FILM REVIEW
Following the trying path to be yokozuna
| • | Spring Fling brings in hot foreign films |
| • | Spring has sprung a festival of 20 films |
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
"Sumo East and West" is a revealing documentary about the centuries-old Japanese sport, a story told from the viewpoint of one of its diehard supporters, O'ahu resident Wayne Vierra.
"It is a very harsh world," he says in the film, about the journey to become a yokozuna, or grand champion.
"Sumo East and West" is a complex look at the sport, examining issues ranging from the aspirations of novice wrestlers to the demigod status that yokozuna, or grand champions, enjoy in Japan.
Through his devoted eyes and earnest soul, we see how daunting and difficult it is to become a yokozuna, and meet three Hawai'i natives — Takamiyama (Jesse Kuhau-
lua), Konishiki (Salevaa Atisanoe) and Akebono (Chad Rowan) — who have earned respect and ranking alongside Japanese giants.
Vierra, known as Kamakiiwa, had aspired to join the ranks of yokozuna, too, but his professional career was sidetracked by a ruptured pancreas. He still participates in amateur sumo competitions and is involved in training wannabes through the Oahu Sumo Club which is home to the U.S. National Team.
While Vierra loved the sport, he didn't like the costume. "I thought wearing a diaper just didn't bring me close to the sport," he said.
The film depicts sumotori as national heroes in Japan and debates its status as a widening international sport — with teams from various nations (Russia, Germany) participating in amateur contests — amid growing concerns that this infiltration may be diluting efforts to preserve sumo as a traditional Japanese entity.
Takamiyama was the first foreigner to become a sumo wrestler, about four decades ago; Akebono was the first to acquire the yokozuna title.
'Sumo East and West'
"Sumo is not a sport; it's a lifestyle," says Akebono, pointing to the way sumotori dress, wear their hair (a mawashi, or topknot), eat, train and live.
Vierra mentions the dreaded kawaigari, a time-honored ritual of periodic punishment in which "they drag you by the hair. When I hear the word, I get goose bumps," says Vierra.
The film probes the sport at the coaching and business levels, too. Wakamatsu Oyakata, an elder and sumo coach, says sumo has three ideals: "Spirit, skill, body."
"A sumotori is a demigod," says Katsugo Miho, a sumo attorney. "The general public wants to touch any part of a sumotori."
And indeed, fans rub the belly of a sumotori in one sequence.
Directed by Ferne Pearlstein and written by Robert Edwards, "Sumo East and West" is a dandy introduction to sumo. Key terms, such as the dohyo (sumo ring), are explained. Popular practitioners of the art are briefly shown. Stable visits provide insights into the special realm that is sumo.
And historical footage is both revealing (footage shot by Thomas Edison depicts sumo as a plantation-era activity) and revolting (a common racial slur during World War II, long deemed un-PC, is uttered in vintage clips).
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
