The popular Japanese national sport of sumo can trace its roots back 2000 years. It began more as a ceremony than a sport, a form of celebration to appease the gods and help ensure a good rice harvest. Its strong ties with the Shinto religion filled sumo with symbols and rituals that usually go unnoticed by the average Western viewer.
Sumo wrestlers stomp their feet right before the beginning of the match in order to fend off evil spirits, and salt is thrown by the wrestlers to purify the ring and prevent injury. The canopy over the arena resembles the roof of a Shinto temple, while the four tassels hanging at each corner represent the four seasons (green is spring, red is summer, white is autumn and black is winter).
By the coming of the Nara and Heian periods (794-1192 AD) in Japan, sumo began to be performed at the imperial court in front of the Emperor. During the Edo period (1603-1868), the sport began to evolve to resemble present-day sumo.
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