Local Sumo Customs

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Neither O- nor real ama-zumo, but sumo - I put it here.

Hitori-zumo 一人角力 on the 13^th at the Ōyamazumi-shrine in Imabari, Ehime.

Same cast as every year since 1999, both Ichirikizan 一力山 and gyoji.

Usually one only looks at the rikishi, but the gyoji has a hard job, too: looking at the feet of the spirit and remembering where the also invisible boundaries of the dohyo are (utchari bout 2).

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1013/OSK201310130028.html

older one:

Edited October 15, 2013 by Akinomaki

[Mark.Buckton 68]

this kind of thing is seen sometimes in kabuki and kyogen.

[Akinomaki 40,053]

I thought afterwards that the gyoji is clearly ozumo style – I could have put it there as well.

But I thought to use this topic later for other Local Sumo Customs – each week there is naki-zumo etc. reported from somewhere or kids doing sumo. Many traditional ceremonial sumo tournaments from all over Japan are in the local news as well - that at last clearly qualifies as proper ama-zumo.

Hitori-zumo should be an ancient custom, but if Oda Nobunaga introduced first the dohyo boundaries and then the gyoji, the present form is clearly a more modern version.

(As expected that Youtube history channel is gone already – a pity I only had the time to watch the 2 sumo related videos).

Edit: now here: http://www.youtube.com/user/RekishiMystery/videos

Edited September 5, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

And there is a new one already.

Nettei sumo: At an annual autumn festival on the 14^th at the Mizutani shrine in Okumeiji, Yabu city, Hyogo pref. A courteous sumo as an offering, provincial cultural asset and national selected intangible cultural asset. Driving away evil spirits, huge harvest etc. - the usual spiritual aspect of sumo.

No dohyo, no gyoji, no winner. From the continuous stamping it is seen as a prototype of sumo.

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/tajima/now/201310/0006422467.shtml

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/tajima/201610/0009573580.shtml

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/hyogo/news/20161011-OYTNT50109.html

Edited October 12, 2016 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Today's new local sumo.
Baby's first dohyo-iri 赤ちゃん初土俵入り, on the 14^th at the Suginosue shrine in the city of Miyazu, Kyoto. A Shinto ritual held since the mid Edo period, to pray for the baby growing up healthy and sound. Again including sumo against an invisible spirit, the baby (aided by the gyoji) pushes it to the edge and gets forced back, ending in a pratfall of the baby, which indicates a robust upbringing.
http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/sightseeing/article/20131016000041


this video from another location is better than those from Miyazu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_AYuDdEc0

Gallery: http://www.geocities.jp/k_saito_site/album22.html

similar events:
One more of many variations of naki-zumo: Baby sumo tournament (only held for 10 years yet).
The baby who laughs first is the winner, the one who cries the loser. Same objective as all baby involving sumo events, also the plain akachan-dohyo-iri: robust upbringing.
Video at: http://www.iwanichi.co.jp/video/item_36564.html
In naki-zumo (which has a lot of varieties in e. g. who holds the baby etc.) often also the one who cries first wins, in other locations both win.

Other typical naki-zumo events – kimarite is e. g. naki-dashi (cry-out - instead of tsuki-dashi)

300 years old tradition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqw8fhtcr0w

Amateur-rikshi holding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTfYxMtppns

Baby (aka-chan) dohyo-iri at the Takehara shrine in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto on the 19^th

http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20131019005.shtml

Edited September 5, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

A new proper shrine to worship the “founder” of sumo Nomi-no-Sukune, 野見宿禰神社, on the grounds of the Izumo Taisha, whose 13^th chief priest he was, according to information from the shrine. Festivities were on the eve of the 17^th and on the 18^th. Before it was not easy to worship him there, it was at another location, in the Kagura hall, seemingly together with others. There are small shrines in Meguro, Tokyo and Tatsuno, Hyogo pref. for him.

all articles and pics are gone

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/shimane/news/20131018-OYT8T01191.htm

moving the object of worship

Nomi-no-Sukune kagura

prayer by the chief priest

Edited October 12, 2016 by Akinomaki

[kuroimori 1,634]

A new proper shrine to worship the “founder” of sumo Nomi-no-Sukune, 野見宿禰神社, on the grounds of the Izumo Taisha, whose 13^th chief priest he was, according to information from the shrine. Festivities were on the eve of the 17^th and on the 18^th. Before it was not easy to worship him there, it was at another location, in the Kagura hall, seemingly together with others. There are small shrines in Meguro, Tokyo and Tatsuno, Hyogo pref. for him.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/shimane/news/20131018-OYT8T01191.htm

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/131019/smn13101902060001-n1.htm

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Tn201310190021.html

http://www.shimanenichinichi.co.jp/kiji/show/28426

moving the object of worship

Nomi-no-Sukune kagura

Just in time for my trip to Izumo for the jungyo next week.

