Japanese Play: Sports and Rap

Japanese Play: Sports and Rap

The Japanese culture is very rich and full of history, and just like any other culture, it is influenced by other cultures all around the world. Just like anywhere else, Japanese people seek recreation and play, but in this society, they appear to be a bit more disciplined in the recreation activities that they engage in. A prime example of their more disciplined sports is demonstrated through their sumo, soccer, and baseball engagements. Baseball and soccer are two examples of how Japanese people have been influenced by other cultures, and sumo wrestling is an example of how the Japanese have stayed true to their culture and continue practicing something that they have been doing for hundreds of years. An activity that has become more and more prominent in Japanese culture, especially as of late, is rapping, and it is heavily influenced by Western culture. The videos that show what these rappers are doing for fun and leisure surely have an impact on what Japanese children and teenagers do for recreation.

Sumo Wrestling is a sport that has been around since the 7th century, and was performed as a way to pray for a bountiful crop or to predict whether the year’s harvest would be good. There is a system of stables that was made to train and teach wrestlers, and it is a system that is still very active in Japan today. Sumo wrestling embodies traditional Japanese culture, and is a sport that has spread to other parts of the world. Although not many children may be professionally involved in the sport of Sumo, they are influenced by it and pretend to sumo wrestle in Japan; much like kids here in the United States pretend to be professional wrestlers from the WWE. It is not very hard for kids in Japan to engage in sumo related activities, as all they need is to go outside where there is grass or dirt and use a stick to carve out a circle in the ground. The purpose of this game is, similar to