The Wakayama Nakizumo festival seems to be run a little differently than the others, and the babies are just put in the ring of sand to compete. Parents can sign their children up the very day of the festival for a bit more of a cost than if they pre-registered. To attend the festival at Ikiko, travel to Kanuma on the first Sunday after September 19th each year. Whether this legend is true or not doesn’t negate the fact that many people all over the country now like to follow the custom of having a sumo wrestler facilitate making their child cry. In fact, the name “Ikiko” means “child can be restored to life.” The name came after a miracle brought back a child who’d died of small pox a mere ten years after the shrine was built. Legend has it that the Nakizumo festival got its start at the Ikiko Shrine over 400 years ago ( source). Everyone at the Nakizumo festival is smiling, from the cameraman to the audience. This Crying Sumo fest takes place the last Sunday in April, when the weather is getting warmer and it’s really pleasant to be outside, which is important for the scantily clad sumo wrestlers and some of the babies who don’t have much on.

The Nakizumo festival we attended, and probably the easiest one to get to for most people, is at the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Spring – Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo

Here are three festivals that are very popular. Nakizumo festivals are held all over the country, but it’s difficult to find out exactly when. Pin Nakizumo Where Are the Crying Baby Contests?

If both start crying at the same time, the louder baby wins. Just like in sumo, two babies are brought into the sacred circle, the dohyo, where the wrestler holds up the baby until one of them cries. These hulks of human flesh are given the babies to hold and they then try to make them cry as quickly and easily as possible. This little one clearly gets what the contest is about. So whom better to help prepare your child be healthy and strong than a sumo wrestler? It’s common thought that the healthiest people in Japan are sumo wrestlers who spend their entire lives eating right, exercising, and living a spirtual life. In Japan one way this is done is through the Nakizumo festival. One baby wails while the other looks into the face of his sumo partner. It’s also no secret that for centuries, humans have made amulets, prayed, baptized, and developed many rituals and ceremonies to ensure their offspring are healthy. One ubiquitous feeling around the world, is that parents want their children to be healthy. And what a festive atmosphere it is! Sumos hold up babies to the delight of the audience. “Children should be seen and not heard,” right? Needless to say, I was intrigued that in Japan, there is an entire day set up to make the babies wail. We are embarrassed if we are out in public and the baby starts to make noise, any noise. In my culture, we Americans, don’t want our babies to cry. That’s why I couldn’t wait to go to the Japanese spring celebration called the “baby crying festival” or the Nakizumo Festival. One reason I love living in Japan is the opportunity to witness, and sometimes even join in, on some cultural activities that are completely different than anything I’ve known or experienced. Will you be in Tokyo in April? Are you ready to watch the cutest festival there ever was? The Nakizumo festival is all about babies and sumo wrestlers.ĭisclaimer: Some of our articles may contain affiliate links when you click on these links you’ll have the option to purchase or register for a service at no extra cost to you, but doing so helps us run this blog.

Sumo baby ninja warrio