Wrestling at the Garden
Julie Randle
Of the Suburban Journals
Oakville-Mehlville Journal
Lynn Matsuoka isn’t a sports fan, so after 30 plus years of following sumo wrestling one has to wonder.
“I’m still not a sports fan. I’m a people fan, “said Matsuoka, who enjoys documenting sumo wrestling and its athletes in her paintings. In addition, she takes pleasure in doing television commentary for six sumo tournaments held every year in Japan.
Matsuoka takes pride in showing audiences who these athletes are, letting the public see them as real people and explain the moves, forms and techniques of the sport.
She will expose St. Louis to the sport Sept. 3 “5 at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Japanese Festival. Matsuoka will provide a view of sumo wrestlers from their preparation for matches to the matches themselves.
Her goal is to let visitors “see the extraordinary beauty of the world of sumo, “she said.
For her “Introduction to Sumo “talk in St. Louis, Matsuoka is gearing the topic towards a fan base, she said. She will present sumo athletes as real people by showing the audience who they are, how they begin and taking them behind the scenes of sumo wrestling with illustrated slides of her paintings. Matsuoka’s presentation will be at noon on Sept. 4 and 5.
Matsuoka hopes her information will make others “appreciate the extraordinarily difficult life that these men endure to do what they do, “she said. “When they do it right, it is spectacular.”
Matsuoka will be selling her artwork at the event as well and will donate 20 percent of everything she sells to the Garden. Her drawings start at $150, prints range from $500 to $600 and paintings are priced at $2,000 to $10,000.
In addition, Matsuoka will be doing the commentary for sumo wrestling demonstrations at 2 and 4 p.m. Sept. 3 “5.
“I’m bringing over two former professional sumo wrestlers from Hawaii, “said Matsuoka, who was invited to attend the event by the Garden.
Outfitted in traditional silk loincloths, the 6-foot, 500-pound Sunahama and the 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound Koryu will display sumo forms, moves and exercises, as well as compete in bouts. After the action is complete, spectators can question the athletes.
“I want them (audience members) to see what real sumo is like from the perspective of practice to the actual bout, “said Matsuoka, who lives in Hawaii and New York.
This is the first year the Garden will feature sumo.
For several years, the Japanese Activities Committee of St. Louis, which is responsible for the programming at the Japanese Festival, had been trying to figure out whether it would be possible to incorporate sumo into the festival.
And they finally found a way. Matsuoka was invited to attend this year’s event after Bruce Buckland, who serves in St. Louis as the honorary consul general of Japan, was speaking with the president of the Honolulu Chapter of the Japan America Society.
The society president knew of Matsuoka and her passion for sumo wrestling. He suggested they contact her and from there St. Louis officials and Matsuoka put the plan into motion.
“I believe the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is a world-class event, with the authenticity of each of its components at the highest level, “said Jim Kalkbrenner, events manager at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
“I have thought for many years that sumo, being the national sport of Japan, would be fascinating to present at our Japanese Festival, if for no other reason than it being the chance-in-a-lifetime for interested St. Louisans to see this legendary sport, “Kalkbrenner said.
Matsuoka discovered the sumo world and wrestlers in 1973 while working as a fashion illustrator in Japan. She gave up her job after six months to attend sumo events daily. She soon began drawing sumo wrestlers. After a year, her work caught on and she started selling pieces.
She hasn’t ever looked back since. Now the 58-year-old artist still enjoys her work as an artist and commentator.
“I draw people in action, “said Matsuoka, whose paintings provide a journal of the athletes’ lives.
“The nature of my work is I work with these guys on a daily basis. I see them as people not athletes.”
Matsuoka, who is divorced from Iwatora, a sumo wrestler, sees the wrestlers as people because she works personally with them going on tour, eating lunch and talking.
Today, Matsuoka travels to Tokyo every other month to do the television commentary for sumo tournaments, which is broadcast worldwide in English.
“It’s not violent, “said Matsuoka, who has been a broadcaster on sumo events for 14 years. “They’re not out to kill each other.”
The Japanese Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 3 and 4; and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd.
The cost is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $3 for Garden members and for children ages 3 to 12. It is free for members’ children 12 and under.
For more information, call (314) 577-9400 or 1(800) 642-8842 or visit www.mobot.org.
Wrestling Gear
