Wrestling the popular athletic pastime many countries, is nowhere more popular than it is in Japan, where it is considered a national sport. Possessed of wonderful strength, the Japanese athletes are fine specimens of physical manhood. They follow the sport from childhood, and there are few in the country of mikado who cannot handle themselves cleverly on the mat.
    In the championship tournaments which are held irregularly, however, only the honors, as they are so overwhelmingly endowed strength that it would be for for the little fellows to tackle them.
    These athletes are only big things in Japan, everything else being small in comparison. They certainly are large, the most famous ones being perfect mountains of flesh. But they are usually so lithe and active that when in there is no suggestion of weight or clumsiness.
    Just these look like can be imagined when it is known that the present champion of the empire is about feet in height and weighs 400 pounds. His name is Yokodzuma, and he is only 30 years of age.
    The pride of the Japanese wrestlers is that are born to their profession. They say their gigantic bodies are a gift from heaven. The position of wrestlers in Japan has always been high, skilled strength being looked upon with great respect. During the feudal period, those above a certain rank were privileged to wear two swords.
    At the championship tournaments only the best empire gather. Sometimes they number 200, and there is as much enthusiasm during the progress of a match as there is in this country at a Yale-Princeton football game.
    The wrestlers are divided into the east and west, and each match contains a representative from each side. The competitions are generally in a special building called a sumogoya. It is constructed of upright legs of bamboo, the posts and crossing poles being tied with straw ropes. The sides and roof are covered with a coarse straw matting.