JAPAN - Kyoto

Sumo

Sumo is a competitive full-contact wrestling sport where one competitor attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. Sumo has a history spanning many centuries and its ancient traditions have been preserved : even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion.