Heya Vancouver: Film Screening & Panel with Sumo Sundays

Sumo Sundays is excited to announce this event as part of our 2025 event series, heya.

Featuring a double screening of The Spirit of Nihonmachi (2012) and Little Miss Sumo (2018), this event highlights themes of equity and inclusion in a sport traditionally designed for able-bodied men.

Followed by a moderated discussion, attendees will gain insight into how Sumo Sundays is changing this narrative through their all-bodies, gender-inclusive approach and how Canada's longest-running Japanese Canadian festival has played a pivotal role in shaping sumo in Vancouver.

Light refreshments to be served. Moderated discussion featuring Eva Yu, Kathy Shimizu, Kayla Isomura and Lydia Luk. Moderated by Laura Fukumoto.

• 7:00 pm: Doors open
• 7:30 pm: Films begin
• 8:30 pm: Moderated discussion, with Q&A

Sumo Sundays is Canada’s only all-bodies sumo club with deep roots in the Japanese Canadian community. Based in Vancouver, B.C., our mission is to promote sumo as an activity for all regardless of size, gender or experience. We strive to foster an inclusive environment that builds confidence and skills. Since 2022, we have provided ongoing drop-ins, workshops, exhibitions and more using a community-driven approach.

For questions, please email [email protected]. For more information about heya 2025, visit sumosundays.ca/heya. (~We are also hosting an introductory sumo workshop for Japanese Canadian/Nikkei-identified folks on Sunday, Oct. 19 in Vancouver.)

Through the eyes of two Downtown Eastside residents, The Spirit of Nihonmachi (28 mins) commemorates Vancouver’s annual Powell Street Festival. Celebrating Japanese Canadian arts and culture, Powell Street Festival takes place in the city’s former Japanese Canadian neighbourhood, Paeuru Gai.

Today, the area is home to residents of what is called the Downtown Eastside (DTES). Many of these residents are affected by a complex of challenges within the neighbourhood. In The Spirit of Nihonmachi, Kevin Sleziak (1966-2021) and Abraham Jones share what it means to participate in the festival and in the annual sumo exhibition, which draws people from all walks of life.

Little Miss Sumo (19 mins) tells the story of Hiyori Kon, an amateur sumo wrestler advocating for equal rights for women to compete professionally in Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced on a professional level. Traditionally, women are not allowed to enter or touch the wrestling dohyō (sumo ring), but this does not deter Hiyori, who is on a mission to change Japan's perception around women in sumo wrestling.

Eva Yu(She/They) was born and raised by immigrant parents on the unceded and ancestral lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She started watching professional sumo wrestling in 2023 and immediately fell in love with everything sumo. Soon after, Eva discovered Sumo Sundays at the 2024 Sumo Sundays Basho and has been practicing with Sumo Sundays since. While not particularly strong physically, she has a strong fighting spirit. Eva loves fostering inclusive spaces, building community, and exploring forms of play and movement.

In 2022, Kayla Isomura co-founded Sumo Sundays as a way for others to learn basic knowledge of an activity they only accessed once a year at Powell Street Festival. An on/off competitor since trying sumo at the 2015 festival, Kayla now co-leads fundamentals classes through Sumo Sundays and regularly manages all aspects of the club. While Kayla acknowledges they know very little about professional sumo, their drive for Sumo Sundays stems from their experiences at the festival. After flailing in the ring at the festival’s amateur exhibition for years, Kayla managed to finesse just enough skills through impromptu training to earn a first-place prize in 2022 (aka the big bag of rice). As a result, their goal is not only to facilitate opportunities to learn but to create inclusive spaces that reflect themselves, their friends and broader communities.

Lydia Luk (they/them) and their family have roots in colonized lands of Hong Kong and was raised and nurtured on the unceded and ancestral homelands of the wməθ kwəyəm (Musqueam), sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and selílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. Lydia continues and is committed to un/learning what it means to be a racialized settler on these lands. Lydia has been involved with community organizing and peer-led education for 20 years working with youth, seniors, people with disabilities, newcomers, refugees, sexually and gender diverse folks. As a person who lives in intersections of gender, sexuality, race, class and disabilities, Lydia brings their enthusiasm for intersectional community development and experience in community mobilization, engagement with social justice. Sometimes referring themselves as an asian little soup dumpling, you’ll find this small-fat, non-binary, queer, tender PoC bouncing and rolling around having fun while hoping to make changes in the most delicious ways!

Laura Fukumoto (coming soon).

Kathy Shimizu (TBC).

With funding provided by JC Legacies.

Host or Publisher Sumo Sundays