You can all stop clicking refresh, the time has finally come. Today I went to see sumo.
The word sumo may conjure up an image of fat men rushing at each other and hitting, grabbing etc, after squatting lots and lifting on leg up to the side then the other. This is actually exactly what sumo is like. I was very pleased. It is probably the most Japanese thing I have seen so far.
We managed to get cheap tickets because we have all just become adults so for one year you can go for 16 pounds instead of 25. The most expensive tickets were ridiculous and then you have the very real danger of a sumo-san falling on you.
First impressions were pretty much exactly the same as what I have seen in films, although they have much easier lighting to work with in films which aids better photographs. We were right up in the cheap seats but that didn't matter as I have a large zoom on my camera.
We were very excited for the first match, which didnt begin until much walking in and out of the ring has happened and lots of salt throwing (to purify the ring.) We were so excited in fact, that we missed it. It lasted 3 whole seconds. The rules are very simple- The first player to step out of the ring or touch the ground with anything other than feet loses. The other player receives a huge wad of cash as he walks off the podium.
Here is one of my favourite photos- the Leg thing is one of those "that's so sumo" images of Japan in my mind.
The final match was very exciting and I was very glad I went further forward to photograph it like an idiot tourist.
I also managed to get a video which just gives a small idea of what it's like.
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