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Sumo, Japan's national sport, has fans worldwide. Two men, obviously proud of their power, collide inside the ring. In this and the next issue of Nipponia, we will introduce you to the action, traditions, tools of the trade, facilities, people involved in the sport,
and more. If you are not a fan already, you may well become one after exploring the world of sumo.
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Written by Takahashi Hidemine, Photo credits: Nihon Sumo Kyokai
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Grand Tournaments are held six times a year. Outside the Kokugikan stadium in Tokyo, colorful nobori banners flap in the breeze. They were presented by groups supporting one or another of the rikishi
(sumo wrestlers).
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Inside the Kokugikan stadium, every seat is taken. The roof suspended over the ring weighs 6 tons. Four massive tassels,
each a different color (white, black, scarlet and green), represent pillars supporting the roof at its corners.
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Ringside view of sumo
The two wrestlers wear nothing but wide loincloths called mawashi, and they fight with just their bare hands. To win, one wrestler must knock over the other, or push him out of the ring. This is Japan's unique world of sumo.
The sport has ancient roots—there is a myth about gods wresting sumo style to see who was stronger, and a mid-7th century document tells of ambassadors sent to Japan from abroad being entertained with a sumo match.
Sumo is more than just posturing and wrestling inside a clay ring. Ceremonies from the mysterious past are part of the everyday lives of wrestlers. In the old days, they asked the gods for success and participated in Shinto rituals aimed at discovering what the gods wanted. Sumo, rich in history and tradition, evolved over the centuries, and today it is a popular spectator sport and a cultural icon that is very much alive.
The sumo season starts in January, with Grand Tournaments (basho) held over a 15-day period every two months: January, May and September, in Tokyo; March, in Osaka; July, in Nagoya; and November, in Fukuoka. The wrestlers rise or fall back in the ranks—and there are many ranks, from yokozuna at the top to jonokuchi at the bottom—depending on their performance in the basho. At the time of the September 2004 Tournament, there were 728 wrestlers. The wrestlers, called rikishi in Japanese, try to work their way up the ladder, aiming for the rank of yokozuna.
So what are the tournaments like? They are held in a stadium, and you have a choice of ordinary seating or masu seats. A masu is an open box with four seats, making a semi-private place for eating, chatting and relaxing while watching the match.
The drum sounds at 9 a.m. and the day of wrestling begins. The rikishi mount the ring in order, starting with the lowest ranked ones. Before and after their bout, they perform a number of colorful ceremonies or rituals.
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Sumo ring
Matches are held on a clay platform called a dohyo. There are two types of dohyo: one for practice sessions, the other for tournaments. The latter type is clay packed to make a high platform (see illustration). A ring of straw sacking is embedded in the clay. One way for a wrestler to lose is by letting any part of his body touch any part of the ground outside the ring. The sides of the dohyo face the four points of the compass. Five judges watch the match from below the dohyo—one on the western side, one on the east, one on the north (the shomen, or front), and two on the south (the muko jomen). The judges can annul the gyoji referee's decision if they disagree. The rikishi enter the arena two matches before their own. One sits on the west, with a judge between him and the rikishi who will compete earlier. The other sits on the east, in the same seating pattern.
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