Sumo wrestling is the traditional national sport of Japan with a history that dates back 2000 years. The practices of this sport have been deeply influenced by the native Shinto religion of Japan and is amply exhibited by the wrestlers during the course of a wrestling bout and the various ceremonies performed during the course of a tournament. Sumo wrestlers, or rikishi as they are referred to in Japanese are identified by their stables or heya. Although this is not a very appropriate comparison, heya can be compared to the music gharanas in India. For a rikishi, sumo is not just a sport but a way of life and they conduct themselves with a very strict regimen in the heya. In the heya, there exists some kind of a feudal system, wherein wrestlers lower than a certain rank serve those in the higher ranks. Each wrestler aspires to grow out of the lower ranks and there is a continuous struggle for rank and prestige in a heya. This is in contrast to the way of life for the other Japanese people.

Sumo has a very rich history and it is the various customs and practices associated with sport of Sumo and the life of the rikishi, rather than the mere act of wrestling that lends the game its character. Here are some of them.

When a tournament is in session, every day before the wrestling bouts begin, a ring entering ceremony (dohyo-iri) is performed. This is the ring in which the wrestling bouts are held and the ceremony is performed by a wrestler holding the rank of a Yokozuna, the highest ranking that a sumo wrestler can rise to. As such, it is required of a Yokozuna to know how to perform it. To take another example, the refree, called the gyoji has a certain dress and mannerisms associated with his officiating the match. There are different ranks of gyoji and rank of the gyoji officiating depends on the rank of the rikishi in the ring. During the fight, a rikishi can wear only a belt, called a mawashi. The mawashi is 30 feet long and has only one know but is worn in such a way that it never falls off. The type of mawashi that a wrestler can wear again depends on his rank. And of course, there is a ceremony that is performed at the end of each day, after the bouts.

Coming to the game itself, in simple terms, sumo wrestling entails a duel between two wrestlers. Describing it thus makes it sound very commonplace. To appreciate Sumo, it is important to understand the various customs and practices associated with it and it certainly needs more pages than this article covers.

Sumo bouts are held on a raised platform in the center of the arena. The platform is made of clay and rice bales and other materials, the choice of which is influenced by the Shinto religion. This platform is square shaped and each side of the square marks one of the four directions. On this square a circular ring is laid out, the diameter of which is slightly less than the side of the square. This ring is laid out using rice bales. The duel takes place inside this ring, called the dohyo. Inside this ring are two horizontal lines, equidistant from the center and running north-south. These lines mark a position where the wrestler is required to position himself before the duel begins. Sometimes a rikishi will position himself way behind the line. When the bout begins, he runs in and the extra space allows him to build up a momentum that can be used to advantage in pushing out the opponent. The dohyo has four breaks along its circumference. At each break, there is a horizontal line, as if covering up the break. These horizontal lines run parallel to the side of the square and as such indicate the four directions. (See photograph : the best I could get. You can see part of the circle and the breaks in the cirlce which are covered by horizontal lines. You can also make out the two horizontal lines inside the circle). There are four splits in the circle and I call them the split ends of the circle. During the duel, the wrestler who pushes his opponent outside the ring or forces any part of his body to touch the ground ( except the feet ), wins the duel. A typical bout lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. I have never seen one last longer than two minutes. What adds to the charm of the game is what happens before the bout and invariably takes more time than the bout itself. The wrestlers go through a series of motions before the bout and there are minor variations for this, so let me describe the one that is most elaborate.

To begin a bout, one wrestler enters the dohyo from the east side while the other enters from the west side. They bow to each other and then both wrestlers sit near the split ends of the circle, squatting on their heels. This posture was used in the olden days to to convey respect to one's betters. Each then joins his palms, claps twice once and then spreads his hands sideways majestically, displaying his open palms. This purpore of this ritual, called Chirichozu, is to show the opponent that he does not have any hidden weapons. They then get up and come near the horizontal lines mentioned earlier. While standing, both of them raise one of their legs sideways, as much high as possible and then bring it down with a thump, accompanied with a slap on the thigh. This ritual, called Shiko, is meant to stamp out any evil spirits that may be lurking. They then sit down on their heels, get up again, repeat it with the other leg and then sit down again. It is really interesting to watch this, given their size. Not all wrestlers can manage this very well, and it does provide an amusing sight because of their weight. This also helps loosen up. That done they sit down near the horizontal line, again crouching on their heels. Still crouching, they bend forward with closed fists and support themselves on their knuckles, look each other in the eye, sometimes menacingly, presumably to induce fear in their opponent, decide that it is not worth starting the bout, standup and then sit down again and repeat the motions, decide not to start again and get up and start moving towards their respective corners on the platform. An implicit agreement is required between both wrestlers to start the bout. In case, one of them starts earlier than the other, he can be fined upto $1000. Back at their corners, they pick up some salt, turn back and throw it inside the ring, slap their belts to wipe of the salt, and repeat the crouching motions two times, decide not to start the bout after all and go back to their respective corners again. The significance of throwing salt in the arena is to drive away evil spirits. This can happen from three to four times. In the earlier days, there was no limit on how may times this could be done and some wrestlers would just not start the bout. Soon they brought in a time limit of about three minutes, in which it can be done just three or four times. This may sound very boring but it draws a big applause from the audience. Although not a very appropriate comparision, it can be likened to the rallies in tennis. All this exercise releases a lot of sweat and occasionally the wrestler will wipe himself before picking up the salt to be sprinkled. Eventually, both of them decide that enough is enough and decide to begin the bout. This happens when instead of getting up from their crouching position, each decides to hurl himself at the other wrestler. This happens with an implicit understanding between the two wrestlers. Eventually one of them wins. After the bout, each goes near the split end at which he entered and bows to each other. The loser immediately leaves, while the winner is given some kind of envelope. This usually contains prize money of 30000 yen. The wrestler takes his hand through some motions before picking up the prize, another sumo custom.

