Sumo
Encyclopedia
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō
) 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. It is generally considered to be a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), though this definition is incorrect as the sport has a history spanning many centuries.
Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion
. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables" known in Japanese as heya
where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.
(a Shinto divine spirit). It was an important ritual at the imperial court. Representatives of each province were ordered to attend the contest at the court and fight. They were required to pay for their travels themselves. The contest was known as sumai ,no sechie, or "sumai party."
Over the rest of Japanese recorded history, sumo's popularity has changed according to the whims of its rulers and the need for its use as a training tool in periods of civil strife. The form of wrestling combat probably changed gradually into one where the main aim in victory was to throw one's opponent. The concept of pushing one's opponent out of a defined area came some time later.
Also, it is believed that a ring, defined as something other than simply the area given to the wrestlers by spectators, came into being in the 16th century as a result of a tournament organized by the then principal warlord in Japan, Oda Nobunaga
. At this point wrestlers would wear loose loincloths, rather than the much stiffer mawashi
of today. During the Edo period
, wrestlers would wear a fringed kesho-mawashi during the bout, whereas today these are worn only during pre-tournament rituals. Most of the rest of the current forms within the sport developed in the early Edo period.
can trace its roots back to the Edo period in Japan as a form of sporting entertainment. The original wrestlers were probably samurai
, often rōnin
, who needed to find an alternative form of income. Current professional sumo tournaments began in the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine
in 1684, and then were held in the Ekō-in
in the Edo period. They have been held in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan
since 1909, though the Kuramae Kokugikan
had been used for the tournaments in the post-war years until 1984.
Nations adjacent to Japan, sharing many cultural traditions, also feature styles of traditional wrestling that bear resemblance to sumo. Notable examples include Mongolian wrestling
, Chinese Shuai jiao (摔角)
, and Korea
n Ssireum
. Examples of Chinese art from 220 BC show the Korean wrestlers stripped to the waist and their bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder.
On rare occasions the referee or judges may award the win to the wrestler who touched the ground first; this happens if both wrestlers touch the ground at nearly the same time and it is decided that the wrestler who touched the ground second had no chance of winning as, due to the superior sumo of his opponent, he was already in an irrecoverable position. The losing wrestler is referred to as being shini-tai
(“dead body”) in this case.
There are also a number of other rarely used rules that can be used to determine the winner. For example a wrestler using an illegal technique (or kinjite
) automatically loses, as does one whose mawashi
(or belt) becomes completely undone. A wrestler failing to turn up for his bout (including through a prior injury) also automatically loses (fusenpai). After the winner is declared, an off-stage gyōji
(or referee) determines the kimarite
(or winning technique) used in the bout, which is then announced to the audience.
Matches often last only a few seconds, as usually one wrestler is quickly ousted from the circle or thrown to the ground. However, they can occasionally last for several minutes. Each match is preceded by an elaborate ceremonial ritual
. The wrestlers themselves are renowned for their great girth as body mass is often a winning factor in sumo, though with skill, smaller wrestlers can topple far larger opponents.
(土俵): a ring, 4.55 metres (14.9 ft) in diameter and 16.26 square metre in area, of rice-straw bales on top of a platform made of clay
mixed with sand
. A new dohyō is built for each tournament by the yobidashi
. At the center are two white lines, the shikiri-sen, behind which the wrestlers position themselves at the start of the bout. A roof resembling that of a Shinto shrine may be suspended over the dohyō.
Professional sumo is organized by the Japan Sumo Association
. The members of the association, called oyakata, are all former wrestlers, and are the only people entitled to train new wrestlers. All practicing wrestlers are members of a training stable (heya) run by one of the oyakata, who is the stablemaster for the wrestlers under him. Currently there are 54 training stables for about 700 wrestlers.
All sumo wrestlers take wrestling names called shikona
(しこ名), which may or may not be related to their real names. Often wrestlers have little choice in their name, which is given to them by their trainer (or stablemaster), or by a supporter or family member who encouraged them into the sport. This is particularly true of foreign-born wrestlers. A wrestler may change his wrestling name several times during his sumo career.
Sumo wrestling is a strict hierarchy based on sporting merit. The wrestlers are ranked according to a system that dates back hundreds of years, to the Edo period. Wrestlers are promoted or demoted according to their performance in six official tournaments held throughout the year. A carefully prepared banzuke
listing the full hierarchy is published two weeks prior to each sumo tournament.
(maximum 42 wrestlers), jūryō (fixed at 28 wrestlers), makushita (fixed at 120 wrestlers), sandanme (fixed at 200 wrestlers), jonidan (approximately 230 wrestlers), and jonokuchi (approximately 80 wrestlers). Wrestlers enter sumo in the lowest jonokuchi division and, ability permitting, work their way up to the top division. Wrestlers in the top two divisions are known as sekitori
, while lower division wrestlers are generally referred to by the generic term for wrestlers, rikishi.
The topmost makuuchi
division receives the most attention from fans and has the most complex hierarchy. The majority of wrestlers are maegashira and are numbered from one (at the top) down to about sixteen or seventeen. Above the maegashira are the three champion or titleholder ranks, called the sanyaku. These are, in ascending order, komusubi, sekiwake, and ōzeki. At the pinnacle of the ranking system is the rank of yokozuna.
Yokozuna, or grand champions, are generally expected to compete for and to win the top division tournament title on a regular basis. Hence the promotion criteria for yokozuna are very strict. In general, an ōzeki must win the championship for two consecutive tournaments or an "equivalent performance" to be considered for promotion to yokozuna. More than one wrestler can hold the rank of yokozuna at the same time.
Exhibition competitions are held at regular intervals every year in Japan, and approximately once every two years the top ranked wrestlers visit a foreign country for such exhibitions. None of these displays is taken into account in determining a wrestler's future rank. Rank is determined only by performance in Grand Sumo Tournaments (or honbasho
), which are described in more detail below.
A Japanese-American, Toyonishiki
, and the Korean-born Rikidōzan
achieved sekitori
status prior to World War II, but neither were officially listed as foreigners. The first non-Asian to achieve fame and fortune in sumo was Hawaii-born Takamiyama
. He reached the top division in 1968 and in 1972 became the first foreigner to win the top division championship. He was followed by fellow Hawaii-born Konishiki
, the first foreigner to reach the rank of ōzeki in 1987; and the native Hawaiian
Akebono
, who became the first foreign-born yokozuna in 1993. Musashimaru
, born in Samoa
but from Hawaii, became the second foreigner to reach sumo's top rank in 1999. The most recent yokozuna, Asashōryū
and Hakuhō
, are Mongolia
n. They are among a group of Mongolian wrestlers who have achieved success in the upper ranks. Wrestlers from Eastern European countries such as Georgia
and Russia
have also found success in the upper levels of sumo. In 2005 Kotoōshū
from Bulgaria
became the first wrestler of European birth to attain the ōzeki ranking and the first to win a top division championship.
Until relatively recently, the Japan Sumo Association
had no restrictions at all on the number of foreigners allowed in professional sumo. In May 1992, shortly after the Ōshima stable
had recruited six Mongolians at the same time, the Sumo Association's new director Dewanoumi, the former yokozuna Sadanoyama
, announced that he was considering limiting the number of overseas recruits per stable and in sumo overall. There was no official ruling, but no stable recruited any foreigners for the next six years. This unofficial ban was then relaxed, but only two new foreigners per stable were allowed, until the total number reached 40. Then
in 2002, a one foreigner per stable policy was officially adopted. (The ban was not retroactive, so foreigners recruited before the changes were unaffected). Though the move has been met with criticism, there are no plans to relax the restrictions at this time. However, it was possible for a place in a heya to be opened up if a foreign born wrestler acquires Japanese citizenship. This occurred when Hisanoumi
changed his nationality from Tonga
n at the end of 2006, allowing another Tongan to enter his stable, and Kyokutenhō's change of citizenship allowed Ōshima stable to recruit Mongolian Kyokushuho in May 2007.
On February 23, 2010 the Sumo Association announced that it had changed its definition of "foreign" to "foreign-born" (gaikoku shusshin), meaning that even naturalized Japanese citizens will be considered as foreigners if they were born outside Japan. The restriction on one foreign wrestler per stable was also reconfirmed.
Canadian born John Tenta
who competed in sumo under the alias Kototenta, Kototenzan in the mid 80's. Tenta is best know by western audiences and fans of professional wrestling as WWF Star "The Earthquake". One occasion in 1993 Tenta got the Chance to show off his sumo background on a episode of Monday Night Raw .
There are six Grand Sumo tournaments (or honbasho
) each year: three at The Sumo Hall (or Ryōgoku Kokugikan
) in Ryōgoku
, Tokyo (January, May, and September), and one each in Osaka
(March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka
(November). Each tournament begins on a Sunday and runs for 15 days, ending also on a Sunday. Each wrestler in the top two divisions (sekitori
) has one match per day, while the lower ranked rikishi compete in seven bouts, approximately one every two days.
Each day is structured so the highest-ranked contestants compete at the end of the day. Thus, wrestling will start in the morning with the jonokuchi wrestlers and end at around six o'clock in the evening with bouts involving the yokozuna, or the ōzeki in the case of the yokozunas absence. The wrestler who wins the most matches over the fifteen days wins the tournament championship (yūshō
) for his division. If two wrestlers are tied for the top, they wrestle each other and the winner takes the title. Three-way ties for a championship are rare, at least in the top division. In these cases the three wrestle each other in pairs with the first to win two in a row taking the tournament. More complex systems for championship playoffs involving four or more wrestlers also exist, but these are usually only seen in determining the winner of one of the lower divisions.
