Under the name Sumi-Yume Hokusai Tournament, the art project Dondoko! Giant Paper Sumo Wrestling (rolled out by artist unit KOSUGE1-16 across Japan) is being held in Sumida, a place strongly associated with sumo.
Workshops dubbed “jungyo” provincial tours will take place at four heya “training stables” set up in four locations across Sumida-ku. Children will come up with ideas in teams and create 180cm-high giant “sumo wrestlers” made of cardboard. The children’s rich and imaginative ideas produce sumo wrestlers with unique “shikona” ring names and “tokui waza” signature techniques. At the “honbasho” official sumo tournament, a total of 32 “wrestlers” will gather from each “heya.” The team who made the sumo wrestlers and other participants then pound on the edges of the ring to move the wrestlers through vibration and determine the strongest wrestler. Featuring commentary by oyakata “stable masters,” sumo jinku folk singing by former “wrestlers” and yobidashi as well as a taiko drum performance and a demonstration of the yumitori-shiki bow twirling ceremony, the event will serve as an introduction to the Sumida area’s living sumo culture. The event is being held with the cooperation of people associated with sumo together with the local community, with local businesses awarding prizes in their role as “tanimachi” sumo patrons.