Sumo is one of the most popular sports in Japan but,once Sumo was practiced as Shinto rituals
before 8th century, Sumo performed in the prescence of Shinto god to pray for harvest & prosperity
so,today you can see ceremonial things in the Sumo
the action of stamping down their feet ＝shiko・四股・しこ→stamping down evil spirits lurking in the ground
spring salt→by sprinkling salt sumo wrestlers purify the ring,ring is sacred place
(salt has the power to clean,once there was no soap,salt was used for cleaning your hands)
There are 6 tounaments lasting 15 days every year, three in Tokyo,one in Nagoya,Osaka,Fukuoka respectively
sumo wrestlers are divided into two groups ,senior grade and junior grade,there are 692 wrestlers ,among them ,senior grade wrestlers is 70 ,so only 10% become senior grade among senior grade ,highest rank is Yokozuna・横綱・よこずな
there are 70 senior wrestler s→18 foreighn wrestlers →12 from Mongol=there are many Mongol wrestlers
now,three Yokozuna(the higest rank)→two =Mongol wrestler one＝Japanese wrestler
every autumn ,Yokozuna do performance in the Meiji shrine as one of the Shinto rituals
photo=last autumn ,Hakuhou ・白鳳・はくほう（Yokozuna) did performance in the Meiji shrien Tokyo , he is from Mongol
Why sumo wrestlers are so huge→the secret of their weight gain is to eat a large amount of food at one time
and reduce the number of times to eat
usually,sumo wrestlers take their meal two times a day=after morning training and in the evening
the photo is morning training of junior grade wrestlers