The matchups for each day of the tournament are announced a day in advance. They are determined by oyakata (or sumo elders) who are members of the judging division of the Sumo Association
. As there are many more wrestlers in each division than matchups during the tournament each wrestler will only compete against a selection of opponents, mostly from the same division. With the exception of the sanyaku ranked wrestlers the first bouts tend to be between wrestlers who are within a couple of ranks of each other. Afterwards the selection of opponents takes into account a wrestler's prior performance. For example in the lower divisions the last matchups often involve undefeated wrestlers competing against each other, even if they are from opposite ends of the division. In the top division in the last few days wrestlers with exceptional records will often have matches against much more highly ranked opponents, including sanyaku wrestlers, especially if they are still in the running for the top division championship. Similarly more highly ranked wrestlers with very poor records may find themselves fighting wrestlers much further down the division. For the yokozuna and ōzeki the first week and a half of the tournament tends to be taken up with bouts against the top maegashira, the komusubi and sekiwake, with the bouts between them being concentrated into the last five days or so of the tournament (depending on the number of top ranked wrestlers competing). It is traditional that on the final day the last three bouts of the tournament are between the top six ranked wrestlers, with the top two competing in the very final matchup, unless injuries during the tournament prevent this.
There are certain match-ups that are prohibited in regular tournament play. Wrestlers who are from the same training stable cannot compete against each other, nor can wrestlers who are brothers, even if they join different stables. The one exception to this rule being that training stable partners and brothers can face each other in a championship deciding playoff match.
A top division wrestler will arrive at the stadium in the afternoon and enter the changing room. There are 'East' and 'West' rooms so competing wrestlers do not meet their opponents of the day before the match. The wrestler will change first into his kesho-mawashi, an ornate, embroidered silk 'apron', which he will wear during the ring entering ceremony, or dohyō-iri. There are four dohyō-iri on each day, two for jūryō and two for makuuchi division wrestlers. In each case there is a procession of those in the east changing room and one for those in the west. During the ceremony the wrestlers are introduced to the crowd one-by-one in ascending rank order and form a circle around the ring facing outwards. Once the highest ranked wrestler is introduced they turn inwards and perform a brief ritual before filing off and returning to their changing rooms. Yokozuna have a separate, more elaborate dohyō-iri; see yokozuna.
Once in the changing room the wrestlers change into their fighting mawashi
and await their bouts. The wrestlers reenter the arena two bouts before their own and sit down at the side of the ring. There are no weight divisions in sumo, and considering the range of body weights in sumo, an individual wrestler can sometimes face an opponent twice his own weight. When it is their turn they will be called into the ring by a yobidashi
(announcer) and they will mount the dohyō.
On mounting the dohyō the wrestler performs a number of rituals derived from Shinto practice. Facing the audience, he claps his hands and then performs the leg-stomping shiko exercise to drive evil spirits from the dohyō as the gyōji
, or referee, who will coordinate the bout announces the wrestlers' names once more. Stepping out of the ring into their corners, each wrestler is given a ladleful of water, the chikara-mizu ("power water"), with which he rinses out his mouth; and a paper tissue, the chikara-gami ("power paper"), to dry his lips. Then both step back into the ring, squat facing each other, clap their hands, then spread them wide (traditionally to show they have no weapons). Returning to their corners they each pick up a handful of salt which they toss onto the ring to purify it.
Finally the wrestlers crouch down at the shikiri-sen, or starting lines, each trying to stare the other down. When both wrestlers place both fists on the ground on or behind the shikiri-sen, they spring from their crouch for the tachi-ai
(the initial charge). In the upper divisions they almost never charge on the first occasion. Instead, after staring at one another, they return to their corners for more mental preparation. More salt is thrown whenever they step back into the ring. This can happen a number of times (about three, or even more in the case of the highest ranks) until on the last occasion the referee informs them they must start the bout. The total length of time for this preparation is around four minutes for the top division wrestlers, but in the lower divisions they are expected to start more or less immediately.
At the tachi-ai both wrestlers must jump up from the crouch simultaneously after touching the surface of the ring with two fists at the start of the bout, and the referee can restart the bout if this simultaneous touch does not occur. Upon completion of the bout, the referee must immediately designate his decision by pointing his gunbai
or war-fan towards the winning side. The referee's decision is not final and may be disputed by the five shimpan
(judges) seated around the ring. If this happens they will meet in the center of the ring to hold a mono-ii (lit: a talk about things). After reaching a consensus they can uphold or reverse the referee's decision or order a rematch, known as a torinaoshi. The wrestlers will then return to their starting positions and bow to each other before retiring. A winning wrestler may receive additional prize money in envelopes from the referee if the matchup has been sponsored. If a yokozuna is defeated by a lower ranked wrestler, it is common and expected for audience members to throw their seat cushions into the ring (and onto the wrestlers), though this practice is technically prohibited.
In contrast to the time in bout preparation, bouts are typically very short, usually less than a minute, and often only a few seconds. Extremely rarely a bout can go on for many minutes (up to four minutes), in which case the referee or one of the judges sitting around the ring may call a mizu-iri or "water break". The wrestlers are carefully separated, have a brief break and then return to the exact position they left off in. It is the referee's responsibility to reposition the wrestlers. If after four more minutes they are still deadlocked they may have a second break, after which they start from the very beginning. Further deadlock with no end of the bout in sight can lead to a draw (hikiwake), an extremely rare result in modern sumo. The last draw in the top division was in September 1974.
The last day of the tournament is called senshuraku, which literally means the pleasure of a thousand autumns. This colorful name for the culmination of the tournament echoes the words of the playwright Zeami
to represent the excitement of the decisive bouts and the celebration of the victor. The Emperor's Cup is presented to the wrestler who wins the top division (makuuchi) championship. Numerous other (mostly sponsored) prizes are also awarded to him. These prizes are often rather elaborate, ornate gifts, such as giant cups, decorative plates, and statuettes. Others are obviously commercial, such as one trophy shaped like a giant Coca-Cola bottle.
Promotion and relegation
are determined by a wrestler's score over the 15 days. In the top division, the term kachikoshi means a score of 8–7 or better, as opposed to makekoshi which indicates a score of 7–8 or worse. A wrestler who achieves kachikoshi will almost always be promoted further up the ladder, the level of promotion being higher for better scores. See the makuuchi
article for more details on promotion and relegation.
A top division wrestler who is not an ozeki or yokozuna and who finishes the tournament with kachikoshi is also eligible to be considered for one of the three sanshō
prizes awarded for "technique" (ginōshō
), "fighting spirit" (kantōshō
), and for defeating the most yokozuna and ozeki (shukunshō
), sometimes referred to as "outstanding performance".
Please see the list of sumo tournament winners for an overview of the yūshō
winners since 1909.
A sumo wrestler leads a highly regimented way of life. The Sumo Association prescribes the behavior of its wrestlers in some detail. For example, in the wake of a serious car accident involving a wrestler the Association banned wrestlers from driving their own cars. Breaking the rules can result in fines and/or suspension, not only for the offending wrestler, but also for his stablemaster.
On entering sumo, they are expected to grow their hair long to form a topknot, or chonmage
, similar to the samurai
hairstyles of the Edo Period
. Furthermore they are expected to wear the chonmage and traditional Japanese dress when in public. Consequently, sumo wrestlers can be identified immediately when in public.
The type and quality of the dress depends on the wrestler's rank. Rikishi in jonidan and below are allowed to wear only a thin cotton robe called a yukata
, even in winter. Furthermore, when outside they must wear a form of wooden sandals called geta
that make a clip-clop sound as one walks in them. Wrestlers in the makushita and sandanme divisions can wear a form of traditional short overcoat over their yukata and are allowed to wear straw sandals, called zōri
. The sekitori
can wear silk robes of their own choice and the quality of the garb is significantly improved. They also are expected to wear a more elaborate form of topknot called an ōichō (lit. big ginkgo leaf) on formal occasions.
Similar distinctions are made in stable life. The junior rikishi must get up earliest, around 5 am, for training whereas the sekitori may start around 7 am When the sekitori are training the junior rikishi may have chores to do, such as assisting in cooking the lunch, cleaning and preparing the bath, or holding a sekitoris towel. The ranking hierarchy is preserved for the order of precedence in bathing after training, and in eating lunch.
Rikishi are not normally allowed to eat breakfast and are expected to have a form of siesta
after a large lunch. The most common type of lunch served is the traditional "sumo meal" of chankonabe
which consists of a simmering stew cooked at table which contains various fish, meat, and vegetables. It is usually eaten with rice and washed down with beer. This regimen of no breakfast and a large lunch followed by a sleep is intended to help rikishi put on weight so as to compete more effectively.
In the afternoon the junior rikishi will again usually have cleaning or other chores to do, while their sekitori counterparts may relax, or deal with work issues related to their fan clubs. Younger rikishi will also attend classes, although their education differs from the typical curriculum of their non-sumo peers. In the evening sekitori may go out with their sponsors while juniors stay at home in the stable, unless they are to accompany the stablemaster or a sekitori as his manservant (or tsukebito) when he is out (this is normally a more privileged role given to a rikishi who may be nearing sekitori status himself). Becoming a tsukebito (or personal assistant) for a senior member of the stable is a typical chore. A sekitori will have many tsukebito, with the most junior responsible for cleaning and other mundane tasks. Only the most senior tsukebito will accompany the sekitori when he goes out.
The sekitori also are given their own room in the stable or, may live in their own apartments, as do married wrestlers. In contrast, the junior rikishi sleep in communal dormitories. Thus the world of the sumo wrestler is split broadly between the junior rikishi, who serve, and the sekitori, who are served. Life is especially harsh for new recruits, to whom the worst jobs tend to be allocated, and there is a high dropout rate at this stage.
The negative effects of the sumo lifestyle become dangerously apparent later in life. Sumo wrestlers have a life expectancy
of between 60 and 65, more than 10 years shorter than the average Japanese male. They often develop diabetes, high blood pressure, and are prone to heart attacks. The excessive intake of alcohol
can lead to liver
problems and the stress on their joints can cause arthritis
. Recently, the standards of weight gain are becoming less strict, in an effort to improve the overall health of the wrestlers. The average height of sumo wrestlers is around 180 cm (5' 11").
(in Japanese Yen
) were:
Wrestlers lower than the second division, who are considered to be trainees, receive only a fairly small allowance instead of a salary.
