Sketches of Tokyo Life/Chapter 3
ENTRANCE TO THE WRESTLING BOOTH AT EKOIN.
CHAPTER II.
The Wrestler and His Ring.
en are easily caught by external appearances, and the Japanese are no exceptions. When Japan first entered upon her course of Occidental civilisation, she was most attracted by its material phase; and in the same manner the individual Japanese, as a first step towards Europeanisation, took to European clothes, as if they considered European civilisation to be of exogenous growth or a mere cutaneous affection. European clothes which were at first assumed chiefly by Government officials extended to other classes and sprang into such fashion in 1887 that even shop boys were seen to wear them. Since that year, however, a reaction has set in and Japanese clothes have returned to favour on account of their more graceful appearance and greater comfort in Japanese houses. The European dress craze, which had thus seized almost all classes and both sexes, did not in the least affect the wrestler, who retained throughout his usual garments. This was not difficult for him as on the only occasion of his public appearance, that is, on the arena, his costume is conspicuous by its absence, and he is reduced to the last verge of decency, having nothing but a belt and a loin-cloth to hide his nakedness. In private life he always wears Japanese clothes which appear to be ill-fitting from his great size, for the Japanese wrestler is selected for his stature and becomes from his practice on the ring extremely obese and remarkable for his huge paunch. He still retains his queue, and his clogs are also noticeable for their size.
Wrestling is in Japan, as in most other countries, of great antiquity. The earliest wrestling match on record took place in 23 B.C., when Nomi-no-Sukune, a powerful athlete, wrestled in the Imperial Palace with one Kehaya who prided himself on his great strength, and threw him down with such force that he died on the spot. Sukune, who was thereon highly honoured by the Emperor, was, after his death, deified and is worshipped to this day as the patron of wrestlers. Seven and a half centuries later, in the seventh moon of 726 A.D., Emperor Shomu summoned all the knights in the capital to wrestle in the palace-grounds; and from that time annual court matches were held in that moon. Every spring, wrestlers were brought for the purpose from all parts of the country and, after they had given diversion by their bouts, set to guard the palace. Nobles of high rank also often wrestled with each other. Emperor Junna (824–834) even established a special department for palestral affairs; and so important grew this art that in 859, the succession to the throne was decided by a contest between the champions of the rival claimants. Wrestling long remained in vogue at the court, and in 1024, Emperor Go-Ichijo threatened with his displeasure those courtiers who failed to bring wrestlers to his palace. For a century longer, these court matches flourished; but with the decline of the Imperial power, they fell into desuetude and were formally discontinued in 1175.
When the military classes rose into power, wrestling became an important military art. In the wars of the time when single combats were common, the contending knights would often throw away their weapons and wrestle with each other. In such fights, the more skilled wrestlers were always victorious. It was then necessary for the military classes to hold friendly matches to test their skill in the art. Upon the restoration of peace, however, by the Tokugawa dynasty, there was no longer need for their constant practice as their services were seldom required; but they retained their interest in wrestling which they themselves had ceased to practise, while the old military spirit remained apparently unimpaired.
In 1624, Akashi Shiganosuke, the father of modern wrestling in Japan, came to Yedo where for ten days he stood with his pupils at his booth, open to all comers, none of whom were able to defeat him. Wrestling then became the rage. As there was at the time another wrestler, named Nio Nidayu, who was carrying all before him at Kyoto, Shiganosuke repaired thither to try conclusions with him, and defeated him; but Nidayu’s disciples, furious at their champion’s defeat, lay in ambush to murder the Yedo wrestler, who only escaped under cover of night. Having thus distanced all competitors, Shiganosuke now took the title of Hinoshita Kaizan, signifying invincible, which has since been assumed by fifteen others. Many amateurs contested in Shiganosuke’s booth; and among the samurai who frequented it there often arose quarrels, one of which led to a murder in the shogun’s palace and resulted in the prohibition of all wrestling matches; but this prohibition appears to have been disregarded, as it was followed by another a few years later.
