A New Generation of Sumo Style

TOKYO (Reuters) – A tussle has broken out in Japan’s tradition-bound
sumo world over the right to wear pants in the ring.

Gargantuan sumo wrestlers generally compete naked but for a "mawashi," an
arrangement of wrapped cloth that preserves a bare minimum of modesty.

Sumo’s amateur association hit upon the idea of allowing shy youngsters
to wear "sumo pants," a more substantial garment similar to
cycling shorts, to try to boost the dwindling numbers of children taking
up the
sport, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun said on Thursday.

"Pubescent kids are not going to want to take part if they don’t look cool," Yomiuri
quoted one local amateur sumo official as saying.

And all this time we thought "Sumo" was the unofficial motto of the
Harvard Law School!

from Reuters