It was a case of first come, first served at 50 sen a head for the opening day today of the 15-day sumo tournament at the Kokugikan and so great was the rush of the fan's that the gates were thrown open at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The stream of enthusiasts continued, and the tourney got going at the unearthly hour of 2:30 a.m. today for a new record in the sumo annals.
    With the tournament extended from 13 to 15 days to meet the mounting demand for seats, and as a further means to please the fans, the directors of the Japan Sumo Federation ruled that even the ringside terraced boxes, which are bought for the whole season, would be made available to the public on the opening day. The opportunity to see the stalwarts at close range, and paying only 50 sen at that per ticket, was the cause for the rush to the ticket windows early Wednesday afternoon.
    The tournament did get started at 2:30 a.m. today, five hours earlier than in past years, but it was only the beginners wrestling. Wrestlers in the top ranking circle were not expected to enter the ring for action until about 2 p.m. today. The final bout of the day between Grand Champion Futabayama and Banjaku, he of the great protruding belly, was not expected to get under way until past 7 p.m. All of the wrestlers have the habit of taking undue precaution on the opening day, all with the ambition of starting the tournament with a victory. Hence, the bouts tend to require the full starting time allowed of five minutes for the "juryo" (second ranking group) and 10 minutes for the top ranking circle.
    So it is that a large part of the fans will have spent more than 24 hours at a stretch in the bowl. If this isn't enthusiasm for a sport, what is?