is a Japanese amateur

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler, who is known for advocating for equal rights for women to compete professionally in Japan. She has been included in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019.

Life

Born August 1997 in

Ajigasawa, Aomori is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,613 in 4542 households, and a population density of 28 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Ajigasawa is in Nishitsugaru District, ...

, Kon started wrestling in first grade when she was six, inspired by her siblings' interest, and began competing and winning against boys. When she reached university, studying gender theory at

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

, she became the third woman to join its sumo club. Kon believes sumo wrestling is not just a sport, but a form of expression. Japan is the only country in the world where sumo is practiced professionally, governed by the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...

. According to sumo's ancient

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

beliefs, women are not allowed to enter or touch the wrestling ring (''

dohyō A ''dohyō'' (, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle made of partially buried rice- straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments (''honbasho''), it is mounted on a squ ...

'') as they are considered "impure." The JSA follows this tradition that has been firmly maintained through the centuries, believing it would be a dishonor to all of their ancestors to change it. This has been enforced to the point where two women had gotten in trouble with a referee for entering the ring to perform first aid on a man who had collapsed in 2018, although a JSA official later disapproved of the referee's actions as it was a life-threatening situation. There are several amateur sumo competitions in Japan and around the world where women compete. Kon won the heavyweight division of the Women Junior World Sumo Championships in 2014 and 2015. She also competed in the 2018 and 2019

Sumo World Championships The Sumo World Championships is an amateur sumo competition organized by the International Sumo Federation. The men's competition started in 1992 and the women's competition started in 2001, with both competitions having been held together. The com ...

, where she won silver both times. Kon was the subject of '' Little Miss Sumo'', a 2019

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

documentary directed by Matt Kay that followed her to the 2018 championship. After graduating from university, Kon joined the sumo

works team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

References

External links

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Short video on Kon by the BBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kon, Hiyori 1997 births Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers Sumo people from Aomori Prefecture Female sumo wrestlers Competitors at the 2022 World Games World Games silver medalists 21st-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese people

Life

See also

References

External links