[sumo] Classic sumo

[Lon Howard]

On Jun 23, 2008, at 7:53 AM, Tetsuonoumi wrote:

> It's funny, with the success of many other fighting shows such as  
> Ultimate Fighter, etc, I think there would actually be some  
> reasonable ratings for a bi-monthly sumo program on a channel like  
> ESPN2 or Classic, but I doubt that is in the offing.  Again, it's  
> funny, because I would think both ESPN and Nihon Sumo Kyokai would  
> both make money and mutually benefit.

It's tempting to think so, but I must say that after 45 off and on  
years of watching and reading about sumo, I really don't think this  
will ever be possible, as long as sumo remains as we know - and love  
- it today.  The main reason is that ozumo has never been about  
making money - not the hon-basho, not the jungyo, not the foreign  
koen.  Of course expenses must be covered but that is all.  There is   
no profit motive on the part of its leadership, as their purpose is  
merely to reflect Japanese culture at home and to inform others about  
it abroad.  As long as they can fill the seats and have reasonable TV  
ratings, they are satisfied.

Of course I'm in no position to know this for certain but I think  
they believe that the hard-hitting type of marketing used to  
commercially promote the other fighting shows would so alter how sumo  
is perceived by the Japanese, that it would devalue it, even if it  
succeeded commercially.  It may still be sumo, but it would no longer  
be ozumo, if you follow.

For this reason, it may be said of most foreign fans that they found  
sumo - sumo didn't find them.  Neither NSK - nor NHK for that matter  
- has any vested interest in attracting or keeping foreign sumo  
fans.  Since I left Japan in 1975, I've known hundreds of Japanese- 
born wives and their husbands.  Except for a handful, none of them  
care enough about sumo to even discuss it, much less pay to watch it,  
and only a scant few of that handful would entertain more than one  
minute of my ramblings about sumo.  If TV Japan dropped the ozumo  
coverage, it would cause hardly a ripple in their viewer-ship.  It's  
included in their package for the same reason that it's still carried  
on NHK, and that's because there is a perceived obligation to  
continue promoting an awareness of the Japanese heritage.  It  
wouldn't be a difficult decision for TV Japan to drop coverage of  
ozumo if they thought it was no longer a relevant reflection of that  
heritage.  Since they're more profit-oriented than NHK, they might  
even drop it if they simply thought it could be replaced with  
something that would attract more viewers.

Ozumo will always be a part of me, and for many of us on both SML and  
SF.  But sadly, we must appreciate that we are a negligible  
minority.  There really aren't that many of us in the English  
speaking community, worldwide; and it's hard to maintain a  
conversation about it with those outside this kinship.  When I try to  
have one, most of them think I'm kind of weird, actually.

So for me, comparing ozumo to any other fighting sport - whether  
considered a martial art or not - is a dead end.  It's origin and  
purpose for existing is so entwined with the Japanese and their  
culture, that it has to simply be accepted for what it is.  It can be  
liked or not, criticized or even reviled, but it is what it is.  It  
IS evolving, as all cultures do, but it happens at its own pace, so  
we shouldn't expect much of that in our own lifetime.  And if you're  
as lucky as I am, in having something like TV Japan to offer live  
sumo coverage in a screen size of your choosing in your own living  
room, you should appreciate why the word hallelujah was invented.

- Shomishuu