Guide– category –
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Jungyo: Sumo’s Regional Tours Between the Grand Tournaments
Jungyo are sumo's regional exhibition tours, held in the gaps between the six grand tournaments. They bring the sport to towns across Japan and sometimes abroad, mixing exhibition bouts with morning training and close fan interaction. Re... -
Yumitori-shiki: The Bow-Twirling Ceremony That Closes Each Sumo Day
The yumitori-shiki is sumo's bow-twirling ceremony, performed at the end of each tournament day after the final bout. A designated wrestler, the yumitori, spins and swings a bow through a set sequence on the ring, standing in for the day... -
Mono-ii: When Sumo’s Ringside Judges Overrule the Referee
A mono-ii (literally "raising an objection") is when sumo's ringside judges dispute the referee's verdict. A judge raises his hand, the judges gather in the ring to confer and may review video, then either uphold the call, reverse it, or... -
Shikiri: The Tense Pre-Bout Ritual Before a Sumo Charge
Shikiri is the preparation period before a sumo bout, in which the two wrestlers repeatedly crouch behind their lines, glare, rise, retreat to throw salt, then crouch again. It is a psychological duel over breathing and timing that ends ... -
Yobidashi: The Ring Attendants Who Run a Sumo Tournament
Yobidashi are sumo's ring attendants. They call each pair of wrestlers up with a long, fan-held chant, build and maintain the clay dohyo, sweep it between bouts, carry the sponsor banners around the ring, and beat the drum that signals t... -
Maezumo and Shin-deshi: How You Become a Sumo Wrestler
To become a sumo wrestler, a new recruit (shin-deshi) joins a stable and passes the Japan Sumo Association's entrance exam. He then fights unranked maezumo ("pre-sumo") bouts at a tournament. Clearing maezumo earns him a spot at the very... -
Keiko: Inside a Sumo Wrestler’s Morning Training
Keiko is the daily morning training that fills a sumo wrestler's day before his first big meal. Held inside the stable's practice ring on an empty stomach, it stacks repetitive drills and brutal partnered bouts that build the body and te... -
Senshuraku: The Final Day of a Sumo Tournament
Senshuraku is the final day, the 15th and last day, of a grand sumo tournament. It is the day the championship is usually decided. If wrestlers finish tied for the lead, a playoff settles the title that same day, and the tournament close... -
Sansho: Sumo’s Three Special Prizes Explained
Sansho are the three special prizes awarded at the end of each grand sumo tournament, separate from the championship: the Shukun-sho (Outstanding Performance Award), Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit Award) and Gino-sho (Technique Award). Only ... -
Kinboshi: The Gold Star for Beating a Yokozuna
A kinboshi (gold star) is the win a maegashira — a rank-and-file top-division wrestler — earns by beating a yokozuna, sumo's grand champion, in a regular tournament bout. Only that exact matchup counts. The win raises the wrestler's care...
