Entertainment for Emperors: The History of Sumo
Wrestling is the oldest sport in the world. It has been depicted in 15,000-year-old cave art in France and 5,000-year-old art from Egypt, while it's described in Chinese documents as early as 700 BC.
In Japan, sumo wrestling is mentioned in the Kojiki, the earliest written record of the country, created in the year 712. It's written that the first sumo bout was between two gods who were fighting to decide which would control Japan.
In Japan's second-oldest record, the Nihon Shoki, from 720, it's written that the first sumo bout between humans happened in 23 BC, when two men were ordered to fight before the emperor. The bout was decided with a kick to the back, and the loser died — so it was quite different from the sumo of today!
However, the early parts of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki are seen more as myths and legends than as real events that can be confirmed with archaeological evidence.
Figurines of sumo wrestlers have been found at sites dated to Japan's Kofun period, between the third and seventh centuries. And it's believed that early sumo emerged from Shinto dances used to pray for good harvests.
The first sumo bout we have good records for happened in 642, and was held to entertain the Japanese emperor and visitors from Korea.
During the Nara and Heian periods — between 710 and 1185 — an annual sumo festival came to be performed at the imperial court to ask for good harvests. As the emperor's power fell, court sumo ended. But in later centuries sumo became popular among common people, and was used to raise money for temple and shrine repairs.
Over time the rules became more formal, with winners decided by pushing their opponents out of a large circle. At first just a circle of spectators, this area was later separated with bags of soil.
By the Edo period, which ran from 1603 to 1867, sumo looked very similar to what it is today — with a raised ring called a dohyo, professional organizations, and a list of allowed moves.
