The Joy of Sumo:
A Fan's Notes
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| The Cover of The Joy of Sumo: A Fan's Notes |
David Benjamin is my kind of gaijin. He does not come to Narita International airport in Tokyo bowing and scraping at everything Japanese. Neither is he needlessly reckless, or out to “make a point” of how Westerners differ from the Japanese. He is just a regular guy, with great humor, who has fallen in love with the sport (yes, sport and not “cultural relic” or “holy” Shinto ritual) of sumo.
Unlike so many of foreign sumo fans who gasp and oohh and aahhh at the drop of a hat in faux-Japanese flattery at the huge fat guys in colorful diapers fighting on a hill of mud, Benjamin simply enjoys the sport, laughs when he ought to laugh, and gets swept away with the fantastic sweaty exhaustive attempts of one big fat man trying to outmuscle another big fat man in front of thousands of screaming fans. Sumo is fun. Sumo is a kick. Sumo is the kind of sport that as a foreigner you either titter on the sidelines researching the most miniscule details of how the sumo wrestlers names have roots stemming back from the Yayoi era or how the tassels of the judges kimono must swirl in a counter-clockwise direction for fear of upsetting the Shinto gods, or you sit back like Benjamin with a Kirin beer in one hand, sit back on your cushions, and enjoy the sheer monstrosity of it all.
Even if you know nothing about sumo, this is a great book for you to read. It is fun and Benjamin has a very conversational style of writing. He is right there with you while you watch sumo, not like the NHK “sumo nerds” who are basically Japanese propaganda spin doctors (particularly when there is blatant cheating going on!), but with a wonderful sense of humor that is friendly and likeable.
Although this book is somewhat dated, focussing primarily on the Chiyonofuji era, it is still a great read which sets the backdrop for the awful Takanohana era (of which at present date we are still sadly enduring). This book also explains everything that you need to know about sumo, its rules, its customs, its nefarious dealings, and all the fun stuff that goes with it. Watching sumo is much like watching baseball. There is a lot of hanging around, standing, staring, scratching and wiping various parts of the body, spitting, and generally being borderline gross until there is a flurry of action, after which follows more crotch-adjusting, sweating, and standing around. In short, sumo has everything foreigners need to really enjoy watching sports.
Get this book while you can. It's printing is sporadic so once it is gone, it might be gone for good.
Mark Groenewold
Kanazawa, Japan
December, 2002
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