Over the year six Sumo tournaments are held, one in each odd month of the year. Of these, three are held in Tokyo, while once each is held in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka cities. A tournament lasts 15 days. On each day, there is two to three hours of play. Every wrestler has one bout everyday. That means that each wrestler has fifteen bouts in each tournament. There are a lot of rules governing who can fight whom. For example, in some tournaments, two wrestlers from the same stable cannot fight each other, while in other tournaments there is no such restriction.

Sumo is a very popular game in Japan. It is the third most popular spectator sport after baseball and soccer. During a tournament, it is not very easy to obtain tickets. A day’s ticket can cost anywhere from 1500 yen to 10000 yen depending on how close the seat is to the actual dohyo.

As with any other game, there is a ranking system for the wrestlers. Promotions among the Sumo ranks are governed based on the performance in tournaments. The rank that each rikishi holds depends on his performance. Depending on performance a rikishi can be promoted or demoted in the ranks except for the rank of Yokozuna. Yokozuna is the highest rank that a Sumo wrestler can hold. A Yokozuna is also called the Grand Champion. Once a rikishi reaches the rank of a Yokozuna he cannot be demoted. A Yokozuna is required to perform well in all tournaments, failing which he can be asked to retire to retain the prestige of the title. Interestingly, while the other ranks are awarded based on performance, the rank of Yokozuna is awarded by an Association, which deliberates on whether a rikishi deserves the rank of the Grand Champion. Since a lot of prestige is associated with this rank, a lot of other things besides performance, like his attitude towards the game and its practices are considered by the committee. To be a Yokuzuna, one has to be well versed in Sumo practice. For example, he should know how to perform the dohyo-iri. For the Association to start considering a rikishi for the rank of Yokozuna, he should have won atleast two Sumo tournaments in a row. Presently there are two Yokozuna: Akebono and Takanohana. Takanohana at 24, is three years younger than Akebono. As such, Takanohana has a better record than Akebono. The next highest ranks are Ozeki, Sekiwake and Komusubi in decreasing order. All these three ranks are categorized as Sanyaku. Next comes Maegashira and then Juryo. There are some other ranks below Juryo namely Makushita, Sandanme, Jonidan and Jonokuchi. All the wrestlers from Juryo to Yokozuna are also called sekitori while those below Juryo are called deshi.

Each rikishi earns according to his ranking and they earn very well. A Juryo earns about US $7500 per month, while a Yokozuna earns about US $ 20000 per month. In addition, they earn a lot of allowances. For example, each sekitori gets 25000 yen after every tournament that is held in Tokyo. Each Sanyaku gets a bonus after each tournament: for example an Ozeki gets 150000 yen after a tournament. Besides this there is championship money for the wrestler who wins the tournament. The amount of championship money varies and depends on the rank of the wrestler who wins the tournament.

Some of the famous names in Sumo are Takanohana, Wakanohana, Takanonami and Mushashimaru and Akebono.Here is a picture of Akebono performing the dohyo-iri.

Akebono and Mushashimaru are foreigners and hail from Hawaii. There are also some wrestlers from Mongolia. In fact, besides Japan, Sumo wrestling is native to Mongolia.

Here is some Sumo trivia. There is a minimum weight and height requirement to become a rikishi. The minimum height required is 175 cm and minimum weight required is 75 kg. The heaviest rikishi these days is Konishiki at 600 pounds. The tallest rikishi is Akebono at 2.02 meters. In the history of Sumo, there have been only 65 Yokozuna.