An example of a ritual in which the nude body of a purified man is used as a symbol of prayers for fertility and belief in sex gods can also be seen in O-sumo (the great sumo wrestling). When a yokozuna (cham- pion) enters the dohyo (the ring), he tightens his yoko- zuna (the shimenawa rope adorned with a shide sym- bolizing a lightning bolt to pray for rain) as a kesho- mawashi (a luxuriously embroidered make-up apron), but when he enters the ring, he slightly lifts the kesho- mawashi with both hands. Although no one would probably ask about its meaning today, it is a symbol of a prayer for showing the male genitals to God and receiving spiritual power for a fertile rice crop. Stepping on the shiko (legs) on the ring is also a prayer to the earth ( or the mother goddess). The custom of not allowing women to the enter the ring is not discrimi- nation against women at all, it is because women are the earth itself. Women are worshiped here. Sumo is thought to have originated from the Hayato tribe, a fishing tribe. It was common for fishing tribes to be naked, but I, Yamada, am thinking that in the process of being integrated and controlled by the rice farming tribe, sumo which originated from the Hayato tribe had also become a rice harvest ritual. However, its original belief as a prayer for a rich rice harvest had probably been forgotten for a long time. No matter how much sumo wrestling, which has become an internationally popular sport, emphasizes its "tradition," the belief in the god of fertility has become a mere token.