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\nDohyo, a sacred ring where sumo wrestling is held<\/span><\/a>What differentiates sumo from other sports is that it is not simply a fight between wrestlers, but also has a background of Shinto rituals and festivals that are connected to Japan’s unique religious culture. Therefore, it is a sport with a strong ritualistic flavor with aspects of budo and bugei (martial arts), with religious rituals that are unparalleled in any other sport. Among the festivals held at shrines throughout Japan, there are many rituals called dedication sumo. Therefore, when tracing the etymology of the word “sumo,” we must not forget that Shintoism lurks in the background.<\/p>\n\n
Later in the Edo period (1603-1867), sumo developed into a professional sport and the grand sumo tournament was started. Considering that sumo is a contest of power, one kanji usage for sumo came to be \u89d2\u529b or “kakuriki,” meaning \u201ca contest of power\u201d. This phonetic kanji reading was used between the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n How did the term “Sumo” come to bee-on-one matches? The origin of the term “sumo” is not clear. According to one theory, the word “sumahu” or its conjugated form “sumahi,” which means \u201ca contest of strength or skill\u201d then changed to “sumo\u201d over time. The fact that the Chinese characters of “sumo\u201d and \u201csumahi\u201d were already written in Wamyosho in the Heian period (794-1185), and since the word was thought to have originally have a pronunciation that was similar to “sumahi” in ancient times adds credibility to the idea.<\/p>\n\n Contrary to this popular belief, there must be a good reason for former Takanohana Oyakata’s public statement that the word “Sumo” is Hebrew. He asserted that the word “sumo” is “originally a Hebrew word \u201cshumo,” which is written in Hebrew as \u05e9\u05de\u05d5<\/span>. The root of the Hebrew word is \u05e9\u05de<\/span> (shem) , and it means name. Adding the ending \u05d5<\/span> changes the meaning of the word into “his name\u201d. What association does the phrase “his name” have with \u201csumo\u201d? The answer can be found in the Old Testament.<\/p>\n\n The remarkable part about this story is the conversation between Jacob and the Angel. They asked each other, “What is your name?\u201d which is similar to how a samurai shouted at his opponent, “Give me your name!\u201d When Jacob was asked, “What is your name?” He gave them his name, and in return, the new name, Israel was given to him. However, when Jacob asked the Angel for his name, the Angel would not answer. To the contrary he said, “Why do you ask my name? Perhaps his name was directly connected to God and was sacred.<\/p>\n\n Jacob never learned the Angel\u2019s name. Nevertheless, the victory from the wrestling match with the angel of heaven was a blessing for Jacob for the rest of his life and that was the essence of the story. Jacob never learned his name, however, For Jacob, “his name,” or “shumo,” was the very symbol of his all-night wrestling match with the angel of God, an event he would never forget.<\/p>\n\n Somewhere down the line in history, perhaps, the word “shumo” came to be pronounced as “sumo” in Japanese. Among the 12 tribes of Israel, the Ephraimites were, according to one theory, one of the main tribes that left their homeland and came to Japan. The language of the Ephraimites is known to be characterized by pronouncing “sh” as “su\u201d. Because of the influx of the immigrants of Ephraimites to Japan, the pronunciation of the word “shumo” might have been changed to “sumo.” over time. Maybe the theory that sumo was originally a Hebrew word is not too far off from the mark.<\/p>\n\n
Does sumo, a sport that has a massive following in Japan, actually have its roots in Israel?<\/span><\/a>In the books Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, there are several references to the sport\u2019s possible origins. One legend of conquering the land of Ashihara no-nakatsukuni tells of the struggle between Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata in which the latter grabbed Takemikazuchi’s arm and attempted to throw him during the conquest from ancient mythical Japan. It has been theorized that this is the oldest recorded sumo wrestling match in Japan. Later, during the reign of Emperor Suinin, it was written in Nihon Shoki that one day the emperor himself wished to see a match between warriors, and Nomisukune and Taima-no-Kehaya engaged in Tenran Sumo. This event is considered to be the earliest sumo tournament. In the Yayoi period before the Kofun (ancient tomb) period, sumo wrestling was adopted as an agricultural ritual, and it is thought that this event became a festival to predict the harvest of crops, and eventually came to be used as a yearly entertainment ritual in the imperial court. Then during the Heian period (794-1185), sumo developed as a unique martial art that was performed in the imperial court, and continued to develop as a Japanese sport for more than three centuries.<\/p>\n\nIs the word “sumo” derived from Hebrew?<\/h2>\n\n
The Wrestling Match between Jacob and the Angel of God<\/h2>\n\n
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The Angel who Wrestled with Jacob<\/a>In Chapter 32 of Genesis in the Old Testament, one of the three great fathers of the Israelites Jacob wrestled with the Angel of God in the darkness until dawn. One night, Jacob was alone by the river. Suddenly, the Angel of God appeared in the darkness and wrestled with Jacob until dawn. Unable to defeat Jacob, the messenger of God gave him the name Israel after this contest of strength. Jacob marveled and gave thanks, saying, “I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive.\u201d The result of the wrestling match with God became the testimony that the people of Israel had become God’s chosen people, and it also marked the beginning of the nation of Israel.<\/p>\n\n“Hakkeyoi” means “I\u2019m coming to get you.”<\/h2>\n\n