Sumo and Car Geeks in Nagoya Japan

Another article in the OBT series. The next stop on our roving retirement took us to Nagoya Japan, primarily to see real Sumo wrestling.

When I convinced Diana to visit Japan on this trip, an immediate consideration was “can we see sumo?” We try to take in local sporting events wherever we go. I think we understand a culture better through their leisure habits, including sport. It is obvious from Sumo that Japanese culture still retains some primal aspects, not just the refined ones I frequently see.

Sumo! Sumo!

Six sumo tournaments occur throughout the year, each lasting 15 days. Luck was on our side to be able to attend during our visit. Tournaments are days long, with unranked wrestlers matching up, then intermediate, and finally senior division participants. Each match during a tournament has only one round. The winner has to either push the loser out of the ring or get some portion of his opponent’s body to touch the ground, other than his feet.

A round can last 3 seconds to a few minutes, and fighting style includes shoving and slapping, which can get quite violent (I noticed a former wrestler in the foyer with a tell-tale cauliflower ear). I really enjoyed the spectacle and would go again, although a Japanese baseball game is higher on my list for a return visit. Tickets for the final round (which we caught) are very hard to come by; plan in advance.

Letting Out My Inner Car Geek

Seeing sumo brought us to Nagoya, a place we probably would not have gone to otherwise. An unexpected bonus was learning Toyota is headquartered near Nagoya. Since we had a spare afternoon, we chose to take in the Toyota Commemorative Museum, one of two Toyota museums in the area. The other museum is dedicated to a collection of classic cars from a variety of vendors.

Toyoda History

The Toyota Commemorative Museum traces the history and developments of the company. Toyoda, with a “d”, was founded as a manufacturer of automatic looms for the textile industry in 1907 by Sakichi Toyoda. The Toyota car company was started by his son, Kiichiro, after a tour of the US in 1921. While abroad, he saw the burgeoning auto industry as an opportunity back home. Toyota, with a “t”, was named via a local contest when it was decided it needed to be distinguished from the textile concern. Even today, the textile equipment manufacturing company continues growing, alongside 30+ other companies either tracing back roots to the founder or acquired along the way.

Watching the Machines

What makes this museum great is the many working machines they have on display. All of these well-oiled, up to 60 years old, machines work like well-oiled machines. Dozens of docents were around, demonstrating or running the relics.

The museum covers every aspect of both industries from the beginning to now. It shows details about turning cotton to thread, weaving hand towels and sheets, as well as braking systems, automatic transmissions, headlights, body frame painting, etc. Another highlight is the violin playing robot, which first performed at the World Exhibition in Shanghai in 2010 to large crowds, many of whom waited 6+ hours for the short show.

Overall, I recommend a day trip via a 100-minute bullet train from Tokyo to visit this fantastic museum, unless you manage to coordinate with a sumo tourney. I would consider another visit, myself.

Which science/industry museums do think are worth a special trip?