Thanks a lot for all your posts inbetween honbasho!

[Akinomaki 40,053]

U-no-koku (old time count = about 6 a. m.) sumo as part of an autumn festival at the Yoshida Minamiyama Hachiman shrine in Uwajima, Ehime pref. Nowadays on the 3^rd this month, the culture day.

The 6 rikishi represent deities, no wins therefore: the gyoji always stops the bouts and after the last declares it a draw till next year.

http://www.city.uwajima.ehime.jp/www/contents/1287560177430/

Dohyo-iri

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8-cwPR6NVk

Bout

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMr2JQ8WIx8

older more complete version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5dEYa8O-k0

[Akinomaki 40,053]

At the 160year old traditional Otoi-Ōzumō on the 26^th, 27^th in Nomura-cho, Seiyo city, Ehime pref., sekitori etc. took part: local Kataonami-oyakata; Shohozan and Goeido at a baby dohyo-iri.

This is the long-time unique tournament event with ama-pro bouts.

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/131127/ehm13112702060001-n1.htm

http://www.ehime-np.co.jp/news/local/20131127/news20131127909.html

Minatosho and Minatoryu from Minato-beya were with kids at a local primary school sumo tournament in Hita city, Oita.

The event had a rikishi bout refereed by Kimura Motoki and ōichō preparation by a tokoyama.

http://www.oita-press.co.jp/localNews/2013_138551544796.html

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Not quite a custom: Gaki(weak, hungry ghost)-zumo 餓鬼角力 - a kyogen play to teach about Buddhism.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/fukui/news/20140411-OYTNT50475.html
The spectators especially applaud at the scene where one of the 3 dead souls strengthened by Jizo with a charm against evil spirits spectacularly throws a devil of Enma-daiō's team.
Final sumo between the bodhisattva Jizō and Enma-daiō, the judge of the afterlife and Lord of the underworld (in Japan also another incarnation of Jizō):

Enma demands that the 3 gaki do sumo with his devils, else get devoured on the spot. First the 3 get blown away, after the charm from Jizō all 3 win, then Enma takes on all 3 at once and wins, then Jizō wins against Enma.

http://www.sagakyogen.info/gakizumo.htm

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Hitori-zumo 一人角力 on the 13^th at the Ōyamazumi-shrine in Imabari, Ehime.

Same cast as every year since 1999, both Ichirikizan 一力山 and gyoji.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubWuI6sV5fo

Like every year it gets reported and it is held at the shrine at least since 1364. The acting Ichirikizan is 40 now and as staff member of the Imabari municipal office was anxious because he didn't train much. He plans to find a style with which he can continue till 75.

http://www.sankei.com/photo/daily/news/150620/dly1506200019-n1.html

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Ishiyama Hanazumo in Takajouchou, Miyagi-pref - a sumo event as ceremonial offering to commemorate the building of an embankment in 1841 as a lasting protection the citizens from water damage.
With several types of dohyo-iri and all kinds of the usual program, shown is mainly the part for kids.

[Akinomaki 40,053]

KochiKochi (recollection of old happenings) sumo each year on the 9. 9. (Chrysanthemum festival) at the Taga Grand Shrine in Taga village, Shiga pref. In ancient times a head priest of the shrine is said to have vanquished an 8-headed 8-tailed snake (a bit like the Greek hydra by Hercules) at Mt Ibuki.

Like in Hitori-zumo 3 bouts and a fixed winner: East Taganosato and west Jumyogaishi, played by local students. Taganosato wins 2-1 and an abundant harvest is secured.
http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASH992W6VH99PTJB003.html

2013 video from http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~oumimatsuri/909taga.html

[orandashoho 720]

Beautiful temple.

[torquato 1,075]

Beautiful temple.

Sorry for the nitpicking, but actually it's a shrine not a temple. Temples are Buddhistic, shrines are Shintoistic.

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Said to have a 2000 year history: Karatoyama Shinji-zumo (Shinto ceremonial sumo) in Hakui-city, Ishikawa. Iwatsuku Wake-no-mikoto, enshrined as deity in the local Hakui shrine, had loved sumo. Each year on his death anniversary this sumo event takes place.
The city gets divided into upper mountain and lower mountain and from each part rikishi are paired and fight 2 bouts - thus a draw is possible. Those fighting in the last bout get the title ozeki.
These kind of shinto ceremonial sumo events were frequent in Ishikawa during the Edo period, but now only 3 remain.
Karatoyama Shinji-zumo was this year made prefectural intangible cultural asset. They do a dohyo-iri with kesho mawashi, sumo jinku and kept the ancient style, doing it at the shine of the special watch fire.
2012 video

http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASH9V3WN0H9VPJLB004.html


Edited September 29, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Said to have a 2000 year history: Karatoyama Shinji-zumo (Shinto ceremonial sumo) in Hakui-city, Ishikawa. Iwatsuku Wake-no-mikoto, enshrined as deity in the local Hakui shrine, had loved sumo. Each year on his death anniversary this sumo event takes place.

