The Way Of The Gods

With a history spanning over 2,000 years, sumo offers an exhilarating taste of japanese culture.

- Sophie Ibbotson

Shinto origins

Shinto is ‘the way of the gods’ and, just as it is for many mortals, sumo wrestling is a favourite past time. For nearly 2,000 years, sumo wrestlers have performed their martial art, first in intimate shrines, and then in stadiums before thousands of spectators. At least as early as the 3rd century AD, the wrestlers would perform complex rituals to purify both their body and their spirit, and then fight for the entertainment of the gods during the matsuri (religious festivals). It was a sacred act of ritual, not a sport.

But what begins in the temple often spreads to the court. The rulers of Japan felt that they, too, should be able to enjoy the spectacle: it was surely wasted on the Shinto gods. Legend has it that the Emperor Yuryaku (418-79) ordered two naked women to sumo wrestle before a particularly arrogant carpenter who claimed to have never made a mistake. Distracted by the women (though whether it was by their wrestling skills or their physiques, we shall never know), the carpenter blundered in what he was doing, and was summarily executed by the Emperor.

For the most part, though, sumo was something to be enjoyed by all involved – competitors and spectators. From the Nara period (710-794) onwards, wrestlers would be invited from across Japan to pit their skills against one another in competitions hosted at the imperial court. The tournaments normally coincided with important festivals, and were accompanied by banqueting, music, and dancing. The sumo wrestlers were expected to join in with these lively activities, too.