Japan History and Culture

Crying Baby Sumo Contest (Konaki or Nakizumo, 子泣き相撲)

Crying Sumo (Konaki) or Sumo of tears (Nakizumo) is a popular annual Japanese contest for  babies that take place all over the country. The festival held on Sunday by sumo  wrestlers, the tiny winners are determined by who cries first. If both babies start crying at the same time the winner is the one who wails the loudest in the arms of sumo wrestlers. Japanese parents apparently believe the sumo-induced cries are beneficial, with the babies crying out as a prayer to the gods for good health. At the very least, it probably exercises the lungs.

Some babies reportedly refused to cooperate and stayed silent or even dared to laugh in the wrestlers’ faces. Or, at least, that wasthe case until the wrestlers resorted to slipping on their scary masks. The event is based on the ancient Japanese proverb that ‘crying babies grow fast’(naku ko wa sodatsu). It is thought that the louder the cry, the more the gods have blessed the child with strong and good health, are supposed to drive away evil spirits. is at least 400 years old.

Locations with Crying baby Sumo contests are the Sensoji temple,Tokyo, There are also contests at Ikiko shrine in Kanuma-ski, Tochigi, in September; Yamajioji temple in Shimotsu-cho, Wakayama, in October; and at Saikyoji temple, Hirado, in February.

Omikuji (御御籤,おみくじ)
The omikuji, literally mean “sacred lottery or crowned lottery” are random fortunes written on strips of paper from a container or box (Nowadays, these are often coin-slot machines or red vending machines,自動販売機) found at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples all over Japan

Fortunes were originally lots written by hand one by one from container or box, but they can now be purchased from a red vending machine. The omikuji  falls out of a small hole, scrolled up, when the piece of paper is unfolded, paper reveals the fortune written on strips of paper ,one’s fortune is listed as one of several categories: Great blessing (daikichi,大吉) , very lucky (chūkichi,中吉), lucky or Blessing( kichi,吉), somewhat lucky or Small blessing (shōkichi,小吉), barely lucky (suekichi,末吉) , Half-blessing (半吉), Near-small-blessing (末小吉), Curse (凶), Small curse (小凶), Half-curse (半凶), Near-curse (末凶), Great curse (大凶).The fortune may also include predictions different subjects about love, lost articles, study, family,money, travel, childbirth, and other matters, in other words, predictions for all needs.

Another one, you usually have to shake a box waiting for a numbered wooden stick (there’s a number written) to come down from a little hole. You have to take a piece of paper from the bow with the same number. After reading it, if the fortune tells is bad luck you should to make the paper is folded into a stripe tied around the branch of a tree, or pillars or in a special place where the shrine indicates, so the predicted bad luck won’t follow you. But if the fortune brings a message of good luck you can take it with you or put it on your wallet.

The Japanese often go to consult the omikuji before a significant event (voyage, marriage, etc) and in particular the New Year’s Day.