Got just under half way through this translation before getting tired. Will probably do the other half throughout the week.

I'm actually a fan of Osumo so this appeals to me. The two stances Shiranuigata and Unryugata are ring entering positions used by the Yokozuna at the opening and closing of a Basho (tournament).

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For why the male Sumo wrestler is muscular, I do know how not all sumo wrestlers are big fat guys. Usually in anime/manga, sumo wrestlers are drawn as super fat guys. I figured why here is less showing the variety of builds in sumo and more, give him the idealized male build that mangaka love to give their male characters. Since most of the audience in Japan don't get as big as a Sumo wrestler, they wouldn't be interested in a story where a big fat sumo sleeps with big fat women. This whole thing made me amazed to know that there are women who find the wrestlers to be sexy. They seem to be absent from most mainstream anime/manga. Likely cause the classic sumo build isn't something most male creators want to treat as sexy.

I have wondered why Mangaka haven't done a story with female sumo. I do know that there are rules against it. Just why not set it in a fantasy world, alternate world or future where sumo is female. I was curious because I've seen mangaka that sexualize so much stuff from their culture, I wondered why sumo is left out. Why not do a story with sexy female wrestlers. I guess the fact that sport is boys only and it likely would feel weird to find something like that sexy to a Japanese audience who view sumo wrestlers as men. Even though there have been female wrestlers in the past practicing amateurishly and in small villages, it likely wouldn't interest a potential audience.

Just thought doing something more with it could gather more interest in the sport. Like if a story does have female sumo wrestlers, if it treats the wrestlers as beautiful/sexy, and goes over ways the sport can be improved, it could garner interest in it.

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@adipophilia Sumo are all very muscular, it's that the fat that you see sits on top of their muscles rather than in between the organs like you would assume. There are no weight divisions but there are height requirements that must be met. There is a professional short king rikishi name Enho who is actually below the height requirement but since the guy is a ball of fire and pure technique that helps him overcome his larger opponents, he was allowed to join a stable and compete. As to female rikishi its a very messy subject. The Sumo Association of Japan that handles all of the professional sumo tournaments does not recognize female rikishi. They are barred from competition in the dohyo and will not be seen as more than amateur level competitors. That said, international sumo outside the strict rules of JP has female sumo competitions. I've seen it. I'll be brutally honest, what I saw was very poor and in no way held the same grandeur or level of gravitas as true Osumo. But hey, they wanted to compete and can, just not in Japan. So if you wanted sexy/beautiful sumo, look in the international scene.

The reason why male creators tend to shy away from rikishi as sexual objects is more to do with how they are viewed as men of deep respect. These guys live, breathe, and destroy their bodies for sumo. They make almost no money for most of their careers, live in cramped stable dorms with their stablemates, train for 6+ hours a day. Hell they aren't even allowed to date or marry till they hit salary level and have to wear traditional clothes and hair styles all day. In fact its tradition that when a sumo retires, he gets his top knot cut off as part of the ceremony.

Hope that clarified some of your questions.

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@Tripuru For my use of fat, it's how it appears not how it's drawn. Just saying of how sumo wrestlers are drawn in anime/manga. I went with fat, because I know, they're muscular but not like body builder muscular. It's just hard for me to find a word to describe it short and sweet. I went with fat because the facial features that sumo wrestlers share in anime/manga are also shared with fat characters. As well as them drawn the same as fat characters (except in stuff where they are drawn muscular and/or as muscle fat). Just needed a simple word to describe their build and features. As well as saying how the character in this is drawn over how most series design sumo wrestler characters. Like if I say that the other rikishi in the background photo are fat over the rikishi in the story, it's just to have an easy way to describe their builds. I go with fat because it's an easy way to describe them, not saying they're lard blobs who eat McDonalds 15 times a week.

I was curious why they don't sexualize because I have seen so much anime/manga where things from Japanese culture get sexualized. Whether it's a fantasy story where female samurai wear revealing armor, sexy female ninja, yokai that are sexy women, a story of a fantasy Japan where big boobs are worshiped, or one where Japanese historical figures are sexy babes.

I just wondered what about sumo makes it not something that gets such treatment. Why is it okay to have samurai, ninjas and yokai be sexy, scantily clad babes or but not sumo? I can see the seriousness about that it is treated with could be factors. I was also curious due to why most anime/manga doesn't show the fangirls they have. Many of whom find many rikishi to be sexy.

For the historical of female sumo, I read how there were villages and royals that had female sumos. I figured that not all creators know such things and as you said the controversy of having a story with female sumo, even if it uses the history accuracy claim, it could face pushback or controversy for the mere premise of a concept. Maybe it could use the idea of international sumo to justify the premise but I do wonder if it could face controversy from the sumo association for daring to show Female rikishi.

If a sumo wrestler were to be treated as sexy/beautiful, it would be less them being put in sexy outfits and more of their power and strength. When male characters are treated as sexy in a story, it's usually they're ripped, they're flexing, they're showing off their strength. For what you said of sumo wrestlers being broken and undergoing harsh training, I see this in other works specifically stuff that veers into power fantasy/sports stuff where male characters undergo harsh training to become strong and powerful. The manservice in these works, it's from how strong and ripped the men are. How they have six pack abs, biceps, and how super strong, fast and durable they are. Most of it isn't putting male characters in sexy outfits and being put in sexy scenarios. I thought if a work did this for Sumo, their hotness would be from how strong they are.

Last edited on 13 February 2024, 18:51.

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That doesn't have to always be the case. Muscles and muscular people can be put in situations where their cuteness is highlighted in spite of their bulk. Obviously there are times where compromises are made, but say you have someone like Hinomaru from hinomaru-zumo: you don't have to always draw him in powerful poses, you can draw him being cute. He *is* cute. It's the juxtaposition of muscle with demeanor/situation. It doesn't have to be emasculation/weakness like this doujin portrays, though.

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Just realized if the concept of female sumo wouldn't be seen as interesting because the sport is a tough man's sport and inserting hot women into it would feel weird. Like if we had a story with American Football players that are scantily clad women It would feel less sexy and more weird to most people. Even if a story justified female sumo either by using historical examples, setting it in a fantasy/alternate world, future or focus on international players, it would still feel weird for an audience. Plus with the sports decline in popularity, it wouldn't be seen as interesting to a younger audience. I guess with yokai, samurai and ninja, when they get sexualized, these are things an audience is into so having them be sexy babes is interesting over sumo which is a manly man sport and isn't as interesting and weird to have be sexualized.

Perhaps too the rituals make it unappealing to a younger audience as one needs to train most of their time for the sport and undergo chores, training and injuries for it. It wouldn't be appealing keeping this in mind.

Last edited on 21 July 2024, 19:54.

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It's been a very long week...

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