Tag - japan-sumo-association

 
 

JAPAN SUMO ASSOCIATION

Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
SUMO
Nov 21, 2024
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
After a stellar career, Kitanofuji remained popular in retirement for delivering witty comments during live sumo tournament broadcasts.
Shonannoumi hits the dirt at the hands of Kotozakura during a bout in Tokyo in May. Shonannoumi is among the many top wrestlers who have dropped out of this month's regional tour due to injury.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 9, 2024
Spate of sumo tour dropouts highlights need to rethink wrestlers' health
While it would be foolish not to capitalize on sumo’s surging popularity, expanded tour schedules cut into recovery time and push wrestlers to their physical limits.
A sumo referee performs the dohyō matsuri, or ring purification ceremony, in January 2017 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 5, 2024
No talking, no eating, no standing: Inside sumo's ring purification ceremony
Spectators are required to stay seated for its duration, and refrain from using flash when taking photos.
Kotozakura (left) defeats Terunofuji at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya on July 28.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 21, 2024
NFL-style changes sumo could and should make
Many of the sport’s centuries-old systems and methodologies are an increasingly awkward fit in the modern world.
Wrestlers battle during the national women's championships in Osaka in 2018. Amateur sumo is a great way to experience the sport for tourists who are unable to get tickets to professional tournaments.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 8, 2024
No sumo tickets? No problem. Here are some other ways to take in the sport.
Japan’s ongoing tourism boom has resulted in a year-round influx of people interested in experiencing the country’s national sport.
An event that was part of a regional sumo tour in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, in April 2019.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 1, 2024
Summer sumo tour may be tough for wrestlers, but it's a boon for fans
Grueling tours can be quite taxing for top pros, but they offer fans in small cities a rare chance of seeing their heroes up close.
Otowayama stable wrestlers in front of their stable. It may come as a surprise to some, but the use of ring names between wrestlers in the same stable isn’t all that common.­
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 12, 2024
Burning questions (and their answers) new fans may have about sumo
The slow month of June is as good a time as any for our columnist to answer some of the fan questions that crop up with regularity.
Despite Japan’s strict anti-scalping laws, tickets for premium seats to sumo tournaments are being offered at massive markups on resale sites.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 10, 2024
Scarcity of tickets leaves foreign sumo fans out in the cold
Almost as soon as general ticket sales began on Saturday for the upcoming May Grand Sumo Tournament, the entire meet was sold-out.
On the amateur circuit, domestic tournaments such as the Dream Girls Cup, which took place in Tokyo last month, have generated significant publicity for youth sumo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 6, 2024
Sumo's popularity is booming. The recruitment of new pros is not.
Sumo is not immune to the labor shortages plaguing the rest of aging Japan.
Hokuseiho leaves the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo after a meeting with the Japan Sumo Association on Wednesday.
SUMO
Feb 22, 2024
Sumo great Hakuho facing demotion over protege's alleged bullying
The JSA will hold an emergency board meeting on Friday to discuss the recommendation that the Mongolian-born protege, Hokuseiho, retire.
Wrestlers with the Shikoroyama stable after a training session in Tokyo late last month.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 3, 2024
Opportunities abound for sumo's governing body as centenary nears
Much progress has been made in Japan’s national sport in recent years, but there's still work to be done to better cater to foreign fans.
Hakuoho's (left) impressive performance at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament saw him nearly win the Emperor's Cup in his top-division debut.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 4, 2023
JSA on right track with new rules to increase pro sumo participation
Revisions to the tsukedashi system will see more spots reserved for top amateur performers in the third and fourth divisions.
Two Japan Sumo Association officials have been sanctioned.
SUMO
Oct 1, 2023
Sumo association officials punished over harassment claims
The association will suspend Tetsuji Miyata, its administrative affairs chief, for one month, and demote the head of the office in charge of accounting.
Hokutofuji (right) grapples with Kirishima during Day 3 of the Autumn Basho at Ryogoku Kokugikan on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 13, 2023
Hokutofuji shines early as sumo's English streaming era begins
The Day 2 presentation by YouTube channel Sumo Prime Time was a welcome development for international fans.
Former sumo wrestler Daisuke Yanagihara discusses his lawsuit against the Japan Sumo Association during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Monday.
SUMO
Aug 1, 2023
Former wrestler sues sumo association for alleged mistreatment
The former fourth-division rikishi said he was told to fight or quit as coronavirus cases rose in Tokyo ahead of the 2021 New Year Basho.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 14, 2023
Give overworked sumo wrestlers a break — literally
A mid-summer pause would allow rikishi to heal up ahead of the two most arduous and punishing months on the schedule.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 10, 2023
Return of yokozuna council's open training offers good and bad
As with any pre-tournament training session, what didn’t happen was more informative than what did.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 3, 2023
Media returns to Kokugikan as sumo resumes in-person activities
Over the past few years, virtually all press club interviews with rikishi have taken place online, limiting fans' insights into their favorite wrestlers.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 26, 2023
New generation could rekindle ozeki rank's missing spark
With a history of engaging and charismatic wrestlers, sumo's second-highest rank often draws a greater response from fans than the stoicism demanded from yokozuna.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?