The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-29

up the FIVE colors to signify the five grains,
and the rice bale arena is hinged In with
twisted straw. For short time interest
tagged for the civil war turned the aIten-
ton of the Emperor and his court 10 ihoIe
serious matters. When these had ceased anu
peace been once more restored, hlyObaSHl
was sought, but in vain-he was no longer
living. So Tyetsugu Yoshlda. pupiI oi
his, was made umpire instead ana
given the fan with the title o.
prince OF Lions" and his lmperlai
Majesty deereed that his official name should
be Di-Kaze, the Rushing Wind" As japan
suffers from terrible windstorms, the WORD
conveys to the native mind an idea OF IRE
sistibe strength or force.
Fastened against one Of the poles is bow
and arrow tied with the bowstrlng; THESE
are the prizes and at the end of the contest
the bow is awarded to the first victor, the
arrow 10 the second and the string to the
third: with them the men 90 through
variety OF performances that are rendered
grotesque to the foreigner by their clumsy
movements. In order TO thorougny impress
the minds of all that there could not be two
styles of wrestling the Emperor gave the
umpire Rushing Wind" another fan bear
ing the motto, "a gle flavor is beautl-
full custom"
The rules then drawn up prevail to this
day and enact that there shall De i llIts' ~
throws II twists and y throws over the
back, in all 4S. All but these are counted
fouls" Before beginning, the wrestiers
about to engage eat salt together In token
of friendly feeling and then rinse out
the mouth with clear water. Inc most
curious Of all is the custom Oh stamp
ing the feet, clapping the hands
and sIapping the limbs. sometimes turning
their backs to each other and sometimes TO
the audience. These antics are sort OF
invocation to the god Of the Irresistible
Strong Hands, and are in commemOratlon
-. In fba in
of the world Amaterasu, the sun goddess,
being offended. hid herself and left the
world in darkness, but the god of Great
Strength, stamping his feet and clappng
his hands, tore down the stone door
of her retreat and brought her forth
into the world again, so IN Imitation, ana
In the hope that the god may be suspicious,
the wrestlers still go through these gesticu-
lations. AS the wrestlers approach the
booth they wear gorgeous cloths ike long
aprons, with the professional name OF the
wearer embroidered upon the front.
When they are ready for the fray
this is dropped and they wear nothing
but loin cloths. The grip OF victory is
to catch an opponent by the lOin-cl0th be-
hind and then to draw him forward, his
head in chanceTy, and IS simple enough. 10
the unsophisticated the men seem simply
TO throw themselves upon each other and
push with might and main, so dead weight
counts for good deal and agility is of little
consequence.
Driving Wind" was not only created
umpire himself, but the right was vested in
his family. who hold it yet-an eminently
japanese arrangement. In addition to the
apron, champion wTesteTs wear a rope Cir
die awarded by the Driving Wind family,
who never permit more than three men in
one generation to wear the yistoriOus token.
During the Tokugama dynasty these were
the only men allowed TO Wrestle be-
fore the Shotgun. Wrestling as part of
religious ceremonies Is not general now,
but is still seen in Kioto, Kama Kura and
a few other places. Ever since the seven
teenth century it has been customary TO get
up these matches for the benefit of temples.
The wrestling ground in Toxic is surrounded
by wooden sheds, something like our grand
stand" These are divided into stalls, the
price varying with the location and ranging
from 10 cents to dollar. About or 9
o'clock in the morning a drum is beaten
TO announce to all that match is going to
take place. The umpire watches the men
about to wTestle as they move from one side