Sumo wrestling stable

A report around visiting a sumo stable. The gist is follows;
1. Sumo wrestling's historical aspect is?
2. We visited Nagoya in July, because of a Sumo festival.
3. Sumo wrestlers' usually live in Tokyo and they visit several cities for the 
    tournament. When they visit other cities, how they practice?

Sumo wrestling has a quite long history, and it began long before the Sengoku period. As we mention the sumo wrestling during the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga was fond of sumo wrestling. There were several famous episodes about his fondness.

We wanted to visit sumo wrestling in the present, before talking about the history of it. Now, sumo wrestling is put on by 'Japan Sumo Association', and held the sumo tournaments in several cities 6 times a year. So, we visited Nagoya City to see several places concerned with the sumo tournament which is held in this city every July.

The main facility of sumo wrestling is at the Ryogoku-kokugikan arena in Tokyo. In every time when the sumo tournament is held except in Tokyo, the sumo stables rent some facilities to practice before the tournament. These sumo stables are scattered around the indoor stadium at Nagoya City. Several sumo stables open in accessible places in Nagoya City, even if we use public transportation. Big fans of sumo wrestling gather these sumo stables when sumo wrestlers practice every day. This is an event that reminds summer for Nagoya-ites. 

Again, the sumo tournament in Nagoya city is held every July. So, if you visit Nagoya city as your schedule and search the sumo stables, you can't find them. You have to select the right days that are usually from 2 weeks before the tournament will start to the final day of the tournament. Furthermore, these practices are held from early morning to around 10 o'clock in the morning.

No explanation about public transportation until Nagoya city required, because we visited Nagoya city so often. On the other hand, finding temporary sumo stables which are opened only during the tounament in Nagoya city will be difficult. As the locations, 'Japan Sumo Association' opens the information on the Internet. But, you need to find public transportation for these places by yourselves.

Visiting some sumo stable, we couldn't find well-known wrestlers who we saw in the news broadcast but many young and vigorous. They began practice games. The stable master was sitting in the center of the waiting area and he rarely brought out his words. And on his exact front, Dohyo or a sumo ring is there.

Some young wrestler won a practice game, then other wrestlers gathered in front of him and appealed for the next game with him. Because the winner continued practice games unless he lost the games. Furthermore, wrestlers couldn't start practice games if the winner wrestler agreed him to be the next opponent.

In each stable, there is only one Dohyo. If someone waited for being called by the winner wrestler, he would not play any practice games during the practicing time. Every wrestler hustles to be called as the next opponent.

If some wrestler won several games, others they all had strong pride couldn't forgive the things that he was keeping on game. They strongly requested the next game with the winner wrestler. In this way, strong wrestlers played more practice games.

How strong they were, they couldn't keep on this practice games. And sometimes a strong wrestler was beaten by the wrestler who didn't look so strong. There was serious atmosphere all around the stable.  

From the Internet

Soon, we noticed that sumo wrestlers exposed bodies came to wet and glisten. And many of them were covered with sand because all of them were pushed down on the earthen ring much time. Initial charges were so different from the beginning.

Then, the uncomfortable dull sound which was made from the collision of skulls echoed. Some wrestler had his own blood on his forehead and continued the practice games.

Furthermore, some another wrestler had injured and was bleeding near his hip.  Maybe, when he played a practice game, his opponent tried to grab his Mawashi or sumo wrestler's loincloth and made scratches severely.  

By the way, Sumo wrestling is the most popular sport in Japan. From a different point of view, it doesn't belong under the 'Sport' category.

From the Internet

For example top sumo wrestlers, 'Yokozuna' dedicate their fixed performances, 'Dohyo-iri' in front of the deity before some sumo-tournaments. Before the Nagoya tournament, they perform patterned performances at a famous shrine, 'Atsuta jingu'. We think it's beyond the 'Sport' category, but traditional ceremony.   

Wakayama castle

Up until now, we've been avoiding story that needs explanations of historical circumstances. So, we prefered descriptions of buildings or areas to people's individuality or their expectations. However, if we avoid "calculations between Sengoku lords and their opinions", you can't find interesting points of the Wakayama castle. 

