In an effort to remain close to the land that saw me come of age and provided me direction which has allowed success, The first Friday of the month will have a picture and the story behind the picture.
Today's Picture- Sumo Wrestling Tournament, Tokyo, September 2004
Story behind the picture:
In September 2004, my wife and I returned to the Kokugikan (Sumo arena in Tokyo) to attend the sumo matches. In January 2002, I attended my first sumo match and was fortunate enough to sit at the lower level but had to sit Indian-style on a hard floor with only a pillow. This time, we sat in regular seating.
The Sumo season begins in January in Tokyo and rotates to the different regions throughout Japan. While the matches are for a few seconds, the tournaments usually last a month and the winner is determined by the number of matches they won for that month. The more tournaments won determines the rank of the wrestlers.
In years past, the sport of Sumo was Japan's national sport like baseball was America's pastime. Now, with American baseball becoming more and more popular with the Japanese due to the success of their sons Matsui and Ichiro in the top-tier league, The Majors, Sumo may be Japan's pastime but baseball is their passion. More and more Japanese make up the roster of American MLB clubs with last year's World Series having Japanese players on both teams.
While visiting Japan, it is recommended to attend a sumo match. The closest station to Kokugikan is Ryogoku Station. Near the stadium is the Edo Museum which is everything from the era of the samurai. Prior to Tokyo becoming the Eastern Capital (a direct translation of the kanji for Tokyo) of the Asian continent, Tokyo was known as Edo and the culture of this era brought us the most famous dish in Japan, sushi.
The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-10
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