See list of sumo beya for a list of sumo beya (sumo training stables).

In sumo

Sumo

is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...

 wrestling, a heya (部屋) (Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 for "room"), usually translated into English as stable, is an organization of sumo wrestlers where they train and live. All wrestlers in professional sumo must belong to one. There are currently 49 heya (as of September 2011), all but four of which belong to one of five ichimon (groupings of heya). They vary in size, with the largest heya having over thirty wrestlers and smallest just three. Most heya are based in and around the Ryogoku

Ryogoku

is a neighborhood in Sumida, Tokyo. It is surrounded by various neighborhoods in Sumida, Chūō, and Taitō wards: Yokoami, Midori, Chitose, Higashi Nihonbashi, and Yanagibashi....

 district of Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, sumo's traditional heartland, although the high price of land has led to some newer heya being built in other parts of Tokyo or its suburbs.

Most heya have a network of scouts, who may be former wrestlers themselves, friends of the head coach, or supporters of the heya, who keep a look out for any powerful or athletic young men and follow the results of local sumo (and judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

) competitions. Most new recruits join at the age of 15 or 16, straight from junior high school.

A wrestler is expected to stay with the heya he joins until the end of his career. There is no transfer

Transfer (football)

In professional association football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between professional clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one professional association football club to another. In general, the players can only be...

 system in sumo. The only exception is if the coach who originally scouted him leaves to found a new heya, in which case he might be permitted to follow him.

Heya may only be set up by an oyakata or elder of the Japan Sumo Association

Japan Sumo Association

The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Rikishi , gyōji , tokoyama , and yobidashi , are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run...

. A heya is always named after its founding oyakata. Further oyakata may be attached to the stable. In September 2006 the Sumo Association tightened the rules on opening up new stables. Now only oyakata who spent at least 25 tournaments ranked in sanyaku or 60 tournaments in the top makuuchi

Makuuchi

or is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....

division may do so. The criteria for inheriting an existing heya are much less strict – the former Kanechika, for example was able to take over Miyagino stable

Miyagino stable

is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ichimon or group of stables. It was founded by the 43rd Yokozuna Yoshibayama as Yoshibayama dōjō while he was still an active wrestler, before changing to its current name in 1960....

 despite having never fought in the top division at all, as only 12 makuuchi or 20 juryo basho are needed.

A special rule dictates that wrestlers from the same heya never fight each other in a main tournament, except in playoffs for a yūshō

Yusho

A Yūshō is a tournament championship in sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions...

or divisional championship. This notably worked to the advantages of brothers Takanohana

Takanohana Koji

is a former sumo wrestler from Suginami, Tokyo, Japan. He was the 65th man in history to reach sumo's highest rank of yokozuna, and he won 22 tournament championships between 1992 and 2001, the fifth highest total ever...

 and Wakanohana

Wakanohana Masaru

is a former sumo wrestler from Tokyo, Japan. As an active wrestler he was known as Wakanohana III Masaru , and his rise through the ranks alongside his younger brother Takanohana Koji saw a boom in sumo's popularity in the early 1990s...

 in recent years, as although they both achieved the top rank of yokozuna, they never had to fight each other (one playoff bout in 1995 excepted) as they both belonged to Futagoyama-beya

Takanohana stable

is a stable of sumo wrestlers, formerly one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. It was known as Futagoyama stable until 2004.-History:Futagoyama stable was established in 1962 by former Yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I, who branched off from Hanakago stable and converted his home near the Minami...

.

Also attached to a heya are tokoyama

Tokoyama

A tokoyama is a hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to cut and prepare sumo wrestlers' hair, which is done in a chonmage style...

(hairdressers), gyōji

Gyoji

A Gyōji is a referee in professional sumo wrestling in Japan.Gyōji usually enter the sumo world as teenagers and remain employees of the Sumo Association until they retire aged 65.-Responsibilities:...

(referees), and yobidashi

Yobidashi

The yobidashi calls a professional sumo wrestler, or rikishi, to the dohyō immediately prior to his bout...

(ushers).

When used as a suffix, heya is usually pronounced beya due to rendaku

Rendaku

is a phenomenon in Japanese morphophonology that governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word...

, e.g. the stable called Kokonoe

Kokonoe stable

is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Takasago group of stables. It was formed in 1967 and is located in Ishiwara, Sumida, Tokyo. As of April 2008 it had 16 sumo wrestlers.-History:...

is called Kokonoe-beya.

External links

• Heya list at Japan Sumo Association site (English) (Japanese)