Nakizumo – Crying sumo. Do you know about this unique match? This is a tour report of Asakusa and Ueno on April 28th.

Many thanks for joining our tours at Asakusa and Ueno Park on April 14, 2024. We welcomed 26 guests from Canada, Italy, India, Holland, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the USA. It was a tremendous opportunity for us to meet wonderful guests from all over the world and to share interesting conversations. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun we had during the tour.

Asakusa AM Group A

Asakusa AM Group B

Asakusa AM Group C

Asakusa PM Group A

Asakusa PM Group B

Ueno Group A

Ueno Group B

On this day, a crying sumo match was held at Sensoji Temple. As the name suggests, crying is the point of the contest. Babies born last year are eligible to participate in this event. The sumo wrestler holds the baby wrestler in his arms and brings them to the ring.  The babies look at each other. The Gyoji referee watches over them. By the way, which do you think is the winner? Actually, the baby who cried louder won the match. This is based on the saying, “A child who cries grows better.”

Koinobori (carp streamers) were swimming at the Sensoji Temple. Koinobori is a special decoration for Children’s Day, May 5, in various parts of Japan to pray for children’s health and success in life. Originally, there is a Chinese proverb, “carp climbing up a waterfall,” which expresses the wish of parents that their children will survive in life, just like carp that powerfully climb up a river.

In the past, there used to be many carp streamers with two or three children’s carp swimming. However, there are only two carps – a couple – at Senso-ji. One of the guests asked about the declining birthrate in Japan. As symbolized by the carp streamers, the number of children in Japan is decreasing rapidly, and the total fertility rate in 2022 was 1.26. Also, the population has decreased by 700,000 people per year in 2023. If anyone has a super effective prescription for population growth, please let us know!!

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For more information about our tour, please visit our website at https://tfwt.jp/top/east-gardens-of-the-imperial-palace/, https://www.facebook.com/TokyoFWT or Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://www.tripadvisor.jp/.

(posted by Akiko)