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Mysterious Sumo 'Princess'

sherbetbizarre

Special Branch
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
5,230
My mum watches the Sumo on one of the UK Japanese channels (NHK World) and this mysterious spectator caught her eye... so I did some digging...



On Reddit...

Whoever she is, the entire sumo internet is entirely taken by her. "Posture lady," "ghost lady," or "the princess," she's certainly caught our eye just by sitting.
She watches the lower division matches too! Her dedication is unreal.
I thought she was a human doll or something


Youtube...


Each day, different dress, different bag, different shopping bag. Always sits super-straight up, always claps with palms only. With the yokozuna out-of-action, she was probably the highlight of the tournament.
Aren those front seats really expensivre? She must be really rich affording to sit the entire basho there...
10 minutes in that posture and they would have to amputate my legs and part of my back
There is one shot of her in profile, her back is impossibly straight. Someone called her the Princess of Posture.


This was last November. The January tournament has just started, and she's back! Maybe her mystery will be revealed...
 
I am truly intrigued.
Is she 'one' or 'one of many'?
That she's behaving strictly in a way that is ceremonially expected is fascinating in of itself.
And why does anyone think it's only one young woman? Might it be several who are performing what they see as a required or suitable function?
I'm going off to watch me some more sumo!
 
I had a look at the real Japanese princess mentioned as a possible i.d. - I didn't realise there were so many princesses in Japan!
Yeah the old monarchy didn't die in or after WW2. Despite losing the war... his people still loved him...
 
When I lived in Tokyo one of the many things I didn't do was actually go to the Sumo, but a friend of mine did.

He told me that during the interval between the lower and higher ranking bouts the (previous) Emperor and Empress turned up and sat in a separate area at the front of the 'dress circle'.

As this was his first, and probably only, opportunity to see them in real life he spent most of the rest of the time watching the Imperial couple instead of the Sumo. He said they were both doll like, especially Empress Michiko, completely motionless with her head at a slight angle. When things did get exciting the Emperor would incline forward a little and the pair gave polite applause with as little movement as possible.

There's a video on youtube of the present Emperor's enthronement. Although it is a rigidly formal ceremony you get some idea of what is expected of Japanese royalty.
 
For an everyday person yes, but a famous person that people are actively trying to identify?
As someone in the youtube coments noted... the mask she's wearing covers literally all of her face below her eyes. It's almost like one of those ninja masks in Mortal Kombat.
Ninjas.png
 
Seems to me that if the Japanese royalty wishes to survive then they are forced to modernise.
Having the rule that a member of the royal family can only marry a now-extinct type of person is actually making themselves extinct.
Perhaps that is the aim. Instead of being known for ending the longest royal lineage themselves, they're blaming the modern world around them.
Besides that, if marrying outside the Royal Family means they must lose all wealth and privilege, then so be it. I'm sure there are many multimillionaires out there wanting the kudos of marrying a princess. I don't think it's a matter of them being certain that the guy doesn't want to marry them for their money.
Frankly, after reading about Princess Toshi, I feel sorry for the poor kid. No amount of money can make up for such a rarefied upbringing and she looks sweet. Still, we don't know what her 'real' personality is like.
 
The rest of her clothing is very different to the Ninjas of Mortal Kombat!
Ah, but why do they wear masks? 5 of the seven in that picture have faces the same as Humans. Technically none of them is a Human. 3 are full-blood Edenians; Kitana(blue left), Tanya(yellow), Jade(green right). Frost(blue right) is a Cryomancer. Scarlet(red) is an Outworlder that was genetically tinkered with. They all look Human in most ways. Khameleon (green left) and Mileena(pink/purple) are less Human looking and wear masks to cover their non-Human faces.

Anyways, the point I was making was that she seems to be wearing a mask designed to hide her face in a way that makes identifying her harder.
 
Here's an article from 2019 which explains the etiquette of sitting in the front rows with Superfan Kenzo Furushima-
Furushima is a member of the sumo support association known as Tamarikai, which has 69 of the 300 limited-membership seats surrounding the raised ring. To be a member of Tamarikai and have the rights to a seat, fans have to pay at least ¥4.14 million to the Japan Sumo Association once every six years and be recommended by at least two people who are “closely associated with the JSA,” Furushima said. He explained that he had to wait eight years before a seat became available because members rarely leave the association.

However, membership is not only about money, connections and patience. Tamarikai members must have sufficiently “discerning eyes” to fully appreciate sumo. According to a passage in the association’s book on its history, published in 2002, such members are required to “observe the match as strictly and calmly as a judge” and must “overcome their personal feelings as they sit there.” They must also refrain from talking and maintain an upright posture at all times.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...ghtened-security-trump-unwelcome-distraction/
 
My mum watches the Sumo on one of the UK Japanese channels (NHK World)
I got excited when I read this! I thought for a minute there was a channel I had missed on Freeview! I love Sumo and used to watch it on one of the Eurosport channels on the old analogue satellite. Which I miss, and was great in and of itself, with all the German language channels and brilliant weird TV. And the excellent old 1990s TNT which I think became WWF late at night.
 
Furushima is a member of the sumo support association known as Tamarikai, which has 69 of the 300 limited-membership seats surrounding the raised ring. To be a member of Tamarikai and have the rights to a seat, fans have to pay at least ¥4.14 million to the Japan Sumo Association once every six years and be recommended by at least two people who are “closely associated with the JSA,” Furushima said. He explained that he had to wait eight years before a seat became available because members rarely leave the association.

However, membership is not only about money, connections and patience. Tamarikai members must have sufficiently “discerning eyes” to fully appreciate sumo. According to a passage in the association’s book on its history, published in 2002, such members are required to “observe the match as strictly and calmly as a judge” and must “overcome their personal feelings as they sit there.” They must also refrain from talking and maintain an upright posture at all times.

A Kami or a Robot would have all those qualities.

My theory still stands. (or sits calmly).
 
Spirit is the nearest english term I would say. A bit animist-like spirit.
 
You have a valid point there, some Kami are skint, but not all of them.

An attractive one like her must have some obliging worshippers. (Maybe she is a dragon and has treasure?)

A Robot would be a canny tech investor and so worth a mint. No problem there.
 
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