The Sumo is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with the Japan Sumo Association, with any stable, or with any ticket seller. This page explains the limits of what you should rely on here, and how our photographs and advertising work.
We are not the Japan Sumo Association
Nothing on this site is an official announcement. Rankings, schedules, results, ticket arrangements and rule changes are announced by the Japan Sumo Association, and where the two ever differ, the Association is right and we are wrong. For anything that affects your money or your travel plans, check the Association’s own site before you act.
Sumo information ages quickly
A new ranking sheet is issued six times a year. Wrestlers are promoted, demoted, injured and retired between one tournament and the next, and a page that was accurate on the day it was written can be out of date two months later.
- Pages that quote a rank name the tournament that rank belongs to. Read the tournament label, not just the rank.
- Every article carries a publication date, and revised articles carry a modified date.
- Historical records are as complete as the published sources allow. Where the record is genuinely unknown we leave it blank rather than estimate — see our editorial policy.
We work to keep pages current, but we do not guarantee that every figure on this site is accurate, complete or up to date, and we accept no liability for loss arising from relying on it.
Tickets, travel and venue guidance
Our guides to watching sumo live describe how things have worked at tournaments our writer attended. Prices, on-sale dates, seating arrangements, bag rules and food service change, and they change without notice. Treat our guides as background and confirm the details with the official ticket agent or the venue before you buy or travel. We do not sell tickets and we cannot help with a booking.
Photographs and copyright
The photographs on this site were taken by Michihiro Taguchi at the venue and the copyright in them belongs to him. They are not stock images and not wire pictures. Reproducing, redistributing or reusing them — including on social media, in videos, or as training data — without written permission is not allowed. A small number of pages use a computer-generated illustration rather than a photograph; it never depicts a real person, and it is never presented as photography.
Copyright in the text belongs to the operator of this site. Short quotation with a link is welcome; wholesale copying is not. If you would like to licence a photograph, or if you believe something here infringes your rights, write to us through the contact form and we will respond.
Wrestlers’ names and personal lives
We write about wrestlers as competitors. We do not publish claims about their families, health, finances or private lives that we cannot source, and we do not repeat rumours because they are circulating. If a page about you or someone you represent contains an error, tell us and we will correct it.
Links to other sites
We link out to the Japan Sumo Association, to our Japanese sister site, and occasionally to other sources. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, their accuracy or how they handle your data. Following an external link is at your own risk.
Advertising
This site is funded by advertising, including Google AdSense. Advertisements are selected and served by third parties; their appearance on a page is not an endorsement by us, and we have no relationship with the advertisers. Should we ever add affiliate links, the pages carrying them will say so. How cookies and advertising data are handled is set out in our privacy policy.
Changes to this page
We may revise this disclaimer. Revisions take effect when they are posted here.
Published August 5, 2026. Operated by Michihiro Taguchi. Questions: contact form.