I became interested in sumo because my sister was, and I wanted the challenge of not seeing the wrestlers as grotesque. I came to appreciate it, even to become a fan. I visited Japan two years ago, and was able to attend a morning practise session at one of the heyas. When I first entered the practise room I was truly awestruck: the wrestlers were giants. Their ease with their mostly naked bodies, the quiet work, punctuated only by “yosh” as they moved from one exercise to another, their absorption in their task, were very moving, so that tears came to my eyes. Your writing brought it back so vividly, it was indeed a shared nostalgia. Thank you.
Congratulations on the first year! It is wonderful to be able to read it all!
The nostalgic feeling we get, I think it's a cross-cultural thing. People long for a place of quiet of mind and I think that how Shinto provides it, it clicks with a lot of us. It's on the little details of everyday life that we can enjoy.
It's been the third Basho I'm following. I think I'm starting to understand what you say as it's the sound of the evening. Sumo is a perfect sport to watch while also doing something else, since the time between bouts it's fairly long and you can actually listen at which moment of the bout you are. As someone I know says, it's the perfect sport to have in a second monitor while working.
But I'm enjoying it more and more. Not only watching those mountains of rikishi competing, but also the rituals, gyoji and yobidashi.
I've come to like a lot Kotoheiho's Shiko. It looks so elegant. Yobidashi's call like Kunio's are just fantastic to listen. And Limits Konosuke looks so authoritive at the doryou.
I still remember when I first watched some bouts, a long time ago: it was on a famous old capsule hotel (green capsule hotel, I think it's name. It also appeared on one beautiful documentary movie called Baraka (or maybe it was Samsara...)bath in Shinjuku, on my first trip to Tokyo. I remember my feeling at the time: "it feels like I'm in a movie by itself: being on a big bath pool alone with some strangers, away from home, while watching a sport that is totally new for me"
Now one of my wishes is that I can soon watch a tournament day live :D
Aloha! Thankful for your sharings. As you point out, the sharings connect with us, as human beings, who relate the Japanese cultural notes with notes from the cultures we have experienced. True cross cultural sharing. Thankful.
I was blessed to have the opportunity to sit ringside in a U.S. embassy employee seating area as a guest for an entire day of Sumo. We had a business selling Soloflex, a U.S. designed home strength training product we sold through direct marketing in 1984. Our 19th customer was Chiyonofuji, "The Wolf" who bought one for his "beya". I remember our customer service team super excited about processing the order. Noriko's family construction company is a sponsor of Aomori prefecture born sumo wrestlers and everyone at the office would gather round to watch for the construction company sponsorship flag paraded around the ring before the match. We also had the chance to meet these sponsored sumo wrestlers as they came to visit their sponsers. The sound I most remember from our ringside viewing area was the sound of the two bodies coming together. BOOM! I remember being shocked that two bodies could make that sort of sound. WOW!
Congratulations on the 1st year anniversary of your substack sharing! THAT IS A BIG DEAL! As a start-up specialist, I am always amazed at how the original start-up plan and the actual reality of what evolves after a one year period are often quite different. The key to success of a start-up is first having a plan (this serves as valuable research to help evolve the product), then as various challenges present themselves, as they always do, turning those challenges into opportunities to improve the product. Making it the one year mark is a BIG DEAL! Especially since your product just continues to get better and better. Well Done! Thankful. Thankful. Thankful.
I became interested in sumo because my sister was, and I wanted the challenge of not seeing the wrestlers as grotesque. I came to appreciate it, even to become a fan. I visited Japan two years ago, and was able to attend a morning practise session at one of the heyas. When I first entered the practise room I was truly awestruck: the wrestlers were giants. Their ease with their mostly naked bodies, the quiet work, punctuated only by “yosh” as they moved from one exercise to another, their absorption in their task, were very moving, so that tears came to my eyes. Your writing brought it back so vividly, it was indeed a shared nostalgia. Thank you.
Congratulations on the first year! It is wonderful to be able to read it all!
The nostalgic feeling we get, I think it's a cross-cultural thing. People long for a place of quiet of mind and I think that how Shinto provides it, it clicks with a lot of us. It's on the little details of everyday life that we can enjoy.
It's been the third Basho I'm following. I think I'm starting to understand what you say as it's the sound of the evening. Sumo is a perfect sport to watch while also doing something else, since the time between bouts it's fairly long and you can actually listen at which moment of the bout you are. As someone I know says, it's the perfect sport to have in a second monitor while working.
But I'm enjoying it more and more. Not only watching those mountains of rikishi competing, but also the rituals, gyoji and yobidashi.
I've come to like a lot Kotoheiho's Shiko. It looks so elegant. Yobidashi's call like Kunio's are just fantastic to listen. And Limits Konosuke looks so authoritive at the doryou.
I still remember when I first watched some bouts, a long time ago: it was on a famous old capsule hotel (green capsule hotel, I think it's name. It also appeared on one beautiful documentary movie called Baraka (or maybe it was Samsara...)bath in Shinjuku, on my first trip to Tokyo. I remember my feeling at the time: "it feels like I'm in a movie by itself: being on a big bath pool alone with some strangers, away from home, while watching a sport that is totally new for me"
Now one of my wishes is that I can soon watch a tournament day live :D
Aloha! Thankful for your sharings. As you point out, the sharings connect with us, as human beings, who relate the Japanese cultural notes with notes from the cultures we have experienced. True cross cultural sharing. Thankful.
I was blessed to have the opportunity to sit ringside in a U.S. embassy employee seating area as a guest for an entire day of Sumo. We had a business selling Soloflex, a U.S. designed home strength training product we sold through direct marketing in 1984. Our 19th customer was Chiyonofuji, "The Wolf" who bought one for his "beya". I remember our customer service team super excited about processing the order. Noriko's family construction company is a sponsor of Aomori prefecture born sumo wrestlers and everyone at the office would gather round to watch for the construction company sponsorship flag paraded around the ring before the match. We also had the chance to meet these sponsored sumo wrestlers as they came to visit their sponsers. The sound I most remember from our ringside viewing area was the sound of the two bodies coming together. BOOM! I remember being shocked that two bodies could make that sort of sound. WOW!
Congratulations on the 1st year anniversary of your substack sharing! THAT IS A BIG DEAL! As a start-up specialist, I am always amazed at how the original start-up plan and the actual reality of what evolves after a one year period are often quite different. The key to success of a start-up is first having a plan (this serves as valuable research to help evolve the product), then as various challenges present themselves, as they always do, turning those challenges into opportunities to improve the product. Making it the one year mark is a BIG DEAL! Especially since your product just continues to get better and better. Well Done! Thankful. Thankful. Thankful.