Sumo myths

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Now that mage shock absorbing factor has been revealed to have been a myth, I thought of opening a new thread to all the myths and "urban legends" I have heard of read.

1. Sumo wrestlers are only fat with no real muscles

Basically this is only from people who have not seen professional sumo for longer than 1 minute or so. However, sometimes there are reports from people who go to see amateur sumo tournaments that "there were horribly fat people who could barely get up onto the dohyo! disgusting...you call these athletes???". Surely there are mostly top athletes in international amateur sumo tournaments as many are current of former top wrestlers, some judoka and people with background in powerlifting or other strength sports but still occasionally there are some really unathletic guys in amateur sumo who strengthen these ideas of "just get horrendously fat and you can do sumo!"-ideas. Konishiki's last years made him the best known rikishi in those people's minds who only saw sumo occasionally on Eurosport or so. Whereas Konishiki was also very strong even in his decline, he was a bad example of how rikishi are and people remembered him particularly well so got their perceptions from sumo largely from his massive and sad girth.

2. Sumo wrestlers are castrated.

This is one myth that every now and then pops out! The wonderful logic behind this is that sumo wrestlers need to have that distinctive thick mage and so they can't be allowed to go bald so snipping out the testicles would take their testosterone production away and testosterone is the main decisive reason for balding (when genetic predisposition exists). Well, people don't know that usually but they often know that those boy singers of old times who were castrated so they wouldn't ruin their high pitch voices in teens, never got bald heh..

The effective counter attack is to refute the logic by explaining that without testosterone, these guys would not have the means to get so big and strong. But this then requires that one must explain that rikishi need muscles too in addition to fat (Blinking...)

3. When sumo aspirants turn 13, they are sent to spesific "fattening camps" where loads of butter and lard is given to them so they will gain a lot of weight and fat and that they spend years on those camps! I was once approached with this urban legend at the gym where someone talked about sumo on Eurosport. One enthusiastic person was telling this to others. Maybe this was the product of his own imagination but it sure was funny to listen such an enthusiastic story. Or is this international urban legend too?

4. "Hi! We were talking about this on our break and found your site and thought of asking you this! We have heard that sumo wrestlers rub their testicles into their abdominal cavity before matches so they could stay safe. Is this true? Thanks for reply!".

That was a translation of an email I got some 3 years ago from some Finnish company where bunch of women had had this exciting topic during their coffee break and had found my little Finnish sumo FAQ site and decided to contact me. I was naturally truly honoured to get my first ever question concerning sumo so I gave a good answer to which the women thanked cordially and even wrote politely that they should find out more about this interesting culture and not just make these silly degrading questions. The future of these prospective future Kotonowaka-fans is unknown to me but maybe that was the beginning of beautiful sumo fanism for these ladies! (Applauding...)

In every case, testicles travel from abdominal cavity to their normal anatomical position. The traveling starts in featus state and then gradually proceeds. Adult men have the pathway left and they could put their testicles into the canal if they so wished. I am sure there are some members on this forum who have had hernia and in hernia examination doctor, urologists especially, stick their finger into they canal and try to figure out if there is any hernia. That is just the corridor where testicles come from. So it could be possible to force the testicles into the canal, then tighly squeeze the thigs together and wrap mawashi really tightly around so that pressure gradient would keep the canal shut and testicles would be there during the bout! Not sure if this would be possible though but in principle I think so.

5. They chuck rice and join the fray

Not really a myth but quite common errorneous assumption. Many people think they throw rice into the dohyo and not salt. Maybe this comes from the fact that Japan and rice are associated and in many cultures rice is thrown in weddings to wish for fertility and this chucking of salt associates with that image in their minds!

6. 200kg is a common weight for a sumo wrestler.

Nearly always people overestimate significantly the weights of rikishi. Maybe that is Konishiki-effect again and in amateur sumo Yarborough-factor?

[Kintamayama 47,464]

I have collected Sumo myths over the years, and will be publishing them in a book entitled "Sumo Wrestlers: Myths and Fetishes".