Not long after Shiganosake’s time, it was proposed to build in Yedo a temple with a frontage of a hundred and thirty-two yards, in imitation of such an edifice in Kyoto; and permission was obtained from the authorities to harden the ground by professional wrestlers’ holding six days’ matches on the site. The booth was daily crowded; and from that time matches were held there after the temple
THE WRESTLING ARENA AT EKOIN.
had been constructed. When, after its destruction by fire, it was rebuilt on another site, these matches became annual; but in 1769 when the new temple was blown down by a storm, the annual matches were transferred to another temple in South Yedo. This also was closed in 1805, when a great fight took place there between wrestlers and firemen, with heavy losses on both sides; and some years later, the grounds of Ekoin, a temple built to consecrate the remains of many thousands who perished in a great fire in 1657, were chosen as the arena for the matches, which are now held there for ten days each in January and May every year.
Under the Tokugawa dynasty, wrestlers enjoyed special privileges because their art was still considered of military importance and their services were liable at any moment to be requisitioned by the state. They ranked next to the samurai. They were exempted from all tolls on public highways, could order post-horses at the same reduced rates as the samurai, or freely enter theatres and other booths, which could not be opened without their consent. Their wide popularity was, however, mainly due to the patronage of the daimyo and other great feudatories. Every wrestler of the first grade was backed by a daimyo with the willing support of his retainers, and his honour was jealously watched by the whole clan. Very often it happened that wrestlers lost through a defeat the favour of their lord and his clan.
When the Restoration came, the wrestler’s special privileges disappeared. His position being now no higher than that of any other professional, he is compelled, like the rest, to take out a license for pursuing his calling. When a reaction set in soon after the Restoration against the militarism of the past seven centuries, the public interest in wrestling rapidly cooled down, though many wrestlers now found as munificent patrons among merchants as among noblemen. Their patronage, however, has no longer that seriousness and lavishness which had characterised it under the old regime. The wrestler’s popularity with the general public continued to wane and was at a very low ebb when it was suddenly revived in 1881, in which year wrestling matches were held in the mansion of the ex-daimyo of Satsuma upon the occasion of His Imperial Majesty’s visit there. Wrestling has since regained favour; but its former prosperity is gone for ever.
Thus we find that wrestling went through four stages corresponding to the four great periods of Japanese history. In the first, which preceded the establishment of the Shogunate in 1185, the Imperial Court encouraged wrestling as it supplied it with guards and varied the monotony of its life. Wrestlers flocked willingly to the capital as their position at the palace gave them a military status. In the second period from the rise of feudalism to the accession of Tokugawa, wrestling was practised by all warriors as an important military art; and in the third, during the Tokugawa Shogunate, it became a special and honoured profession under the patronage of the daimyo. In the last period, which followed the Restoration, the wrestlers fell back into the same rank as other professionals, and though they still to some extent enjoy private patronage, it is chiefly to the public that they must turn for their livelihood. When the annual matches at Ekoin, which determine their position in the profession, are over, they make tours in companies in the provinces, which are the chief sources of their income.
The wrestlers form a guild with two other classes of men intimately connected with their profession, the elders and umpires. Elders are retired wrestlers or umpires of high grade, and take part in the management of the guild. No one can become a wrestler without being articled to an elder, whose recommendation is necessary for his appearance at Ekoin and his entrance into the guild. Elders are subdivided into two classes, those who do, and those who do not, contribute towards the expenses of the Ekoin matches. The bukata, as the former are called, also divide the profits of those matches, which are not very great though the wrestling-booth may be daily crowded. For the matches are held for ten consecutive fine days, and if rainy days intervene, the arena is temporarily closed; but the wrestlers have to be fed by the elders until the last day of the matches. If there are then many intervening rainy days, during which wrestlers are kept idle, the bukata often find their balance on the wrong side, for Japanese wrestlers with their huge paunches are great eaters, as, their chief strength lying in their firm stand, they never train on short commons. But both the bukata and non-bukata rely for subsistence upon their provincial tours and the share in their disciples’ wages. In the provincial tours, the companies must invariably be led by elders as their responsible managers. Elders retain a claim to a portion of their disciples’ wages, to whatever grade the latter may have risen. There are, however, no fixed rates. Some elders take all their disciples’ wages at Ekoin, while leaving them in full possession of their earnings elsewhere; and others claim three-tenths of all their receipts. Wrestlers of low rank give up all their wages, in return for which they are fed and clothed by their elders. On the whole, the elder’s profession is not a lucrative one, and most wrestlers, on retiring, take to other trades.
