テーマは地域・世代間交流

In May 2009, event MC/talent Daisuke Yamada and Umibozu started a paper sumo game using milk cartons in Hokkaido, proposing it as a game that children and the elderly could enjoy together without any handicaps.

Initially, the project involved holding exchange events at welfare facilities, kindergartens, and festival venues throughout Hokkaido. Participants created sumo wrestlers, which were then taken to Sapporo for a "real tournament" with rankings just like those in professional sumo wrestling. The matches were broadcast live online. The live commentary, which was surprisingly realistic for paper sumo, became a hot topic and was featured in many media outlets, including television and radio stations both within and outside Hokkaido. The total number of viewers for the program exceeded 300,000!

紙相撲交流

Paper sumo exchanges held throughout Japan

In 2012, we visited the editorial office of a game magazine (Famitsu DS+wII) in Tokyo and held our first exchange event outside of Hokkaido. Since then, we have held exchange events in various locations throughout Japan, including Saitama, Shizuoka, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Aichi, and Kumamoto prefectures, and have received positive feedback.

Paper sumo exchange in disaster-stricken area

In 2014, as part of a project to exchange with areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, we raised funds for travel through crowdfunding and, thanks to the support of many people, held paper sumo exchange events in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. In 2017, we held a paper sumo exchange event at a community center in a temporary housing complex in Nishihara Village, Kumamoto Prefecture, an area affected by the Kumamoto Earthquake. Many children and adults alike enjoyed the event.

Many famous people also participated.

Furthermore, thanks to projects featured on television and other programs, many celebrities and well-known figures have participated, and in 2017, the comedy duo Sandwichman both created sumo wrestlers.

Since 2013, we have also started accepting entries via mail, making it easier for fans who previously only watched the online broadcasts to participate by creating their own sumo wrestlers.

A collaboration project with the TV anime series has also been realized.

In 2021, a collaboration project with the TV anime "Dosukoi Sushi Sumo" was realized thanks to interactions on Twitter.

With the cooperation of the Anime Dosukoi Sushizumo Production Committee, we held two collaborative online events, including a tournament using the commercially available "Dosukoi Sushizumo Paper Sumo Box" and friendly matches with paper sumo wrestlers made from milk cartons, as well as recreating matches that actually took place in the anime.

Aiming for international exchange, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Since 2018, the association has further expanded its activities by holding the "Japan Cup" tournament. In 2019, it participated in an international exchange event in Tokyo, and the first sumo wrestler from overseas (from the United States) was born.

In Osaka, we held our first networking event in a space borrowed from a public bathhouse, and in 2020, we were considering holding our first event overseas.

However, the exchange event was immediately suspended due to the impact of the coronavirus. At one point, the very continuation of the activities was in jeopardy, but in 2022, they held the "Tohoku Tournament (without spectators)" in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture.

Immediately after the second Tohoku tournament

First ever hiatus

In May 2022, just two weeks after the Tohoku Grand Sumo Tournament, Umibozu, the ring-beater, was urgently hospitalized due to a cerebral hemorrhage. This left the sumo association without a ring-beater, forcing them to suspend all activities, including live online broadcasts.

The group considered ending its activities altogether, but with the help of many people, it restarted in October 2022 with the addition of new members. While waiting for Umibouzu's return, the sumo ring was changed to a "speaker sumo ring" that anyone can easily play on, and paper sumo was started using new milk cartons.

*The "Speaker Sumo Ring" was created by Pengo92, who is in charge of technical aspects.

Facing the SDGs

Since 2022, we have been participating in the Hokkaido SDGs Promotion Network. In addition to using recycled milk cartons, we have always valued the spirit of "leaving no one behind" in our activities.

There are many difficult topics, but I hope to contribute, however modestly, to helping the world understand each other better.

Using paper sumo diplomacy to bring peace to the world

We held an exchange event with the Sapporo City International Relations Coordinators. Representatives from the UK, Germany, Russia, China, and South Korea created sumo wrestlers and competed against each other.

We want to share Japan's traditional play culture with people all over the world, and we also have a big goal: " Paper Sumo Diplomacy," which aims to bring peace to the world through paper sumo .

The dream of paper sumo! Aiming to be held at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

As you can see, we have many participants, including celebrities, university professors, IT journalists, and magazine editors-in-chief. But everyone—celebrities, the elderly, and children alike—has a chance to become a Yokozuna (grand champion). That's what paper sumo using milk cartons is all about. To date, we have had over 1,000 participants and the total number of viewers of the program has exceeded 300,000.

The goal is to hold the event at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Paper sumo, a form of entertainment that everyone can enjoy without any handicaps and a proud Japanese pastime, has the dream of taking on the world. This could lead to the hosting of a "World Cup" at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Paper Sumo Association using milk cartons

Chairman: Daisuke Yamada