Sumo Wrestlers Try To Make Babies Cry On Purpose In Unusual Japanese Tradition
AFP
More than a hundred sobbing babies were subjected to the ordeal at Tokyo's Irugi Shrine, with their doting parents watching happily as the amateur wrestlers bounced them up and down in a makeshift sumo ring.
Some of the infants, aged between six and 18 months, were roared at in the face in a bid to get the tears flowing.
"The babies' cries are intended to reach God and parents hope that their little ones will grow healthy and strong," explained Yoshimi Morita, a priest at the shrine, where screams and squawks filled the air.
"So if a baby doesn't cry at this event, sumo wrestlers try to make him or her cry on purpose, moving the baby up and down, while their parents watch with pounding hearts," he said.
"There is no victory nor defeat in this wrestling, and a match always ends with a chorus of 'Banzai raku!' which means 'Live long'."
The ceremony dates back some 400 years and is held at shrines nationwide. The rules vary from region to region -- in some versions the babies are raced against each other to see who will cry first, while in others the first crier is the loser.
Delighted mother Mae Shige said her son had performed well at Sunday's event.
"He's not a baby that cries much but today he cried a lot for us and we are very happy about it," Shige said.
Yuki Ibusuki, another mother at the shrine, said of her son: "He'll be one soon, and we wanted to come here so that we would have a memory of this event for when he grows up."
- Having an regional accent can be bad for your interviews, especially an Indian one: study
- Dirty laundry? Major clothing companies like Zara and H&M under scrutiny for allegedly fuelling deforestation in Brazil
- 5 Best places to visit near Darjeeling
- Climate change could become main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century: Study
- RBI initiates transition plan: Small finance banks to ascend to universal banking status
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market