In addition to the basic salary, sekitori wrestlers also receive additional bonus income, called mochikyukin
, six times a year (once every tournament, or basho) based on the cumulative performance in their career to date. This bonus increases every time that the rikishi scores a kachikoshi (with larger kachikoshi giving larger raises). Special increases in this bonus are also awarded for winning the top division championship (with an extra large increase for a "perfect" championship victory with no losses), and also for scoring a kinboshi
(an upset of a yokozuna by a maegashira).
Sanyaku wrestlers also receive a relatively small additional tournament allowance, depending on their rank, and yokozuna receive an additional allowance every second tournament, associated with the making of a new tsuna.
There is also prize money for the winner of each divisional championship, which increases from 100,000 yen for a jonokuchi victory up to 10,000,000 yen for winning the top division. For wrestlers in the top division giving an exceptional performance in the eyes of a judging panel there are also three special prizes (the sansho
) which are worth 2,000,000 yen each.
Individual top division matches can also be sponsored by companies. In such cases the winner of the bout typically receives around 30,000 yen net per sponsor (out of the sponsors contribution of 60,000 yen—much of the remainder goes in paying the wrestler's tax on the prize). These bout prizes are called kenshokin. For bouts involving yokozuna and ozeki the number of sponsors of the matchup can be quite large, whereas for lower ranked matchups there may be no bout sponsors at all unless one of the wrestlers is particularly popular, or unless a company has a policy of sponsoring all his matchups. No bout prize money is awarded for a bout decided by a fusensho (forfeit victory).
has historically been used as a means to express Japanese nationalism and ethnic identity, especially prior to the end of World War II
. It has served to symbolize and provide a sense of belonging, to identify and unify the Japanese people culturally, and to serve as a barrier demarcating the Japanese from other peoples, providing them with a sense of cultural uniqueness. In its association with Shinto, sumo has also been seen as a bulwark of Japanese tradition.
Shinto ritual pervades every aspect of sumo. Before a tournament, two of the gyōji functioning as Shinto priests enact a ritual to consecrate the newly constructed dohyō, and various Shinto rituals are associated even with the practice dohyō at heya. Both the dohyō-iri, or ring-entering ceremonies performed by the top two divisions before the start of their wrestling day, and in the rituals performed by both combatants immediately before a bout, are derived from Shinto. It retains other Shinto associations as well. The yokozunas ring-entering ceremony is regarded as a purification ritual in its own right, and is occasionally performed at Shinto shrines for this purpose. Every newly promoted yokozuna performs his first ring-entering ceremony at the Meiji Shrine
in Tokyo.
As with many sports, there are a wide variety of souvenirs and memorabilia that fans may acquire. Fans purchasing box seats or front row seats usually purchase the tickets through so-called tea houses, which provide sumo related items in a package that includes the purchase of the ticket. This sort of memorabilia can also be purchased separately. Plates, and cups with sumo related themes are a common item. One of the more unusual items that can be purchased is the tegata (lit. hand shape) of the wrestlers of whom one is a fan—the sumo version of an autograph
. Tegata consist of a hand print of the wrestler using black or red ink accompanied by his fighting name written in calligraphic style by the wrestler himself. Original tegata can be quite expensive, but printed copies of the most popular wrestlers can be obtained very inexpensively. Only wrestlers in the top two jūryō and makuuchi divisions are permitted to make them. Another popular collectible is a copy of the banzuke
for a tournament. A banzuke is a document that has been meticulously handwritten in calligraphic script and lists every wrestler who participates in a tournament in order of rank.
), ranks are gained after passing a single test, and practitioners of karate are not normally demoted, even after repeated poor performances at tournaments. This divergence from other martial arts creates a high-pressure, high-intensity environment for sumo wrestlers. All the benefits that sekitori
wrestlers receive can be taken from them if they fail to maintain a high level of achievement in each official tournament.
Furthermore, sumo does not provide any means of achievement besides the official tournaments. Rank is determined solely by winning records during an official tournament. On the other hand, in many other Eastern martial arts, competitors can display their skill by performing standard routines, called kata
or forms, to receive recognition. Thus, sumo wrestlers are very specialized fighters who train to win their bouts using good technique, as this is their only means of gaining better privileges in their stables and higher salaries.
Professional sumo is notable for its exclusion of women from competition and ceremonies. Women are not allowed to enter or touch the sumo wrestling ring (dohyō
), as this is traditionally seen to be a violation of the purity of the dohyō.
The female Governor of Osaka
from 2000–2008, Fusae Ohta, when called upon to present the Governor's Prize to the champion of the annual Osaka tournament, was required to do so on the walkway beside the ring or send a male representative in her place. She repeatedly challenged the Sumo Association's policy by requesting to be allowed to fulfill her traditional role as Governor. Her requests were repeatedly rejected until she stepped down from office.
The view of those who criticize this continuing "men-only" policy is that it is discriminatory and oppressive.
In general, women in the sumo world are only expected to be supportive wives of rikishi, and, in the case that their husband has become a stable master, a surrogate mother for all of his disciples.
The view of the Sumo Association is that this is a tradition that has been firmly maintained through the centuries, so it would be a dishonor to all of their ancestors to change it.
There is also an International Sumo Federation, which encourages the sport's development worldwide, including holding international championships. A key aim of the federation is to have Sumo recognized as an Olympic sport. Accordingly, amateur tournaments are divided into weight classes (men: Lightweight up to 187 lb (84.8 kg) [85 kg], Middleweight up to 253 lb (114.8 kg) [115 kg], Heavyweight 253+ lb [115+ kg] and Open Weight [unrestricted entry]), and include competitions for female wrestlers (Lightweight up to 143 lb (64.9 kg) [65 kg], Middleweight up to 176 lb (79.8 kg) [80 kg], Heavyweight 176+ lb [80+ kg] and Open Weight).
Amateur sumo clubs are gaining in popularity in the United States, with competitions regularly being held in major cities across the country. The US Sumo Open, for example, was held in the Los Angeles Convention Centre in front of 3000 people and threw up some truly fascinating matches. The sport has long been popular on the West Coast and in Hawai'i, where it has played a part in the festivals of the Japanese ethnic communities. Now, however, the sport has grown beyond the sphere of Japanese diaspora
and athletes come from a variety of ethnic, cultural and sporting backgrounds.
Amateur sumo is particularly strong in Europe. Many athletes come to the sport from a background in judo
, freestyle wrestling
, or other grappling
sports such as Sambo
. Some Eastern European athletes have been successful enough to be scouted into professional sumo in Japan, much like their Japanese amateur counterparts. The most proficient of these to date is the Bulgarian Kotooshu, who is the highest ranking foreign wrestler who was formerly an amateur sumo athlete.
In The Joy of Sumo: A Fan's Notes (Charles E. Tuttle, 1991), David Benjamin determined that over a span of ten basho in the years 1989 and 1990, wrestlers who entered the final day with records of 7–7 emerged with an unlikely winning ratio of .813 (39–9). He offers further evidence of cheating in sumo, but his analysis of Day 15, "The Last-Day Blues", represents the first effort to demonstrate statistically that rikishi almost certainly trade favors late in sumo tournaments to facilitate the all-important goal of kachi-koshi, having more wins than losses in a tournament.
In 2002, Steven Levitt
and Mark Duggan replicated and expanded upon Benjamin's research, although not crediting The Joy of Sumo. They published a paper using econometrics
in order to suggest that corruption in sumo exists. Popularized in Levitt's book Freakonomics
, the study found that 70% of wrestlers with 7–7 records on the final day of the tournament (i.e., seven wins and seven losses, and one fight to go) won. The percentage was found to rise the more times the two wrestlers had met, and decrease when the wrestler was due to retire. The study found that the 7–7 wrestlers win around 80% of the time when statistics suggest they have a probability of winning only 48.7% of the time against their opponents. Like Benjamin, the authors conclude that those who already have 8 wins collude with those who are 7–7 and let them win, since the 8-win wrestlers have already secured their ranking.
A possible counter-argument to the Freakonomics conclusion is that a 7–7 rikishi is highly motivated to win his last match to gain promotion, rather than demotion, while the 8–6 rikishi has already guaranteed his promotion, so is not as motivated. The authors revealed a more damning statistic, however. According to their research, the next tournament in which the two wrestlers met, there was a significant advantage to the 8–6 wrestler over the 7–7, regardless of the performance of either wrestler. The previously 7–7 wrestler would win only 40% percent of the rematches with the 8–6 wrestler. The authors suggest that winning 80% in the first match and then only 40% in the rematch (and back to the expected 50% in subsequent matches) between the same wrestlers suggests a rigging of the bouts. Additionally, the authors find that after allegations of rigging by the media, 7–7 wrestlers won only 50% of their matches against 8–6 wrestlers instead of 80%.
When the former sumo wrestler Konoshin Suga, also known as Onaruto stablemaster, and his supporter Seiichiro Hashimoto came forward with allegations of match rigging, drug use, sexcapades, tax evasion, and close ties to the mafia, both were found dead in the same hospital, hours apart on April 14, 1996, though there was no proof of poisoning. Weekly tabloid Shukan Post alleged in a series of articles in the 1980s and 1990s that bouts were fixed.
In 2000, in both speeches and a tell-all book, former wrestler Keisuke Itai
stated that up to 80% of sumo bouts were fixed. In 2007, Shūkan Gendai
reported that Yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori
had been paying wrestlers to throw matches to him. A court later ordered Kodansha
, the journal's publisher, to pay ¥44 million to the Sumo Association over the allegations.
In February 2011, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and National Police Agency
announced that an investigation into allegations of sports gambling by sumo wrestlers and officials had discovered cell phone text messages indicating that some matches had been fixed. Allegedly, 14 wrestlers or stablemasters were involved. Three wrestlers, Chiyohakuhō
, Kasuganishiki
(now a coach under the elder name Takenawa), and Enatsukasa, reportedly admitted to throwing or fixing bouts. As a result of the independent investigation, the board of directors of the Japan Sumo Association decided in an extraordinary meeting to cancel the March 2011 tournament in Osaka. The last time a Grand Tournament
was canceled was in 1946, when repairs to the old Ryogoku Kokugikan
, which had been extensively damaged in World War II, were not completed in time. One association executive has hinted that the association will expel the 14 wrestlers if they are proven to have been involved in match-fixing. A regional exhibition tournament in Akita Prefecture
on August 8, 2011 was cancelled.
