Yaizu Sports & Outdoors

During YAIZU ARA MATSURI there is a small sumo tournament, not has grand as the real thing but just as fun.

SUMO

Sumo has been an entertainment in Japan for more than 1,300 years. The first written record of Sumo as historical evidence was found on Nihon Shoki.

On 22 July, 642, Kogyoku Emperor commanded his soldiers to perform Sumo to entertain the guests from Kudara, one of the old countries in present Korea.

There is, however, another written record of Sumo prior to the above.
In 469, Yuryaku Emperor commanded his ladies of the court to strip themselves, put on tohsagi (one kind of fundoshi) and perform Sumo.

This was done to embarrass an expert in carpentry named Inabe-no-mane who had said,"I will not chip the edge of a hatchet even if I use it on a stone." He missed his aim at the sight of female Sumo and was almost killed because of his boast.

Even though this is the first word of Sumo written in the literature, most of the Sumo scholars ignore this as the first written record of Sumo.

In 728, Shomu Emperor issued a draft call for Sumo tournament, and 6 years later, on 7 July, 734, Sumai-no-sechie, the first national Sumo tournament was held.


Since Sumo became an imperial ritual it has been played generally as a festival all over Japan.

but nowadays Sumo is played as a sport.With tournament played in Tokyo and Nagoya