Fall in Fukuoka, Japan is marked by a soft and pleasant wind that blows vibrantly colored leaves off their branches to the ground. A silence hangs calmly in the air of the big city, and around that time there's an odd electricity that can be felt. This is the time, and the place for the last sumo wrestling tournament every year, the Kyushu Basho.
The Kyushu Basho tournament is one of only six professional sumo tournaments held each year. It lasts for 15 days, and there is excitement in the air the whole time all around the city. During the tournament it is a common to see the wrestlers toddling around the city in their yukata robes and wooden sandals. They are usually followed at a safe distance down the street, into convenience stores, and on the bus by a crowd of admirers, or sometimes groupies. However, for the amount of fame a sumo is heir to, they remain down to earth. Their demeanor is one of tranquility and humble indifference.
As exciting as it is to even be in the city when this is going on, the real excitement is the tournament itself. Thousands of people come from all over Japan and the world come to see these humble titans lock horns in the attempt to climb to the rank of Yokozuna, but only one of them can succeed. For the rest it's back to the stable for more training.
Training to become the world's greatest sumo is not something that happens over night. The process begins when they are a young age. They start by toughening up. This means hazing. New wrestlers are responsible for everything from cooking the massive amounts of food required to feed all the rest of the enormous wrestlers to washing everyones sumo thongs. All of this is done in addition to their actual physical training which consists of being thrown to the ground again and again by senior wrestlers.They live in the stable, and spend all day training their mind and their body.
At the tournament there are thousands of people. Most of them buy the affordable tickets and sit in the auditorium seats. However, the most expensive seats for families of five are on the floor right next to the elevated ring. It seems like a lot of money to pay for the sake of potentially being squished to death when a flying fat man lands on you, but on the other hand, what a way to go!
Wrestler after wrestler take to the ring, throw a handful of salt (to purify), squat lower than you'd ever see people that big squat elsewhere, and collide. Some are big, some are small, and some are hairy. It's mesmerizing, and leaves you in awe. Then, when it's all done everything goes back to normal, and all the wrestlers are gone with the leaves until next year.
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