The Japan Sumo Association's investigative panel stated in May 2011 that match-fixing appears to have been widespread. The panel stated that it would be difficult to discover, however, the full extent of the problem. Uncovering the problem is made even more different by the presence of a separate form of sumo (koi ni yatta mukiryoku-zumo) which refers to a wrestler going lightly on an opponent without the exchange of money. In sumo culture especially, individual gain must be subordinated to the rights of the group, meaning that certain wrestlers have appeared duty-bound by their organization's style to help popular or senior wrestlers in need. Such a situation appears readily accepted by more traditional fans.
to beat those who make mistakes, and elder rikishi are often put in charge of bullying younger ones to keep them in line, for instance, by making them hold heavy objects for long periods of time.
However, this system of hazing was widely criticized in late 2007 when it came to light that a 17 year-old-sumo trainee named Takashi Saito
from the Tokitsukaze stable
had died after a serious bullying incident involving his stablemaster Junichi Yamamoto hitting him in the head with a large beer bottle and fellow rikishi being subsequently ordered to physically abuse him further. The (now ex-) stablemaster and three other wrestlers who were involved were arrested in February 2008, after which Japanese Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda
demanded the Sumo Association take steps to ensure such an incident never happens again. In May 2009, Yamamoto was sentenced to six years in jail.
and the stable master Ōtake
for betting on baseball games in a gambling ring run by the Yakuza
. At the same time, two stable masters were demoted and an unprecedented 18 wrestlers banned from the July 2010 tournament.
Two months before the announcement, Japan's largest yakuza group, Yamaguchi-gumi
, bought 50 prized seats during a tournament so that gangsters were prominently visible during the national broadcast of the match. According to experts, this was an endeavor to cheer up an incarcerated boss. Although there have always been alleged ties between sumo and the yakuza, the sport has suffered from waning public interest and sponsorship during the economic recession, which may have contributed to closer ties to the underworld for financial support.
, with limited achievement; perhaps the most successful sumo wrestler to have competed in MMA is Tadao Yasuda
who holds a record of two wins and four losses. Sumo wrestlers are ineffective in MMA because the sports are vastly different from one another in achieving victory; striking techniques and submissions are required for MMA and neither are taught in sumo wrestling. A Sumo wrestler would need to train in MMA techniques which has not been the case in the past, as the few sumo wrestlers of distinction to compete in MMA did so for financial reasons and not a career change. A few key sumo techniques also become ineffective in an MMA event as most participants wear spandex bottoms and the techniques require something to grab, such as the belt or pants of your opponent.
Other sumo wrestlers to have fought in mixed martial arts include Alan Karaev
, Kōji Kitao
, Henry Armstrong Miller
, Akebono Tarō
, Teila Tuli and Wakashoyo
. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida
also has a sumo background but his main style is Shotokan Karate.
Dohyo
thumb|A dohyōThe dohyō is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyo is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.A new dohyō is built prior to each...
) 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. It is generally considered to be a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), though this definition is incorrect as the sport has a history spanning many centuries.
Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables" known in Japanese as heya
Heya
In sumo wrestling, a heya , 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 , all but four of which belong to one of five ichimon...
where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.
Origins
In addition to its use as a trial of strength in combat, sumo has also been associated with Shinto ritual, and even certain shrines carry out forms of ritual dance where a human is said to wrestle with a kamiKami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
(a Shinto divine spirit). It was an important ritual at the imperial court. Representatives of each province were ordered to attend the contest at the court and fight. They were required to pay for their travels themselves. The contest was known as sumai ,no sechie, or "sumai party."
Also, it is believed that a ring, defined as something other than simply the area given to the wrestlers by spectators, came into being in the 16th century as a result of a tournament organized by the then principal warlord in Japan, Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
. At this point wrestlers would wear loose loincloths, rather than the much stiffer mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
of today. During the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, wrestlers would wear a fringed kesho-mawashi during the bout, whereas today these are worn only during pre-tournament rituals. Most of the rest of the current forms within the sport developed in the early Edo period.
can trace its roots back to the Edo period in Japan as a form of sporting entertainment. The original wrestlers were probably samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, often rōnin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
, who needed to find an alternative form of income. Current professional sumo tournaments began in the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine
Tomioka Hachiman Shrine
is the largest Hachiman Shrine in Tokyo.-History:The shrine was founded in 1627 with reclamation of the shoal. The God Hachiman whom the shrine reveres was also a local Shinto deity of the Minamoto clan thus the shinto shrine received cordial protection by the Tokugawa shogunate...
in 1684, and then were held in the Ekō-in
Eko-in
, also known as Honjo Ekōin, is a Pure Land Buddhist temple in Ryōgoku, Tokyo. The formal name of the temple is , reflecting its founding principle of Pariṇāmanā, or the spreading of Amida Buddha's benevolence to all souls of all living creatures.-History:...
in the Edo period. They have been held in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku Kokugikan
, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
since 1909, though the Kuramae Kokugikan
Kuramae Kokugikan
was a building situated in the Kuramae district of Tokyo which was built by the Japan Sumo Association and opened in 1950. The Association needed a permanent venue to hold sumo tournaments as the previous, bomb-damaged, Kokugikan had been taken over by occupying Allied forces after World War II...
had been used for the tournaments in the post-war years until 1984.
Nations adjacent to Japan, sharing many cultural traditions, also feature styles of traditional wrestling that bear resemblance to sumo. Notable examples include Mongolian wrestling
Mongolian wrestling
Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh , is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions...
, Chinese Shuai jiao (摔角)
Shuai jiao
Shuai jiao is the general Mandarin Chinese term for wrestling. As a generic name, it may be used to cover various styles of wrestling practised in China in the form of a martial arts system or a sport. The narrower term pertains to wrestling styles of the North China Plain...
, and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n Ssireum
Ssireum
Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....
. Examples of Chinese art from 220 BC show the Korean wrestlers stripped to the waist and their bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder.
Winning a sumo bout
The winner of a sumo bout is either:- The first wrestler to force his opponent to step out of the ring.
- The first wrestler to force his opponent to touch the ground with any part of his body other than the bottom of his feet.
On rare occasions the referee or judges may award the win to the wrestler who touched the ground first; this happens if both wrestlers touch the ground at nearly the same time and it is decided that the wrestler who touched the ground second had no chance of winning as, due to the superior sumo of his opponent, he was already in an irrecoverable position. The losing wrestler is referred to as being shini-tai
Shini-tai
is a term used in sumō wrestling. In general, the first sumo wrestler to touch any body part outside the ring, or have any part of his body other than the soles of his feet touch the ground loses...
(“dead body”) in this case.
There are also a number of other rarely used rules that can be used to determine the winner. For example a wrestler using an illegal technique (or kinjite
Kinjite
Kinjite are various fouls that a sumo wrestler might commit that will cause him to lose the bout. They are:* Striking the opponent with a closed fist.* Grabbing the opponent’s hair....
) automatically loses, as does one whose mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
(or belt) becomes completely undone. A wrestler failing to turn up for his bout (including through a prior injury) also automatically loses (fusenpai). After the winner is declared, an off-stage 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:...
(or referee) determines the kimarite
Kimarite
Kimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
(or winning technique) used in the bout, which is then announced to the audience.
Matches often last only a few seconds, as usually one wrestler is quickly ousted from the circle or thrown to the ground. However, they can occasionally last for several minutes. Each match is preceded by an elaborate ceremonial ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
. The wrestlers themselves are renowned for their great girth as body mass is often a winning factor in sumo, though with skill, smaller wrestlers can topple far larger opponents.
The wrestling ring (dohyō)
Sumo matches take place in a dohyōDohyo
thumb|A dohyōThe dohyō is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyo is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.A new dohyō is built prior to each...
(土俵): a ring, 4.55 metres (14.9 ft) in diameter and 16.26 square metre in area, of rice-straw bales on top of a platform made of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
mixed with sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
. A new dohyō is built for each tournament by the yobidashi
Yobidashi
The yobidashi calls a professional sumo wrestler, or rikishi, to the dohyō immediately prior to his bout...
. At the center are two white lines, the shikiri-sen, behind which the wrestlers position themselves at the start of the bout. A roof resembling that of a Shinto shrine may be suspended over the dohyō.
Professional sumo
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...
. The members of the association, called oyakata, are all former wrestlers, and are the only people entitled to train new wrestlers. All practicing wrestlers are members of a training stable (heya) run by one of the oyakata, who is the stablemaster for the wrestlers under him. Currently there are 54 training stables for about 700 wrestlers.
All sumo wrestlers take wrestling names called shikona
Shikona
A shikona is a sumo wrestler's ring name.As with standard Japanese names, a shikona consists of a 'surname' and a 'given' name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the given name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori is...
(しこ名), which may or may not be related to their real names. Often wrestlers have little choice in their name, which is given to them by their trainer (or stablemaster), or by a supporter or family member who encouraged them into the sport. This is particularly true of foreign-born wrestlers. A wrestler may change his wrestling name several times during his sumo career.
Sumo wrestling is a strict hierarchy based on sporting merit. The wrestlers are ranked according to a system that dates back hundreds of years, to the Edo period. Wrestlers are promoted or demoted according to their performance in six official tournaments held throughout the year. A carefully prepared banzuke
Banzuke
This article is about the banzuke document, for a list of wrestlers as ranked on an actual banzuke see List of active sumo wrestlersA , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament or honbasho. The term can also...
listing the full hierarchy is published two weeks prior to each sumo tournament.
Sumo divisions
There are six divisions in sumo: makuuchiMakuuchi
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....
