Sanctuary (Japanese TV series)

Sanctuary (Japanese: サンクチュアリ-聖域-, Hepburn: Sankuchuari: Seiiki) is a Japanese sports drama television series created by Kan Eguchi [ja] that premiered on Netflix on 4 May 2023. The series consists of eight episodes, all first released in May 2023.
The show stars Wataru Ichinose [ja] in the role of Kiyoshi Oze, an outspoken and violent young man who joins the world of professional sumo under the shikona, or ring name, Enno for the sake of money. The name of the series was chosen to represent the dohyō, a place where wrestlers bet on their future and which is forbidden to outsiders.
The series portrays a rookie wrestler, Enno, a debt-ridden delinquent who lives in violence and with a broken family, as he tries to make his way in the world of professional sumo. As he is scouted by the master of Ensho stable for his talent and physique, and climbs the ranks only for the money with no interest for sumo, he becomes the target of criticism from the sumo executives for his over-the-top personality and his lack of respect for the traditions of the sport.
The series is the first collaboration between Kan Eguchi and Kanazawa Tomoki since Riding Uphill in 2018. Director Kan Eguchi began working on a series centred on professional sumo after the release of The Fable in 2019. He described the series was first and foremost conceived to put forward the story of young wrestlers in clash of desire, ego, and stubbornness that can be seen in professional sumo "by peeling off [the] thin skin [of the sport]" and the "soul-shaking" master-student relationship wrestlers develop throughout their career. During the audition process for the wrestlers, a hundred or so actors were selected and put through a series of physical tests to ensure that only actors who were both physically fit and able to follow the training in real-life situations were retained.
In order to prepare for the roles, the entire cast playing wrestlers underwent more than a year of thorough physical transformation under the guidance of Hollywood experts and Olympic athlete trainers and nutritionists, and engaged in more than six months of sumo training under the supervision of former jūryō wrestler Ishinriki Kōji. The series is also the first filming experience for several former professional wrestlers, among them Kensho Sawada (formerly known under his shikona of Chiyonoshin), a former makushita wrestler from Kokonoe stable and older brother of Chiyonokuni. Although he owns a restaurant, he still auditioned for the role thinking it would be good publicity for his business.
Production of the film began with the renting of Toho studio facilities in Setagaya, Tokyo. This was the first time Netflix established a production base in Japan as part of a strategy to develop original live-action works.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kan Eguchi asked Wataru Ichinose for a different acting style, focusing on "mental armour" to set him apart from other actors playing wrestlers. Eguchi also forbade Ichinose to interact with the other actors and members of the technical team before certain scenes.
The series got off to a popular start, ranking first in Japan's "Today's Series TOP 10" for five days in a row, ranked 6th in Netflix's weekly global TOP 10 (non-English series), and was ranked #1 in "Today's Series" in more than 50 countries and regions around the world. The series is regularly compared to the film Sumo Do, Sumo Don't and the Disney+ series that rebooted it since these works are among the most popular adaptations of sumo on television and cinema. The reboot series itself was aired 7 months before Sanctuary. The series has also been compared to Heels or GLOW, in that it shows what goes on behind the scenes of an extremely opaque sport.
The series' discourse was criticised in the Shukan Shincho, suspecting it of sportswashing by underplaying the impact of the physical and psychological violence endured by the wrestlers by categorising them as "necessary evils." In the same newspaper, researcher Ryō Aizawa also warns about the way the series looks at the preservation of professional sumo traditions, considering reprehensible behaviour as part of a whole with sport. He also criticises the series' portrayal of sport as "prejudicial", presenting it as "a relic of a bygone era". Tokyo Weekender also criticised the series for its lack of criticism of sumo, in particular for regularly portraying Asuka Kunishima (Shioli Kutsuna) as a "nuisance who needs to shut up."
In international reviews, media columnist James Hardfield described the series as an "anticlimactic sumo bout", ending abruptly after colossal efforts. He regrets that the series struggles to take off and loses itself throughout its first half in Kiyoshi's "boorish antics". The second half of the season is also criticised for its acceleration, leaving many subplots abandoned. Nevertheless, the series is also known for its very satisfying training and tournament scenes and the detail with which the rituals are portrayed. Collider also criticises the series for its desire to be both a comedy and to tackle the serious subjects of sport, never finding a balance and giving the impression of being both overstretched and underdeveloped. Sports journalist and sumo columnist John Gunning highlighted the series lack of correlation with the reality of professional sumo mentioning scenes where characters bite, punch, give the middle finger in interviews and disrespect superiors. However he also praised the series’ entertainment value and "Quentin Tarantino-esque feel".
The series did not go unnoticed by those involved in professional sumo, not least the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, Hakkaku. On the occasion of the commemoration of his sixtieth birthday, the former yokozuna criticised the former wrestlers appearing in the series for the weakness of the training shown on screen. He acknowledged, however, that the series offered a gateway for most viewers, and expressed his satisfaction at the opportunity it provided to spread sumo, particularly abroad.
On 14 May 2023, a statue of Enno was installed at Ryōgoku Station, not far from the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, in preparation for the sumo summer tournament.