Tokyo Sumo Wrestler Tournaments Schedule

Sumo Wrestler Tourmanents: How to Buy Your Tickets For Sumo In Tokyo

Sumo Wrestling in Tokyo: Buying Sumo tickets, Schedule, Best seats for foreigners, How to get there, what time the Professional wrestlers appear, visiting Sumo Wrestling Stables and the Sumo museum.

The Sumo tournaments in Tokyo every January are a big Happening.

Fans ride together on the subway, and there is a lot of before and after drinking and eating in the right places around the Sumo Arena.

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When

Professional Sumo Tournaments take place six times a year. Each tournament begins on a Sunday and lasts 15 days.
During January, May and September tournaments are held in Tokyo.

In Osaka Tournaments are held in March, in Nagoya in July, and in Fukuoka during November.

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Getting There

The Sumo Arena in Tokyo is called Ryogoku Kokugikan.
You need to get to Ryogoku Station on the JR Sobu Line. From the station its a 2 minutes walk to the Ryogoku Kokugikan stadium.
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Sumo Wrestler Rules

The rules of Sumo are very simple: A Wrestler loses when he is forced out of the wrestling ring, or if any part of his body, except the sole of the feet, touches the ground.

At the center of the ring there are two white lines, behind which the wrestlers position themselves at the start of the bout.

Every Wrestler wears a thick silk belt (more like a small diaper…) to their waist which can be grabbed by the opponent and used to throw the Wrestler out of the ring.
The wrestler performs a number of rituals when entering the ring: He claps his hands and then does some leg-stomping to drive away evil spirits.
Then both wrestlers squat facing each other and spread their hands wide (to show they have no weapons).
Returning to their corners, they pick up a handful of salt which they toss onto the ring to purify it.

Finally the wrestlers crouch down at the starting lines, staring each other in the eye.
Then they spring from their crouch and start the fight.

In the upper divisions, they typically do a few rounds of this mental preparation.
In the lower divisions they are expected to start more or less immediately.

In contrast to the time of preparation, Matches usually last only seconds, as one Sumo wrestler is quickly thrown out of the circle or onto the clay and sand floor.

Around the ring there is finely brushed sand, which is used to determine if a Sumo wrestler has touched with his feet, or other parts of his body.

There are no weight classes in Sumo, meaning that wrestlers can easily find themselves fighting against someone many times their size.
That's why weight gain is an important part of a Sumo Wrestler's life.

Life In The Japanese Sumo Wrestling Stables

They eat a special diet to put on as much body-weight as possible while building up their muscles.
A wrestler's day begins around 5am with morning training. Working out on an empty stomach helps slow down the body's metabolism.
Lunch is typically 'chanko-nabe' – a heavy dish of made from fish, meat, and vegetables. It is eaten with rice and washed down with beer.
After lunch the wrestlers take a long nap. This system helps the wrestlers put on weight quickly.

Junior wrestlers have to train and attend school, and also serve the whims of the senior Sumo. Sumo wrestling is very strict hierarchy.

All wrestlers are given wrestling names by their trainer, stable master, or supporter.

The Sumo wear traditional sumo wrestler costume in public.
They also have to grow their hair long and make a topknot, similar to the samurai hairstyles of the Edo Period. They wear wooden sandals in public.

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