Learn sumo
Sumo, explained.
Everything you need to follow a tournament: how a bout is won, what the ranks mean, when they compete and the basic vocabulary.
The bout
- Two wrestlers face each other on the dohyō, a clay ring 4.55 metres across.
- You lose if you step out of the ring or touch the ground with anything other than the soles of your feet.
- After the preparation ritual (shikiri), both charge at once in the tachiai, the initial clash. Most bouts last only a few seconds.
- The gyōji (referee) points to the winner; if in doubt, the ringside judges (shimpan) confer (mono-ii) and may order a rematch (torinaoshi).
- There are no weight classes: a light wrestler may face one twice his weight.
A tournament in one minute
- There are six grand tournaments (honbasho) a year, in odd-numbered months, each lasting 15 days.
- Makuuchi and Jūryō wrestlers (sekitori) fight once a day; lower-division wrestlers fight seven times per tournament.
- Finishing with more wins than losses (kachi-koshi) usually means moving up on the next banzuke; the opposite (make-koshi), moving down.
- Each division's champion wins the yūshō. Ties at the end are settled by a playoff (kettei-sen).
The ranks
The banzuke ranks every wrestler before each tournament, split into East and West (East is slightly more prestigious).
- 01YokozunaGrand champion. Cannot be demoted: when he can no longer perform, he retires.
- 02OzekiChampion. Loses the rank after two consecutive make-koshi (the first puts him in kadoban status).
- 03SekiwakeThird rank. Around 33 wins over three tournaments in san'yaku opens the door to ōzeki.
- 04KomusubiFourth rank, the last of san'yaku. Faces everyone above.
- 05MaegashiraThe rest of Makuuchi, numbered from 1 downward. Makuuchi totals 42 wrestlers.
- 06JuryoSecond division, 28 wrestlers. From here you are a sekitori: a salary, attendants and the formal topknot (ōichō-mage).
- 07MakushitaThird division, about 120 wrestlers. The antechamber of full professional status.
- 08SandanmeFourth division, about 180 wrestlers.
- 09JonidanFifth division, variable in size depending on each year's recruits.
- 10JonokuchiSixth division, the entry point to professional sumo.
The calendar
- JanuaryHatsu Basho (New Year)Tokyo
- MarchHaru Basho (Spring)Osaka
- MayNatsu Basho (Summer)Tokyo
- JulyNagoya BashoNagoya
- SeptemberAki Basho (Autumn)Tokyo
- NovemberKyushu BashoFukuoka
Life in the heya
Every wrestler belongs to a heya (stable) run by a retired master. He lives there, trains from early morning and follows a strict hierarchy: lower-ranked wrestlers cook, clean and assist the sekitori.
The heya on the current banzuke →Essential vocabulary
- Banzuke
- Official ranking published before each tournament, split into East and West.
- Makuuchi
- The top division, 42 wrestlers: san'yaku and maegashira.
- Jūryō
- Second division (28 wrestlers). With Makuuchi it forms the salaried sekitori.
- San'yaku
- The elite ranks above maegashira: yokozuna, ōzeki, sekiwake and komusubi.
- Kachi-koshi
- Winning record in a tournament: 8 or more wins out of 15 (4 of 7 in lower divisions). Usually means promotion on the next banzuke.
- Make-koshi
- Losing record: more losses than wins. Usually means demotion.
- Yūshō
- A division championship: the best record of the tournament, decided by a playoff if needed.
- Sanshō
- Makuuchi special prizes: Outstanding Performance (Shukun-shō), Fighting Spirit (Kantō-shō) and Technique (Ginō-shō).
- Kimarite
- The winning technique of a bout, e.g. yorikiri (force-out holding the belt) or oshidashi (push-out).
- Fusen
- Win or loss by default when an opponent does not appear. It counts in the official record but has no technique, so we exclude it from techniques and rivals.
- Kyūjō
- Absence through injury or illness. Missed days count as absences (A), not losses.
- Hoshitori
- Day-by-day results: ○ win, ● loss, □/■ fusen win or loss, – no bout. We group it in blocks of 5 days and ring the day the record was decided.
- Playoff (kettei-sen)
- Tie-break bout for the title after day 15. It does not count in the tournament record.