Body Building Craze Hits Judo Land - Rikidozan Deserts Sumo And Defeats Carnera
Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette Tuesday 11th October 1955 A body - building craze is sweeping Japan. Although the Japanese grow up with judo - every child knows the elementary throws - this is the first time that they have taken up dumb-bells and chest-expanders. The new fashion is attributed to television, a sumo wrestler named Rikidozan, and women. The Japanese have always loved sumo, a variant of wrestling, which, to a Westerner, looks like a don't-you-dare-to-push-me bout between two long haired, pot bellied, man mountains. The best of them in recent years - a man who fought under the name of Rikidozan - was a 265 pound giant who has become a living symbol of glory to the Japanese. He has now deserted sumo to become a professional wrestler and has defeated Primo Carnera. To do it, Rikidozan had to transfer his weight from his stomach to his chest. Fans throughout the Japanese islands eagerly followed his struggle...
