Nomura Sumo Tournament

The town of Nomura (actually now part of the city of Seiyo) loves sumo. They love it so much that the annual tournament is pretty much the biggest event of the year. Some friends and I took the day off, got up early as hell, splurged on floor seats, and took in more sumo in one day than most doctors would recommend in a year.

They had everyone from elementary school kids to high schoolers, college students, and even some amateur sumo enthusiasts from around the country. The local schools all had the day off, and every single kid was there to cheer on their school’s players.

The little kids were fun to watch. Some of them were just really cute. Some of them were comically mismatched, with a tiny little runt paired up with the class butterball or some kid who obviously got his growth spurt a little early. When you get to the high school students it’s just scary, though, as they each looked like they could take down an elephant with nothing but their hands and their sumo thongs.

The best part was when one of the visiting pros, Tamakasuga, went up against some of the little kids in a series of cute exhibition matches. I shot this on my cell phone, so make sure to squint and press your face into your monitor as hard as you can.