In this article, we'll get to know some fun facts about popular sports in Japan. Some interesting and curious facts that you probably didn't know.
But just to be clear! Before jumping to conclusions, the article is not saying that this is always the case. They are just curiosities that can be changed with time, or that don't happen in all regions of Japan.
Table of Contents
Sumo wrestlers only eat twice a day
Sumo wrestlers They only eat twice a day! Once right after finishing their morning workout and then again at night, after completing the afternoon workout.
A typical meal includes the presence of chanko-nabe, containing large amounts of meat, fish and vegetables. Your meals are consumed in such a way that the calories absorbed with your meals always exceed the caloric value lost during training, thus maintaining the same body weight.
Sumo wrestlers don't wash their thongs
The mawashi (thong) that Sumo wrestlers wear are never washed. Instead, they are usually just hung out to dry for two reasons. One is to bring good luck and the other is because washing the mawashi weakens the fabric.
There is more than one type of juice
Sumo has always had a powerful grasp in Japan since ancient times, and there are many games that incorporate it. One of them is the game kamizumo (paper sumo), in which dolls of sumo wrestlers made of paper... are placed inside a circle drawn on the top of a cardboard box. Once they are in an appropriate position for the "start of the match," it is enough to hit around the circle until one of the wrestlers steps out of the marked area.
Victory poses are not allowed in Kendo
Kendo is a sport born in Japan and is considered of great importance. If a practitioner manages to earn a point on top of his opponent and then immediately strikes a celebratory pose, the point won by him will be withdrawn for behaving in a disrespectful and insensitive manner towards an opponent. And also so that practitioners do not lose concentration and intensity of spirit, something that is crucial in Kendo.
Olympic Games for athletes over 60 years old
Every year since 1988, athletes seniors over the age of 60 in Japan participate in a sports and culture event called “Nenrinpics”, named by combining nenrin, or “the age rings of a tree”, with the word Olympics.
This sports festival lasts for four days and involves a variety of events, including tennis, a marathon, Kendo (Japanese fencing), ping-pong, board games like go and shogi (Japanese chess), and haiku (Japanese poetry). Each municipality in the country finds a way to host this event.
Professional baseball fans stay together during matches
The biggest difference in taiko (drums). They also release a huge number of balloons into the air, cheering for their teams with endless enthusiasm.
High school baseball players take home the dirt
Summer in Japan is the time for the national high school baseball championship known as “koshien,” which pits around 4,000 high school baseball teams from across the country against each other in a qualifying tournament to reach this sacred competition.
Although the koshien features student-athletes, all the games are broadcast live throughout Japan. Those selected to represent their cities carry heavy expectations and compete as if their lives depended on the outcome.
The players who lose this competition can often cry and put themselves on the ground regretting the result and many say "We'll be back!". This is done in an emotional tone that can make many spectators teary-eyed.
