Joy of Sumo

What a weird, wacky, terrific book this is. Yes, you'll enjoy it if you're curious about Sumo. But if you love sports in general, you'll be thoroughly drawn in by David Benjamin's musings on the strange, funny battlefield that is Sumo. A quick summary of the ground he covers - - Sumo looks bizarre on the surface, but to know it is to love it! A weird lens on Japanese thinking, playing and being. - The kooky crowd scene. - The fun of christening the wrestlers ("rikishi") with a memorable, fitting nickname (the "Goldfish", the "Sweaty One") - The four main "species" of rikishi ("Jocks", "Hippos", "Butterballs", "Cabdrivers") - The tournament structure, including the backroom politics - The ritualistic behaviors before combat - foot stomping, salt tossing, etc. - Why rikishi sometimes throw a match, and why it's ok! - The explosive moment of combat (at last)! The nifty parallels to a Western gunfight and football linemen. - The ornamental, pajama-clad referees. - The importance of concealing emotions - in victory or defeat! - Career highs and lows of a rikishi. - The lame use of statistics, and Benjamin's own creative ideas of how to invigorate Sumo with new stats. Above all, if you're interested in Asian culture, and Japanese culture especially, I think you'll love this book. It's really like no other sports book I've read, in the best of ways.

I'm living in Japan and I became interested in sumo mainly because of my high school judo background. To get to know the sport I read all the English sumo books I could get my hands on, plus some Japanese books as well. Books written by total nerds, books that try to make sumo look cute and taffy, books that are info-packed but drier than the Sahara, books that give the wrong info, all kinds of books. And I tell you, the JOY OF SUMO is what you got to have to make you fall in love with the sport and the athletes in it. It glorifies the sport for what it is--a grand sport for everyone, and you don't have to go lick the toes of the rikishi in order to be a part of the wonderful world of sumo. It is the ideal book for anyone getting a little bit interested in sumo, or for "old" fans like me who read all the nerdy or syrupy books first and then wondered how these authors/experts could write in so boring and dry a manner about a sport that is bristling with life. To counter this, Benjamin and Holfeld put together a fun-filled, action-packed, thoroughly engaging book on sumo, and once you start reading you won't want to stop. The book puts sumo in a wonderfully new dimension--as a cool sport that is very much alive and very real and in touch with reality and full of athletes to get to know and like/dislike. Sick of the sumo nerds? I am, and this book does absolute justice to sumo as a sport. Thinking of sumo as a mysterious cultural experience? Well, come live in Japan for some years and you'll soon get sick and tired of that point of view, so buy the JOY OF SUMO and learn about sumo in a way that you'll never ever get sick and tired.

Ok, so I don't know much about Sumo. But I like to think I do. I have seen a couple matches on Japanese TV, and have my favorites. But when I saw this book, I had to have it. It is the perfect book for the person that wants to know more about sumo, but does not want a technical manual. Sumo is supposed to be fun, and this book reflects it beutifully. Every page has great humor and is thoroughly informing. The author truly loves the sport for that sole reason, it is a sport, it is to be fun, and boy does the book reflect it. It forgoes all the useless vocabulary and the trifle things that trully don't matter to the essence of the sport and gets down to what it is. How it feels. Most of the know how to the game of Sumo that I know comes from this book. And if your wanting to know more or want a good sports read, I deeply recomend this. Written in 1991, it is getting a little dated, but still worth it.