The main tower of the Wakayama castle

Its charm is behind the historical circumstances. To understand them, you need a little knowledge about Sengoku lords' correlations. So, please challenge to understand several Japanese history at the Sengoku era.

The Wakayama castle is, if anything, a standard castle (it located at 60 kilometers south-west of the Osaka castle). If it was not one of the three branch Tokugawa families' castle, it's difficult to distinguish it from others.

From Osaka city, you can use JR super express. From Wakayama station, the distance to the castle is around 1 kilometer. So, you may get tired a little. 


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This castle has many historical flavorings or suffered from many influential Sengoku lords' calculations. And this flavorings are the most attractive point for fans nowadays.

First flavor is from Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan before Tokugawa Ieyasu (the first Shogun of the Edo shogunate). Hideyoshi commanded a famous lord who was his brother to construct this castle in 1585 for the first time. Because he thought this place was very important to protect his headquarter castle, the Osaka castle. Before the success of the sweeping operation against the Kishu area (1584), he had been annoying about opposition group's military operatons.

Second flavor is from Tokugawa Ieyasu (as we mentioned, he was the next ruler of Toyotomi Hideyoshi). After he became the ruler of Japan, the Osaka castle in which the Toyotomi family lived was destroyed by a famous war. Until his political situation got into this, the Wakayama castle was very important to surround his enemy's head quarter. However, in spite of the downfall of the Osaka castle (1615), he still respected this Wakayama castle. He ordered one of the three branch Tokugawa families to be the lord of this region (1619). And we want to emphasize that this decision was ordered after the ruin of the Toyotomi family.Was there another other purpose here?

Stone walls

Third flavor is from a post-war prossecing after the Osaka-no-jin war. Tokugawa family ordered to reconstruction of the new Osaka castle at the same place of the former Osaka castle (1620 ～ 1629). After its complishment, they used it as the strong point of this region. So, the importance of the Wakayama castle was decreased, which located a little far from the political center of Kansai area such as Osaka and Kyoto. Why they stayed in the Wakayama castle?

We want to mention again that we have talked very little about political circumstances around the year the Osaka-no-jin war (1615) happened. So, it's difficult to feel the atmosphere of the Sengoku lords who were throwned into this great change. 

Picture of Wakayama Castle

The main tower of the Wakayama castle was reconstructed of reinforced concrete, although it looks like a typical Japanese castle. It looks attractive from the outside area, because, we suppose, we look up at the top of the castle mountain. However, when we looked again at the very entrance of the main tower, we felt unsatisfactoriness with this building. We felt it had less alertness in the layout around the main tower, compared with the Himeji castle which was made by the same method, Hirayama-jiro method.

The Himeji castle's northern area is a steep cliff, so there is only a narrow flat space. On the contrary, the Wakayama castle's backside or the south side is not steep cliff, so maybe they needed further defensive area or 'Minami-no-maru' area. According to the limiting condition, this castle needed wide defensive area in its backside. As a result, this castle couldn't have enough width to make ingenious facilities such as the Himeji castle.

The Minami-no maru or the enclosure of the south side was a storage area, we suppose. However, this area was used as defensive facilities, if the battle was happened at this castle. Accordingly, the Torafusu mountain area or the center of this castle didn't have complex defensive facilities such like the Himeji castle. We felt that the layout of this castle was not so strategical but laid back.

In this Wakayama castle, the Hommaru palace was ruined during the Kisyu-Tokugawa families lived in this castle. They had made new Ninomaru palace, but it became cramped. So, they made the Nishinomaru palace and connected two palaces with a roofed passage. This scenery is quite unique.

Roofed passage

There were many examples of Japanese castles that new wider residences were made later. These residences were made in the surrounding area for the substitution of the original place. Because the original residences were made top of the castle mountain and they could not secure enough space for the luxury life of the lord's families.  

However, this idea was from little information we could gather. We cannot avoid another theory exactly that the Wakayama castle was the castle which had many strategical facilities and clever layout planning. 

