Sumo a Pocket Guide Book by David Shapiro (Preowned)

An Updated Compact Guide to Japan's National Sport

When it was first published in 1989, Sumo: A Pocket Guide was quickly recognized as the best compact reference to the fascinating tradition and exciting sport that is sumo.

Now completely updated by the well-known sumo authority David Shapiro, the book describes the history, rules, rituals, and techniques of sumo, the wrestlers' training, and even their diets. Covering such topics as "life in the stables," "psychological warfare," and "the spoils of victory," this compact guide brings to life this cultural pastime that is so much more than a sport. This volume also includes an updated list of the addresses and telephone numbers of all the stables and some of the best chanko-nabe restaurants in Tokyo.

Shapiro brings to the updated edition many years of Japanese language sumo research and coverage. The result is a handy, up-to-date, and authoritative guide to sumo that provides everything one needs to understand, appreciate, and enjoy this fascinating sport.

David Shapiro has been a fan of sumo since 1973 and has been writing professionally on the subject since 1981. He has lectured extensively on sumo both in Japanese and English while serving as a senior staff member of Sumo World magazine, the world's only English-language publication dedicated to sumo. In addition to working as a freelance translator, interpreter, and writer, he also regularly appears on NHK's English-language sumo broadcasts as a guest commentator.

Length: 106 pages

Publication date: 1995