Article: Poll: Majority sumo fans support ban on women in ring


AP Worldstream
02-08-2006
Dateline: TOKYO
A majority Japanese sumo fans support a tradition that bans women from stepping on ancient sport's raised dirt wrestling mound, according to a survey commissioned by the Japan Sumo Association and released Wednesday.

The 2,000-year-old national sport has always banned women from the ring, though the origins of the practice remain unclear. It is believed to be based on beliefs in Shinto, Japan's native region, that women are impure.

The eligibility of women to enter the sumo ring has become a controversial issue in recent years since the female governor of Osaka has repeatedly requested she be allowed on the traditional mound to present a prize to the ...

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