The history of sumo is a long one and since there is always the reminder of traditions and old times and since the nsk’s fault is everything (okay, probably not the destruction of Pompeii) i started writing about the history of sumo for the german sumoforum and hope you enjoy this too – always trying to add a bit of comparison to the situation in japan at the given time. Since I know and knew that it is hard to read sheer facts and numbers we will meet mr ito and mr sato, absolutely fictional persons and walk with them on the long rocky road of history….

One more thought before we start…myth’s are a difficult matter as we know from European history (just remember romulus who thought that twins were overstaffed and after changing that by killing his brother founded rome) and so i want to thank watashi, who helped me to circumnavigate around the difficulties that i met

I. gods and emperors

A chapter that will make us miss rules and regulations and where we meet a single father and witness the first sumobout ever….

the kojiko, one of the first books of Japanese history (okay, i admit, rather a book with stories)
the first ever sumobout is said to have happened around 500 b.c. a date i rather doubt but as I am a fan of fairytales lets start…

once upon a time, a long time ago there was a land that consisted of islands (of cause not known as japan at that time) and there was a landbridge connecting these islands with the mainland (not yet known as asia) and at that time things got rocky for our single father…he was a god but well the daughter had decided it was time for some selfdiscovery and the only place were she could do that was a cave (not that the father would have minded in principal…just she was the sun and so a cave was not the perfect place), one of his sons was a never do good and oh well…it is hard to be a single father…to make things worse there was some trouble in a part of the islands that in the future would be known as izumo and so he decided to sent his son takemikazuchi no kami to negotioate with the local boss who was the real boss of the bosses…with a pal the son started the journey and on a nice beach the met the local deity…but without negotioating with his sons (who would inherit his reign) the local boss was not willing to decide on anything…well, you do not really expect the sons (why are there always sons and only daughters aon selfdiscovery???) had one opinion…one said…okay, who cares…let’s accept he is the big-boss, the other named takeminakata no kami said, well I am stronger than anyone else and to submit to someone was absolutely out of question…..

up to this point the versions agree, but know it gets complicated…I found about 10 different versions, but will only tell you my favourite two….

version 1
takeminakata wanted to show of and took a big piece of rock and balanced that on his fingertip, not something that impressed takemikazuchi…at least he was no nobody but a god..well takeminakata grabbed takemikazuchis arm, but takemikazuchi turned his arm first into ice and than into a sword, a sight that disturbed takeminakata and so he let the arm go…now takemikazuchi grabbed takeminkata’s arm and chrushed it as if it was a little twig…the now onearmed takaminakata dicided that going on the run might bet he better part of courage but takemikazuchi and his pal followed him and on the beach of suwa the met again and takaminakata gives up…he just wants to stay alive and the two comply with his wish….without a mono-ii takeminakuzuchi declares himself to be the winner of the bout
version 2

now that the subject is raised takemikazuchi and takeminakata start do discuss the pro and cons and one word leading to the other and we are in the middle of a fight….not exactly according to the rules of sumo (oh … they do not exist..at least not yet) takemikazuchi grabs tamiminakatas arm and bends it, using the surprise of the opponent to throw him (it must have been a brutal throw as takeminakata dies) … for the lack of gyoji and shimpan takemikazuchi declares himself the winner, but didn’t take time to write down rules, maybe because he was afraid that he would have used an illegal kimarite and would have been declared loser…and he also doesn’t found a national sumo organisation, a failure that would prove to be fatal in later times…but even gods can’t think of everything (but maybe he is thinking of something else…as he is said to be the founder of the imperial family his thoughts might have been occupied by some nice girl he met on the way ….)


the average japanese family wasn’t interessted in the ongoings…the earth hat shaken a bit, but that happens once in a while…they were busy with hunting down game and picking berries (yeah…even the japanese had to start in caves) and they had to make new pottery, while the son was painting pictures of sumotori on the walls of the cave…nice new design fort he walls and the gods will like it…

the messieurs ito and sato were on the way on the landbridge … this islands were said to be interesting for newcomers with lots of possibilities…a little backward perhaps, but one could work on that

there still was wrestling…no longer performed by gods but by the humans to honor the gods..it pleases gods when humans try to imitate them…sumo was something brutal in those times, bouts often lasted till one opponent was dead (see what a bad excample does)

and since nothing interesting happens concerning sumo lets skip a year or two and look at the first documented (?) bout in sumo history