Kei Igawa arrived in the US with a lot of fanfare in 2007. After failing miserably with the Yankees, he was sent to the minor leagues. Since then, he has existed in an uncomfortable limbo, not completely part of either world.
posted by reenum on Oct 5, 2011 - 33 comments

Capture the flag , as played in Japan. via loq [more inside]
posted by Horselover Phattie on Jul 18, 2011 - 47 comments

In March of 2009, the Japan Sumo Association won a lawsuit against Kodansha, a large Japanese publishing house. Kodansha had alleged that match fixing was rampant in Sumo, even at the highest levels. However, in the last week, police have discovered text messages between wrestlers showing proof of fixing, including negotiation over compensation. [more inside]
posted by Ghidorah on Feb 5, 2011 - 24 comments

Badass Japanese Precision Walking Competition. Craziness starts at 1:45, and just gets better from there on.
posted by lazaruslong on Sep 4, 2010 - 69 comments

Check out this soccer/baseball stadium. You can fold the baseball field and roll in the soccer one. Animation here. Amazing.
posted by sikander on Jun 1, 2002 - 17 comments

Akebono's sumo retirement ceremony American-born sumo Yokozuna Akebono retired from the sport Sepetember 29th in Kokogikan, Japan.

This excellent photo essay talks about a few of the 300+ people scheduled to help cut off the topknot, a little on the history of Sumo, and why he needs 8 men to help him with the belt tying ceremony.

Also a few good photographs of another American-born Yokozuna, Musashimaru, and one Japanese one, Takanohana.
posted by swenson on Jan 5, 2002 - 10 comments

Not many still-practiced sports existed at the dawn of recorded history. Sumo wrestling is one of them. I've been trying to learn more about Sumo lately, and with the Aki-Basho tournament coming up next month, now is the time to follow along on the web as the drama unfolds.
posted by machaus on Aug 25, 2001 - 5 comments