INSIDE A CASTLE-GATE.
At first, the number of elders was limited to thirty-six, each of whom was set with his disciples to guard one of the thirty-six castle-gates of Yedo; but they gradually increased until they exceeded double that number, the present strength being about eighty. Elders are now appointed in rotation managers of the guild and referees of the Ekoin matches. These managers’ counter-signatures are necessary in every application for a wrestler’s license.
The first professional umpire on record was Shiga Seirin who presided at the annual court matches first held in 726 A.D. when the Emperor gave him a war-fan to umpire with. From that time all umpires used war-fans on the arena. Shiga laid down rules for wrestling, many of which are observed to this day. For some generations, Shiga’s descendants succeeded to his office; but when Emperor Go-Toba attempted to revive these court matches in 1185, he found Shiga’s family was extinct and accordingly, Yoshida Oikaze, who was versed in the rules and traditions of that family, was appointed to the vacant office. The post has remained hereditary in Yoshida’s family, the present head of which, Yoshikado, is his twenty-third descendant. The umpire’s office was retained at the Imperial Court though wrestling-matches were comparatively rare in the palace; but in 1658, the fourteenth Yoshida was permitted to enter the service of the Lord of Kumamoto as his salary was insufficient to maintain his family. He retained, however, all the privileges of his hereditary office, and all licenses to umpires and wrestlers were given out in his name. The umpire’s post has always been held in high respect by wrestlers. Umpires commence their career by practising at matches between wrestlers of the lowest grade and rise as they acquire experience in the art. Umpires of the lower grade appear on the arena bare-footed; but those presiding over matches between wrestlers of the first grade may wear socks, while those who umpire at contests between the highest of that grade enjoy the distinction of putting on sandals as well. Only the last are allowed to have crimson tassels attached to their war-fans. The umpire’s promotion is slow; but unlike the wrestler who loses his strength when he passes his prime, the umpire gains experience with age and can practise his art until death.
Though every would-be wrestler must, as we have already stated, be articled to an elder, no special lessons are given. The tyro is set to wrestle in the elder’s private ring with other pupils like himself, and it is only by dint of practice that he acquires any knowledge of the art, the great requisite of which is to be cool and prompt under all circumstances; and by wrestling with others more skilled than himself, he is left to discover from actual experience all its principles. When the elder thinks the beginner has mastered its rudiments, he applies to the guild for permission to send him to the Ekoin matches. The permission is readily given; and the beginner goes to the arena every other morning of the matches, where he wrestles, before the appearance of the regular wrestlers, with others like himself. At these test bouts the umpire is also a beginner, as technical questions never come up for decision. At these matches, the winner in a bout is set against a second opponent and if he is again victorious, he receives a mark; and by the number of these marks his position is determined. If he receives a mark each on the first four days of his trial, he is at once recognised as a professional, while the names of those who receive four marks but not on the first four days are entered on the wrestlers’ list for the next matches. No one can become a professional wrestler without passing this practical examination. Wrestlers who are not of the first grade wrestle on alternate days. At the end of the run, their wins are counted, and after cancelling a win for every defeat, their wages are raised 25 sen per run for each remaining win. Thus a wrestler who has won thrice and lost twice receives a rise of 25 sen, and augments his wages by seventy-five sen if he has won four times and lost once, while a continuous win for the five days means an increase of one yen and fifty sen. His wages are never reduced, even though he lost every match; but his position in the wrestler’s list is shifted according to the result of the matches. As a professional’s minimum wages are one yen, the beginner must receive four marks before he can enter the regular list. A wrestler becomes a sekitori, or one of the first grade, when his wages reach ten yen. There is no limit to his wages; when he has become a champion, his subsequent victories cannot raise his position; but his wages are augmented at the above rate. Nishinoumi, the present “invincible champion,” receives ninety yen, which means that he has had nearly 360 absolute wins at Ekoin. The wrestler’s income from the Ekoin matches is not, therefore, large. There are usually about a hundred candidates every year; but not a few of them are old hands who have hitherto failed to pass the examination at Ekoin. The professional wrestlers in Tokyo number about four hundred, while the total strength of the wrestlers’ guild is close upon six hundred. The wrestler is condemned to menial work when under his elder’s roof; and even when he has risen high enough in his profession to keep house, he still acknowledges the elder as his master and gives him a share of his earnings.
