For Moriyama's citizens, the Education Ministry's rejection of sumo was tantamount to cultural treason.

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But if modern Japan has abandoned its national recreation, Moriyama, a conservative enclave in Kanazawa city, has not.

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In this post, Ken Moriyama, an MPP student at the University of Oxford, reports from the Skoll World Forum.

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Instead, they while away wintry days with impromptu wrestling matches and cheer on Dejima, a Moriyama alumnus who has reached sumo's second-highest rank, ozeki.

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But Masato and the eight other boys who crowd onto the swept-earth ring at Moriyama elementary school in central Japan may be sumo's best hope.

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"We feel embarrassed, " says parliament member Moriyama.

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