The first matches were dedicated to the gods

 

Cultural News, September 2007

 

 

Sechie zumo: In the Nara period, the Imperial Court gathered wrestlers from all over the country to hold grand sumo tournament, called sechie-zumo. It was a ceremonial banquet to celebrate peace on earth and bountiful harvests.  

 

  The origin of sumo was depicted in the Japanese mythology, when tribe’s leader Takemikazuchi won a bout with the leader of a rival tribe. In the historical record, sumo is an ancient sport dating back some 1,500 years.

 

  The first sumo matches were a form of ritual dedicated to the gods with prayers for a bountiful harvest and were performed together with sacred dancing and drams within the precincts of the shrines.

 

   The Nara period in the 8th century, sumo was introduced into the ceremonies of the Imperial Court. A wrestling festival was held annually which included music and dancing in which the victorious wrestlers participated.

 

  Early sumo was a rough-and-tumble affair combining elements of boxing and wrestling with few or no holds barred.

 

  But under the continued patronage of the Imperial Court rules were formulated and techniques developed so that it came more nearly to resemble the sumo today.

 

    The Japan’s first military power over the Imperial Court was established in Kamamura in 1192 and a long period of intense warfare ensued. Sumo, quite naturally, was regarded chiefly for its military usefulness and as a means of increasing the efficiency of the fighting men.

 

  Later in the hands of the samurai, jujitsu was developed as an offshoot of sumo. Peace was finally restored when the different warring factions were united under the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603.

 

   A period of prosperity followed, marked by the rise to power of the new mercantile classes.

 

   Professional sumo groups were organized to entertain the rapidly expanding plebeian class and sumo came into its own as national sport of Japan. The present Japan Sumo Association has its origins in these groups first formed in the Edo period.

 (Source: 2007 Grand Sumo Tournament in Hawaii, Official Program)