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There are other examples of Japanese castles that lords' holiday houses nearby the casle. What conditions made them do so, the Wakayama castle's holiday house was located inside the castle, between the Nisinomaru compound and Torafusuyama (nearly equal to the Hommaru compound). They would be able to make their holiday house, but there is no data about it.

After that, we found information about a huge holiday house connected with the Kisyu-Tokugawa family. It's located at a scenic peninsula south-west of the castle. This holiday house was named 'Yousui-en' garden. 

According to a paper we were handed there, this holiday house had been made in 1818 (about two hundred years ago). Then, this house was made during the late Edo period. There are many wide holiday houses owned by the Daimyo who received the same amount of the harvest every year around this period. So, the Kisyu-Tokugawa family also wanted to take possession like other same scale of Daimyos.

Lost battle ship

Now, we are visiting the exhibition room named 'the collection of the Wasen laboratory'. Looking at the exhibitions, we want to review the history of Wasen or Japanese wooden ships. We wrote an article about the battle ships in the Sengoku period before. Now, we want to write a little more about them and find the reason why 'the Sengoku battle ships' were lost, or moved into decline.  

exhibition room named 'the collection of the Wasen laboratory'

We think the reason is associated with the history of Japanese ships until then. Japanese style ships were uniquely developed after many years. And the most typical feature was 'flat bottom structure'. It was effective even in the battlefield in domestic ocean. However, in a big battle in the foreign ocean, Japanese battle ships exposed a weak point at the end of the Sengoku period. Because the flat bottom structure was weak against a big impact made by enemy ships' body check and a damage from cannon balls. They were disadvantageous in the combat areas of the ocean.

To find out the reason why the Japanese style ships achieved this form, we want to look back on the history of them roughly. The oldest ocean-going ships were made in the purpose of trade and transaction with China approximately 1400 years ago. But these ships were imitations of Chinese style. Own unique development of Japanese ships was supposed to begin in the latter half of the Heian period (approximately 1000 years ago). Then, a big domestic war happened between the Genji group and the Heishi group then. They fought each other around an inland sea of Japan, and it was a trigger.

Next several hundreds years, ships were not important in the battles. So, the development of Japanese ships was not achieved during these days. Next development came from a need to trade with China in the Muromachi period (approximately 600 years ago). For the purpose, they needed big ships which could travel to China through the ocean. Then, there was a development making big scale ships.

This development leaded to the investment of "the Atake ship"in the Sengoku period. And, it was an unrivaled ship in the domestic sea of Japan during this period. However, this big ship had a weak point, and it had an awful defeat in the war against neighboring foreign country. After this war, the government banned to make these big ships. That avoids the battles of the ocean, and there was no development of the battle ships in Japan during the Edo period (approximately 400 years to 150 years ago).   

From a memory of Verkehr museum

During the Edo period, the development of ships was concentrated on the domestic trade around Japan. The famous Kitamae ships were developed then. We visited the Wasen Research Institution's collection exhibition room in the Kanagawa University in the Kanagawa prefecture. These history we explain above are displayed in this room with many models of ships. 

To visit the Wasen Research Institution's collection exhibition room in the university, you'd better use Shinkansen super express. Getting out at Shin-Yokohama station, you transfer to the JR Yokohama line. Then, get out at the next station, Kikuna, and transfer again to To-yoko private line for Yokohama. Only 1 station before you get out at Hakuraku.

One of streets in front of the station is a shopping street toward the Kanagawa University. We suppose the university is deeply accepted by people in this town. You can arrive there belong to a stream of people, but, you may double-check Google Map. Riding from Shin-Yokohama to Hakuraku by 20 minutes or so, and from the gateway of the Hakuraku station to an entrance of the university is about the same.


An examination about the defeat

We want to reconsider why the Atake ships were defeated in the battle of the outer ocean in the Sengoku period. Even though they were unrivaled among the domestic ocean. The most important reason is lower level development as the wooden battle ships because of less experience. The Atake ships were active in the inland sea, the Setonaikai sea. Less experience leaded misunderstanding that making heavy armor around the whole ship would overwhelm speed. So, they had less capacity of moving that ended up becoming a fatal weak point in the battle field of the ocean. If they experienced battles which needed ships' speed, they would focus it.  

