Sumo - Softcover

Kubota, Makoto

4.38

8 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811825485 ISBN 13: 9780811825481

Publisher: Chronicle Books Llc, 1999

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Sumo wrestling is part religious ritual, part popular entertainment, and Japan's most unique contribution to the world of sport. Though sumo has long fascinated the West, its complex system of rituals and etiquette has made it difficult for outsiders to penetrate. Wrestlers undergo years of strenuous training—and some pretty serious eating—in order to compete in bouts that last minutes or sometimes seconds; the sweaty clash of huge bodies is but the final act in a prolonged contest of intimidation and concentration. In well over 100 rare and luminous photographs, Sumo offers an unrivaled close-up view of wrestlers in practice and in competition, complete with a brief history of the sport and an explanation of the various stages of a typical match. Photographers are seldom allowed such intimate access to the wrestlers, making this book a truly unprecedented document of the world of sumo. Japanophiles, sumo fans, and photography buffs alike will relish this rare glimpse of the inner circle where ritual, power, and bodies collide.

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About the Author:

Makoto Kubota is a photographer whose work has been published in numerous books and magazines. He lives in Japan.

From Library Journal:

Kubota, a veteran photographer of the sumo world, presents an album of the sport that is both gorgeously sensual and frustratingly mute on much of what it depicts. After a brief and breathless introductionAsumo is described as "a primal struggle" and "the ultimate in unarmed combat"Awe are treated to a gallery of lavish full-bleed photos. Both black-and-white and color, they feature sumo wrestlers as moving sculpture, their monumental bodies slick with sweat or gritty with the dust of the ring. Shoulders and haunches loom from the shadows, and the camera lingers on details: a massive foot, a carefully tied silk mawashi, or belt. A few paragraphs at the end purport to explain sumo's rules and history, but much of the ritual detail and rigid protocol of the Japanese national sport is glossed over. Sumo aficionados will recognize top wrestlers like Akebono and Takanohana, but the book does not name them. A good choice for confirmed fans and photography enthusiasts, but a poor one for those interested in learning about sumo. Recommended for large photography and Japan collections.AJanice P. Nimura, New York
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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