Short Shrift Among Traditionalists for New Sumo Costume

The guardians of the ancient Japanese sport of sumo yesterday rebuffed attempts to allow shy pubescent boys to wear pants instead of the traditional loin cloths.

The behemoths who grace the ring, or dohyo, at professional sumo tournaments wear nothing but a mawashi, a belt that makes no attempt to hide the buttocks and, during a strenuous bout, can reveal much more.

The thought of baring almost all to their peers is preventing image-conscious schoolboys from joining the sport, which is also in the midst of a general slump in popularity, according to a report in yesterday's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

To attract more potential grand champions on to the dohyo, the amateur sumo association suggested allowing shy youngsters to wear less revealing "sumo pants" - something akin to cycling shorts - instead of mawashi .

"Pubescent kids are not going to want to take part if they don't look cool," an amateur sumo official told the Yomiuri.

But sumo's famously conservative professional body, the Nihon Sumo-Kyokai, said any boy turning up for tournaments wearing shorts would not be allowed to wrestle.

"The national stadium has its rules and ways of doing things," the paper quoted a Sumo-Kyokai spokesman as saying. "We have no intention of allowing children in pants into the ring."

The 2,000-year old sport, which has strong links with Japan's indigenous Shinto religion, is facing other challenges to its traditions.

Fusae Ota, the female governor of Osaka, which hosts a big tournament every spring, has been campaigning for years to be allowed to step on to the dohyo on the final day to present an award to the overall winner.

Though women wrestle at the amateur level, they are ordinarily not allowed to enter the ring - which is seen as sacred space - because they are considered spiritually unclean.