There was another weak point in the body of the Japanese battle ship at that time. Because it developed from a trade ship during the Muromachi period, they didn't notice its weakness of the body. Japanese ships' bottoms were made flat being different from other foreign wooden ships. They had a weakness when a big vibration such as a collision with other ships made their body's water tightness lost. When they had fought against small ships in the domestic battles, they had no problem about their body. However, when they fought against bigger foreign ships, the impact of collisions made their bodies broken. Compared with Japanese battle ships, foreign battle ships bore the vibrations.

There was another weak point in the body of the Japanese battle ship at that time. Because it developed from a trade ship during the Muromachi period, they didn't notice its weakness of the body. Japanese ships' bottoms were made flat being different from other foreign wooden ships. They had a weakness when a big vibration such as a collision with other ships made their body's water tightness lost. When they had fought against small ships in the domestic battles, they had no problem about their body. However, when they fought against bigger foreign ships, the impact of collisions made their bodies broken. Compared with Japanese battle ships, foreign battle ships bore the vibrations.

Furthermore, Japanese battle ships mainly had arquebuses but few canons in them. However, foreign battle ships had many canons. Japanese battle ships had few experiences fired by canons on the battle field of the ocean. This was the first experience for the Japanese ships getting canon balls directly. Japanese wooden battle ships' bodies were not made by thick boards. So, they were broken widely by one hit of enemies canon balls, and if they were hit, soon sank.  

Iga festival

Revisiting Iga-ueno city, we looked around the museum named 'Danjiri Kaikan'. We learned an amazing festival in which a hundred and more ogres and demons walked around streets of Iga-ueno city. In more detail, we'll explain below.

The festival is held in every second half of October. We can confirm the date when the festival is held by website. And it continues 3 days. Its feature is a parade of 'Mikoshi', 'Oni-gyoretsu', and 'Danjiri'. 'Mikoshi' is a portable shrine, and we already met at Hiyoshi-taisha shrine (refer to an article 'Armed priest'). 'Danjiri' is a float, please remember 'Inuyama festival', we saw many floats there (refer to an article 'Inuyama festival'). Maybe it's not so important, floats of Japanese festivals have several names, so 'Dashi' in Inuyama festival is same as 'Danjiri' in Iga festival. These 2 items are regular members in a lot of Japanese festivals.

at 'Danjiri Kaikan'

at 'Danjiri Kaikan'

However, 'Oni-gyoretsu' is not usual. 'Oni' is an ogre, and 'gyoretsu' means 'parade'. Why ogres parade in a festival? They put masks of numerous types of ogres, and wear a variety of traditional costumes. They look like 'zombie' people. 'Danjiri' was developed affected by the Gion festival in Kyoto, but the origin of 'Oni-gyoretsu' is in a sealed book. 
 

from HP of this festival

 

from HP of this festival

This festival is officially called 'Ueno tenjin festival'. Its origin is around 12 centuries, so quite long history it has. When Oda Nobunaga invaded Iga district, temples were destroyed, and this festival also ceased. In 1611, Todo Takatora, one of famous Sengoku lords became a lord of Iga district. He decided to reflourish the 'Ueno tenmangu' shrine. Then this festival was revived around 1660 in the early Edo period.

You can find what is 'Omikoshi' or a portable shrine from an article 'Armed priests'

You can find what is 'Yama' or a float from an article 'Inuyama festival'

Yamato-koriyama castle

Yamato-koriyama castle is located in Nara prefecture where is relatively near Osaka city. So, this place was swayed by politics at the central Japan during the Sengoku period. One of the ancient capitals, Nara city was a famous hiding place where opponents of the central government in Kyoto at that time. This circumstance had been continued from 3 hundreds years before at the beginning of the Sengoku period.

At the later part of the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga began to control Kyoto city. Then, rural lords in Nara city resisted him, and he had to spend much time to control them. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the next ruler after Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi's younger brother, Hidenaga became a new lord of the Yamato-koriyama castle. Hidenaga governed this area and owned a million "Koku" of rice products. (A lord owning million "Koku" of rice products was the strongest except the ruler.)  

