Holy men who met their unholy ends
The Crying Baby Sumo Festival is quite literally as it sounds: an event where sumo wrestlers make babies cry!
This past April 26, thousands of spectators celebrated this bizarre occasion, which is seen as a highlight of the Japanese calendar. And as strange as it may seem, Nakizumo is actually an ancient tradition that takes place across Japan every year. In fact, it’s so popular that parents even enter a lottery to get their babies a coveted spot in the sumo ring.
Click on to find out how and why these babies cry!
Nakizumo, which has come to be known as the Crying Baby Sumo Festival, is a fascinating Japanese tradition that is thought to have started over 400 years ago, although no one knows when the first actual event took place.
Making a baby cry may sound like a mean thing to do, but the festival is actually rooted in the belief that a baby's cry wards off evil spirits and can bring them blessings of good health, vitality, growth, and strength.
Many of the ancient traditions of the festival come from Shinto. This indigenous spiritual religion revolves around the worship of spirits and deities known as kami, which are believed to inhabit elements, objects, and ancestors.
The festival also originates from Japanese folklore, and the cultural significance of the festival is highlighted in the ancient Japanese proverb Naku ko wa sodatsu, which means "crying babies grow fastest."
So, how does it all begin? Well, typically, the event begins with a Shinto priest, known as a kannushi or shinshoku, who performs a set of rituals and prays for the healthy growth of the baby competitors.
After the priest comes the sumo wrestlers. Known in Japan as a rikishi, they usually compete by using their often large weight to push, shove, or throw their opponent (except for when they’re holding a baby!).
Sumo wrestlers are most commonly recognized by their distinctive attire—which is famously very small! The mawashi consists of a single piece of heavy fabric wrapped around the waist and groin, and leaves very little to the imagination...
The babies get dressed up in traditional attire, too, and some even wear helmets! But don’t worry—it’s not to protect them from the wrestlers. The handmade kabuto helmets are just worn as a symbol of strength.
Once the rituals are over, two wrestlers take to the sumo ring, each holding a baby. The goal is then to see which baby cries first. If both babies immediately start to cry, the winner is whichever baby cries the loudest.
In order to make their baby cry, the wrestlers use techniques like bouncing, making funny faces, and chanting popular phrases like Naki! Naki! Naki!, which means "Cry! Cry! Cry!"
It’s important to emphasize that no babies have been hurt during these festivals. Some don’t cry at all, and some even start to laugh! This makes the crowd laugh, too, and adds to what is generally a very jovial event.
If the babies laugh too much or the sumo wrestlers struggle to make them cry, that's when the referees get called in to help. Wearing traditional masks, they dance around the babies to try and scare them.
On the rare occasion that even the referees can’t make the babies cry, then they call a stalemate and neither of the babies receives blessings for their good health (they get lots of street cred though!).
This continues until all the babies have had a chance to cry in the ring. And there are a lot of them! Depending on the venue, typically between 100 and 160 babies take part every year—although even more apply.
The baby entering the competition can be of any weight or height; the only rule is that they must be between the ages of six and 18 months to compete. They must also have very competitive parents, because this is a coveted spot!
Parents must register their babies well in advance if they want them to have the chance of entering the festival. They have to pay a fee of around ¥15,000, which is just over US$100. Pricey tears, indeed.
In fact, the festival is now so popular that they have had to introduce a lottery system. Far more than 100 babies are submitted each year, so, to ensure fairness, they must enter a lottery to win one of the limited spots.
It may seem hard to believe, but this really is viewed as an incredible joyous day, with parents seeing it as a privilege to have their babies blessed in the sumo ring. But not everyone agrees that you should make babies cry.
Just looking at the pictures, it’s easy to understand why the Nakizumo festival has faced some controversy over the years, with many being concerned about the well-being of the babies involved.
Critics believe that intentionally scaring the babies and trying to make them cry is distressing. They further argue that the competition doesn’t align with up-to-date practices concerning child welfare, and shouldn’t be upheld just for tradition's sake.
As the festival has become more popular, photos have started spreading around the world, attracting both fear and fascination at the proceedings. However, organizers and supporters remain steadfast in their claims that the event is conducted with care, and so it continues.
The festival is held every year at Shinto shrines and temples across Japan, with some of the most notable being in Osaka, Kyoto, and Fukuoka. The most famous location, however, is the Sensō-ji Temple in Tokyo.
Due to the large number of babies taking part, the festival lasts for a few hours. In some of the bigger locations, it even has to be spread over two separate events throughout the day to fit all the tears in!
The competition coincides with Children’s Day in Japan, which is usually celebrated around May 5 (although it can vary each year, and every temple has its own schedule). The day used to only be dedicated to honoring boys, but since 1948 girls have been celebrated, too.
Children’s Day falls on Golden Week, which is one of Japan's most celebrated holiday seasons—and one of its busiest, too! Typically taking place between April 29 and May 5, there is a whole host of exciting (and bizarre) festivities taking place.
This makes Golden Week a great time of year to visit Japan, and, luckily, the Baby Sumo Crying festival is very tourist-friendly. With a great mix of locals and visitors, it’s a must for your travel bucket list.
It’s also completely free to watch. Everyone is welcome, and spectators stand in the open spaces of the temple or shrine grounds. However, if there are seating arrangements, there may be a small fee.
If you’re not planning a trip to Japan any time soon, but still fancy a slice of the bizarre action, then don’t worry: the Nakizumo festival is streamed online, so you can watch all the crazy crying unfold from your living room!
So, should tradition still be upheld if it doesn't fit in with modern values? And is it ever really okay to make a baby cry? According to the thousands of people who take part and attend every year, it is—but what do you think?
Sources: (JapanTravel)
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LIFESTYLE Japan
The Crying Baby Sumo Festival is quite literally as it sounds: an event where sumo wrestlers make babies cry!
This past April 26, thousands of spectators celebrated this bizarre occasion, which is seen as a highlight of the Japanese calendar. And as strange as it may seem, Nakizumo is actually an ancient tradition that takes place across Japan every year. In fact, it’s so popular that parents even enter a lottery to get their babies a coveted spot in the sumo ring.
Click on to find out how and why these babies cry!