Videos from this year

dohyo-iri with kesho-mawashi which look like from real sekitori, with sumo jinku sung

Shinji-daiko

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Sumo parts from today (first 19min) at the Nagasaki-kunchi festival, with (starting at 9:30:) gyoji address, jinku, yumitori-shiki, taiko.

another version, from another angle

more from the 9th

NHK local news (dies in a day): http://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/nagasaki/5035126761.html

The video remains for a week:

Link to paste into VLC or similar media players to watch and record or save the raw input of the video:
rtmp://flv.nhk.or.jp/ondemand/flv/lnews/nagasaki/5035126761_20151008192022.mp4

older pics from http://www.nagasaki-cruz.net/長崎くんち-西古川町-櫓太鼓
old kesho mawashi from Hakuho

Edited October 21, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Hitori-zumo 一人角力 on the 13^th at the Ōyamazumi-shrine in Imabari, Ehime.

Same cast as every year since 1999, both Ichirikizan 一力山 and gyoji.

This year another performance (hitori-zumo booms as well) before the main on the 21st this month - and reported live by Fuji TV like 2men-sumo, with an interview of Ichirikizan afterwards: "The spirit was strong again today".

http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00305142.html

And another boom was this year in maybe the most frequent of all these customs: (cry=)naki-zumo (and sometimes baby dohyo-iri). For a while it was reported almost daily from another location. This one (a selected national immaterial folk custom cultural asset) from the 20th last month at the Ikiko 生子 (living/lively child) shrine in Kanuma-city, Tochigi pref. had a (shrine) record of 1530 babies taking part from all over the country, from 6 months to 3 years old.

This and many more pics at http://www.shimotsuke.co.jp/news/tochigi/top/news/20150921/2088848

Edited October 8, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

Baby's first dohyo-iri 赤ちゃん初土俵入り, on the 14^th at the Suginosue shrine in the city of Miyazu, Kyoto. A Shinto ritual held since the mid Edo period, to pray for the baby growing up healthy and sound. Again including sumo against an invisible spirit, the baby (aided by the gyoji) pushes it to the edge and gets forced back, ending in a pratfall of the baby, which indicates a robust upbringing.

Today is Physical Education-/Sports Day in Japan. Time for babies to have their first sumo bout.

Like the masses of naki-zumo reports this year, this event also gets much news attention.

For me this is also another example for getting to videos. Maybe someone finds a way to get to the video location like with the NHK videos, then we'll have something more to add to the information thread.

3 TV and newspapers sites have videos so far. Only for 1 the video can be played without flash, these are usually easy to access.

This one needs flash: http://webnews.asahi.co.jp/abc_2_003_20151012002.html ( new: http://webnews.asahi.co.jp/abc_2_006_20151012002.html)

Rarely the Network Analysis from Firefox gets usable locations in such cases, here 6 parts of a promising address are shown,

1.http://asahi-vod1.k56.ipcasting.jp/hds-asahi-vod1/webnews/151012h3-bb-l.mp4Seg1-Frag1

but it's nothing that VLC can play, also not the saved raw inputs from the locations.

Sometimes Downloadhelper has this as a link as well, but can't download anything as well. Actually it succeeded in downloading it after while.

The location with only 151012h3-bb-l.mp4 can't be accessed with http, mms or rtmp protocols.

News24 from NTV used to have low res videos which could be saved, now they have better videos which can't be (easily).

http://www.news24.jp/articles/2015/10/12/07312007.html

I'm pretty sure the video has a similar address as the pic, but I haven't found it yet.

vcupload.4cast-ssl.jp/vcmovie/images/L20151012-134655-1-0003.jpg

In this case it ended up on YouTube already

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ-ct81h_Zc

Yomiuri TV has the old type of videos and can be played without flash

http://www.ytv.co.jp/press/kansai/D10585.html

The 300k link for the video is:http://www.ytv.co.jp/press/y-movie/movie.cgi?movie=151012noon02.300k

The page shows in the code this:http://www.ytv.co.jp/press/y-movie/asx/151012noon02_300k.asx

Saving it (e.g. as raw input with VLC) gets a file with the real location of the video, which can be saved again as raw input with VLC:

mms://wmt9-od.stream.ne.jp/vod08/ytv-wmv/press/asx/151012noon02_300k.wmv

A naki-zumo event today for 4 months till 3 year olds with 2 babies on the dohyo had one promising contender: 4 month old Shuta Okamoto kept his mouth closed and didn't cry at all - and took off his headband by himself after the bout, to the applause of the spectators and the joy of his mother.

https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASHBC538XHBCPXLB00G.html

the usual view

Edited October 12, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

The Funabashi grand shrine ritual sumo event has an over 400 year tradition.

