Blog 7: Sumo Wrestling, Fish Market, & Tofu Dining Experience

Sumo Wrestling, Fish Market, & a Tofu Dining Experience

Tuesday January 9, 2018 

Sumo Wrestling

Aside from Geisha and Mount Fuji, one of the things that I have images of in regard to Japan is the Sumo sport.  I have no idea where these images came from but I know I was reluctant about watching this competitive sport.  So I am happy when John says he can’t sit quietly through a 3-hour sumo tournament and elects instead to watch a training exercise through a window. We arrive to see 8-10 very large, obese men taking turns in dyads to push each other around a 12 foot diameter ring on a dirt floor. The goal is to stay inside the ring and not to be forced onto all four limbs or have any part of the body touch the ground except the soles of the feet. I am both repulsed and fascinated about why people find this ancient and honored sport entertaining and then think about American’s obsession with football. 

This sport originated in Japan and is the only country where it is practiced professionally. There are 45 stables with 650 fighters, with only 60 in the top tier. Once a wrestler is assigned to a stable he is there for life, unlike football where players can change teams. Apparently the interest in Sumo has waxed and waned but now accepts into their Japanese stables promising wrestlers from Eastern Europe, Russia, Hawaii and Samoa. Life as a wrestler is regulated with specific rules and most sumo wrestlers are required to live in training stables, where all aspects of their lives from meals to manner of dress and even their names and long hair style with top knot on head are dictated by tradition. They are not allowed to drive as their stomachs make it hard to reach the driving wheel. If wrestlers don’t meet their master’s standards there have been reports of violent beatings for not trying hard enough.  The code of silence regarding speaking out about these beatings is strong. 

 I ask our guide what they eat to get so fat and she says “rice”.  They train in the morning and then eat lunch consisting of large volumes of rice and will go to bed until mid afternoon.  Then they eat again and go to bed early.  The novices are not paid and it can take 2-3 years to make a salary, that is 12-60,000 dollars a month for a good wrestler. I ask our guide about the life expectancy of these men and she replies into the ‘80’s.  I am skeptical and later I check this out with Toshi, my psychiatrist friend who laughs and says their life expectancy is significantly shorter.  Sumor wrestlers have a life expectancy of 60 to 65 which is 10 years shorter than the average Japanese. Not unexpected since we know about the effect of obesity on blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. Toshi  who is my age also explains that when he was a boy baseball and Sumo wrestling were the main or only sports available but currently there are many other sports choices for children so interest in being a wrestler has decreased.  Moreover reports of corporal punishment (and even a death) by the wrestler managers has decreased interest by boys. However, I was surprised to hear about a recent popularity boost in this sport and I suspect that money is the motivator.

Tsukiji Inner and Outer Fish Market

Eating oysters 

Kobe Beef (marbled)

Next we ask our guide to take us to the renound inner wholesale fish market, known for its frenzied tuna fish auctions and for being the world’s largest fish and seafood market. It began operations in 1935 and made Tsukiji into a bustling town. My web research says the market handles 480 types of seafood and moves through 3.6 million pounds and $14.6 million worth of seafood per day.  However Keiko tells us guides can no longer bring tour groups to the inner market because with all the fish processing and use of forklifts and motorized vehicles moving at high speed there is a risk of injury. We push back saying we want to go and she agrees to take us as long as we don’t look like she is our guide. We see from a posted sign that tourists can no longer go to the inner market until after 10 am when the auctions are over. Apparently the tourists were too distracting to the auction business process which is clearly big business. The first Saturday of 2018 the paper reported an 892 pound blue fish tuna sold for $323,000! This will result in 13,000 pieces of sushi.

The auctions which begin at 3-5 am are over by 10 am so when we arrive at 10:30 we watch them cleaning up the fish and boxing left over fish. Still it is an amazing experience with plenty to see. I am sorry we are not allowed to take pictures because this truly is a photographers paradise.  The wholesale area consists of hundreds of small stands with many types of fresh fish and it is a busy atmosphere with many men on scooters scurrying around picking up boxes of fish and taking them to big refrigerator trucks. I learn there have been efforts to relocate the fish market due to safety and sanitary concerns such as testing positive for higher than legal levels of pollutants such as arsenic.  However, the cost to do this was so high the Governor postponed the plan.

The inner market is interesting with many small shops and restaurants along narrow pathways. Owners of some of these places have their shop on the first floor and live on the 2^nd floor.  We pause here for some fresh oysters and Laura buys wasabi nuts which we agree are delicious. I have always loved horseradish which is what they taste like. Clearly this place is a maze of intricate streets and I really wish I could spend the day here wandering and sampling and of course taking pictures. Seth, Laura and John of course are ready for a sushi lunch after this fishy experience but because I am meeting Toshi, a psychiatrist friend I reluctantly leave them for this culinary experience but am also eager to meet my friend. 

Wasabi

 

A Tofu Dining Experience (narahara@umenohana.co.jp)

I am picked up at the hotel by Toshi a psychiatrist clinician and researcher who attended one of my Incredible Years trainings in 2010.  Subsequently he translated my parenting book into Japanese and opened his own private practice for mothers experiencing postpartum depression. He tours me through the Kitamura Institute of Mental Health Tokyo which is a lovely home that feels relaxing and meditative the moment you enter this peaceful place. 

There is Haydn music pumped into all the rooms and I am greeted by 3 female members of his team with green tea and some delicious sugary chestnuts.  I learn about their nursing and midwifery work supporting these families to bring about the best baby development and also share with them my baby and toddler programs.  One of  them has her 3 month old baby with her for our meeting. I am impressed by the level of support they offer mothers and their extended families to help them cope recover from their depression. 

Afterwards we meet up with Toshi’s wife and my family for an amazing tofu meal. I have not had much tofu before in my life so this is another new experience.  We take off our shoes to sit on the floor in a small relaxing room just for us. We are served over the evening 15 different types of tofu courses all cooked in different ways to change its texture and taste. 

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 It is visually appealing and of course artfully presented. We compared notes about the Japanese and American mental health systems and found a lot of similarities.  I was delighted to be reconnected with Toshi again and to meet his lovely wife.