Name: M.

Sufi Mirza
Class: 4 Sama

Sumo wrestlers bring babies to tears at

Japans Nakizumo festival
Japanese parents believe the ritual will scare away demons and bring their children
good health

A baby, held by an amateur sumo wrestler, breaks into tears during the Nakizumo, or crying baby
contest, at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo Photo: EPA/KIYOSHI OTA

By Harry Alsop
2:44PM BST 27 Apr 2014

For most new parents, stopping their child from screaming is a daily ordeal, to be endured rather
than enjoyed.
But in the Nakizumo baby contest, the aim is the opposite.
Sumo wrestlers are employed to bring the babies to tears, in order to drive away evil demons.
Its based on the Japanese proverb Naku ko wa sodatsu, or crying babies grow fastest, and
parents believe the event brings good health to their children.
The sumo wrestlers pull faces, make noises and jiggle the babies, in order to get their child to cry
the fastest.
They shout Naki, meaning cry in Japanese, in a literal attempt to make the babies weep.
Name: M. Sufi Mirza
Class: 4 Sama

(EPA/KIYOSHI OTA)

The first baby to cry is declared the winner, but if both start crying at the same time, the louder
baby wins.
Once they begin to sob, they are held up higher to increase the strength of the blessing.

(TOSHIFUMI

KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

If the child doesnt cry, laugh or fall asleep, the referee, or gyoji, puts on his devil mask to speed
up the proceedings.
The 400-year-old ritual takes place all over Japan, but is most famously performed by the student
sumos of Tokyos Sensoji Buddhist temple.
The Nakizumo contest is held at the high point of spring, which coincides with Japans Childrens
Day holiday.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10791221/Japans-baby-crying-
festival-in-pictures.html