Sumodo – The Successors of Samurai | Japanese Film Festival

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Date Reviewed: 28/10/2021

To those of us in the West, Sumo wrestling seems to be nothing more than large men in modified nappies trying to push each other out of a ring. Thanks to the documentary Sumodo – The successors of Samurai, the mystery is now revealed. It is so much more!

Highlighting the complexities of the sport and the sheer athleticism of its competitors, the movie follows two sumo stables, Takadagawa and Sakaigawa, in their preparation for two of Japan’s biggest sumo tournaments.

We go ‘backstage’ and share the lives of the wrestlers as they train and discover the physical difficulties top athletes from the two stables, Ryuden from Takadagawa stable and Goeido from Sakaigawa stable, go through in order to survive in the cut throat and complicated world of professional sumo.

While the film focusses on the sheer physical strength of the wrestlers, (we see them exercising, clashing with one other, and exerting themselves both in the ring and out) it is balanced by their human sides and their incredible ability to disregard pain as they strive to become the best. They ignore broken bones, torn muscles, and dangerously high temperatures in their quest to become a top rikishi.

While both of the featured wrestlers demonstrate the same devotion to the art of Sumo and ensuring it is passed on to the novice wrestlers in their stables, their private lives are very different; Ryuden facing championships and an impending marriage and Goeido facing potential ruin due to a torn bicep muscle.

As fascinating as the documentary is, it does not explain the wrestlers’ struggle to seemingly reach a sort of ‘enlightenment’. Their focus seems to go beyond the physical, this is hinted at but never explored.

Inexplicably, there is a scene showing the wrestlers’ prodigious appetites at a restaurant. While I’m sure it was included as a comment of their lives out of the ring, it came across as mocking, particularly with the ‘carnival’ music added. One of the wrestlers asks not to be film and yet the scene continues.

That being said Sumodo – The Successors of Samurai is still compelling viewing for those who have experienced Sumo wrestling in the past or who have a fascination to discover more. It goes a long way to debunking many myths and educating us to the real focus behind Sumo which is more than just fighting, it is a noble tradition. 

Review by Barry Hill