KARUNA SHINSHO, ASIA TONIGHT: It's a sumo tournament with a difference in Japan. Denise Dillon has more on an annual rite involving diaper-clad contestants.</s>DENISE DILLON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A crowd has gathered in downtown Tokyo for a sumo wrestling tournament. The ring is set. The names of the contestants are listed on the board. But one thing is different, the wrestlers are babies. That's right - infants. Now, being too small to crawl into the ring on their own, the parents hand their babies over to real-life wrestlers who, in turn, shake and rattle them while the referee, wearing a mask, tries to scare them. You would think this would terrify the babies and make them cry. Well, that's exactly the point.</s>MUNETAKA UCHIDA, ASAKUSA TOURIST BOARD (through translator): In Japan, there is a saying that a crying baby grows up strong. That is why throughout the nation, there is a lot of these crying sumo contests.</s>DILLON: The tradition of the sumo crying contest dates back more than 800 years. The winner is the baby who squeals first. Of course, as soon as they start crying, they are handed back to the parents.</s>MIKA IGARASHI, PARENT (through translator): I think he will grow up healthy if he cries here. Why you, my sweet? Though on the other hand, it is a handful of trouble if they really cry too much.</s>DILLON: But once safely away from the unfamiliar wrestlers and back in the reassuring arms of their moms, most babies calmed down and some even quickly fell asleep, perhaps dreaming of growing up to be a sumo wrestler one day. Denise Dillon, CNN.
Japan's Sumo Tournament With A Difference