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Sumo returns to Paris after 30-year absence
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Culture & Society

Sumo returns to Paris after 30-year absence

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified New plan
  • Sumo wrestlers are set to return to Paris for the first time in three decades.
  • The sport previously held tournaments in Paris in 1986 and 1995, largely due to Jacques Chirac's passion.
  • A Japan Sumo Association official cited a lack of prior requests as the reason for the long absence.

Sumo wrestling is poised to make a significant return to Paris, with traditional bouts scheduled to take place in mid-June, marking the sport's first appearance in the French capital in nearly 30 years. The last major sumo events in Paris were held in 1986 and 1995, memorable occasions partly fueled by the strong passion for the discipline shown by then-French politician Jacques Chirac.

These past tournaments allowed the Parisian public to become acquainted with the ancient Japanese sport. However, after these events, sumo largely disappeared from the city's cultural landscape for three decades.

Nobody had really asked us before.

— Nakadachi-oyakataThe Japan Sumo Association official explained the long absence of sumo tournaments in Paris.

When questioned about the lengthy hiatus, Nakadachi-oyakata, a coach and official within the powerful Japan Sumo Association (JSA), offered a surprising explanation. He suggested that the primary reason for the absence was a simple lack of formal requests for tournaments. "Nobody had really asked us before," he stated, adding that while proposals for European tournaments existed between 2000 and 2010, he was not yet working at the JSA headquarters and inferred that arrangements might have been too complex at the time.

I know there had been proposals for tournaments in Europe between 2000 and 2010. I wasn't working at the headquarters yet, so I suppose it was probably complicated at that time.

— Nakadachi-oyakataThe official elaborated on potential reasons for the lack of European sumo events in the early 2000s.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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