He controlled opponent groups in Nara city strictly. Speaking about the Yamato-koriyama castle, the years when Toyotomi Hidenaga governed there were the highest stage of it. After that time, the story of this castle is not so famous and still in a sealed mysterious situation.

Main castle was ruined

According to a study of a local historian, the first lord of this castle, Tsutsui Junkei was loved by dominated people. However, next lord, Toyotomi Hidenaga was not loved. Because, when he renovated this castle widely, he fiercely ordered farmers and priests to deliver a lot of materials for it. To make matters worse, he borrowed authority, or the back-up of the ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. So he seemed to be not accepted by his people.

Birds-eye veiw

After the famous war named the Osaka-no-jin, the Toyotomi family ruined, and this castle was also discontinued. Wooden superstructures of it was relocated to other places, and only stone structures were remained. A little long after the incident, during the Edo period, other lords came to govern this area, and this castle was partly repaired. However, they had only 60 thousands to 150 thousands "Koku"of rice products. Remember the heyday, Toyotomi Hidenaga had owned a million "Koku" of rice products. The new lords couldn't repair enough, for example, they couldn't reconstruct the main tower, that was demolished after the Osaka-nojin war.


Toyotomi Hidenaga's time

Castles of Sengoku lords were made mainly on tall mountains in the middle of their controlling areas. This theory was the mainstream almost during the Sengoku period. Imaging cases battle occured, castles on tall mountains were considered advantageous. Because the invaders couldn't siege the whole area of the castle mountain. Typical examples of these castles are the Odani castle and the Gifu castle which were belonged Azai clan and Oda clan respectively.     

However, theory of constructing castles was changed in the later part of the Sengoku period. One of a turning point was considered the Nagahama castle (in Shiga prefecture)  made by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Because it was constructed beside the Lake Biwa, and the location was mainly chosen for the traffic convenience. And there was no tall mountain in the area of this castle, so, it was quite rare as promises of castles. 
 (When he constructed it, he was a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, and the completion of the castle was during Oda's heyday.)  

He thought that he couldn't start immediate military actions, if he hid in a tall mountain castle. Furthermore, he felt the circumstance changed. Battles against his enemies extended into a wide range district, so he had to move as quickly as possible. And if he chose hiding inside defensive bastions, he would be in disadvantageous situations soon. We think Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the first Sengoku lords who noticed a change of circumstance among the Sengoku lords. Then, he made many cutting edge castles during his life.  

The era when he ruled whole Japan, his main bastion was the Osaka castle. As to the Yamato-koriyama castle, the reason Toyotomi Hidenaga chose this castle was mainly because its location. We mean in fact, the original yamato-kouriyama castle made by Tsutsui Junkei was at only 25 kilometers east of the Osaka castle. So, this castle had a function of an outer fortress of the wide range of the Osaka castle at that time.

Another function of this castle was for an authority against forces of resistance such as armed priests in the Koufuku-ji temple. Because this castle was located in 6 kilometers from the Koufuku-ji temple. Forces of resistance must be afraid of the opponent forces in the castle. The location was quite near.    

t played an active role when the Toyotomi family governed Japan. However, in the next era when Tokugawa Ieyasu governed Japan, its importance was lost. 
At this moment, the Toyotomi family had perished by the Osaka-no-jin war, and the next ruler, Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't use this castle. Because this castle was too close to the Osaka castle. In the situation that the Osaka castle was decided to reconstruct after the war, for the Tokugawa family, there wasn't any importance to reuse this castle. 

In our opinion, defense facilities on the Osaka side were relatively poor against the opposite. Toyotomi Hidenaga planned to make only defense of Nara basin side. Because if the enemy forces of the Tokugawa family attacked this castle, (he believed) his brother's army would come behind this castle immediately. 
So, it's not important to protect Osaka side of the castle. He strongly believed they fought against their enemy together. In the reality, the war happened at the Osaka castle and this castle was not used for the war. It's an only our fancy story, but if it was happened, our fancy story would become true.