Sumo Shots
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Here are 17 pictures that I took while watching the sumo tournament in Osaka last weekend. It was awesome. Most of these pictures were taken from basically the back row using my wonderful 18x optical zoom and image stabilizing camera. Yay! We got there pretty early, at about 11:30. We left at about 6:30, I’d say. That’s a lot of sumo. Most of the locals waited until the last 2 and a half hours or so to come to the gym. The morning was full of matches, and they went by pretty fast. When the higher ranked wrestlers started appearing, the process slowed down significantly. With an increase in rank, you add more steps to the ritual - salt throw, drink sip, additional practice squats, etc. - and you add more commercialism too in the form of advertising banners that are walked around the ring before a match. So, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that I enjoyed the earlier part for its brevity (and great wrestling), and I enjoyed the latter part for its showmanship. Tomorrow I’ll post videos of a bout by Yokozuna Asashoryu, and a bout by two lower ranked wrestlers (maegashira). Good times!