"Baseball does enjoy a much broader viewership than sumo in Japan, particularly when it comes to the national high school tournament known as Koshien. When the championship is on, it's rare to pass by a television set or radio that isn't tuned in. But sumo offers something much deeper, and I think even those who prefer baseball would tend to agree with this, in that it is distinctly Japanese. It has roots in Shinto religious practices."
Onosato's recent achievement as the seventy-fifth yokozuna marks a significant moment for Japanese sumo fans, as Mongolian wrestlers have dominated the sport for decades. This celebration coincides with the rise of Japan's far-right political movements, exemplified by Sanseito, a party built on anti-immigrant platforms during a period of record foreign-born residents. Sumo holds deeper cultural significance than baseball in Japan despite lower viewership, rooted in Shinto religious practices and distinctly Japanese traditions. The sport serves as a lens for examining contemporary Japanese identity, nationalism, and the country's complex relationship with foreign influence and immigration.
Read at Harper's Magazine
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