Blonde Baji

What it is: A contest in which two human beings clad in giant diapers "compete" by picking up a babies, facing each other, and then shaking them until they start crying.


Who wins: The first baby to start crying. In the case of a tie -- i.e., they start mouth-blasting at the same time -- the loudest brat is recognized as the "shourisha" (which is Japanese for "flying Elephant trumpet"). The losing baby is then presented with a tiny ceremonial sword and forced to commit seppuku.

How it began: Japan is a land of mystery and ancient wisdom. For this reason, most of their daily activities are based on the fathomless principles of elder generations. This is also true of their sports. According to one Japanese proverb, "When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn." It was impossible to build a sport around that adage, however, since nobody knows what the hell it means. Another Japanese axiom is that "crying babies grow fast." For this reason, many people in Japan believe that the louder an infant screams, the more gods have blessed it. So in essence, Baby-cry Sumo was created to pray for a baby's health.

When it began: The art of terrorizing crying babies was first developed in Japan over 400 years ago. However, the first official Baby-cry Sumo event took place in 1993.

When and where it takes place: Baby-cry Sumo takes place at the Sensoji temple, Tokyo, in April (this year's tournament pitted 84 squealing babies against each other). There are also contests at Ikiko shrine in Kanuma-ski, Tochigi, in September; Yamajioji temple in Shimotsu-cho, Wakayama, in October; and at Saikyoji temple, Hirado, in February. In America, Baby-cry Sumo takes place almost every day, but it is often referred to as "parenting."

Special encouragement: Since Baby-cry Sumo takes place in Japanese temples, the priests act as ad hoc referees. They even assist in the contest by shouting and waving at the babies.

Blonde Baji

Wikipedia gave me this meaning of Seppuku !!!
Seppuku - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Does it mean they kill the losing baby?

dhobi_bhai

"The losing baby is then presented with a tiny ceremonial sword and forced to commit seppuku."

Don't know if seppuku is done on the babies or on adults. It would be interesting to know more about it.

The shaking of a baby does not happen everywhere, everyday. It is a serious offense and one could go to jail for such.

Blonde Baji

really ?
hmm
never heard of that !!!

Amabel

I've never heard of this baby cry sumo before so not sure what exactly it is. But as far as Seppuku is concerned, it is done by the person who loses the sumo fight. Its consdiered to be a respectable thing to do if one loses. because sumo is a huge deal in Japan or used to be. Not sure if people are still serious about it.

Now this baby cry sumo seems to be something illegal. who knows