The Wall Street Journal reports on the decline of sumo — and its (limited) resurgence at the University of Tokyo:
At the University of Tokyo sumo club, a devoted, motley crew of seven smallish students gather thrice weekly for grueling, three-hour practices. In a country where sumo wrestlers are hulking colossuses known for their brawn, not their brains, the sumo enthusiasts at Todai, as the university is colloquially known, are a quirky aberration.
Unlike top-ranked universities in the U.S., which value well-rounded students with an abundance of extracurricular activities, Todai’s strict focus is on academic performance.
“Sumo is not a normal pastime for someone who has studied their whole life to get into Todai,” says Petr Matous, the lanky former captain of the sumo club who hails from the Czech Republic. “The people who join don’t have any previous experience in sports.”
[...]
Seiji Kimura, a 39-year-old who acts as the club’s unofficial coach, religiously attends every practice even though he graduated seven years ago and works from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in his day job as a veterinarian, says: “I feel it is my duty to keep coming to practices. I think this is my calling.”Rather than aspire to the discipline, most people who join the Todai sumo join by happenstance, or word of mouth. But once they get hooked, they stay fiercely loyal to the sport.
The team, with its lean ranks, is a tightly knit family, eating together after practices with former members regularly joining in. “I did it once and wanted to stop, but Kimura-san bought me dinner and I stayed on,” says Ryuzou Hayashi, 23, who has been in the sumo club for four years. “I like it because when I win I feel good. It’s good exercise.”
Despite the small proportions of its wrestlers, Todai’s sumo team is surprisingly strong: since sumo was recognized as a varsity sport among public universities in 1981, the Todai team has won the annual tournament 10 times and has come in second place 12 times.