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Sumo
Sumo is one of the most popular professional sports in Japan and the image of two of these huge wrestlers grappling is one of the most famous images of Japan abroad. The colorful traditional costumes worn by the rikishi (wrestlers) and gyoji (referees), the distinctive oichomage (gingko leaf knot) hairstyle and the various rituals give the sport the exotic air that appeals to many foreigners. As TV spread the word worldwide, many foreign hopefuls tried to break into the ranks of sumo but few succeeded until recent years. One problem is the language as there are many Japanese terms used even in English-language TV coverage.

For the rikishi, sumo is more than a sport, it is a way of life, unbelievably tough for newcomers but with its rewards for those who reach the top. The most dominant rikishi to take to the dohyo (ring) in the 20th century were Futabayama (1912~68), who won a record 69 consecutive bouts in 1936~9, Taiho (1940~ ), who won a record 32 basho (tournaments) before retiring in 1971, Chiyonofuji (1955~ ), whose almost unbeatable sumo in the 1980's earned him the nickname 'The Wolf' and Takanohana (1972~ ). After retiring, Chiyonofuji became an oyakata (stablemaster) under the name Kokonoe.

The sport has been rocked a couple of times by claims of yaocho, or match fixing. Claims that some of the top rikishi routinely took some ¥3-400,000 in cash to throw a match were quickly and adamantly denied by the Japan Sumo Association, but the sport's image had been tarnished. This may have been one of the reasons why the sumo elders started to relax the rules a bit in the late 80s and beyond. More foreigners were allowed to rise in the ranks. Hawaiian behemoth Konishiki, at 280kg the heaviest rikishi in sumo history and now a TV personality and popular TV commercial pitchman, became the first foreigner to reach the second-highest rank of Ozeki.

Sumo dates back 2,000 years but only became a professional sport in the early Edo Period (1600~1868). It is also practised at community level in some rural areas and in universities. Although some successful university rikishi go on to professional sumo, usually they lag behind those who entered a professional heya (stable, literally 'room') in their mid-teens. All unmarried maezumo (apprentices) and rikishi must live in their heya under the supervision of their oyakata and his wife okamisan. They live very much according to their rank, with the juniors having to share rooms, get up and train earlier, perform all the household chores and eat their traditional sumo meal of chanko-nabe stew after the others have finished. The most famous heya is the Futagoyama Beya, home of the illustrious Hanada sumo dynasty.

There are six divisions (see The Basho for details of the ranking system) - four junior divisions who fight on only 7 of the 15 days of the basho and two upper divisions, whose rikishi earn the name sekitori, receive a salary from the Sumo Association and who fight on each of the 15 days. Rikishi move up - or down - through the ranks based only on their basho performance. In this sense, seniority is no guarantee of high rank. In each of the junior divisions and in the sekitori ranks the primary aim is the yusho or championship. The yusho race usually boils down to the yokozuna, sanyaku (three ranks of champions) and the odd dark horse. If that is out of their grasp, the aim is to have at least a kachikoshi or majority of wins to ensure promotion for the next basho. A makekoshi losing record will ensure demotion, possibly to a lower division on the banzuke, a list of all the rikishi and their ranking for the basho. The only rikishi who cannot be demoted are the yokozuna. However, if they can't keep up the high standards of their rank, they are expected to retire.

Sekitori wear a colored silk mawashi (belt) in basho, whereas a beige mawashi is used in training or by junior rikishi. It is wrapped around the waist and groin and knotted at the back. There is also a sagari or silk string apron tucked into the front of the mawashi. The sekitori wear colorful kesho-mawashi during dohyo-iri (ring-entering) ceremonies. Also, only sekitori can have their long hair oiled and tied in an oichomage.