 The All-Nippon Sumo
Championships were held at Usa City on May 3, 2005. APU organised
a Ritsumeikan University Sumo Team support tour which was attended
by nine international and graduate students from six different
countries.
The APU students, who were all watching live sumo wrestling for the first time,
cheered on the Ritsumeikan University Sumo Team from the front row before a capacity
crowd of 1,600 people. Students were interviewed by Mainichi Shimbun reporters
about what their impressions were and had this to say: "Sumo wrestling is
amazing; as long as one has the technical ability, even a small wrestler can
defeat the larger wrestlers."
The Ritsumeikan University Sumo Team in the past has spawned professional
sumo wrestlers. It has a long history and is proud of its tradition of
having the leading sumo team in the Kansai region. At this year's championships,
Ritsumeikan University finished 8th in the group division (out of 12 universities),
and in the individual division one of the Ritsumeikan University wrestlers
finished in the top 16 (in a field of 103 entrants).
On the way back to APU, the students were taken on a tour of Usa Shinto
Shrine - one of Japan's most famous and important shrines. Everyone seemed
to have enjoyed themselves experiencing and learning about Japanese culture. |
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