Here are some:

1. Rikishi get their names (shikona) by pulling writtten names out of a hat provided by their Oyakata.

2. The mawashi color is always chosen by the Okamisan.

3. During meals, no TV allowed.

4. Sumo wrestlers don't go in the pool at least 30 minutes after they have eaten.

5. Sumo wrestlers don't drink water after eating a watermelon.

6. Sumo wrestlers don't look into the sun.

7. Jewish Sumo wrestlers do not eat pork.

8. Sumo wrestlers always marry older women.

9. Sumo wrestlers always marry women with martial arts background.

10. Sumo wrestlers are not allowed to weigh themselves on coin-operated weights, because they always get the same result- "Please stand on the weights one by one".

11. Sumo wrestlers are bad politicians.

12. Politicians are bad Sumo wrestlers.

13. Foreign Sumo wrestlers speak perfect Japanese.

14. Foreign Sumo wrestlers don't know the words of the Japanese National Anthem.

15. Hawaiian-born Sumo wrestlers pick fights with other Hawaiian born civilians at every opportunity.

16. All Sumo wrestlers are not smart.

17. A good mawashi costs upward of $100,000.

18. Tsukebito are not allowed to cross streets alone.

19. Retired Sumo wrestlers make for excellent restaurant owners.

20. All Sumo wrestlers are fantastic gourmet cooks.

21. The correct way to call Sumotori in English is Sumo wrestlers, or SUMO, as in "That SUMO is really FAT!"

Those are just appetizers.

Edited October 30, 2004 by Kintamayama

[Mark Buckton 1]

my head must be in the sand - heard #1 of the top post - NONE of the others - ever! (Blinking...)

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

4. "Hi! We were talking about this on our break and found your site and thought of asking you this! We have heard that sumo wrestlers rub their testicles into their abdominal cavity before matches so they could stay safe. Is this true? Thanks for reply!".

That was a translation of an email I got some 3 years ago from some Finnish company where bunch of women had had this exciting topic during their coffee break and had found my little Finnish sumo FAQ site and decided to contact me. I was naturally truly honoured to get my first ever question concerning sumo so I gave a good answer to which the women thanked cordially and even wrote politely that they should find out more about this interesting culture and not just make these silly degrading questions. The future of these prospective future Kotonowaka-fans is unknown to me but maybe that was the beginning of beautiful sumo fanism for these ladies! (Applauding...)

In every case, testicles travel from abdominal cavity to their normal anatomical position. The traveling starts in featus state and then gradually proceeds. Adult men have the pathway left and they could put their testicles into the canal if they so wished. I am sure there are some members on this forum who have had hernia and in hernia examination doctor, urologists especially, stick their finger into they canal and try to figure out if there is any hernia. That is just the corridor where testicles come from. So it could be possible to force the testicles into the canal, then tighly squeeze the thigs together and wrap mawashi really tightly around so that pressure gradient would keep the canal shut and testicles would be there during the bout! Not sure if this would be possible though but in principle I think so.

I've heard this one in regards to karate adepts of the past...they had supposedly developed their body control to such a degree that prior to a kick/punch aimed at their groin, they could voluntarily retract their "kintama" into their body... (Blinking...)

I prefer the advice given by Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid 2, "...the best way to avoid a punch is to not be there!" :-P

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

One more myth is that rikishi can't perform procedures enabling them to maintain good hygiene after toilet visits of the sitting type. And that apprentices have to aid in that. I am not 100% sure about Konishiki at the end of his career but otherwise lot of nonsense I believe...

[Zeokage 0]

Well, the first I want to ask about...

I was talking with my "adoptive okasans" about my time at the basho on Sunday, and we got onto the topic of cutting the kensho. According to them, the actions are supposed to follow the kanji for "kokoro" or heart. Basically writing the kanji in the air before taking the kensho. I told them about the left, right, middle (probably the wrong order) but they were adamant that it was the kanji for heart.

I don't think that anyone actually posted an actual answer last time, and I didn't want to bump up that thread again in case it just annoyed everyone.

Another question is in the English sumo mini-guide that they gave me on the way in...

...The hair styles are adopted from those fashionable in the Edo Period and have been preserved not merely because of tradition but also because they serve as a head protection in the event of falls.

