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The ighter rests his knuckles on the clay and
stares ahead, expressionless. His hair has
been waxed into a delicately fanned topknot.
His backside could block a stable door. He
propels himself forward, a juggernaut of
meaty momentum in a loincloth. Eleven-
thousand people roar in approval. Seconds
later, his hety rear has been dumped without
decorum into the crowd. His hair’s all over the
place and he wears the startled look of a man
unsure what day it is. Fight over.I’m at a Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo.
Every few minutes, men the size of bufaloes
enter the arena to slap seven shades out of
each other while spectators drink beer and
tuck into bento boxes. A sumo match is short
and intense, a thunderous coming-together
of biceps and bellies. Before each bout, an
announcer enters the ring and chants the
names of the next ighters in a long, wavering
song. It sounds rather like a call to prayer.
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