Sumo: The Shinto Ritual Behind Japan's Grand Wrestling Tradition

Before each bout, two enormous athletes stamp their feet, clap their hands, and throw a fistful of salt into the ring. The crowd settles. The referee, in the colorful robes of a medieval court official, raises his fan. Then the wrestlers crouch, stare, and explode into motion, and within seconds one has pushed the other from the ring. The match is short; the ritual that surrounds it is not.

Sumo is Japan's national sport, a professional tradition that is also a Shinto-linked ceremony, a way of life in training stables, and a spectacle that fills arenas six times a year. This guide explains its ancient roots, the ring and its rituals, daily life for the wrestlers, the ranking system, the tournaments, and how visitors can watch a bout at Ryogoku in Tokyo.

Gods, Emperors and the First Bouts

Sumo's roots stretch back into myth. The Kojiki, a chronicle completed in 712, describes a contest of strength between two kami (Shinto deities), Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata, over the land of Izumo. The Nihon Shoki, finished in 720, recounts a legendary match between Nomi no Sukune and Taima no Kuehaya, dated by tradition to 23 BC. Wrestling was also offered at shrines to entertain the gods and pray for a good harvest.

Over the centuries the practice changed with the times. In the Heian period (794 to 1185) it became a ceremonial event at the imperial court. Under the Kamakura shogunate samurai used it for combat training. By the Muromachi period it had gained a wide popular following, and in the Edo period (1603 to 1868) it took on the shape recognizable today, with professional wrestlers, a referee system and the training stables.

The Dohyo: A Ring That Is Also a Shrine

The ring is called the dohyo. It is a raised circle of clay about 4.55 meters across, marked by rice straw bales set into the surface. A roof in the style of a Shinto shrine hangs above, with tassels in four colors that traditionally represent the seasons. Before each tournament, priests perform a ring-blessing ceremony, and offerings of food, salt and dried chestnuts are buried in the center.

Rituals continue in every bout. Wrestlers rinse their mouths with chikara-mizu ("power water"), toss salt to purify the ring, and raise each leg in the high stomp called shiko, a movement said to drive away evil spirits. The wrestlers then crouch at the starting lines for the tachiai, the charge. A bout is won when one wrestler forces the other out of the ring or makes him touch the ground with any part of the body except the soles of the feet.

Life in a Heya

Almost all professional wrestlers live in a heya, a training stable run by a former wrestler called an oyakata. The Japan Sumo Association sets the rules. Days start early with practice, often before dawn, and the strict routine includes cleaning, cooking and serving the seniors. A large lunch follows, often of chankonabe, a protein-rich hot pot of meat, fish, tofu and vegetables, and a nap.

Wrestlers wear their hair in a topknot called a chonmage, and in public they dress in traditional clothing, with the style depending on rank. Junior wrestlers carry out many chores for the stable, while top wrestlers have attendants of their own. The system is tight-knit and takes pride in discipline, courtesy and respect, and a few stables allow visitors to watch morning practice by arrangement, so check each stable's own rules first.

Ranks, Referees and Winning Moves

The ranking system, the banzuke, is published before every tournament and lists every wrestler from the lowest division to the top. The two highest divisions, makuuchi and juryo, are made up of sekitori, wrestlers with salaries and privileges. Below them are makushita, sandanme, jonidan and jonokuchi. Within makuuchi, ranks rise from maegashira to the san'yaku (komusubi, sekiwake and ozeki) and finally to yokozuna, the grand champion.

A record of eight wins and seven losses or better is a kachi-koshi, a winning record, and usually brings promotion. The referee, called a gyoji, is helped by five judges who can call a conference to review a decision. The Japan Sumo Association recognizes 82 winning techniques, called kimarite, such as pushing, throwing, tripping and the belt move known as yorikiri. Forbidden moves include hair-pulling, punching and kicking.

The Six Honbasho

Professional sumo holds six main tournaments, or honbasho, each year. Each lasts 15 days and begins on a Sunday. Three take place in Tokyo at Ryogoku Kokugikan, in January, May and September. The others are held in Osaka in March, in Nagoya in July, and in Fukuoka in November. Wrestlers in the top divisions fight once a day.

The wrestler with the best record in the top division wins the Emperor's Cup. If the title comes down to a tie, a playoff decides it. Outside these tournaments, wrestlers travel on regional tours and take part in exhibitions, offering fans in smaller cities a chance to see them up close. Because the schedule is fixed by month, the tournaments are easy to plan around.

What Makes a Great Day at the Kokugikan

Ryogoku Kokugikan opened in its current form in 1985 and seats thousands of spectators. The experience runs through the day. Doors open in the morning, and the lowest-ranked wrestlers begin around 8:30, in a relaxed atmosphere. The top division wrestlers usually arrive in the afternoon, with their ring-entering ceremony in the late afternoon and the top bouts starting at about 4:15. The day ends with a bow-twirling ceremony around 6:00.

Seating includes tatami box seats for two to four people, where guests sit on cushions, and chair seats on a higher level. Food is part of the pleasure: bento boxes, yakitori and chankonabe are sold inside, and the area near Ryogoku Station has restaurants serving the same hot pot. Check the official schedule and ticket site for current prices, because details change.

Sumo also has a close relationship with everyday traditions. Wrestlers are invited to bless newborn babies at some shrines and festivals, and a baby held by a rikishi is said to grow up healthy. The yokozuna wears a thick white rope, a shimenawa, similar to those tied around sacred trees and shrine gates, and performs a ring-entering ceremony to purify the ground. The sport's vocabulary, from the shiko stomp to the final bow, keeps the link between wrestling and Shinto alive.

How to Watch Sumo in Tokyo

Advance tickets usually go on sale about a month before a Tokyo tournament, through the official ticket service, by phone, or at convenience stores. Overseas buyers may need to show the card used to buy online at the box office. A limited number of same-day general admission tickets is also sold at the box office early in the morning, so arrive early and plan to queue.

Ryogoku is easy to reach by JR train, and the Kokugikan is a short walk from the station. In the area, the Sumida Hokusai Museum and the Japanese Sword Museum make good companions for a day out. Inside, clap politely after a bout, stay seated while the wrestlers are facing off, and check the posted venue rules about photography and recording. Anyone attending in January, May or September can plan an entire day around the sport.