Sumo!

Photographs added September 21!

My other pages about Japan:
Autumn in Kyoto | More Images of Japan
My Life In Japan! | Links About Japan

Banners announcing wrestlers' names Ryogoku, Tokyo

The dohyo or ring Kokugikan, Tokyo

High ranking wrestlers Kokugikan, Tokyo

If you are planning a trip to Japan I highly recommend these books:

Gateway to Japan (Kodansha Guide) -- I used this book when I first went to Japan and it was fantastic. It has an excellent introduction to the country and highlights features that a visitor might find useful in organizing a trip - culture, food, history, etc and gives great suggestions of where to see what. Then each regional section has all the details for actually setting up your visit. They also have great walking tour suggestions and excellent choices of restaurants and hotels. If you just take one book, make sure this is the one. Make sure to read this book well in advance of your trip, because the introductory sections will definitely make you want to visit some different places after you read about them!

Sumo -- In well over 100 rare and luminous photographs, Sumo offers an unrivaled close-up view of wrestlers in practice and in competition, complete with a brief history of the sport and an explanation of the various stages of a typical match. Photographers are seldom allowed such intimate access to the wrestlers, making this book a truly unprecedented document of the world of sumo. Japanophiles, sumo fans, and photography buffs alike will relish this rare glimpse of the inner circle where ritual, power, and bodies collide.

All text and photographs Copyright (c)1991-2000 Naomi S. Smith

Last update: Oct 5, 2000