I know that this myth was quashed just before Kyushu, but this booklet is from the Kyokai themselves. Why would they allow anything like that in there if it's completely false?

Just a note that it still says that there are 40 rikishi in Makuuchi, but that might just be due to not getting rid of the old copies.

[Araiguma_Rascal 0]

Obviously Shiroikuma knows what he's talking about (Do you actually wrestle, and is that you in the picture?)

Besides, Kokoro is 4 strokes, not 3.

I think Asa knows the right way to do it, and he's being rebellious.

Edited December 1, 2004 by Araiguma_Rascal

[Zeokage 0]

Besides, Kokoro is 4 strokes, not 3.

I know it's 4 strokes, which is why I started a new thread, because it would have meant that no-one does it right. I'm sort of glad that it's not the case...

I actually did tell them about the thanking the gods part (at least I tried to, but hesitated because I wasn't sure if it was the right fact) but they were sure it was supposed to be kokoro. I can now tell them for sure that they are wrong, and include the names of the deities. I'd like to show them the kanji in case that makes explaining easier...

Even if it is the traditional way, if it's decreed by a previous Rijichou to do it a different way, why is Asa going against it? Who actually does it the best? I would have thought that Takamisakari would be one of the best examples of it as he gets so many kensho, he bows while I haven't seen anyone else do that.

And about the mage... it seems that it's more than tolerated if it's openly written in Kyokai press. It's almost encouraged... even though I would have thought that they would want people to know the exact traditions so spectators would appreciate it more, even if they were foreign.

Edited December 2, 2004 by Zeokage

[Burainoan 0]

On the "kokoro" thing...i don't necessarily believe that it is connected (though it would be interesting if *both* were true), but i can quite easily see where people could believe that. the fourth "stroke" is the horizontal movement made as the rikishi takes the kensho. that's the largest of the four strokes in the kanji. the stroke order is all wrong, but it does work if you think about it.

Edited December 2, 2004 by Burainoan

[Johnofuji 232]

I was going through some material that I had written 10 years ago and wanted to check the validity of some of the research I had done.Originally I wrote it for a Japanese language school as a bribe to get an extra one percent to supplement my 69% exam results to get a 70% pass.

I have all of it on paper and my sources were from old editions of Sumo World,the promotional material from "Shiko Funjatta" aka "Sumo do Sumo Don't" movie ,Tokyo Journal and various other publications.It was all before the internet was widely used otherwise I would know its true (yeah right)

I really question (Being ninja...) how some of the so called facts about sumotori could be plausible. I would like to know what others think before I update my paper. (Being ninja...)

Fact or fiction?.

"The largest amount of food eaten at one time was consumed by ex-Grand Champion Yoshibayama: 36 assorted lunch boxes obentos washed down by 72 bowls of noodles." (Eating...)

"One of the greatest grand champions Taiho drank over 70 bottles of beer against an Australian Rugby player in the 60

[Jakusotsu 6,431]

Do You really expect to find any proof for this myths? Every time they are told, the amount of sake, beer and noodles increases.

For more details about noodle enlargement contact Your favourite spammer.

[Hashira 0]

For more details about noodle enlargement contact Your favourite spammer

(Applauding...) (Applauding...) (Applauding...)

seriously though, those can't possibly be true. i'm sure kaikitsune or someone can enlightne us on what would happen to a human body if it consumed that much sake/noodles

[Guest Buyouzan]

In a 1992 interview with Sports Illustrated entitled, "Meat Bomb," Konishiki denied allegations that he consumed 120 bottles of beer, 10 quarts of tequila, and 10 shots of whiskey on his 28th birthday. He said that it could not be true because he doesn't drink whiskey. Furthermore, it was certainly more than 120 bottles of beer.

Couldn't find the SI article. But I got this from this website: http://www.akaihana.com/Sumo.html

There was another website that mentioned Musashimaru claiming to have drank 108 beers. I've read somewhere in the past that Mitoizumi was a heavy drinker....

[Fay 1,677]

There was another website that mentioned Musashimaru claiming to have drank 108 beers. I've read somewhere in the past that Mitoizumi was a heavy drinker....

Well who isn't, I drank a glass of prosecco today (Applauding...)

