SUMO - or suMOH, in Japanese

On Sunday we went to a "sumo appreciation" event - it included just about everything but the real thing, a match. This pic is of the Bulgarian sumo wrestler, Kotooshu (22-yr old whopping 2.04 meters=6 ft 8 in, 143 kg=315lb) the guy ranked right under topdog Yokozuna (highest rank in sumo) Asashoryu. What makes them unique is neither one is Japanese. To many sumo purist's dismay, Asashoryu is a Mongolian wrestler. ^_^ Globalization - it's EVERYWHERE.

We were greeted by all the sumo wrestlers at the entrance and they served us a big bowl of "chanko nabe" for 100yen (less than a dollar!). Sumo wrestlers eat buckets of this stuff to gain weight - and it's no wonder. They put anything and everything in it! Our included: mirin (sweet cooking sake), carrots, konnyaku jelly, satoimo (mountain potato), burdock root, cotton tofu, egg yolks (my bowl alone had 4!!!), soy sauce, onion, chicken meat and skin, eggplant, shitake mushroom, enoki mushroom, aburage (fried soybean puff), Chinese nappa cabbage, negi (Japanese leeks)...and so on. After they've eaten a hearty meal, they take a nap...hmm, it helps speed up the fat building process?

Like a well-seasoned sumo wrestler, I too fell asleep post-chanko nabe meal...and was awoken by a match between Asashoryu and some elementary school boys. It was funny seeing the big guy pick up the boys by their 'diaper' wraps. Some boys got a head start to run into Asashoryu's stomach...THUD. Overall the event was interesting and sumo players were so friendly and polite - I think I'll head out for a game next sumo season.