TOKYO –
Foreign-born sumo wrestlers are sometimes praised for talking remarkably pure Japanese, a pointy distinction to many abroad athletes in different skilled sports activities.
According to veteran sumo reporter Masashi Takarada, the distinction lies much less in formal research than within the distinctive setting of life inside a sumo steady, the place language is important for each coaching and each day survival.
Unlike skilled baseball or soccer gamers who can depend on interpreters, sumo wrestlers reside collectively in communal stables, the place they eat, prepare, clear, cook dinner and perform each day chores beneath the steering of senior wrestlers and stablemasters. Every instruction, from coaching methods to family obligations, is delivered in Japanese, making language acquisition unavoidable.
As of the May Summer Tournament, 10 of the 42 wrestlers within the prime makuuchi division have been foreign-born. Across all divisions, there are 28 overseas wrestlers representing international locations together with Mongolia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, the United States, China and the Philippines. Many have since turn into Japanese residents.
Mongolian wrestlers proceed to dominate the overseas contingent, helped by cultural similarities between Mongolian wrestling and sumo, in addition to a protracted custom of profitable predecessors encouraging youthful athletes to observe. Takarada additionally famous that Mongolian and Japanese share related sentence constructions, which can make studying Japanese considerably simpler than for audio system of many European languages.
Former yokozuna Hakuho is likely one of the best-known examples. Arriving in Japan at age 15, he initially struggled to discover a steady due to his slight construct and practically returned residence earlier than being accepted by Miyagino Stable. He later turned recognized for his fluent Japanese and willingness to talk with reporters. His stablemaster reportedly forbade him from leaving the steady for six months to stop him from counting on conversations with fellow Mongolians, forcing him to make use of Japanese across the clock. Hakuho later acknowledged that fixed publicity enormously accelerated his progress.
Takarada believes former yokozuna Kakuryu, now a stablemaster, is among the many best Japanese audio system within the sumo world. Kakuryu is thought for effortlessly utilizing nuanced expressions and humor that sound totally pure to native audio system. His personal path to Japan was uncommon—after failing to draw consideration at a scouting occasion, he wrote a letter asking to hitch a steady. The letter was translated into Japanese by a college professor earlier than ultimately reaching a steady prepared to simply accept him.
Current wrestlers proceed to observe related paths. Ukrainian wrestler Aonishiki arrived in Japan shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With army restrictions anticipated as soon as he turned 18, he left the nation through Germany, the place his mother and father had relocated, earlier than ultimately becoming a member of a sumo steady. Initially speaking in English whereas coaching at college, he discovered that life contained in the steady required Japanese always. Determined to succeed, he studied unfamiliar phrases by asking senior wrestlers and utilizing them repeatedly till they turned pure.
Many youthful overseas wrestlers now first attend Japanese excessive colleges or universities earlier than coming into skilled sumo. Current yokozuna Hoshoryu got here to Japan as a highschool scholar and initially pursued wrestling earlier than discovering sumo throughout a go to to the Ryogoku Kokugikan. His Japanese instructor later recalled that regardless of his fierce picture in competitors, Hoshoryu typically apprehensive about whether or not his Japanese sounded pure.
Language studying in sumo extends properly past dialog. Wrestlers should learn event rankings, study kanji for his or her ring names and ultimately write autographs. Those who turn into stablemasters face even higher calls for, together with sustaining official bout data in Japanese and overseeing youthful wrestlers. Japanese citizenship can also be required earlier than a retired wrestler can turn into a stablemaster.
The psychological problem may be as demanding because the bodily coaching. Current ozeki Kirishima arrived in Japan with nearly no Japanese skill and infrequently struggled to grasp directions throughout early morning coaching. He later admitted that he repeatedly wished to return to Mongolia, cried from homesickness, and incessantly referred to as his household. Similar tales have been shared by many overseas wrestlers, who describe the loneliness of being surrounded by conversations they might not perceive.
For many, household pleasure turns into a robust motivation to persevere. Hakuho’s father was a Mongolian Olympic medalist and nationwide wrestling hero, and Hakuho has stated he couldn’t bear the considered returning residence after failing in Japan. Others, together with Kakuryu, briefly returned residence earlier than deciding to proceed their careers after encouragement from household and mentors.
Takarada stated the expertise demonstrates a easy precept: in sumo, language is discovered not within the classroom however by full immersion. Living, coaching and speaking totally in Japanese creates an setting the place mastering the language turns into a vital a part of turning into a profitable wrestler.
Source: SankeiNews