[Gusoyama 106]

Not Sumo, but Andre the Giant, of WWF fame in the 80's, was well known for drinking heavily, and there are several documented examples of him drinking over 100 beers, or several liters of hard alcohol. So, it is possible, in theory.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

i'm sure kaikitsune or someone can enlightne us on what would happen to a human body if it consumed that much sake/noodles

They would get fat, would burp and fart and liver would work overtime to pack all the extra energy into fat!

It is quite simple to calculate the alcohol amounts of for example 100 beers and there are not very wide fluctuations in people's ability to burn alcohol (well alcoholics' livers are more effective but not to substantial degree). On average liver can burn 1g of alcohol per hour for every 10kg of body weight. The more fat you have, the less water content of your body and hence women get drunk easier as does Konishiki (in principle, in relation of weight).

Formula to count the alcohol content in promilles is : amount of alcohol in grams / liquid allocation coefficient (women have around 0.66 on average I think and men 0.75)*body weight

So the more you weight => alcohol concentration less

The more you are a woman = alcohol concentration more

The more you drink => alcohol concentration more (logical!!!)

If those beers are 4.5% alcohol (common in Finland) and 0.33l of volume, you can count the amount of alcohol in millimetres. 0.045*330ml=14.85ml

Alcohol is lighter than water and you need to multiple the ml with 0.8 which leads to g amount. So lets say that beer bottle has 15ml of alcohol. That means it has 12g of alcohol.

Konishiki is bored and is agitated to drink 20 beer bottles in 1 hour. He gets 20*12g of alcohol into his system which means 240g of alcohol. Now put that in formula above:

240g/0.66 (Konishiki has big fat content so he is woman in this)*230kg (estimation)=1.6 promilles only!

Not so bad and it does burn about <20g per hour in his case. Still if someone drinks 100 beers in lets say 10 hours and weights for example 170kg. The blood alcohol content would be 1200/0.75 (assumed man)*170 - 9 hours of burning (9*17=163g, 163/0.75*170) the blood alcohol content would be after those 10 hours:

9.4-1.3 = 7.9 promilles. Dead. 5 promilles kills most of us (3 promilles is already dangerous). Over 6 promilles is extremely unusual. So if Musashimaru would drink 108 beers (he does weigh more than 170kg but also has bigger fat content than average man), he would have to do that in more than 2 days time to stay conscious and alive, even if he would be complete alcoholic.

Fujisan, what was your record in promilles?

If some light sumoforum girl who would weigh 55kg would drink 20 beers fast, it would mean 240/0.66*55=6.6 promilles. Dead. Too bad.

[_the_mind_ 0]

Not Sumo, but Andre the Giant, of WWF fame in the 80's, was well known for drinking heavily, and there are several documented examples of him drinking over 100 beers, or several liters of hard alcohol. So, it is possible, in theory.

i have also heard of the documented examples of Andre's consumption. and the people who lived with him were most of the people telling the reports, they would know best.

[Jonosuke 28]

A bit about Yoshibayama.

He was called up for a military duty in 1942, so close to making it to Juryo. During the war he got shot twice and was reported to have died and was even de-listed from his heya's book. It took him four years to return and when he came back to the heya in June 1946, he was so thin, initially everyone thought it was a ghost of him.

Since then Yoshibayama ate like no tomorrow and even was nicknamed "Stomach". He inherited Toshiyori Myoseki of Miyagino after his active career and trained his recruits at the same place where a sumo restaurant called "Yoshiba" currently stands. This is the restaurant with the old dohyo where he once trained his recruits.

About Raiden and the Chinese scholar - the scholar apparently slept through to the next night and heard about Raiden's prowess from others. He was so impressed with Raiden that he drew a painting and writing for him and presented it to him. This work is still kept at Tokyo's Akasaka Houdoji Temple where Raiden's grave is found.

The 24th Yokozuna Ootori once drank so much prior to his dohyo-iri that he fell down while doing the dohyo-iri and was needed to be helped out by his Tsuyuharai but he continued on and completed the ceremony.

Some thought former Maegashira 2 Takasago Beya's Nankairyu from Samoa could have been an ozeki or even yokozuna but he loved drinking booze so much that he quit Ozumo. He was initially picked by Takamiyama and Konishiki among 300 to join the heya and showed a great potential.