(maximum 42 wrestlers), jūryō (fixed at 28 wrestlers), makushita (fixed at 120 wrestlers), sandanme (fixed at 200 wrestlers), jonidan (approximately 230 wrestlers), and jonokuchi (approximately 80 wrestlers). Wrestlers enter sumo in the lowest jonokuchi division and, ability permitting, work their way up to the top division. Wrestlers in the top two divisions are known as sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
, while lower division wrestlers are generally referred to by the generic term for wrestlers, rikishi.
The topmost 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 receives the most attention from fans and has the most complex hierarchy. The majority of wrestlers are maegashira and are numbered from one (at the top) down to about sixteen or seventeen. Above the maegashira are the three champion or titleholder ranks, called the sanyaku. These are, in ascending order, komusubi, sekiwake, and ōzeki. At the pinnacle of the ranking system is the rank of yokozuna.
Yokozuna, or grand champions, are generally expected to compete for and to win the top division tournament title on a regular basis. Hence the promotion criteria for yokozuna are very strict. In general, an ōzeki must win the championship for two consecutive tournaments or an "equivalent performance" to be considered for promotion to yokozuna. More than one wrestler can hold the rank of yokozuna at the same time.
Exhibition competitions are held at regular intervals every year in Japan, and approximately once every two years the top ranked wrestlers visit a foreign country for such exhibitions. None of these displays is taken into account in determining a wrestler's future rank. Rank is determined only by performance in Grand Sumo Tournaments (or honbasho
Honbasho
A is an official professional sumo tournament. There are six held each year, a system established in 1958. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi ....
), which are described in more detail below.
Foreign participation
Professional sumo is practiced exclusively in Japan, but wrestlers of other nationalities participate. There are currently 55 wrestlers officially listed as foreigners. In July 2007, there were 19 foreigners in the top two divisions, an all-time record, and for the first time, a majority of wrestlers in the top sanyaku ranks were from overseas.A Japanese-American, Toyonishiki
Toyonishiki Kiichiro
Toyonishiki Kiichiro was a Japanese-American sumo wrestler who joined the sport shortly before World War II. He was one of the first foreign-born wrestlers to reach the top makuuchi division.-Career:...
, and the Korean-born Rikidōzan
Rikidozan
, better known as Rikidōzan , was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler...
achieved sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
status prior to World War II, but neither were officially listed as foreigners. The first non-Asian to achieve fame and fortune in sumo was Hawaii-born Takamiyama
Takamiyama Daigoro
Takamiyama Daigorō 高見山大五郎 is a former sumo wrestler, the first foreign born rikishi to win the top division championship . His highest rank was sekiwake...
. He reached the top division in 1968 and in 1972 became the first foreigner to win the top division championship. He was followed by fellow Hawaii-born Konishiki
Konishiki Yasokichi
----, is a Hawaiian-born Japanese–Samoan former sumo wrestler. He was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach ozeki, the second highest rank in the sport...
, the first foreigner to reach the rank of ōzeki in 1987; and the native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
Akebono
Akebono Taro
is a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990...
, who became the first foreign-born yokozuna in 1993. Musashimaru
Musashimaru Kōyō
, is a former sumo wrestler. He was the second foreign-born wrestler in history to reach the rank of yokozuna. He won over 700 top division bouts and took twelve top division tournament championships during his career. Musashimaru's sheer bulk combined with of height made him a formidable...
, born in Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
but from Hawaii, became the second foreigner to reach sumo's top rank in 1999. The most recent yokozuna, Asashōryū
Asashōryū Akinori
is a former sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He was the 68th yokozuna in the history of the sport in Japan and became the first Mongol to reach sumo's highest rank in January 2003. He was one of the most successful yokozuna ever. In 2005 he became the first man to win all six official...
and Hakuhō
Hakuho Sho
is a professional sumo wrestler from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. On May 30, 2007 at the age of 22 he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo,...
, are Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n. They are among a group of Mongolian wrestlers who have achieved success in the upper ranks. Wrestlers from Eastern European countries such as Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
have also found success in the upper levels of sumo. In 2005 Kotoōshū
Kotooshu Katsunori
Kotoōshū Katsunori is a professional sumo wrestler or rikishi. He made his debut in 2002, reaching the top division just two years later...
from Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
became the first wrestler of European birth to attain the ōzeki ranking and the first to win a top division championship.
Until relatively recently, 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...
had no restrictions at all on the number of foreigners allowed in professional sumo. In May 1992, shortly after the Ōshima stable
Oshima stable
is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ichimon or group of stables. It was set up in 1980 by former ozeki Asahikuni, who branched off from Tatsunami stable. The head of Tatsunami stable opposed the setting up of the new stable, and did not speak to Oshima Oyakata until Asahifuji was...
had recruited six Mongolians at the same time, the Sumo Association's new director Dewanoumi, the former yokozuna Sadanoyama
Sadanoyama Shinmatsu
Sadanoyama Shinmatsu is a former sumo wrestler from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 50th Yokozuna...
, announced that he was considering limiting the number of overseas recruits per stable and in sumo overall. There was no official ruling, but no stable recruited any foreigners for the next six years. This unofficial ban was then relaxed, but only two new foreigners per stable were allowed, until the total number reached 40. Then
in 2002, a one foreigner per stable policy was officially adopted. (The ban was not retroactive, so foreigners recruited before the changes were unaffected). Though the move has been met with criticism, there are no plans to relax the restrictions at this time. However, it was possible for a place in a heya to be opened up if a foreign born wrestler acquires Japanese citizenship. This occurred when Hisanoumi
Aotsurugi Kenta
Aotsurugi Kenta is a former professional sumo wrestler from Tongatapu, Tonga. He made his debut in 2001 but had many injury problems. In 2006, he obtained Japanese citizenship, adopting the official name of Tebita Togawa...
changed his nationality from Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
n at the end of 2006, allowing another Tongan to enter his stable, and Kyokutenhō's change of citizenship allowed Ōshima stable to recruit Mongolian Kyokushuho in May 2007.
On February 23, 2010 the Sumo Association announced that it had changed its definition of "foreign" to "foreign-born" (gaikoku shusshin), meaning that even naturalized Japanese citizens will be considered as foreigners if they were born outside Japan. The restriction on one foreign wrestler per stable was also reconfirmed.
Canadian born John Tenta
John Tenta
John Anthony Tenta was a Canadian professional wrestler known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake and later Golga, and in World Championship Wrestling as Avalanche and The Shark.-Early life:John Tenta was born in Surrey, British Columbia...
who competed in sumo under the alias Kototenta, Kototenzan in the mid 80's. Tenta is best know by western audiences and fans of professional wrestling as WWF Star "The Earthquake". One occasion in 1993 Tenta got the Chance to show off his sumo background on a episode of Monday Night Raw .
Professional sumo tournaments
Honbasho
A is an official professional sumo tournament. There are six held each year, a system established in 1958. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi ....
) each year: three at The Sumo Hall (or Ryōgoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku Kokugikan
, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
) in Ryōgoku
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....
, Tokyo (January, May, and September), and one each in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
(March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
(November). Each tournament begins on a Sunday and runs for 15 days, ending also on a Sunday. Each wrestler in the top two divisions (sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
) has one match per day, while the lower ranked rikishi compete in seven bouts, approximately one every two days.
Each day is structured so the highest-ranked contestants compete at the end of the day. Thus, wrestling will start in the morning with the jonokuchi wrestlers and end at around six o'clock in the evening with bouts involving the yokozuna, or the ōzeki in the case of the yokozunas absence. The wrestler who wins the most matches over the fifteen days wins the tournament championship (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...
) for his division. If two wrestlers are tied for the top, they wrestle each other and the winner takes the title. Three-way ties for a championship are rare, at least in the top division. In these cases the three wrestle each other in pairs with the first to win two in a row taking the tournament. More complex systems for championship playoffs involving four or more wrestlers also exist, but these are usually only seen in determining the winner of one of the lower divisions.
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...
. As there are many more wrestlers in each division than matchups during the tournament each wrestler will only compete against a selection of opponents, mostly from the same division. With the exception of the sanyaku ranked wrestlers the first bouts tend to be between wrestlers who are within a couple of ranks of each other. Afterwards the selection of opponents takes into account a wrestler's prior performance. For example in the lower divisions the last matchups often involve undefeated wrestlers competing against each other, even if they are from opposite ends of the division. In the top division in the last few days wrestlers with exceptional records will often have matches against much more highly ranked opponents, including sanyaku wrestlers, especially if they are still in the running for the top division championship. Similarly more highly ranked wrestlers with very poor records may find themselves fighting wrestlers much further down the division. For the yokozuna and ōzeki the first week and a half of the tournament tends to be taken up with bouts against the top maegashira, the komusubi and sekiwake, with the bouts between them being concentrated into the last five days or so of the tournament (depending on the number of top ranked wrestlers competing). It is traditional that on the final day the last three bouts of the tournament are between the top six ranked wrestlers, with the top two competing in the very final matchup, unless injuries during the tournament prevent this.
There are certain match-ups that are prohibited in regular tournament play. Wrestlers who are from the same training stable cannot compete against each other, nor can wrestlers who are brothers, even if they join different stables. The one exception to this rule being that training stable partners and brothers can face each other in a championship deciding playoff match.
Bout preparation
Once in the changing room the wrestlers change into their fighting mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
and await their bouts. The wrestlers reenter the arena two bouts before their own and sit down at the side of the ring. There are no weight divisions in sumo, and considering the range of body weights in sumo, an individual wrestler can sometimes face an opponent twice his own weight. When it is their turn they will be called into the ring by a yobidashi
Yobidashi
The yobidashi calls a professional sumo wrestler, or rikishi, to the dohyō immediately prior to his bout...
(announcer) and they will mount the dohyō.
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:...
, or referee, who will coordinate the bout announces the wrestlers' names once more. Stepping out of the ring into their corners, each wrestler is given a ladleful of water, the chikara-mizu ("power water"), with which he rinses out his mouth; and a paper tissue, the chikara-gami ("power paper"), to dry his lips. Then both step back into the ring, squat facing each other, clap their hands, then spread them wide (traditionally to show they have no weapons). Returning to their corners they each pick up a handful of salt which they toss onto the ring to purify it.
