St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-22
WRESTLING IN JAPAN.
Giants Who Contest Annually for
the Championship.

UsNhtS VINO contest Annually Tor
the Championship.
The New York Herald, in a cable
letter from Toxic, Japan, tells the
following interesting story:
over on the other side of the
river, in the section of the city
known as the Eko-in Ryogoku, the
wrestlers are now having their an
nual tournament. They have pitched
their rude structure of poles and
canvas beside an ancient temple, and
there, for six hours every day, not
less than 5000 people, men, women
and children, drink tea, smoke and
chew, while enjoying the gigantic
feats Of strength. These wrestlers,
who are a distinctive type of hu-
manly, marrying and intermarrying
among themselves, are about the
only form of animal life in japan
not modelled on the TOW princinle
Some OF them are splendid, trim
athletic fellows, but the majority of
them are ponderous, big-bellied, big
cared creatures, given to drink and
giuttony, but all possess wonderful
strength. They speak we'll for the
science of stirpiculture.
In the company now at the Eko-in
there is one fellow, at least seven feet
IN height, who seems to be constructed
OF sole leather and telegraph wire.
He appears to be unconquerable. and
as the men are now making their rec
ords for the year his championship
means much. The wrestling takes
place in small, wet ring, fringed
with rice straw. -Four ponderous and
Judlcial-looking gentlemen occupy
seats, or rather, cushions, at the four
corners of the platform, and a beauti-
fully dressed young man who Yields
an artistic fan acts as umpire, and
barks and whoops while the Juggling
is going on. What the young man
adds to the scene in the matter of
Hashy dress the wreStlers offset, for
they wear literally nothing but a
diminutive loin cloth. spent a couple
of hours there yesterday to see one
good match. The men in the ring
strutted and stretched themselves.
posed on all tours, glared at each other
like the two Dromios, patted the damp
sand with their paws, rubbed them
selves with dirt, perspired, drank
water and loosened their joints, but
finally, when they grappled, the show
of brute strength was amazing.
THE matches that / saw did not call
for a fall. If one of the contestants
could be pushed out of the little en-
closure the other scored, and the strain
ing was something terrific. When one
of the grapplers scored point the
cheering was sufficient to rip up the
old canvas roof of the big bungalow,
and 1t was not unusual for enthusiastic
fools in the audience to toss up to the
as presents. The crowd, like all jap
anese crowds, was thoroughly good
natured. When the 'monkeying' in the
arena would be unnecessarily pro-
longed some of the patient youngsters
would begin jeering and 'guying'-aII
of which in no way disconnected the
gladlators. The sumo (wrestleT is
about as popular in Japan as a
skilled bull fighter in Spain. No tore
ador with a records was ever prouder
than will be the big bully who comes
off first in these matches now taking
place at Eko-in.
There is legend to the effect that
somewhere in the ninth century a Mi
kado having. died. leaving two sons as
aSpirantS to the throne, the Young mon
submitted their rival claims to two
wrestlers. This helps very much to
swell the Importance of the WrestIers in
public estimation. After leaving here
the WrestlerS divide up the country like
Gypsies, giving exhibitions even in
country villages. But they will all be
mere again next June"