There is no fixed limit to the number of sekitori, or first grade wrestlers; but the first six of the grade in two sets are the most honourable of the whole profession. Though a sekitori remains such as his wages are never reduced, his position in the grade is always changing and those at the head of the wrestlers’ list have to look to their laurels as they may, at every run of Ekoin matches, be supplanted by more successful rivals. Wrestlers are divided into two sides, the East and the West, between which matches always take place. Either side has its champion with his two assistants. These sides are rearranged at the close of every run at Ekoin; and wrestlers frequently change sides when the guild makes up the list. The East side is considered stronger than the other; and this change of sides is frequently necessary to keep them well-balanced.
There is further a small class of men whose duty is to announce the names of the contestants before every bout, and at the same time to call out those wrestlers into the arena; whence they are named yobidashi, or summoners. They are also the agents through whom spectators of the matches give presents on the spot to the victors. There are only twenty-six summoners in Tokyo.
The wrestlers apparel on the arena is very scanty. He has only his mawashi, a loin-cloth consisting of a wide, well-wadded cotton-belt adorned with twine-tassels; but when making a formal appearance on the ring, he also wears a large apron, which is generally made of an expensive silk or woollen cloth with figures done in gold.
THE “INVINCIBLE CHAMPION” WITH HIS “ROPE-BELT.”
The Kaizan or “invincible champion” has in addition his yokozuna or side-rope as the insignia of his pre-eminence, which is a cloth-belt, woven like a rope, and elaborately tied behind.
The rules of the ring are very strict. If a wrestler falls, touches the ground with the knee, hand, or any part of the body, or steps outside the ring, he is declared defeated. The ways in which he can cope with his antagonist were originally put at forty-eight; but they have since been increased to about a hundred and seventy. These forty-eight throws may be divided into four classes of twelve each, namely, the use of the head (butting), the hands (grappling), the loin (twisting) and the feet (tripping). From these were developed all the later methods.
Suppose the great Ekoin matches are on. That fact is soon obtruded upon our notice by the beating of a drum which is carried about town by two young wrestlers with a third acting both as a drummer and reserve-carrier, on the day preceding every day of the matches. At the entrance to the wrestling-booth there is a high tower, from the top of which a drum is also beaten from early morning on the match-days.
STRETCHING THE LIMBS BEFORE WRESTLING.