One story is that Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1591 stayed for a night in Funabashi while on a falconry tour (his favorite sport which kept him fit to reach the age of 83, outlasting all others and so to remain the winner who took it all).

Local kids came together to entertain him with a sumo tournament and that was the start. It is held each year, an adults part always on October 20th, the date of the one for kids changes, being around this date, this year it was the 18th.

Nowadays it is part of the shrine festival and held at the shrine grounds. The name Funabashi (quarrel=)kenka-sumo is also used for it.

http://www43.tok2.com/home/amasumo/fest/funabashi/funabashi.htm

Pics: http://www.oohijinja.jp/event/sumohono.html

More (6 pages): http://wadaphoto.jp/maturi/honou1.htm (with sound)

Kids (also 6 pages): http://wadaphoto.jp/maturi/hono1.htm (with sound)

(this site has many more festivals covered)

One part, this must be the fastest tournament there is. A kind of condensed moushi-ai keiko. Once started the loser is replaced by the next from his side, skipping not only the shikiri time but also the tachi-ai.

Surpassing 5 men fight: gonin-nuki-sen. In jungyo sometimes there is a gonin-gakari fight held, of 5 lower rankers against a yokozuna, in a similar fashion. The yokozuna has to win all five to win.

Here apparently the first who first wins 5 in a row wins.

Several videos of the event, also of other parts of the shrine festival, on this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyWWZZu8zInBtlW2S39XPMQ/videos

Another video from the Nagasaki kunchi 2015 festival, with at first an old sumo painting shown on display there

Edited October 27, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

2 more types of amazumo dohyo-iri

Usually every 8 years Onna-zumo (written the old style: 女角力) is held in Nagasaki, Shikimi district, at a local shrine festival, starting in 1905. Yesterday again. They have the ranks, gyoji and yobidashi like in ozumo, a few torikumi and yumi-tori-shiki, but also a sumo dance.
http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/news/kennaitopix/2015/10/27090209046041.shtml
http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/news/kennaitopix/2015/10/30091250046063.shtml
Dohyo-iri by yokozuna Yurinohana (lily flower, the proverbial ideal way a woman should look like when walking, but rather just from her first name Yuriko)



last one in 2007


On the 15th a kids dohyo-iri with handmade kesho-mawashi and shikona at the Yagiyama-basho of the Yagiyama primary school in Izuka-city, Fukuoka, with a 60 years tradition. The boys do a dohyo-iri dance to the rhythm of sumo-jinku which the girls sing. After that the torikumi for boys and girls (separate).
Both boys and girls get a shikona when they enter that school, the boys usually with parts of their own names, girls from flowers.
The boys get a kesho-mawashi, aprons they get from sake brewers etc. on which the parents put a decoration cloth they sewed together.
http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/f_chikuhou/article/202052
http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASHBH5F9HHBHTGPB00R.html

Edited October 30, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

At the yearly Okinoshima sumo tournament this time 4 amateur rikishi from Poland took part and in the high school and older, 75kg and above weight part they finished 1, 2 and 3.
Link to paste into VLC or similar media players to watch and record or save the raw input of the video:
rtmp://flv.nhk.or.jp/ondemand/flv/lnews/matsue/4033103641_20151104095648.mp4
NHK local news (dies in a day): http://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/matsue/4033103641.html
The video remains for a week

Edited November 4, 2015 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,053]

A setsubun custom since the Edo period in Kyotango-city, Kyoto area: a kesho-mawashi run in the cold, starting in the dark:

100do-uchi (100times strike). With shikona on the kesho-mawashi dating back to a jungyo there in old times.

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/sightseeing/article/20160208000093

http://www.kyoto-kankou.or.jp/info_search/?event_id=2073&r=1455042259.8461

older pics

Edited February 9, 2016 by Akinomaki

[adam139 4]

Beautiful temple.

Sorry for the nitpicking, but actually it's a shrine not a temple. Temples are Buddhistic, shrines are Shintoistic.

A Shinto shrine (神社 jinja ^?, archaic: shinsha, meaning: "place of the god(s)") is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more Shinto (神道 Shintō ^?)

Yes, shinto is a lovely religion. :-)

Learning about it has deepened my appreciation of sumo and sumo has deepened my appreciation of it.

Edited March 10, 2016 by adam139