Finally the wrestlers crouch down at the shikiri-sen, or starting lines, each trying to stare the other down. When both wrestlers place both fists on the ground on or behind the shikiri-sen, they spring from their crouch for the tachi-ai
Tachi-ai
The tachi-ai is the initial charge between two sumo wrestlers at the beginning of a bout.There are several common techniques that wrestlers use at the tachi-ai, with the aim of getting a decisive advantage in the bout:...
(the initial charge). In the upper divisions they almost never charge on the first occasion. Instead, after staring at one another, they return to their corners for more mental preparation. More salt is thrown whenever they step back into the ring. This can happen a number of times (about three, or even more in the case of the highest ranks) until on the last occasion the referee informs them they must start the bout. The total length of time for this preparation is around four minutes for the top division wrestlers, but in the lower divisions they are expected to start more or less immediately.
A professional sumo bout
Gunbai
thumb|right|A sumo gyoji wielding a gunbaiThe is a type of Japanese war fan.-Description:Gunbai were used by samurai officers in Japan to communicate commands to their troops, and were solid, not folding, and usually made of wood, wood covered with metal, or solid metal.It is also a key accessory...
or war-fan towards the winning side. The referee's decision is not final and may be disputed by the five shimpan
Shimpan
are the judges of a professional sumo bout. In a sumo honbasho tournament five shimpan sit around the ring to observe which wrestler wins the matchup. When judging tournament bouts they wear formal Japanese dress of otokomono, haori with mon, and hakama...
(judges) seated around the ring. If this happens they will meet in the center of the ring to hold a mono-ii (lit: a talk about things). After reaching a consensus they can uphold or reverse the referee's decision or order a rematch, known as a torinaoshi. The wrestlers will then return to their starting positions and bow to each other before retiring. A winning wrestler may receive additional prize money in envelopes from the referee if the matchup has been sponsored. If a yokozuna is defeated by a lower ranked wrestler, it is common and expected for audience members to throw their seat cushions into the ring (and onto the wrestlers), though this practice is technically prohibited.
In contrast to the time in bout preparation, bouts are typically very short, usually less than a minute, and often only a few seconds. Extremely rarely a bout can go on for many minutes (up to four minutes), in which case the referee or one of the judges sitting around the ring may call a mizu-iri or "water break". The wrestlers are carefully separated, have a brief break and then return to the exact position they left off in. It is the referee's responsibility to reposition the wrestlers. If after four more minutes they are still deadlocked they may have a second break, after which they start from the very beginning. Further deadlock with no end of the bout in sight can lead to a draw (hikiwake), an extremely rare result in modern sumo. The last draw in the top division was in September 1974.
The last day of the tournament is called senshuraku, which literally means the pleasure of a thousand autumns. This colorful name for the culmination of the tournament echoes the words of the playwright Zeami
Zeami Motokiyo
Zeami Motokiyo , also called Kanze Motokiyo , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor and playwright.-Acting:...
to represent the excitement of the decisive bouts and the celebration of the victor. The Emperor's Cup is presented to the wrestler who wins the top division (makuuchi) championship. Numerous other (mostly sponsored) prizes are also awarded to him. These prizes are often rather elaborate, ornate gifts, such as giant cups, decorative plates, and statuettes. Others are obviously commercial, such as one trophy shaped like a giant Coca-Cola bottle.
Promotion and relegation
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
are determined by a wrestler's score over the 15 days. In the top division, the term kachikoshi means a score of 8–7 or better, as opposed to makekoshi which indicates a score of 7–8 or worse. A wrestler who achieves kachikoshi will almost always be promoted further up the ladder, the level of promotion being higher for better scores. See the 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....
article for more details on promotion and relegation.
A top division wrestler who is not an ozeki or yokozuna and who finishes the tournament with kachikoshi is also eligible to be considered for one of the three sanshō
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
prizes awarded for "technique" (ginōshō
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
), "fighting spirit" (kantōshō
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
), and for defeating the most yokozuna and ozeki (shukunshō
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
), sometimes referred to as "outstanding performance".
Please see the list of sumo tournament winners for an overview of the 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...
winners since 1909.
Life as a professional sumo wrestler
On entering sumo, they are expected to grow their hair long to form a topknot, or chonmage
Chonmage
The chonmage is a form of Japanese traditional haircut worn by men. It is most commonly associated with the Edo Period and samurai, and in recent times with sumo wrestlers...
, similar to the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
hairstyles of the Edo Period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
. Furthermore they are expected to wear the chonmage and traditional Japanese dress when in public. Consequently, sumo wrestlers can be identified immediately when in public.
The type and quality of the dress depends on the wrestler's rank. Rikishi in jonidan and below are allowed to wear only a thin cotton robe called a yukata
Yukata
A is a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono usually made of cotton. People wearing yukata are a common sight in Japan at fireworks displays, bon-odori festivals, and other summer events. The yukata is also frequently worn after bathing at traditional Japanese inns...
, even in winter. Furthermore, when outside they must wear a form of wooden sandals called geta
Geta (footwear)
Geta are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resemble both clogs and flip-flops. They are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base held onto the foot with a fabric thong to keep the foot well above the ground. They are worn with traditional Japanese clothing such as kimono or yukata,...
that make a clip-clop sound as one walks in them. Wrestlers in the makushita and sandanme divisions can wear a form of traditional short overcoat over their yukata and are allowed to wear straw sandals, called zōri
Zori
are flat and thonged Japanese sandals made of rice straw or other plant fibers, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or—increasingly—synthetic materials...
. The sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
can wear silk robes of their own choice and the quality of the garb is significantly improved. They also are expected to wear a more elaborate form of topknot called an ōichō (lit. big ginkgo leaf) on formal occasions.
Similar distinctions are made in stable life. The junior rikishi must get up earliest, around 5 am, for training whereas the sekitori may start around 7 am When the sekitori are training the junior rikishi may have chores to do, such as assisting in cooking the lunch, cleaning and preparing the bath, or holding a sekitoris towel. The ranking hierarchy is preserved for the order of precedence in bathing after training, and in eating lunch.
Rikishi are not normally allowed to eat breakfast and are expected to have a form of siesta
Siesta
A siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm....
after a large lunch. The most common type of lunch served is the traditional "sumo meal" of chankonabe
Chankonabe
is a Japanese stew commonly eaten in vast quantity by sumo wrestlers as part of a weight-gain diet. It contains a dashi or chicken broth soup base with sake or mirin to add flavor...
which consists of a simmering stew cooked at table which contains various fish, meat, and vegetables. It is usually eaten with rice and washed down with beer. This regimen of no breakfast and a large lunch followed by a sleep is intended to help rikishi put on weight so as to compete more effectively.
In the afternoon the junior rikishi will again usually have cleaning or other chores to do, while their sekitori counterparts may relax, or deal with work issues related to their fan clubs. Younger rikishi will also attend classes, although their education differs from the typical curriculum of their non-sumo peers. In the evening sekitori may go out with their sponsors while juniors stay at home in the stable, unless they are to accompany the stablemaster or a sekitori as his manservant (or tsukebito) when he is out (this is normally a more privileged role given to a rikishi who may be nearing sekitori status himself). Becoming a tsukebito (or personal assistant) for a senior member of the stable is a typical chore. A sekitori will have many tsukebito, with the most junior responsible for cleaning and other mundane tasks. Only the most senior tsukebito will accompany the sekitori when he goes out.
The sekitori also are given their own room in the stable or, may live in their own apartments, as do married wrestlers. In contrast, the junior rikishi sleep in communal dormitories. Thus the world of the sumo wrestler is split broadly between the junior rikishi, who serve, and the sekitori, who are served. Life is especially harsh for new recruits, to whom the worst jobs tend to be allocated, and there is a high dropout rate at this stage.
The negative effects of the sumo lifestyle become dangerously apparent later in life. Sumo wrestlers have a life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
of between 60 and 65, more than 10 years shorter than the average Japanese male. They often develop diabetes, high blood pressure, and are prone to heart attacks. The excessive intake of alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
can lead to liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
problems and the stress on their joints can cause arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
. Recently, the standards of weight gain are becoming less strict, in an effort to improve the overall health of the wrestlers. The average height of sumo wrestlers is around 180 cm (5' 11").
Salary and payment
As of 2006, the monthly salary figures for makuuchiMakuuchi
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....
(in Japanese Yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
) were:
- yokozuna: 2,820,000, about US$30,500
- ōzeki: 2,347,000, about US$25,000
- sanyaku: 1,693,000, about US$18,000
- maegashira: 1,309,000 or about US$14,000
- jūryō: 1,036,000, about US$11,000
Wrestlers lower than the second division, who are considered to be trainees, receive only a fairly small allowance instead of a salary.
In addition to the basic salary, sekitori wrestlers also receive additional bonus income, called mochikyukin
Mochikyukin
Mochikyūkin is a system of payment for sumo wrestlers that supplements the basic salary that sekitori earn.This bonus is calculated using a fairly complex formula. When a wrestler enters professional sumo, he is credited with 3 yen...
, six times a year (once every tournament, or basho) based on the cumulative performance in their career to date. This bonus increases every time that the rikishi scores a kachikoshi (with larger kachikoshi giving larger raises). Special increases in this bonus are also awarded for winning the top division championship (with an extra large increase for a "perfect" championship victory with no losses), and also for scoring a kinboshi
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
(an upset of a yokozuna by a maegashira).
Sanyaku wrestlers also receive a relatively small additional tournament allowance, depending on their rank, and yokozuna receive an additional allowance every second tournament, associated with the making of a new tsuna.
There is also prize money for the winner of each divisional championship, which increases from 100,000 yen for a jonokuchi victory up to 10,000,000 yen for winning the top division. For wrestlers in the top division giving an exceptional performance in the eyes of a judging panel there are also three special prizes (the sansho
Sansho (Sumo)
Sanshō are the three special prizes awarded to top division sumo wrestlers for exceptional performance during a sumo honbasho or tournament. The prizes were first awarded in November 1947.-Criteria:...
