双语阅读｜日本相扑禁止女性登台
THERE is more to sumo than fat men grunting. The sport also has a religious dimension: each match is preceded by intricate Shinto rituals. The ring is said to be sacred ground. Women, traditionally considered polluting in Shintoism, are barred from entering it. But many Japanese were nonetheless shocked when the referee at a match earlier this month ordered out of the ring several women who had rushed to give first aid to the local mayor, who had collapsed while giving a speech.
相扑不仅仅是一种身高体胖的男大力士们的竞技项目，同时也是一项具有宗教内涵的体育运动。在每一场相扑比赛开始之前，都会举行繁复的日本神道教仪式。相扑台被视为是神圣的地方，而女性禁止入内，因为在传统意义上人们认为女性是“不干净的”。在本月初，日本一市长在相扑台上发言时晕倒，有几名女性冲上相扑台想要进行急救，却遭裁判勒令离开，这一行为令不少日本人感到震惊。
The sumo association later apologised for the referee’s “inappropriate response in the life-threatening situation”, but appeared to stand by the rule. Two days later a female mayor criticised the sport’s sexism in a speech at a sumo tournament, which she had to make from the sidelines of the ring. National politicians have also weighed in.
事后，相扑协会致歉，称在人命关天的危急时刻，裁判的这种做法欠妥，但符合相扑的传统规定。两天后，在一场相扑大赛上，一名女市长不得不在相扑台外圈发言，在发言中她批评了相扑的性别歧视行为。日本国内的一些政客人物也纷纷就此事发表看法。
“Before the incident no one really cared about the restrictive nature of the rule,” says Nagisa Osada, a sports writer, “but it revealed that sumo officials saw the gender rule as more important than the mayor’s life.” Some have pointed out that sumo has not always been so pious. It was only in the militarist 1930s that the sport became a symbol of national pride and religious purity. In previous eras, women were allowed to fight, sometimes topless. A 5th-century emperor staged just such a bout to distract a carpenter who had boasted that he never made mistakes. The carpenter botched his work, and was executed.
体育新闻记者长田渚说称，“在这事件发生前，没有人真正关心比赛规则的内涵，但此次事件揭示了相扑协会官员把这项规定看的比市长的生命还重要。”另一些人指出，相扑并非一直以来信奉神道教。直到20世纪30年代军国主义兴起之际，相扑才成为日本国粹和虔奉神道教的象征。在过去，女性是允许参加相扑比赛的，有时甚至上身赤裸。在公元五世纪，就曾有天皇举办过一场女性相扑比赛，当时是因为一位木匠扬言从未在工作上出过差错，天皇用这样的比赛来分散他的注意力。结果，这个木匠出了差错，被砍了头。
The current fuss may not spur change. Many religions discriminate against women, and the rule does not stand out as much in Japan, a country not known for equality of the sexes, as it might elsewhere. In any case, says Ms Osada, women face more important battles.
当前事件引发的舆论并不会改变什么。有许多宗教都歧视女性，而这些规定并不是只存在于日本这样性别不平等的国家，也可能存在于在其他国家。长田渚称，总之，女性在性别平等方面面临着更为重要的挑战。
But the sumo association has reason to be mindful of women’s feelings. The sport had been suffering from declining audiences and a series of embarrassing scandals, including a top-ranking fighter’s assault on a more junior wrestler last year. But it has recently been enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to “sujo”—young female fans.
相扑协会有理由要考虑到女性的感受。由于观众减少和各种丑闻的压力——去年发生了顶级相扑手殴打低级别相扑手的事件，日本相扑协会受到了冲击。此次事件由于有女相扑粉丝因素，反倒引起了人们对相扑的再次关注。
编译：*980BFSU
审校：王茹君
编辑：翻吧君
来源：经济学人（2018.04.14）