Know Your Sumo (1) Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Sumo is a form of wrestling and is generally considered to be the national sport of Japan. Broadly, the aim is for one wrestler to win by either forcing the other out of the ring, or by throwing or tripping the other so that he touches the ground with any part of his body other than the soles of the feet.

Most professional sumo wrestlers will start their careers in amateur sumo (amazumo), where you will also find ex-professionals and others who are not eligible for professional status - for example, minors and women. To start the climb up the professional ladder, a wrestler must first be accepted into a recognised training establishment, or "stable" (heya): the lower ranks of wrestlers will live and train at the heya, and are also expected to do chores such as cleaning, and waiting on the higher ranked wrestlers. One of the chores is preparing and cooking large quantities of chankonabe, which is a nutritious protein-rich stew formulated for weight gain.

Once wrestlers are accepted into a stable they follow a strict regime which includes rules governing appearance. Most wrestlers will be expected dress in the traditional Japanese manner, and the traditional haircut with topknot (chonmage) is an example of this.

When a wrestler competes in one of the six grand tournaments held each year, his name will be published on the banzuke - the list of wrestlers, according to rank, for that particular grand tournament. If he is of sufficiently high rank, he will have the honour of participating in the ring-entering ceremony where he will wear a loincloth and decorated apron (kesho-mawashi).

As a pair of wrestlers wait to enter the ring for their designated bout, they will hear the sound of a simple musical instrument (hyoshigi) - two pieces of hardwood or bamboo that are clapped together to make a ringing sound designed to attract the attention of the spectators - and as the bout starts and progresses, they will hear traditional calls and shouts (kakagoe) from the referee.

Bouts may last from a few seconds to a few minutes, but at the end each wrestler will be hoping that the referee will point his fan (gunbai) to their side of the ring - this signals a win. Depending on their rank, wrestlers will participate in either 7 or 15 matches in any grand tournament, and will hope to finish with a winning record (kachi-koshi) of either 8 wins to 7 losses or 4 wins to 3 losses or better, which will enhance their chances of promotion to the next highest rank.

The incorrect answers - amigurumi, bonsai, ikebana, origami, and origata - all relate to Japanese cultural crafts.