Pale, Flabby Men Try to Push Each Other Out of A Circular Space. Comedy Ensues.

Friday was one of those very special, "I'm in Japan, there's no doubt," experiences. My friend Arthur and I went to see the 14th day of the summer Sumo tournament in Ryogoku, in eastern Tokyo, the axis on which the sumo world turns.

The atmosphere was phenomenal, and the anticipation, watching the two wreslters (rikishi) try to psyche each other out, playing mind games, was so thick you could pick it up with your chopsticks. As they lunged at each other, even in our seats up in the second deck (the stadium holds 11,000) we could hear the dull slap of flab on flab, as well as their bull-like grunting as they held each other in position, waiting for the other to crack, waiting for that open split second to make the winning move.

All three of the favorites lost, but the next day Kotooshu, a Bulgarian wrestler and the first European winner of a sumo tournament in history, claimed the tournament victory. Finally, a white male has his day in the limelight. One for tellin' the grandkids.






(Can you tell which ones are the wrestlers?)