近日，在日本有人提出，應該讓年輕的相撲選手穿上短褲參加比賽，因為傳統的相撲服飾過于暴露，使得許多年輕的選手感到害羞。但是日本的相撲傳統保護組織3月24日拒絕了這一建議。

　　據英國《衛報》報道，在相撲賽場上，重達幾百斤的彪型大漢們在腰間系上傳統的相撲服飾——“兜襠布”。“兜襠布”是一塊7米多長的圍布，它僅僅遮住選手的私密部位，完全暴露出選手的臀部，特別是當運動激烈時，選手還經常會不小心“走光”。 因此，日本相撲業余愛好者協會曾表示，為了讓參加比賽的年輕男孩避免有羞怯感，相撲選手應該穿上更能遮羞的短褲。該協會的一名官員指出，如今，日本民眾對于相撲運動的熱情已有所下降，而處于青春期的男孩也羞于穿相撲服飾而不愿參加這一運動;為此，應該讓那些害羞的男孩穿上暴露較少的短褲來代替“兜襠布”。

　　但日本著名的相撲傳統保護組織——財團法人日本相撲協會日前表示，任何人不得身著短褲進行相撲比賽。該協會的一名發言人表示：“相撲在日本是國家級的運動項目，它自有特定的規則和獨特的運動方式。所以，我們不打算讓孩子們穿著短褲上場。”

　　報道說，相撲在日本已有2000年的歷史，它與日本國教神道教和農耕文化儀式有著千絲萬縷的聯系。如今，傳統的相撲運動也面臨著新的挑戰。

　　每年春季，日本大阪都要舉行盛大的相撲比賽。大阪一位名叫太田房枝的女官員數年來都在爭取日本婦女能夠參加正式的相撲比賽。在日本人眼里，相撲運動是神圣的，而婦女被認為是不圣潔的，所以婦女只能參加業余的相撲比賽。

　　The guardians of the ancient Japanese sport of sumo yesterday rebuffed attempts to allow shy pubescent boys to wear pants instead of the traditional loin cloths.

　　The behemoths who grace the ring, or dohyo, at professional sumo tournaments wear nothing but a mawashi, a belt that makes no attempt to hide the buttocks and, during a strenuous bout, can reveal much more.

　　The thought of baring almost all to their peers is preventing image-conscious schoolboys from joining the sport, which is also in the midst of a general slump in popularity, according to a report in yesterday"s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

　　To attract more potential grand champions on to the dohyo, the amateur sumo association suggested allowing shy youngsters to wear less revealing "sumo pants" - something akin to cycling shorts - instead of mawashi .

　　"Pubescent kids are not going to want to take part if they don"t look cool," an amateur sumo official told the Yomiuri. But sumo"s famously conservative professional body, the Nihon Sumo-Kyokai, said any boy turning up for tournaments wearing shorts would not be allowed to wrestle.

　　"The national stadium has its rules and ways of doing things," the paper quoted a Sumo-Kyokai spokesman as saying. "We have no intention of allowing children in pants into the ring."

　　The 2,000-year old sport, which has strong links with Japan"s indigenous Shinto religion, is facing other challenges to its traditions. Fusae Ota, the female governor of Osaka, which hosts a big tournament every spring, has been campaigning for years to be allowed to step on to the dohyo on the final day to present an award to the overall winner.

　　Though women wrestle at the amateur level, they are ordinarily not allowed to enter the ring - which is seen as sacred space - because they are considered spiritually unclean.