Sumo wrestlers beat heat, make new fans at summer camps
For many, the words "training camp" and "summer" are synonymous with American football and particularly the NFL. Ever since George Plimpton's 1966 book "Paper Lion" first drew back the curtain on what takes place inside a professional football camp, sports fans have been fascinated by ...
An oft-heard refrain from fans new to sumo is that wrestlers get paid huge sums for just a few seconds work each day. It's one of the more common misconceptions, along with thinking that success in Japan's national sport is just a matter of eating ...
As basho sellouts continue, regional tour offers peek behind curtain
Within 90 minutes of going on sale, tickets for the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament were all snapped up. The retirement of yokozuna Kisenosato seems to have had little effect on the sport's popularity in the capital. While seats can still be obtained through resellers, the ...
Grueling summer tours offer mixed blessing for sumo
Sumo's summer regional tour is already under way, snaking around Lake Biwa and across central Japan towards the Kanto region. After a brief stop in Tokyo, the jungyo, as it is known, heads up north as far as Hokkaido before returning to the capital where ...
Exhibition events bring sumo to new audience
Jungyo is similar to baseball's spring training for sumo; wrestlers are more relaxed and laid back, and fans have more opportunities to interact with the giant fellows. Some of the venues provide an unusual atmosphere not normally seen at the six regular tournaments each year. On ...