) which are worth 2,000,000 yen each.
Individual top division matches can also be sponsored by companies. In such cases the winner of the bout typically receives around 30,000 yen net per sponsor (out of the sponsors contribution of 60,000 yen—much of the remainder goes in paying the wrestler's tax on the prize). These bout prizes are called kenshokin. For bouts involving yokozuna and ozeki the number of sponsors of the matchup can be quite large, whereas for lower ranked matchups there may be no bout sponsors at all unless one of the wrestlers is particularly popular, or unless a company has a policy of sponsoring all his matchups. No bout prize money is awarded for a bout decided by a fusensho (forfeit victory).
Sumo and Shinto
ShintoShinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
has historically been used as a means to express Japanese nationalism and ethnic identity, especially prior to the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It has served to symbolize and provide a sense of belonging, to identify and unify the Japanese people culturally, and to serve as a barrier demarcating the Japanese from other peoples, providing them with a sense of cultural uniqueness. In its association with Shinto, sumo has also been seen as a bulwark of Japanese tradition.
Shinto ritual pervades every aspect of sumo. Before a tournament, two of the gyōji functioning as Shinto priests enact a ritual to consecrate the newly constructed dohyō, and various Shinto rituals are associated even with the practice dohyō at heya. Both the dohyō-iri, or ring-entering ceremonies performed by the top two divisions before the start of their wrestling day, and in the rituals performed by both combatants immediately before a bout, are derived from Shinto. It retains other Shinto associations as well. The yokozunas ring-entering ceremony is regarded as a purification ritual in its own right, and is occasionally performed at Shinto shrines for this purpose. Every newly promoted yokozuna performs his first ring-entering ceremony at the Meiji Shrine
Meiji Shrine
', located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.-History:...
in Tokyo.
Memorabilia
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
. Tegata consist of a hand print of the wrestler using black or red ink accompanied by his fighting name written in calligraphic style by the wrestler himself. Original tegata can be quite expensive, but printed copies of the most popular wrestlers can be obtained very inexpensively. Only wrestlers in the top two jūryō and makuuchi divisions are permitted to make them. Another popular collectible is a copy of the banzuke
Banzuke
This article is about the banzuke document, for a list of wrestlers as ranked on an actual banzuke see List of active sumo wrestlersA , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament or honbasho. The term can also...
for a tournament. A banzuke is a document that has been meticulously handwritten in calligraphic script and lists every wrestler who participates in a tournament in order of rank.
Sumo in contrast to other Eastern martial arts
Sumo, while considered a martial art, diverges from the typical Eastern style both at the surface and at its heart. Whereas most martial arts award promotions through time and practice, sumo ranks can be gained and lost every two months in the official tournaments. Conversely, in more common Japanese martial arts (such as karateKarate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
), ranks are gained after passing a single test, and practitioners of karate are not normally demoted, even after repeated poor performances at tournaments. This divergence from other martial arts creates a high-pressure, high-intensity environment for sumo wrestlers. All the benefits that sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
wrestlers receive can be taken from them if they fail to maintain a high level of achievement in each official tournament.
Furthermore, sumo does not provide any means of achievement besides the official tournaments. Rank is determined solely by winning records during an official tournament. On the other hand, in many other Eastern martial arts, competitors can display their skill by performing standard routines, called kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
or forms, to receive recognition. Thus, sumo wrestlers are very specialized fighters who train to win their bouts using good technique, as this is their only means of gaining better privileges in their stables and higher salaries.
Women and sumo
Through the centuries sumo has had limited female participation. So, starting as early as the 18th century a form of female sumo or onnazumo was performed in some areas of Japan. In the cities it was more of a spectacle often associated with brothels. However, in some areas of Japan female sumo had a serious role in certain Shinto rituals. In later years, there were limited tours of female sumo that lasted for a time. However, female sumo is not considered to be authentic by most Japanese and is now prohibited from taking place in anything but amateur settings.Professional sumo is notable for its exclusion of women from competition and ceremonies. Women are not allowed to enter or touch the sumo wrestling ring (dohyō
Dohyo
thumb|A dohyōThe dohyō is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyo is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.A new dohyō is built prior to each...
), as this is traditionally seen to be a violation of the purity of the dohyō.
The female Governor of Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
from 2000–2008, Fusae Ohta, when called upon to present the Governor's Prize to the champion of the annual Osaka tournament, was required to do so on the walkway beside the ring or send a male representative in her place. She repeatedly challenged the Sumo Association's policy by requesting to be allowed to fulfill her traditional role as Governor. Her requests were repeatedly rejected until she stepped down from office.
The view of those who criticize this continuing "men-only" policy is that it is discriminatory and oppressive.
In general, women in the sumo world are only expected to be supportive wives of rikishi, and, in the case that their husband has become a stable master, a surrogate mother for all of his disciples.
The view of the Sumo Association is that this is a tradition that has been firmly maintained through the centuries, so it would be a dishonor to all of their ancestors to change it.
Amateur sumo
Sumo is also an amateur sport, with participants in college, high school and grade school in Japan. In addition to college and school tournaments, there are also open amateur tournaments. The sport at this level is stripped of most of the ceremony. The most successful amateur wrestlers in Japan (usually college champions) can be allowed to enter professional sumo at makushita (third division) rather than from the very bottom of the ladder. This rank is called makushita tsukedashi, and is currently makushita 10 or 15 depending on the level of amateur success achieved. Many of the current top division wrestlers entered professional sumo by this route. All entry by amateur athletes into the professional ranks is subject to them being young enough (under 23) to satisfy the entry requirements, barring qualification as a makushita tsukedashi (under 25).There is also an International Sumo Federation, which encourages the sport's development worldwide, including holding international championships. A key aim of the federation is to have Sumo recognized as an Olympic sport. Accordingly, amateur tournaments are divided into weight classes (men: Lightweight up to 187 lb (84.8 kg) [85 kg], Middleweight up to 253 lb (114.8 kg) [115 kg], Heavyweight 253+ lb [115+ kg] and Open Weight [unrestricted entry]), and include competitions for female wrestlers (Lightweight up to 143 lb (64.9 kg) [65 kg], Middleweight up to 176 lb (79.8 kg) [80 kg], Heavyweight 176+ lb [80+ kg] and Open Weight).
Amateur sumo clubs are gaining in popularity in the United States, with competitions regularly being held in major cities across the country. The US Sumo Open, for example, was held in the Los Angeles Convention Centre in front of 3000 people and threw up some truly fascinating matches. The sport has long been popular on the West Coast and in Hawai'i, where it has played a part in the festivals of the Japanese ethnic communities. Now, however, the sport has grown beyond the sphere of Japanese diaspora
Japanese diaspora
The Japanese diaspora, and its individual members known as , are Japanese emigrants from Japan and their descendants that reside in a foreign country...
and athletes come from a variety of ethnic, cultural and sporting backgrounds.
Amateur sumo is particularly strong in Europe. Many athletes come to the sport from a background in 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...
, freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...
, or other grappling
Grappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...
sports such as Sambo
Sambo (martial art)
Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMooborona Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand to hand...
. Some Eastern European athletes have been successful enough to be scouted into professional sumo in Japan, much like their Japanese amateur counterparts. The most proficient of these to date is the Bulgarian Kotooshu, who is the highest ranking foreign wrestler who was formerly an amateur sumo athlete.
Match-fixing
Due to the amount of money changing hands depending on rank, and prize money, there have been reports of yaocho (corruption, bout-fixing) in professional sumo. The hierarchical structure of the sport, in which the lower-ranked wrestlers, who make up the majority of sumo participants, make salaries below a living wage, may contribute to the use of match-fixing in order to prolong careers and assist in the distribution of promotions.In The Joy of Sumo: A Fan's Notes (Charles E. Tuttle, 1991), David Benjamin determined that over a span of ten basho in the years 1989 and 1990, wrestlers who entered the final day with records of 7–7 emerged with an unlikely winning ratio of .813 (39–9). He offers further evidence of cheating in sumo, but his analysis of Day 15, "The Last-Day Blues", represents the first effort to demonstrate statistically that rikishi almost certainly trade favors late in sumo tournaments to facilitate the all-important goal of kachi-koshi, having more wins than losses in a tournament.
In 2002, Steven Levitt
Steven Levitt
Steven David "Steve" Levitt is an American economist known for his work in the field of crime, in particular on the link between legalized abortion and crime rates. Winner of the 2004 John Bates Clark Medal, he is currently the William B...
and Mark Duggan replicated and expanded upon Benjamin's research, although not crediting The Joy of Sumo. They published a paper using econometrics
Econometrics
Econometrics has been defined as "the application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data" and described as the branch of economics "that aims to give empirical content to economic relations." More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on...
in order to suggest that corruption in sumo exists. Popularized in Levitt's book Freakonomics
Freakonomics
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics, but has also been described as...
, the study found that 70% of wrestlers with 7–7 records on the final day of the tournament (i.e., seven wins and seven losses, and one fight to go) won. The percentage was found to rise the more times the two wrestlers had met, and decrease when the wrestler was due to retire. The study found that the 7–7 wrestlers win around 80% of the time when statistics suggest they have a probability of winning only 48.7% of the time against their opponents. Like Benjamin, the authors conclude that those who already have 8 wins collude with those who are 7–7 and let them win, since the 8-win wrestlers have already secured their ranking.
A possible counter-argument to the Freakonomics conclusion is that a 7–7 rikishi is highly motivated to win his last match to gain promotion, rather than demotion, while the 8–6 rikishi has already guaranteed his promotion, so is not as motivated. The authors revealed a more damning statistic, however. According to their research, the next tournament in which the two wrestlers met, there was a significant advantage to the 8–6 wrestler over the 7–7, regardless of the performance of either wrestler. The previously 7–7 wrestler would win only 40% percent of the rematches with the 8–6 wrestler. The authors suggest that winning 80% in the first match and then only 40% in the rematch (and back to the expected 50% in subsequent matches) between the same wrestlers suggests a rigging of the bouts. Additionally, the authors find that after allegations of rigging by the media, 7–7 wrestlers won only 50% of their matches against 8–6 wrestlers instead of 80%.
