--- title: Naki Sumo Baby Crying Contest in Hiroshima Japan Video Photos description: The 400-year-old festival is meant to bring good health to participating children canonical: https://time.com/90981/watch-these-adorable-babies-compete-in-a-crying-contest/ author: Jessica Roy article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-07T16:19:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:52:42.511Z og:title: Watch These Adorable Babies Compete in a Crying Contest og:description: The 400-year-old festival is meant to bring good health to participating children og:url: https://time.com/90981/watch-these-adorable-babies-compete-in-a-crying-contest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a69185c8d10e0d3/69868e3c810bbbcc0cc916e9/151688114.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3863 og:image:height: 2173 og:image:alt: 'Baby-Cry Sumo' Competition Held In Nagoya og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch These Adorable Babies Compete in a Crying Contest twitter:description: The 400-year-old festival is meant to bring good health to participating children twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a69185c8d10e0d3/69868e3c810bbbcc0cc916e9/151688114.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch These Adorable Babies Compete in a Crying Contest > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6c435560-c70b-4268-b148-508831fd7122&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch: Sumo Style Crying Contest [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: Sumo Style Crying Contest](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SFj4biqK.m3u8) (0:48)  _Published 2014-05-07. Baby crying contest in Japan. People believe the loud cry of a baby will ward off evil spirits and bring healthy growth_ by [Jessica Roy](https://time.com/author/jessica-roy/) ## Jessica Roy May 7, 2014 4:19 PM UTC by [Jessica Roy](https://time.com/author/jessica-roy/) ## Jessica Roy May 7, 2014 4:19 PM UTC Most parents go to great lengths to keep their babies from crying, but at Japan’s Naki Sumo festival, the point is to actually make your kid sob. In this video, sumo wrestlers make loud noises and faces at babies to get them to start crying. The baby who cries the loudest and for the longest amount of time is deemed the winner, though the real winners are the baby’s parents, who probably haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in months. As NBC News [writes](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weird-news/crying-games-japanese-babies-face-n97911), “some believe that children’s wailing wards off evil spirits.” Though their tear-stained faces might make you a little sad, the 400-year-old festival is [meant](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/naki-sumo-japan-crying-baby-contest%5Fn%5F3180075.html) to bring the babies good health. ## Transcript [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ LAUGH ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ]. 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