Local hero Dejima came for the dedication ceremony, but Kosaka was feeling skittish.

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"Sumo teaches discipline and history and is good for the soul, " says school principal Eishin Kosaka, harkening to the sport's past as an athletic embodiment of Japan's Shinto religion.

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So the community fought back: a disciple of a local Shinto priest was called in to train a crack team of wrestling coaches, and Kosaka organized a sumo club that wouldn't contravene the Education Ministry rulebook.

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