Jakarta (Antara Bali) - To commemorate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between Japan and Indonesia, the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta will acquaint Indonesians with sumo as a professional sport.
Hence, the original sumo tournament, a Japanese traditional wrestling, will be held in Jakarta on August 24-25, 2013, the Japanese Embassy's Cultural Minister Shindo Yusuke said here on Saturday.
"This is the first time for 'ozumo' or professional sumo to come to Southeast Asia and particularly, we'll bring them to Indonesia," he said.
To improve the Indonesians' understanding of sumo prior to the game, the Japanese Embassy invited thousands of Jakartans who are mostly Japanese language teachers on Saturday evening to watch "Shiko Funjatta", a movie about spirit of sumo.
Sumo used to be played to celebrate harvest time in Japan since the Heian Period or hundreds of years ago, and nowadays it was played as a professional game, he explained. "As a professional game, a sumo player could earn about Rp128 million per two months," he said. (*/M038)
Japan to Acquaint Indonesians with Sumo
Minggu, 21 Juli 2013 15:26 WIB
