R. Kenji Tierney’s article "Outside the Sumo Ring?" outlines the complicated history of sumo in Japan, and how the country has dealt with foreigners competing in its national sport. After it was seen as primitive during the Meiji Era, sumo gained a lot of traction as a symbol of national identity. By the 1930s, sumo wrestlers were competing for the emperor and military, making sumo a definitively Japanese pastime. However, following WWII, many foreigners began competing, and an American won the Nagoya tournament in 1972, becoming the first non-Japanese person to do so. Some saw this as corruptive to an integral part of Japanese culture and was even likened to Commodore Perry’s black ships arriving on the shores of Japan in the 19th century. This is another example of how Japan often tries to impose a monoethnic identity onto a multiethnic reality.
An interesting aspect of the article was that foreign sumo wrestlers would adopt a Japanese name as their wrestling name. This was also apparent at the sumo tournament we attended where every name on the schedule was Japanese. I know that one of the wrestlers that was on the lineup, Hakuho Sho, is of Mongolian descent. It does seem odd that these foreigners use a Japanese ring name, almost in a attempt to hide the fact they are not Japanese.
Although there are many foreigners in sumo, the culture around the sport still remains definitively Japanese. As we saw at the tournament, the wrestlers would bow to each other, help each other up, and show zero animosity towards each other once the bout was over. This level of respect is never seen in American sports and certainly not in combat sports, where rivalry and bad blood is celebrated. This is where I think sumo purists should find comfort. As long as the sport itself is not corrupted, it doesn't matter who is competing.
I believe this more open mindset can help raise interest in the sport. As evidenced by the audience at the tournament, which was comprised mostly of elderly people and tourists, sumo’s popularity is clearly on the decline. With any sport, popularity is driven by high-quality competition. And the only way to get the best of the best competing in a sport is by internationalizing it. This could also help gain popularity from other countries that would now have their own countrymen competing. Even the most American of sports, football, is taking this approach by playing games in England and Mexico. Of course, sumo is inherently different than football, as sumo was created centuries ago and has morphed into a symbol of national identity. Football, on the other hand, wasn’t created until the 20th century and is a business above anything else. Thus, it's important to realize that popularity and revenue may not be the main goals of sumo as it is in American sports.
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