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Howard Gilbert
School of Asian Studies, University of Auckland
'Sacred Clay and Women in Mawashi : The Sexual Politics of Women in Sumo'
Since March 2000, Osaka governor Ota Fusae, Japan's first female prefectural governor, has been banned from presenting a prize to the winner of sumo's annual Spring Tournament (Haru Basho) in Osaka. The Japan Sumo Association (Nihon Sumo Kyokai), guardian of professional sumo, does not permit women to climb onto the raised clay ring (dohyo) on which the matches are held. This position stems from sumo's links with Shinto, the purification of the dohyo as a sacred site before the tournament begins, and the Shinto belief that women are impure due to menstruation. Despite the public attention that Ota's case has caused, the Sumo Association maintains that there are ritualistic and traditional reasons for the ban. Quite apart from the incompatibility of this 'tradition' and present day sensibilities, the no-women stance of the Association flies in the face of significant female activity in festival sumo in the past and the emergence of women's amateur sumo within the last decade.
This paper will investigate the official stance by the Japan Sumo Association to exclude women in comparison to participation in Onna-zumo (literally, 'Women's Sumo') and Shin-zumo ('New Sumo'). These two female-only forms of sumo, though sharing few similarities in terms of intent or execution with each other or male professional sumo, serve to demonstrate how and why women have been marginalised in the sumo world. In addition, regional varieties of sumo that accept women, particularly festival-style sumo (which may have developed from onna-zumo), hold traditions of their own and embody regional identity.
Onna-zumo was an erotic, vaudeville display of female wrestling where competitors mimicked male sumo by grappling bare-breasted and wearing only a mawashi (wrestling belt around the waist that has a loincloth attached). The practice has largely died out, except for a niche market in the red-light districts and adult video quarters of Japan. Shin-zumo, on the other hand, is the name given to women's amateur sumo competition. The adoption of the moniker provides a link with sumo but clearly defines an 'otherness' about the practice. It is sumo but, as sumo implicitly excludes women from the dohyo, a sense of updating or revalidating is needed (and provided) in the name. Many of the details of men's amateur sumo, however, have been accepted wholesale. Women have been competing in their own class of amateur sumo since being officially organised in 1996.
Already this sport has gained overseas interest (as has the men's variety), to the point that the first World Championships have already been held. In fact, women's sumo potentially holds the key to future amateur sumo development, as there is a movement within international amateur sumo (administered by the International Sumo Federation) to promote it as a future Olympic sport. Sumo was included as a demonstration sport at the 6th World Games in Akita, Japan in 2001, an international forum for prospective and aspiring Olympic sports. For any sport to be considered for the Olympics it generally needs to meet conditions for equality in participation. The obvious need to include women to achieve this objective places amateur sumo in a more progressive position vis-à-vis women in the ring than the conservative Association.
The existence of competing forms of sumo, even if they are not professional, calls into question the ability of the Japan Sumo Association to quantify and qualify what constitutes 'sumo'. Indeed, who can be said to 'own' sumo? Will multiple meanings and representations strengthen or fracture the sport? Furthermore, as large parts of this seemingly 'traditional' sport are inventions, or have been recently formalised and stipulated, the legitimacy of the past in banning women is perhaps weakened. Finally, with movement in the international sphere to popularise sumo, both in terms of appreciation and participation, what will happen to professional sumo, and is a détente over the activities of women possible?
Bio: Howard Gilbert is a PhD candidate in the School of Asian Studies at the University of Auckland. His current research looks at the international influences upon sumo and the changing of Japan's national sport into an international phenomenon. In particular, the role of amateur sumo and the incorporation of women into a sport that has often shunned them is a central idea in tracking changing ideas and values in sumo. His
undergraduate studies were in Japanese and Asian History and his MA(Hons) was in Asian Studies. The research for his MA was conducted during nearly 2 years in Japan based at Chiba University while a recipient of the Monbusho Research Scholarship. The resulting thesis, 'Cartooning Hirohito: The Rise and Fall of Debate About the Emperor, 1945-1947', explored Japanese political cartoons in the immediate postwar period.
In addition to sumo, Howard Gilbert has an interest in the exchange of ideas and values in other Japanese sports (both professional and amateur), including baseball, soccer, rugby, Australian Rules football and cricket and first-hand experience of Japanese local competitions in both Aussie Rules and cricket.
<howardgilbert@hotmail.com>