The wrestling-booth consists of the ring formed by heaping earth a few feet above the ground, with tiers of seats on all sides. It used formerly to be open to the sky, but is now covered with a canvas roof. The plan is oblong, being about 180 feet by 150, while the ring itself is round, being about twenty feet in diameter, and is surmounted with a square roof supported on four tapering pillars which slightly converge towards the top. Round the pillars are wound alternate strips of red and white cloths, with a short curtain hanging from the roof on all sides. At two diagonally opposite pillars are pails of water for the wrestlers to drink from before or during a bout. Beside either pail are a basket of salt and a bundle of paper-slips, the former to purify the body for the contest which may possibly end in death and the latter to wipe the face. On the arena are two concentric circles formed each originally of sixteen empty rice-sacks; but a sack has been taken from each side to make a level passage into the ring, so that twelve sacks each are really laid. The inner circle is the ring proper. On the roof is perched a little shrine dedicated to Nomi-no-Sukune, the guardian deity of wrestlers, before which offerings of rice and water are made before the matches every morning. The water is afterwards sprinkled to purify the ring. To one of the pillars are fastened a bow, a hair-twine, and a fan, to be given on the final day to the three highest wrestlers who are victorious on that day. Wrestlers come upon the ring from two opposite sides, supposed to be East and West, according to the side to which they belong. During the bouts many wrestlers sit on either side of the arena awaiting their turn or watching the matches. The umpire stands on the north side of the ring and faces the south. At the foot of each of the four pillars sits the elder who is the referee for the run.
When the booth opens, the candidates for the profession go through their practical examination; after which the regular wrestlers tussle, commencing with the lowest. Those below the first grade, being too numerous, wrestle on alternate mornings, but the sekitori, or the first-grade wrestlers, are matched every afternoon. During the first nine days, a first-grade wrestler is butted against those in a position higher or lower than himself on the other side; and on the tenth meets the opponent of the same position. Wrestlers, it may be added, have their noms-de-guerre, like most other professionals; and such names are, like the actors,’ handed down from one wrestler to another, though the practice is not so common as in the theatrical profession. When one bout is over, the yobidashi, or summoner, enters the ring with a fan and announces the names of the next pair, who thereupon follow him to the arena; and as they sit on their heels facing each other across the ring, the umpire also announces their names. If these contestants are sekitori, they clap their hands and stretch out their arms, as a token that they swear to abide by the umpire’s decision and never bear malice against each other, however the contest may end. Most wrestlers also stretch their
THE TUSSLE.
legs and stamp on the ground five times to give elasticity to their limbs. They also drink water, wipe their mouths with the strips of paper, and throw pinches of salt over their shoulders. They close upon each other with bent hips. The umpire stands aside with his war-fan between them, which he withdraws when he thinks the men are equally ready. Thereupon, they pounce upon each other and are soon fast interlocked. If, after struggling for some minutes, they are too weary to come to a decision, the umpire parts them, and allows them to refresh themselves with water. They are then again set, the umpire placing them in the same position as when he parted them. The minuteness with which he reproduces their exact position, not a finger being misplaced, though he had separated them suddenly, is a measure of his skill in his art. This reproduction is effected with marvellous accuracy by the first-rate umpires. The umpire’s decision is always received without the least dissent; and to provide against his authority suffering from suspected errors of judgment, he always takes care when a bout ends in a dogfall or is otherwise uncertain or indectsive, to consult the referees; and if they disagree, the opinion of the wrestlers watching on both sides of the arena is also invited. If any doubt still remains, the matter is left to be settled after the day’s matches. The umpire’s accuracy of judgment and absolute impartiality are never called in question. When a bout is over, the victor squats on his side of the ring, while the umpire, pointing to him with his fan, pronounces his name. The defeated wrestler leaves the arena without ceremony. When the wrestlers below the first grade have had their turn, the sekitori appear in successive groups on the ring; they are aproned and, stretching out their hands, one after the other, go through certain ceremonies, the meaning of which is now forgotten. The real use of this appearance on the arena is to announce the presence of these wrestlers. The matches of the first-grade wrestlers next commence. On the tenth day, the presents which we have already mentioned are made to the victorious champions. The recipient of the bow, the highest of these rewards, generally delegates another wrestler to receive it in his stead and brandish it according to form on the ring. And this performance closes the matches.