The Sumo wrestlers are the largest and heaviest of athletes. And when they sprinkle the salt, stomp their feet and exchange intimidating positions to begin the bout, one gets to watch one of the most scintillating sights in the world of sport. This is among the features that has made Sumo wrestling so thrilling to the Japanese for centuries and now to the West. The biggest proof of this is the recent win of the highest Grand Champion title by the US-born Akebono.

There is no clear date when Sumo wrestling, Japan’s national sport, evolved as few written records have been maintained. Sumo is also regarded as the earliest of martial arts with Jujitsu being its direct descendant. Many believe it goes back 1,500 years, while some fans say that ancient paintings have revealed that the sport was played in 23 BC.

One thing is for sure that Sumo wrestling has its origins in religion. According to legend, the very origin of the Japanese race marked the victory of a God, Take-Mikazuchi, over his rival Take-Minakata in a Sumo fight. The Emperor of Japan traces his ancestry to Take-Mikazuchi. The bouts, along with dramas and dances, form part of the rituals and prayers dedicated to the Gods for a bountiful harvest.

In the beginning, these were held mostly in shrines and later moved to the forecourts of warlords, who used the event as another means to demonstrate power. In the 8^th Century, Sumo became an integral part of ceremonies of the Imperial Court and most of the rules and techniques then developed laid the foundations for the Sumo we know of today. Today’s Japanese Sumo Association has its direct origins in the professional Sumo groups first formed in the early 17^th Century.

The most fascinating thing is the wrestler’s gigantic size that is based on a scientific principle – the heavier the fighter, the lower his center of gravity and therefore that much tougher for a rival to force him out of the ring. To ensure this, the wrestler has an elaborate rice-based diet. For breakfast, he is served chanko – a fat-rich stew comprising pork, eggs, cabbage and bean sprouts. Then after training, it is lunch followed by a nap. Soon, they are ready for dinner. This process, too, is based on a principle that heavy eating followed by sleep results in weight gain. Not surprisingly, the champions weigh several hundred pounds. Though they look obese, they do pump a lot of iron.

Earlier, the contestant wore beautifully embroidered aprons indicating the feudal family he represented. 17^th Century onwards, the hair was tied into a topknot to cushion the fighter’s head during a fall. This tradition continues till date. Nowadays, wrestlers wear equally colorful aprons that denote their birthplace, ranking and the professional group they belong to.

The commencement of the game is preceded by a ring-purifying ceremony. Salt and sake (rice wine) are placed at the center, after which the priest blesses the ring. Salt is meant to purify the ring and rid it of evil spirits. Just before the bout, the wrestler rinses his mouth with water to symbolically cleanse his mind and body. The higher the ranking, the greater are the ritualistic obligations on the wrestler. For instance, the Grand Champion has to perform a dance before the bout. The steps are only extensions of his stretching exercises.

Sumo is said to be essentially a mind game, which is why there are occasions when opponents stare at each other far longer rather than engaging in the physical bout itself. In the 4.55-metre wide ring, there is much slapping and pushing. The aim here is to break the other’s concentration. Kicking in the groin or the chest or any move intended to injure the contestant is not allowed.

The wrestler’s dress is the mewashi or loincloth. Interestingly, these are never washed as belief has it that if washed, the wrestlers’ entire experience is washed away in the process. At the physical level of the bout, it is the mewashi that the rivals seek to hold in a vice-like grip so that he can try to have the rival’s body, other than the soles, touch the mat. Thereafter, it is simple – the winner goes up in rank and the loser is demoted. And no matter what, the wrestler would simply show no emotion.

The word castle conjures up images of Europe, but it was the Japanese who adapted it to the changing times and blended strength with beauty and grace. Castles are also attributed to William the Conqueror whose invasion of England in 1066 triggered the stupendous erection of these structures. Six hundred years later, they began losing their value as a defense structure with the advent of potent gunpowder and artillery.

In Japan, the castle assumed its original form during the Nara Period of 545-794 AD. Then these structures made their transition from wood and stone fortifications to those having forts and moats as feudal warlords became increasingly belligerent. This was the underlying logic behind castle building – adapting to the requirements of the warlords and the changing times. The castle was primarily built for defense purposes. When under attack, the warlords and their men retreated into the towers, which also doubled as granaries and armories. The towers began to epitomize power and wealth – the bigger the tower, the mightier and wealthier the warlord. Soon enough, the castle became synonymous with both.

At one time, there were an awesome 30,000 to 40,000 castles in Japan built between 1333 and 1572. Hundreds of the mountaintop castles were constructed in the Sengoku Period, also known as the Warring States Period which witnessed the bloody civil wars. Though the castles were small, they had huge watch towers. Then the castles came to the plains. The Azuchi Castle was built in 1579 by Oda Nobunaga who later embarked upon the unification of larger sections of Japan. This process automatically rendered a majority of the medieval structures irrelevant which soon fell into disuse.

Azuchi changed the tenets of castle building in the country and reoriented the definition to have the structure demonstrate not just protection but also the builder’s status. The presence of a vantage point determined if the area was worthy of castle building. With this, the structures became more complex. The very planning became a detailed and time-consuming process. They had to be protective, at the same time artistic and grand to demonstrate the owner’s power and social standing. These aspects were enhanced by the growing influence of the Samurai clans. The Japanese were exposed to firearms in the mid-1500s and this further changed the castle from being a secure structure to one having military advantages.

Gradually, the castle began to encompass every aspect of daily life. Apart from its military significance, the castles became nerve centers of governments and army headquarters. These also accommodated typical palace politics of alliances and one-upmanship. The castles had huge grounds that evolved into entire townships, bringing in different people in areas of trade, crafts, agriculture and fine arts. The emergence of the castle township directly determined the prosperity of the area.

Peace became palpable during the Edo Period, 1603-1867 AD and Tokugawa Ieyasu unified all of Japan under one government. He built the Edo castle in Tokyo whose fortress was made of cedar. The roofs were made with copper to prevent fires that could be set off by the enemies’ flaming arrowheads. Soon after, the “Ikkoku Ichijoo” law was enacted that made it mandatory for every province to have just one castle. After this, several castles were razed. The 250-year reign of peace began the decline of the castles’ importance – first from a military standpoint and later, the social standpoint.

In 1873, the Meiji government passed the Castle Abolishment Law to mark the end of all those structures that served as a reminder of the feudal period. Within two years, at least 100 of the 170 Edo Period castles were destroyed. The ripped-up parts of the grand castles were sold as firewood and the stones used for dam and railway constructions. The rest were lost to earthquakes and fires. Whatever was left collapsed to World War II bombings. Today, a dozen of the original castles with their characteristic huge towers remain, though much of the adjoining lands and sprawling gardens have been lost with time.