker sumo story reached its conclusion in the aftermath of Takerufuji's triumph. Last week, the Japan Sumo Association, the governing body, formally dissolved one of the “stables”, the hierarchical communities in which wrestlers live and train, after a rising star was expelled for violent abuse of his fellow wrestlers. He punched and whipped junior members of the stable, glued their fingers together and terrorised them with a makeshift flamethrower.
But the sport has what is arguably an even greater problem - a steady decline in its popularity. In the 1990s, the bouts of the most popular champions would draw 65% of the national television audience. This year, even Takerufuji’s victory was watched by only 16% of viewers.
In a nation with low birth rates, fewer Japanese boys pursue the sport. The austere life is less attractive to young men than a generation ago.
There is another factor - the increasing size of sumo wrestlers. In 1950, the average rikishi was under 110kg; today he is over 160kg.
“If you look at sumo 40 years ago, they looked like athletes,” said Mainoumi, who was famous for his slight build. “Now there’s an assumption that a rikishi has to carry a lot of weight. It makes for more injuries and it puts kids off.”
Recruitment to the stables takes place six times a year. In 1992, there were 160 applicants during the peak spring months. This spring there were only 34.
How to reform sumo is a question without an obvious answer. Some argue that the stable system should be abolished and rikishi should be allowed to live as other athletes do - going home at the end of the day.
To many people, it would also be the beginning of a slide away from the trappings of medieval tradition.
“Sumo has elements of martial arts and Shinto ritual and traditional culture and art,” said Mainoumi. “It’s because of the blend of these elements that sumo exists. If sumo was just another sport, it wouldn’t survive.”