The morning call., 1894-11-18

Emperor in the war with China. They
have sent delegation to him at Hiro-
shima asking that they be sent to Corea
and be given place in the Japanese army.
=, These men have done great deal in the
crude wars of the past. but it is doubtful
w neither they will be of much use in con-
nection with Calling guns and Winchester
: rifles. They form a curious class of the
: Japanese people and they are like no other
; athletes on the face OF the globe. They
have entirely different methods of training
from our priZe-hghters. and John Sullivan
or Corbelt would laugh at their corpulent
frames. They would think them puffy
and f1abby and would expect to see them
go-all 10 pieces at blow. STILL l venture
The Japlnese giants could stand several
rounds with either Sullivan or Corbett.
and they could probably throw either of
these muscular Americans in wrestling
bout They seem to be of a race of their
own. They are taller and heavier than
the ordinary Japanese aud many of them
. are over feet tall. The Japanese man is
M taller than the average American girl.
BE has long body and short legs. He is
as straight as a stick, but he is stoeky
rather than tall. These wrestlers weigh
. from 200 to 800 pounds, and they are noun
tains of fat and beef. They eat quantities
of meat. while the other people IF Japan
live largely upon vegetables, rice and fish.
They drink soup and beer by the gallon,
and Professor Burton of the Imperial Uni
versity, who has taken the best photo
graphs of them, told me how two wrestlers
whom he was entertaining one day In
order to get their pictures each drank two
dozen bottles of beer and great quantities
OF soda water, ginger ale and claret. These
wrestlers have features much the same as
the ordinary Japanese. tough their heads
are much larger and more like cannon balls
than anything else. They wrestle almost
stark naked, and the only hair could see
on their bodies was under their armpits
and that which was put up in the old
Japanese style on the tops of their heads
They shave their heads from the forehead
to, the crown. leaving that over the ears
and at the back to grow long and tying it
up on the top of the head in queue like
n doorknocker. They are by no means
fierce-loOkiug aud when l visited the
wrestling matches / was taken among
them aGd 5kstSsd witt some of them
through my interpreter. I felt their mus
cIes ana they were as hard as iron, and
what had supposed to be great Jumps of
3. fat found to be punches of muscle.
These wrestlers date back almost to the
= beginning Of japanese history. The Dali
" mics kept corps of them ABOUT their per-
sons. and when the princes travelled over
the country they always had some of these
men with them. They gave exhibitions at
funeral and wedding professions. aud they
are mentioned in japanese history as far
= back as twenty-four years before Christ.
About 500 years before Columbus dis
covered America the throne of Japan was
the prize of a wrestling match. The En-
peror had two sons. Whether they were
twins or not / don't know, but they both
aspired TO the throne. Their father told
them 10 each pick out champion wrestler,
and the one who backed the victor should
be Emperor. The boys agreed to this, and
the successful hacker succeeded his father.
From that time to this wrestling has gone
on all over Japan, and Japanese history is
filed with the exploits of wrestlers. There
are regular matches held every year in the
big cities, and those in Toxic and Osaka
Hast for weeks, and the champions of the
eastern and western parts of the empire
An Nnf Iao
ago wrestling became great fad, and one
Of the Cabinet Ministers. l am told, en-
tered the ring, while the noblest men of
the empire were ready to meet all Corners.
In1S8S Count Kuroda, the Prime Minister.
gave wrestling a great boom, and during
the past year some of the most famous
matches ever held in Japan have taken
place.
-. saw famous matches in both Toxic and
Osaka. and l spent one day at wrestling
match in the japanese capital, In which
40 of the greatest wrestlers of japan
struggled together. The Wrestling began
at 10 in the morning and lasted until in
the afternoon, and there was not minute
during this time that wrestlers were not in
the ring. But let me give you some idea
Of one of these Japanese prize fights.
tic DlSEOSb CICuo tcHb YOU UdF0
ever seen 10 be spread out upon net
work of bamboo poles so that it covers
abont 10000 people. These sit on the
ground and in boxes, or on platforms
which are built up perhaps ten feet above
the ground, and in the center of the crowd
there is little pavilion about twenty feet
square. supported by four posts as large
around as telegraph poles
This pavilion is trimmed with red and
its posts are wrapped with red cloth, while
about its top there is a curtain of blue. 1t
has raised foundation perhaps two feet
high and airing Of rice bags runs around
It's floor, inclosinga circle of twelve feet in
diameter which is foored with black
earth. This is the famed wrestling RUG
'"of japan, and In such rings all these
, matches are fought. The giants struggle
5, inside the rice bags, and If one can throw
the other over these or can fling him to the
earth he is proclaimed the Wet r. at each
- of bo