sumo

Would-be sumo wrestler numbers at all-time low

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© 2012 AFP

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If you want premium seating or access to ring side then pay for the privilege. This has nothing to do with you being lumped together with the yakuza. It has everything to do with you being too cheap to pay for better seats. Save your money and pay for better tickets. There are 5 Sumo basho a year. Do you plan on attending each day of each basho? Most likely not. So plan accordingly and by the tickets you want and stop moaning about it afterwards.

Once again, premium seating comes at a premium. You want to sit in those seats, by a ticket for them.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ranger_Miffy2Nov. 01, 2012 - 10:08PM JST Why did I get a thumbs down? I didn't say anything crazy. Whoever did that, come out in public and state your beef.

I gave you a thumbs down. If I could I'd give you a 1,000,000 thumbs down. Everytime there's an article about sumo you always post the same thing: Also, the JSA needs to cancel forever their new ridiculous rule of banning general ticket holders from the main floor. People were always polite about moving back to their cheaper seats when the aproned-bedecked stars sailed solemnly onto the dohyo. This ruling is extremely unpopular and brings out fan hostility. Just what sumo does not need.

What sumo does not need are people like yourself who want to sit for free in the premium seating that others have paid for. There's nothing ridiculous at all about what the JSA is doing. It's long overdue. Do you try and sit in empty first class seats until the rightful ticket holder comes along when you fly even though you only paid for economy? Do you try to sit in the Green Car on the Shinkansen just because there are some empty seats evn though you just purchased a regular fair ticket?

Makes no difference if the seats are empty for the early matches. Makes no difference how polite you are about it. Somebody has paid (lots of money) for them and will be sitting in them later. Why should they have to sit in your sloppy seconds? Nothing makes me madder they seeing someone sitting in a premium seat that I have paid lots of extra money to reserve. I don't care how polite they are. They shouldn't be there period.

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The trouble is, you're not allowed to bleed in the ring, it's against the Shinto purity laws.

You miss the point entirely. In the new WWS, the word Shinto would be taboo and all the old men would get booted. My new league is all about entertainment, not tradition. Stupid rules like "no blood in the ring" are the reason the sport is on the way out the door.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I believe traditions are a great social cement asset. But it must be kept alive by keeping it moving with the society. Maintaining military hierarchy and bullying to forge the character is totally outdated.

Talking about tradition, I come from country with deep and old music tradition. With absolutely nothing new for decades - it is so boring. Then when I compare with Brazil, they have a vibrant evolving traditional music, mixing samba, jazz, rock, ... and more. This is the future.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why did I get a thumbs down? I didn't say anything crazy. Whoever did that, come out in public and state your beef.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

All JSA has to do is find tall, overweight Japanese men that want to wrestle for fame and glory except at the same time don't mind living like a shinto priest. How hard can it be?

I think some more incentive might be good. It seems 90% of the wrestlers are happy in the middle of the herd which makes for some snooze inducing matches. Though before I pass judgement, I'd love to know if it really is that easy to fall flat on your face right out of the tachi ai.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I remember the JSA going through this same type of phase 20 or so years ago, and then came the Akebono-Takanohana rivalry. I don't remember it being quite this bad though!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I can totally understand why young people wouldn't want to get into the sport. They have to deal with a strict social hiarchy which may even be the death of them. It is hard to climb the ranks and due to the sinking popularity, there doesn't seem to the fame/money factor inticing young people. There should be an overhaul of the system to allow all sumo wrestlers have a good monthly base pay, a strict rule on hazing and a new marketing technique to get bums in seats.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

you gotta love harumafuji's skillful wording on the subject. he was walking through a landmine with the subject.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

JSA needs to change, they should have never make asashoryuu step down, yes he was arrogant and had a temper issues, but his bouts were always interesting to watch, if the heya's would implement that the higher the rikishi rank is the less he controlled, maybe that would entice more young people to join.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

tag-team sumo, lady sumo, under 70kg sumo, royal rumble sumo and people will go gaga for it - despite their initial reservations.

The trouble is, you're not allowed to bleed in the ring, it's against the Shinto purity laws.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

this sport is going the same way as arranged marriage, geisha and the cassette tape.

someone will soon come in and introduce tag-team sumo, lady sumo, under 70kg sumo, royal rumble sumo and people will go gaga for it - despite their initial reservations.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Things could change. In the past, most sumo rikishi looked more like Ama/Harumafuji...very athletic and not mountains of buttercups. Personally, I don't mind non-Japanese currently dominating. Wish Japanese could relax a bit more on the entire issue.

Also, the JSA needs to cancel forever their new ridiculous rule of banning general ticket holders from the main floor. People were always polite about moving back to their cheaper seats when the aproned-bedecked stars sailed solemnly onto the dohyo. This ruling is extremely unpopular and brings out fan hostility. Just what sumo does not need.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Surveyed many of my senmon gakko classes (30-35 students in one one class ) "who likes Sumo?" Every time not one young person says ,"me". If the young don't like it, it's on it's way out......This is so anti japanese I hate to say it but,... Total overhaul of the ancient sport. Ripped athletes, healthy, same basic wrestling rules with some modern flare. No match fixing, wrestler apps, etc. Pre match text "who do think will win?" You have a chance to win ...... If you text you answer now. Social media all the way. And whatever else they can dream up to attract the youth.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Is it surprising that Sumo is losing popularity?

For one thing, the bouts are fixed:

http://www.newser.com/story/111192/say-it-aint-so-sumos-fixed.html

And for another, as others have pointed out, I'm sure people are wondering what's the point in punishing your body like this and knocking 20 or 30 years off your life for the privilege of waddling everywhere and eating lots of chanko nabe?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

white old men?????

Really?????

Sumo is rubbish and dominated by foreigners, hence the lack of interest.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

@GG2141

Its not quite that simple, but of course to see that, it takes little more than watching TV while drinking beer.

The point seems to be that japanese can no longer find much glory in a sport where all they can look forward to, is being continuously being beaten by gaijins. Another point is of course that Sumo is a typical japanese institution, corrupt from top to bottom, run by white old men, who have no contact to the real world and keep on doing unbielvabkle stupid things. They fire wrestlers for smoking weed (the russians and others) They fire an ozeki for betting on baseball(!), and they fire the best sumotory they have, the only one that was actually worth watching, because he enjoyed life and even visited night clubs....

Well, given Hashimoto and Ishihara on the rise, the bosses of Sumo and their kind may well be running all of Japan pretty soon and leading them into the conflict with China. Time for civilised people to pack their suitcases... and its not because of "two obscenity sweaty fat men"

2 ( +4 / -2 )

And what happens if you don't succeed?? Boom! You are now a big, fat unemployable walking diabetes poster child waiting to die young from a massive heart attack while limping about on bad knees.

Maybe some sports, like head hunting, need to die out.

Certainly the obscenity of two sweaty fat men pushing each other in a ring hold no appeal for me.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

The sport’s managers said the lone application took the total number this year to just 56

Great job JSA. You're managing to accomplish the near impossible -- kill off the national sport.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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