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Salt, Water and Ritual: The Ceremony Before a Sumo Bout
Before a sumo bout, wrestlers move through a sequence of Shinto-rooted rituals that turn the dohyo into sacred ground. They throw salt (shio) to purify the ring, rinse their mouths with chikara-mizu ("power water") and wipe with chikara-... -
Gyoji and Shimpan: Who Officiates a Sumo Bout
A sumo bout is officiated by the gyoji on the ring and the shimpan around it. The gyoji is the robed referee who stands on the dohyo, calls the wrestlers into action, follows the clash up close, and points his gunbai (war-fan) toward the... -
Banzuke: How Sumo’s Ranking Sheet Works
The banzuke is sumo's official ranking sheet: the ordered list of every wrestler in the sport, published before each grand tournament and arranged from the champions at the top to the lowest entrants at the bottom. It tells you who is ra... -
Heya: Life Inside a Sumo Stable
A heya (sumo stable) is the training house where wrestlers live, train, eat and sleep together under the authority of a stablemaster. It is part dormitory, part dojo, part family. Every wrestler in professional grand sumo belongs to one,... -
Kimarite: The Winning Techniques of Sumo, Explained
A kimarite is the officially named technique or decision by which a sumo bout is won. Each result is announced as one of the recognized kimarite, from a straightforward push-out to an intricate throw or a trip. The Japan Sumo Association... -
The Mawashi: Sumo’s Belt and the Rules Around It
The mawashi is the thick, heavy belt a sumo wrestler wears in the ring, and it is far more than clothing. Wound tightly around the waist and between the legs, it is the only thing a wrestler wears in competition, and it doubles as the si... -
Honbasho: Sumo’s Six Grand Tournaments
A honbasho is an official grand sumo tournament, the only kind that counts toward a wrestler's ranking. Six are held each year, one in every odd-numbered month — January, March, May, July, September, and November. Each runs fifteen days,... -
Toshiyori Kabu: How Wrestlers Become Sumo Stablemasters
In sumo, toshiyori-kabu — often called "elder stock" — is the share that lets a retired wrestler stay inside the sport as an oyakata, a coach and elder of the Japan Sumo Association. Each share is tied to one of a fixed set of traditiona... -
Ozeki: The Second-Highest Rank in Sumo Explained
In sumo, an ozeki is the second-highest rank a wrestler can reach, sitting directly below the grand champion, or yokozuna. Reaching it is a career landmark: promotion is customarily granted to a wrestler who wins around 33 bouts across t... -
Sumo Ichimon: The Stable Families That Run Sumo
Sumo Ichimon: The Stable Families That Run Sumo Sumo Ichimon: The Stable Families That Run Sumo An ichimon is a family-style grouping of sumo stables (heya, also pronounced -beya in compounds) that trace back to a shared root. Each wrest...
