The world of sumo could be rocked this month if Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi presents a trophy in the ring, where women have traditionally been banned.
AFP looks at the ancient sport, at previous attempts by women to challenge the taboo, and at why the situation is so delicately poised.
– What is the issue? –
Sumo grew out of ancient Shinto religious rituals and its origins can be traced back over 2,000 years, according to some historians.
The practice of banning women from the ring stems from the Shinto notion that menstrual blood would defile its “purity”.
The champion wrestler at each of the six professional sumo tournaments held annually is presented with a large silver trophy called the Prime Minister’s Cup.
The trophy is usually presented by a member of Japan’s cabinet, but occasionally the prime minister will step into the ring to hand it over themselves.
In 2019, US President Donald Trump even entered the ring to present a special trophy during his state visit to Japan.
Takaichi became Japan’s first woman prime minister last month.
Questions are being asked over whether she will present the trophy at the ongoing Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, which concludes on November 23.
– Has it been done before? –
Women and girls can compete in amateur sumo worldwide but they are traditionally barred from the professional version, which only takes place in Japan.
Japan’s first woman Chief Cabinet Secretary Mayumi Moriyama expressed a desire to present the trophy in 1990, but her request was turned down by the Japan Sumo Association.
A decade later the then Osaka governor, Fusae Ota, was also denied.
In 2018, a city mayor collapsed while he was giving a speech in the ring.
At least two women sitting nearby rushed in to give him first aid but they were ordered by a sumo official to leave the ring.
The sumo association’s chairman apologised afterwards, saying it was “an inappropriate response in a life-threatening situation”.
Just days later, a woman mayor from the western city of Takarazuka was barred from delivering a speech inside the ring.
– Who is Takaichi? –
Japan’s first woman prime minister is a social conservative and China hawk who admires Margaret Thatcher.
The 64-year-old has been a regular visitor to the Yasukuni shrine, which honours convicted war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is seen by Asian nations as a symbol of Japan’s militarist past.
Takaichi has said she hopes to raise awareness about women’s health struggles and has spoken candidly about her own experience with menopause.
But her views on gender place her on the right of her already conservative party, and she opposes revising a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname.
She also wants the imperial family to stick to male-only succession.
She promised a cabinet with “Nordic” levels of women, but then named only two other than herself.
– What has been said? –
So far, Takaichi hasn’t expressed an opinion on presenting the trophy.
When asked this week if she planned to make a request, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said no decision had been made.
“Prime Minister Takaichi wishes to preserve the traditions of sumo culture,” he added.
The Japan Sumo Association has also remained tight-lipped.
Asked how they would respond if Takaichi were to express a wish to present the trophy, the association said: “We consider it our mission to preserve the traditional culture of sumo”.
The Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament is taking place in Fukuoka, on the other side of the country to Tokyo.
The New Year Grand Sumo Tournament will be in January at Ryogoku Kokugikan, the home of sumo in the capital.
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