| June 8, 2004 |
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PBS: Sumo East and West
Welcome  to a sport where thunder thighs are feared weapons and a potbelly can pin an opponent to the floor. This is the world of sumo, the quintessential Japanese spectacle where massive bodies, ancestral piety, good eats, and decades of training meet with the rock-star fanaticism of giddy crowds gathered around a simple dohyo, or sumo ring. Into this nationalistic arena of both excess and simplicity enters fresh blood from the West, American wrestlers who aim to shake up the status quo. For modern fans, this is an inevitable sign of the times. Already two Hawaiians, Akebono and Konishiki, have ascended to the rank of yokozuna, or grand champion. Will the super-sized collision of two worlds spell the end of sumo or spawn an offshoot sport? Only time, and a whole lotta sticky rice, will tell. (in Cultures and Groups) |
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