But on the night of Day 13 at the 1988 September Basho, he was discovered in a total stupor by hotel staff at the Asakusa View Hotel and police was called in. He was eventually taken back to the heya but the next morning he refused to do any training session and was scolded by then Takasago oyakata severely.

He promptly ran out of the heya and skipped the Day 14. The morning after the Senshuraku, he started to drinking heavily again with his friends who came to see him. Seeing this, Takasago oyakata finally had it and told him he had to choose between sumo and booze. Nankairyu told the oyakata he couldn't stop drinking and went back to Samoa. His retirmemnt papers were forwarded by the oyakata in October 1988 after a consultation with then chairman of the Kyokai, Futagoyama oyakata.

Edited March 15, 2006 by Jonosuke

[Shimpu 0]

If those beers are 4.5% alcohol (common in Finland) and 0.33l of volume,

Hmm, in Poland if you say beer it means 0.50 l of volume. 0.33 l means "small beer" - I wonder how about Musashimaru's beers - but with 0.5 it would be looked even more illogical. Great post Mr. Kakitsune - alcohol is bad for health, now I finally understood it (Blushing...)

Edited March 15, 2006 by Shimpu

[wanchanyama 0]

In a 1992 interview with Sports Illustrated entitled, "Meat Bomb," Konishiki denied allegations that he consumed 120 bottles of beer, 10 quarts of tequila, and 10 shots of whiskey on his 28th birthday. He said that it could not be true because he doesn't drink whiskey. Furthermore, it was certainly more than 120 bottles of beer.

Couldn't find the SI article. But I got this from this website: http://www.akaihana.com/Sumo.html

Think this is a link. Love the comments about the next morning.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/...waii/flashback/

[so what about the beer and the tequila?

"That's only partly true. The 10 quarts of tequila is right, but I drank more than 120 bottles of beer." Did he get Meat Bombed?

"No, but the next morning I felt like I had 23 hearts, and all 23 were in my head, pounding."]

[Sasanishiki 57]

Hmm, in Poland if you say beer it means 0.50 l of volume. 0.33 l means "small beer" - I wonder how about Musashimaru's beers - but with 0.5 it would be looked even more illogical. Great post Mr. Kakitsune - alcohol is bad for health, now I finally understood it (Neener, neener...)

Well, in Japan there are various sizes of beer bottles. The small ones are 0.35 l, the middle ones 0.5 l and the large ones are 0.633 l

The middle and large ones are available in crates and would be the ones served at parties or izakaya. The contents of the bottle are usually poured into small glasses from which they are consumed (rahter than drinking directtly from the bottle).

[Kaiomitsuki 408]

In a 1992 interview with Sports Illustrated entitled, "Meat Bomb," Konishiki denied allegations that he consumed 120 bottles of beer, 10 quarts of tequila, and 10 shots of whiskey on his 28th birthday. He said that it could not be true because he doesn't drink whiskey. Furthermore, it was certainly more than 120 bottles of beer.

Couldn't find the SI article. But I got this from this website: http://www.akaihana.com/Sumo.html

Think this is a link. Love the comments about the next morning.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/...waii/flashback/

[so what about the beer and the tequila?

"That's only partly true. The 10 quarts of tequila is right, but I drank more than 120 bottles of beer." Did he get Meat Bombed?

"No, but the next morning I felt like I had 23 hearts, and all 23 were in my head, pounding."]

.. and the pictures from this SI article are in this topic from the forum http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?...980entry76980

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

10 Hidden Details In John Wick 2 Everyone Completely Missed

Quote

One of the assassins that try to take down John is a sumo wrestler, who John tries to incapacitate by attacking him in his groin. But that does not work, with the sumo simply shrugging off the blow. This was no coincidence...

https://screenrant.com/john-wick-2-hidden-details-trivia/

Some those wacky myths are still circulating...

[Benihana 1,976]

Impressive necro.

[Asojima 2,874]

In 1960, my Chinese instructors insisted that this was part of the training regimen for all of the ancient warriors and was still practiced in many of the monasteries in China.