When "invincible" Futabayama was toppled three days in succession on and after what was expected to be his 70th consecutive victory, it accelerated the enthusiasm of lovers of sumo. So the semi-annual main tournament at the Ryogoku arena, Tokyo, is having another hectic session Futabayama and Minanogawa, "Yokozuna" (grand champion) of the "East" and "West" groups, continue to be the idols of the whole nation.
    These champions, however, have had a hard time to attain their present enviable position, and their hard work is still kept up so they might be able to hold their own. As a matter of fact, the life of sumo is full of ups and downs. It is so difficult to distinguish oneself in this national field of sports that only one in a hundred can attain the ranking of "maku-no-uchi" it is said, let alone the championship.
    At any rate, even the highest ranked sumo men began at the bottom of the long ladder of his career as an apprentice.
    According to the present regulations of the Sumo Association, an apprentice is admitted at the age of 17 or 18, provided he is taller than five feet five inches and weighs at least 157 lbs. If a man is to join the association after he is 20 years of age (when the physical examination for conscription takes place), he has to weigh a good deal more than 170 lbs.
    There are bosses, and an apprentice becomes a personal understudy of one of them. The training begins the very day he becomes an apprentice. He has to be at the arena at 6 a.m. even though the thermometer may register 7 degrees below zero, as nowadays.
    They wrestle without anything on, first with senior understudies. The newcomer soon finds himself covered with sweat and sand. After a three hour session, the "Sekitori" (sumo wrestlers of higher ranks, from "Juryo" to champions are called by this name) will make their appearance.
    The one advantage of the custom is that even a newcomer may have the chance receiving personal instruction from a Yokozuna. He will make a dash at the Yokozuna only to be thrown; he makes another dash, is thrown again, and so it goes on.
    Two or three apprentices give up the training about 10 a.m., ahead of all other. They have to prepare the luncheon. These men are called "chanko-ban" apprentices.
    A "chanko-ban" apprentice has to do the sweeping, cleaning, and all the details of putting things in order, besides having luncheon ready when the training ends at noon. If he is no good at boiling rice, he has to do such things as cleaning the toilets.
    It is only after 10 years of such hard training that the apprentice has a chance of becoming a regular sumo wrestler, a sekitori. But it is said that almost all the men become discouraged in the meantime and give up the career. Just to become a lowest ranked sekitori takes 10 years.
    One may well surmise how hard it is to become a "maku-no-uchi" ranked sekitori or a champion. For only hard work and constant study can carry them to higher ranks. A successful sekitori would never dream of drinking, smoking, or leading a gay night life.