Wednesday, December 19, 2018

When Sumo Wrestling took over a Baseball Stadium

     Sumo Wrestling and Japanese baseball have been linked throughout the sports' histories.  Athletes from both sports have shared special friendships throughout the years, Japanese baseball turns to sumo wrestlers to throw out the first pitches of the season on a regular basis, and in the 1940s at the height of World War 2, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai "took over" the Korakuen Stadium to hold two of its tournaments since the Japanese Army commandeered the Sumo Kokukigan Stadium to make bombs.  Intrigued?  Read on for a few more minutes.



      Most of us have heard about the destruction that Tokyo endured during World War 2.  Sumo was not immune to it.  Sumo wrestlers were called to duty to fight in the war, sumo stables were destroyed during the fire bombing, and the military took over the Kokugikan to make bombs in 1944.  By 1944, Japan was all but defeated in the war and the preparations to repel a land invasion by the Allies was a top priority.  Consequently, this left sumo without a home to hold its tournaments.  Likewise, Japanese baseball was severely affected by the war and by 1944 could only muster a 35-game season in leaving its Korakuen Stadium open to the Nihon Sumo Kyokai which borrowed it for their May and November 1944 tournaments.  I've heard of this event happening, but I have never before seen pictures of it until a recent eBay auction that I won had me doing more research.  I picked up this circa 1946 Photographic Views of Japan: SUMO booklet that was printed for the Occupation Forces to teach them about Japanese culture.  It is part of a 10-booklet series on various subjects and written in English. 



What photos lie within?



And the Korakuen Photos:



Close-up photo of the scoreboard


Some further research let me to this picture which shows the sumo dohyo (ring) situated on none other than the 3rd-base line!



Dave at the Japanese Baseball Cards blog did a nice write up last year on the Korakuen Stadium.  Take a look at it here.

Thanks for stopping by!

6 comments:

  1. Great post. I love learning new things about WWII. Most of what I know is based on the US point of view.

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    1. We do tend to forget about the lives of ordinary Japanese citizens during the war.

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  2. My Great Grandfather went to Okinawa during the war. This is a really cool piece to own and a great write up. I can’t imagine how many non military people passed away during the war.

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    1. Lots of innocent people die on both sides of war.

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  3. This was another really great read! And that last photo is just amazing, thanks for another mini history lesson :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. I definitely love Japanese history!

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