Asia-Pacific Week 2006 Japanese Studies Graduate Summer School ABSTRACT

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Since 1992 amateur sumo has achieved international status of a sort by establishing the first World Sumo Championships. These have continued annually ever since. However, officials within the sport have sought to make their sport more recognised and accepted by becoming a "global" sport. The main thrust has been to gain International Olympic Committee recognition of amateur sumo. In the process, Japan's "national sport" has undergone change.

My paper addresses the issues of globalization and local adaptation that are apparent in the spread of amateur sumo as an international sport. I explore the idea of amateur sumo globalizing, the changes that have taken place, and examples of acceptance of this sport in various localities. Using the theories of Robertson (1995), Nederveen Pieterse (1995) and Tomlinson (1999), among others, I will show that the local adaptations of the global amateur sumo movement are not always planned and are often uneven between different localities. In fact, often change is made despite the expressed pursuit of 'authenticity' in the sumo performed. My paper also explains why I prefer the term 'glocalization' for these adaptations rather than other terms previously used, such as hybridization or 'creolization'.

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