Insights

  • The Political Life of Sumo

    The Political Life of Sumo

    The first time I watched Chiyonofuji walk to the dohyō as Yokozuna, I saw Akashi Shiganosuke a half-step behind him, and every yokozuna between them. The same movements, the same stance, salt thrown with…

  • Notes from the Spring Tour, Before the Basho Opens

    Notes from the Spring Tour, Before the Basho Opens

    The jungyo, sumo’s travelling road show, spans 29 days across 27 locations, starting with ceremonial sumo at Ise Grand Shrine and ending in Saitama the week before the basho opens. Wrestlers pile onto buses,…