A Legacy & Tradition

For over 40 years, an annual sumo tournament and exhibition has taken place at Powell Street Festival (PSF), which celebrates Japanese Canadian arts and culture. Taking place in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood, Paueru Gai, known as the Downtown Eastside today, sumo was originally organized by the Sumo Fun Club. This tradition was rooted in the spirit of community where anyone could partake.

In recent years, the torch to coordinate sumo was handed to PSF organizers who has worked closely with some of our Sumo Sundays organizers to support workshops and coordination of recent tournaments. Our passion for continuing this legacy has led a small team of us to work with support from PSF to provide year-round opportunities for the public to participate in sumo.

Notes & Credits

We recognize that sumo is traditionally both a Japanese and men’s sport. While our team has in-depth knowledge of sumo and has historical and cultural connections to Japan, we acknowledge that our take on the sport is non-traditional and comes from an alternative (diverse) perspective.

Further, we acknowledge that our work takes place on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations; also former 100-mile exclusion zone; and current home to residents of the Downtown Eastside. We aim to approach the neighbourhood with respect in each of these regards and hope you do, too.

And finally, we thank the Vancouver Japanese Language School and Powell Street Festival Society for their ongoing support in making it possible for us to organize our events.