Two sumo champions suffered surprising defeats Thursday afternoon, in what proved to be the outstanding feature of the fifth day of the present tournament at the Kokugikan amphitheater in Ryogoku. Futabayama, Yokozuna or Grand Champion of the east camp was thrown by Toyoshima, a maegashira of the West camp, and Minanogawa, another Grand Champion of the West camp was defeated by Tsurugamine of the East.
    As usual, matches were staged before a capacity crowd that began to file into the amphitheater from early morning. With Thursday’s result, the East team led the West, 64 to 56.

    As wrestling was to the ancient Greeks and Romans, so is Sumo to Japanese sportsdom for today it is acclaimed as one of the national sports of the country. As a matter of fact, Sumo is recognized particularly by the Imperial Army and Navy as the proper spiritual and physical pastime to develop the national health of the Japanese race.
    Unlike the Greco-Roman style of wrestling were the contestants apply their favorite holds as the full Nelson, half Nelson and the hammer lock on the opponents, Japanese Sumo matches are conducted on a more conservative basis for rough tactics are strictly prohibited.
    To the Japanese, this sport has been associated with martial arts from times immemorial and not for the pleasure of monetary gains so with the professional wrestlers now engaging in their semi-annual tournament at the Kokugikan amphitheater in Tokyo, sports loving fans of Sumo are jamming the arena to witness the behemoth wrestlers.

    Truly it can be said that Sumo is Japan’s national sport. It is practiced by all classes throughout the country, in every town and village as a medium of physical training and development. Wherever boys and young men gather, they invariably turn to this sport for a bit of exercise and diversion.
    Then too, Sumo is considered the basis of Japanese military arts because it is highly primitive in its character and is historically associated with martial training. It is recorded that in olden days, Sumo played an important part as an expression of military prowess for determining tribal policy. With the passage of time, Sumo passed such a stage of development until it became a military art, and military men as well as commoners began to practice it systematically in time of peace to prepare for war emergency.
    As time transpired, Sumo matches attracted the attention of all classes of people, who supported enthusiastically the various tournaments staged by men deciding to become professional wrestlers. Thus, when Sumo became a sport and amusement, its military aspect was preserved by the samurai who studied, developed and refined it independently of wrestling, until it has assumed the present form of Judo. Its popularity spread so far that its orians and strategists of the Edo period even emphasized the importance of Sumo and Judo as military arts in their writings.
Today, Japanese wrestling as a sport has attained a very high stage of perfection and refinement. In the course of its development, it has seen its ups and downs in popularity, but the art of wrestling has always made steady progress.

    It is true that sumo appears to be somewhat similar to Western boxing and wrestling for at one time the method of competition was practically the same as in these two foreign sports. But now it is quite different from the Western spirit in the manner of starting the match, giving the decision and in all other details of the match.
    This is particularly true of the spiritual element of the sport and the manner in which it is expressed. Today, this spiritual element has become a force to dominate, inspire and unify the realm of Sumo. This controlling, guiding and unifying spirit in the art of Japanese wrestling is known as Sumodo, or the “Way of the Wrestler”.
    In short, the “Way of the Wrestler” is the clear, righteous and valiant state of mind, which is one of the most important constituents of the Japanese spirit, and is incorporated into the system necessary for the practice of wrestling. Hence, Sumo is the concrete expression of the “Way of the Wrestler”. Consequently, at present, professional Sumo is enjoying the highest public favor at any time in its history, since it adheres to the time-honored spirit of Sumo as a national sport and makes efforts to work out its destiny on the basis of the spirit.

    Since Sumo is a national sport, it is not monopolized by professional wrestlers. Under the stimulus afforded by the organization of professional wrestling, it has been making progress in every respect and is becoming increasingly popular among all classes of people.
    There are now found hundreds of amateur Sumo associations, but perhaps the most efficient and stable organization is the National Federation of Students’ Wrestling Associations. It comprises practically all the college and university wrestling organizations in the country.
    Besides these, there are three important annual students wrestling tournaments in Japan; namely, the National Students’ Wrestling Tournament, which is held in Osaka in November; the National High School Students’ Tournament also held in Osaka in October, and also another similar group in Tokyo staging it in September. These are the greatest events of their kind in the country insofar as students’ matches are concerned.
    Of special interest is the annual wrestling tournament held as part of the Meiji Shrine National Athletic Meeting in November at the wrestling ring in the Outer Garden of the Meiji Shrine. On this occasion, the participants represent military men, college, university and high school students, members of the Young Men’s Association and various other organizations. They participate in the matches to commemorate the life and work of the Emperor Meiji, who is enshrined in the sanctuary of the shrine.
That Sumo has developed wonderfully as a national sport in Japan there can be no doubt, and it may justly be regarded as a symbol of her national progress.