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Film

Sumo Do, Sumo Don't

Original title: Shiko funjattaシコふんじゃった。

1992Japan103 minComedy · Sports drama

Japanese comedy by Masayuki Suo from 1992 about a student who joins a university sumo team of unmotivated wrestlers in order to graduate on time.

Shiko funjatta (in English Sumo Do, Sumo Don't) is a Japanese film directed and written by Masayuki Suo. Daiei released it in Japanese cinemas on 15 January 1992, and its running time is 103 minutes. The title contains the word shiko, which in sumo denotes a training exercise of raising and stamping the leg. The main character is the student Shuhei, played by Masahiro Motoki. He does not join his university's sumo team out of interest in wrestling: he needs to graduate on time and get a job through his family's connections. The team consists of unmotivated wrestlers who, under the influence of their professor's determination, try to give a good account of themselves for the school. Naoto Takenaka and Misa Shimizu appear in further roles. Sumo is shown here not in a professional setting but at the level of a university club. The sumo adviser was Keiichi Horiguchi, an instructor of the Rikkyo University sumo club. We have not been able to find in sources how the actors prepared for the bouts or whether they practised sumo themselves. At the 16th Japan Academy Prize the film won the award for best film. In 2022 it was followed by a series for Disney+ set thirty years later, starring Shoji Hayama and Rokka Ihara.

Martial arts in this work

SumoCentral

Origin

The fictional Kyoritsu University, where the film is set, was modelled on Rikkyo University, from which Masayuki Suo himself graduated. The film's expert side is connected with that setting too: sumo advice was provided by Keiichi Horiguchi, who led the Rikkyo University sumo club as an instructor. Besides advice on the wrestling itself, he put the crew in touch with the sumo world. Horiguchi was also the model for the professor character, whose determination in the story sweeps up the unmotivated team members.

People and martial arts

  • Masayuki SuoDirector
  • Masahiro MotokiActor — as Yamamoto Shuhei· Sumo (portrays the art on screen)
  • Naoto TakenakaActor — as Aoki Tomio· Sumo (portrays the art on screen)
  • Misa ShimizuActor — as Kawamura Natsuko· Sumo (portrays the art on screen)
  • Keiichi HoriguchiTechnical advisor· Sumo (real practitioner)

Awards

  • Won · Japan Academy Prize, Best Picture (1993)
Further sources on this topic (2)
  1. ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/シコふんじゃった。
  2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumo_Do,_Sumo_Don't