| Ryogoku Kokugikan is a sumo arena that was originally
built in 1909. The current building, which serves as a multifunctional facility,
was completed in 1985, and three of the six annual sumo tournaments in Japan are
held here. When a tournament is underway, the Ryogoku area comes alive with decorative
banners bearing the names of wrestlers, the sound of taiko
drums, and the sight of wrestlers walking the streets. The number of foreign-born
wrestlers has increased notably in recent years, and the sport of sumo is continuing
to become more international. On the first floor of Ryogoku Kokugikan is a sumo
museum. Admission is free, and the museum displays a number of unusual sumo-related
objects and artifacts, such as sumo banzuke (ranking
lists) dating from the Edo period and keshomawashi
(wrestlers' ornamental sashes) used by great wrestlers. |
