 |
What are the features of traditional Japanese sports? |
 |
Sumo is a traditional Japanese sport that still enjoys immense popularity today. In sumo, two wrestlers face each other in a ring. The wrestler who brings his opponent down to the ground or pushes him out of the ring is the winner.
|
Another traditional sport is kendo. In kendo, two fencers wearing protectors, including masks and chest guards, each hold a long bamboo sword and compete by attempting to strike the opponent's mask or chest with the sword. Yet another is aikido, a martial art of self-defense in which an attack with bare hands or with a weapon, such as a sword or spear, is repulsed by utilizing the strength of the attacker against him or her.
| |
Judo, which is now part of the official sports program at the Olympic Games, is also a traditional sport. In judo, two wrestlers compete with various throwing and grappling techniques.
| |
Other traditional sports include karate, which came to Japan from China; Japanese archery, or kyudo, in which standing archers shoot arrows at a target with a long Japanese-style bow; and mounted archery, in which archers shoot at stationary targets from atop galloping horses.
Photos courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kodokan Judo Institute, and Japan Karate-do Federation. | |
| |
