Thanks for the clarification CDN. The fact that the lads let each other win unimportant bouts to maintain their standing is pretty well understood, but I picked up the impression there was a third scandal involving actually fixing sumo matches for gambling purposes- that would have been one bridge too far for sure. The pot is understandable if unforgivable because of the weight gain needed to compete- there are no weight classes so everyone bulks up as much as possible and then some. There are a lot of foreigners involved in pro-level sumo these days, notably Mongolians, Koreans, and an assortment of eastern European guys (who seem to have been the pot users). The foreign involvement is an odd thing considering that sumo embodies the mystical soul of Japan, starting with their founding myths and picked up by Shinto and I think Taoists. It's a fun sport to follow if you get to know the wrestlers by style, and a basho is three hours long each day, running for 15 days, so you get your sumo money's worth. I used to tape them and watch them right through to the next one, some months later.
Originally Posted by Mark Stephenson
Bookmarks