[Leica] IMG Sumo!

[geordiepete211 at yahoo.co.uk (Peter Cheyne)]

Thanks for the feedback, I decided to go with the original images,  
without darkening the crowd.

So, C.L. Basso-san, you are a sumo fan, great!  I'm just becoming one  
after this weekend, although I have wanted to go for years.  It has a  
fascinating 1500 year history and rituals and ceremony survive,  
intimately tied to shinto tradition.  It remains, in fact, a religious  
ceremony, as I'm sure you know.  Only 69 rikishi (wrestlers) have been  
promoted to yokozuna status in the 300-year history of the rank.   
There have been periods of there being no active (only retired)  
yokozuna, and now the only one is Hakuho.  So it's not surprising such  
promotions are few and far between.

Winning a certain amount of bouts over a season is important in  
becoming a yokozuna, but the decision is first discussed by a lay  
panel, and then the Sumo Association, and also takes into account  
maturity, gentlemanliness, and the proper dignity.  Since I think  
1992, with Akebono, foreign rikishi have been awarded the status.

To tell you the names of the rikishi in each photo, I'd have to check  
online sources of faces and names, as I am only familiar with a few  
famous, everyday personalities who are often guests on TV shows here,  
such as the Estonian Baruto and the Mongolian Hakuho.

All the best,

Peter Cheyne