When the former sumo wrestler Konoshin Suga, also known as Onaruto stablemaster, and his supporter Seiichiro Hashimoto came forward with allegations of match rigging, drug use, sexcapades, tax evasion, and close ties to the mafia, both were found dead in the same hospital, hours apart on April 14, 1996, though there was no proof of poisoning. Weekly tabloid Shukan Post alleged in a series of articles in the 1980s and 1990s that bouts were fixed.
In 2000, in both speeches and a tell-all book, former wrestler Keisuke Itai
Keisuke Itai
is a former sumo wrestler from Usuki, Oita, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. After his retirement he caused controversy by claiming that the outcomes of many of his matches were fixed.-Career:...
stated that up to 80% of sumo bouts were fixed. In 2007, Shūkan Gendai
Shukan Gendai
is a Japanese weekly magazine published since 1959 by Kodansha. Published simultaneously with Weekly Post , it includes articles about political scandals, sports and celebrities; nude photos; movie information; book reviews; and other articles of interest to middle-aged salarymen...
reported that Yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori
Asashōryū Akinori
is a former sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He was the 68th yokozuna in the history of the sport in Japan and became the first Mongol to reach sumo's highest rank in January 2003. He was one of the most successful yokozuna ever. In 2005 he became the first man to win all six official...
had been paying wrestlers to throw matches to him. A court later ordered Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
, the journal's publisher, to pay ¥44 million to the Sumo Association over the allegations.
In February 2011, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and National Police Agency
National Police Agency (Japan)
The is an agency administered by the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office in the cabinet of Japan, and is the central coordinating agency of the Japanese police system....
announced that an investigation into allegations of sports gambling by sumo wrestlers and officials had discovered cell phone text messages indicating that some matches had been fixed. Allegedly, 14 wrestlers or stablemasters were involved. Three wrestlers, Chiyohakuhō
Chiyohakuho Daiki
Chiyohakuhō Daiki is a former sumo wrestler from Yamaga, Kumamoto, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1999 and broke into the top makuuchi division nine years later in 2008. His highest rank was maegashira 6. He wrestled for Kokonoe stable...
, Kasuganishiki
Kasuganishiki Takahiro
Kasuganishiki Takahiro is a former sumo wrestler from Misaki, Isumi District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He made his debut in 1991, reaching the top makuuchi division in 2002 His highest rank was maegashira 5...
(now a coach under the elder name Takenawa), and Enatsukasa, reportedly admitted to throwing or fixing bouts. As a result of the independent investigation, the board of directors of the Japan Sumo Association decided in an extraordinary meeting to cancel the March 2011 tournament in Osaka. The last time a Grand Tournament
Honbasho
A is an official professional sumo tournament. There are six held each year, a system established in 1958. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi ....
was canceled was in 1946, when repairs to the old Ryogoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku Kokugikan
, also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
, which had been extensively damaged in World War II, were not completed in time. One association executive has hinted that the association will expel the 14 wrestlers if they are proven to have been involved in match-fixing. A regional exhibition tournament in Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....
on August 8, 2011 was cancelled.
The Japan Sumo Association's investigative panel stated in May 2011 that match-fixing appears to have been widespread. The panel stated that it would be difficult to discover, however, the full extent of the problem. Uncovering the problem is made even more different by the presence of a separate form of sumo (koi ni yatta mukiryoku-zumo) which refers to a wrestler going lightly on an opponent without the exchange of money. In sumo culture especially, individual gain must be subordinated to the rights of the group, meaning that certain wrestlers have appeared duty-bound by their organization's style to help popular or senior wrestlers in need. Such a situation appears readily accepted by more traditional fans.
Hazing
It has been well-known and accepted for many years that sumo stables engage in the systematic hazing and physical punishment of young disciples in order to "toughen them up". Stable masters have often been proud to show to the media how they frequently use a shinaiShinai
is a weapon used for practice and competition in kendo representing a Japanese sword. Shinai are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from kendo shinai, and represented with different characters....
to beat those who make mistakes, and elder rikishi are often put in charge of bullying younger ones to keep them in line, for instance, by making them hold heavy objects for long periods of time.
However, this system of hazing was widely criticized in late 2007 when it came to light that a 17 year-old-sumo trainee named Takashi Saito
Takashi Saito (sumo wrestler)
The Tokitsukaze stable hazing scandal occurred on June 26, 2007, when a seventeen-year old junior sumo wrestler who fought under the shikona of Tokitaizan, collapsed and died after a training session at the Tokitsukaze stable. It subsequently emerged that he was beaten with a beer bottle and a...
from the Tokitsukaze stable
Tokitsukaze stable
The is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was originally founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an active wrestler at the time. Initially known as...
had died after a serious bullying incident involving his stablemaster Junichi Yamamoto hitting him in the head with a large beer bottle and fellow rikishi being subsequently ordered to physically abuse him further. The (now ex-) stablemaster and three other wrestlers who were involved were arrested in February 2008, after which Japanese Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Yasuo Fukuda
Yasuo Fukuda
was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....
demanded the Sumo Association take steps to ensure such an incident never happens again. In May 2009, Yamamoto was sentenced to six years in jail.
Gambling and yakuza ties
On Sunday July 4, 2010, the Japan Sumo Association announced its decision to dismiss the ōzeki KotomitsukiKotomitsuki Keiji
Kotomitsuki Keiji is a former sumo wrestler from Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. He reached the top makuuchi division in November 2000 and won one yusho or tournament championship, in September 2001...
and the stable master Ōtake
Takatoriki Tadashige
Takatōriki Tadashige is a former sumo wrestler from Kobe, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1983, reaching the top division in 1990...
for betting on baseball games in a gambling ring run by the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
. At the same time, two stable masters were demoted and an unprecedented 18 wrestlers banned from the July 2010 tournament.
Two months before the announcement, Japan's largest yakuza group, Yamaguchi-gumi
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....
, bought 50 prized seats during a tournament so that gangsters were prominently visible during the national broadcast of the match. According to experts, this was an endeavor to cheer up an incarcerated boss. Although there have always been alleged ties between sumo and the yakuza, the sport has suffered from waning public interest and sponsorship during the economic recession, which may have contributed to closer ties to the underworld for financial support.
Sumo in mixed martial arts
A number of sumo wrestlers have competed in mixed martial artsMixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
, with limited achievement; perhaps the most successful sumo wrestler to have competed in MMA is Tadao Yasuda
Tadao Yasuda
Tadao Yasuda is a retired sumo and professional wrestler from Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992, under the shikona of Takanofuji, achieving the rank of komusubi, and afterwards turned to professional wrestling, in which he competed from 1994 to 2011.-Sumo career:He made his...
who holds a record of two wins and four losses. Sumo wrestlers are ineffective in MMA because the sports are vastly different from one another in achieving victory; striking techniques and submissions are required for MMA and neither are taught in sumo wrestling. A Sumo wrestler would need to train in MMA techniques which has not been the case in the past, as the few sumo wrestlers of distinction to compete in MMA did so for financial reasons and not a career change. A few key sumo techniques also become ineffective in an MMA event as most participants wear spandex bottoms and the techniques require something to grab, such as the belt or pants of your opponent.
Other sumo wrestlers to have fought in mixed martial arts include Alan Karaev
Alan Karaev
Alan Karaev is a Russian sumo wrestler and former mixed martial artist.-Biography:Karaev was born in Digora, North Ossetia and graduated from North Ossetian State University. He became the amateur sumo world champion in 2002 and Russian national champion in 2003...
, Kōji Kitao
Koji Kitao
Kōji Kitao is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler, born in Mie, Japan. He was sumo's 60th Yokozuna, and the only yokozuna in sumo history not to win a top division tournament championship...
, Henry Armstrong Miller
Henry Armstrong Miller
Since his retirement from sumo, Sentoryu has tried his luck at mixed martial arts. His debut was for PRIDE in April 2004.He has six wins and nine losses in his sixteen fights to date. He styles himself Henry "Sentoryu" Miller. He made an agreement with World Victory Road and recently fought...
, Akebono Tarō
Akebono Taro
is a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990...
, Teila Tuli and Wakashoyo
Wakashoyo
Wakashoyo is a Japanese mixed martial artist, kickboxer and former sumo wrestler.-Career:Although born in Chiba, he grew up in Nakano, Tokyo. He joined sumo in 1981, wrestling out of Futagoyama stable. He first entered the top makuuchi division in 1991 and made his sanyaku debut in March 1993 from...
. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Belém, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
also has a sumo background but his main style is Shotokan Karate.
See also
- Glossary of sumo termsGlossary of sumo termsThe following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. azukari : Hold. A kind of draw. After a mono-ii, the gyōji or the shimpan "holds" the result if it was too close to call...
- List of active sumo wrestlers
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo beya
- List of sumo record holders
- List of sumo tournament winners
- List of sumo video games
- List of years in sumo
- List of yokozuna
- "Sumo East and WestSumo East and West"Sumo East and West" is a feature documentary about Americans in the ancient Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. The film had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in May 2003 and was broadcast nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens on June 8th, 2004.-Details:"Sumo East and...
", documentary on Sumo
Further reading
- Sharnoff, Lora (1993). Grand Sumo. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X.
External links
- Nihon Sumo Kyokai Official Grand Sumo Home Page
- The Sumo Forum
- Banzuke.com
- Sumo FAQ
- Sumo introduction including biographies and autographs
- Searchable Sumo Database
- Szumo.hu
- Sumo Fan Magazine
- Sumo News and Analysis
- Info-Sumo.net (in French)
- Mainichi Daily News: Sports Sumo News
- British Sumo Federation
- Official website: "Sumo East and West," Documentary Film about Americans in the Ancient Art of Sumo
- HeartofGould: Sumo Articles