Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:About Template:Italic title Template:Infobox Chinese A Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo or, more colloquially, Template:Nihongo, is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who participate in professional sumo tournaments (called Template:Translit) in Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally.
Professional Template:Translit follow traditions dating back to the Edo period, and therefore follow a number of codes and customs in their daily lives that distinguish them from other martial artists. Their life as professionals revolves around the observance of traditional rules that apply both to their life in the community and to the way they dress, the latter rules evolving according to the rank a wrestler has reached during his career.
Coming from many different nationalities, Template:Translit are the only employees of the Japan Sumo Association who can run the organization once they have chosen to retire. However, only a tiny fraction of wrestlers are given this opportunity, leaving the vast majority of the sport's retirees in a precarious situation.
The number of active Template:Translit peaked at 943 in May 1994, at the height of the "WakaTaka boom", but had declined to 599 by January 2024. The decline in the number of recruits applying to become professionals is a major topic in sumo, as it regularly breaks records for the lowest number of recruits.
TerminologyEdit
In popular use, the term Template:Translit refers to professional sumo wrestlers only and is an alternative term to Template:Nihongo or the more colloquial Template:Nihongo.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> It has been noted by authors such as Dorothea Buckingham and Mark Schilling that these terms should be preferred to 'sumo wrestler', because since sumo has little in common with Greco-Roman wrestling but more with judo or aikido, it was pointed out that it was a mistake to use the term 'wrestler' to define the competitors in sumo matches.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The two kanji characters that make up the word Template:Translit are that of 'strength' or 'power' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and 'warrior' or 'samurai' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}); consequently, and more idiomatically, the term can literally be defined as 'strongman' or 'powerful warrior'.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Template:Translit is often defined as the more appropriate collective name for the wrestlers as a group or as individuals.Template:Sfn The term itself comes from an abbreviation of the word Template:Nihongo, used in the early Edo period to define sumo wrestlers.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> There is no implication of hierarchy between Template:Translit and Template:Translit, the two terms being interchangeable.Template:Sfn However, some wrestlers prefer to be referred to as Template:Translit.Template:Sfn
A more prestigious term referring to wrestlers who have risen to the two highest divisions (Template:Translit and Template:Translit) also exists.Template:Sfn The word Template:Translit refers to senior Template:Translit who have significantly more status, privilege and salary than their lower-division counterparts and excludes the lower-rankers.Template:Sfn Wrestlers who qualify as Template:Translit are also given the suffix Template:Nihongo at the end of their name.Template:Sfn That term, found also in the sumo terms Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo and Template:Nihongo, comes from Template:Nihongo, a road barrier which was used to control the movement of people from place to place within Japan.Template:Sfn In feudal Japan, many wrestlers were recruited from the big, strong guards who manned the Template:Translit. Later "Template:Translit" came to mean an unbeaten performance.Template:Sfn
HistoryEdit
Origins of the wrestlersEdit
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Template:See also Mention of wrestlers can be found in traditions predating the emergence of sumo in Japan, in traditions on the mainland of the Asian continent.Template:Sfn In Korea, in the tombs of the T'ung-kou valley, murals depict wrestlers in loincloths seemingly performing wrestling duels for the pleasure of court nobles.Template:Sfn Traces of wrestling activities have been demonstrated by the exhumation of Template:Translit pottery depicting wrestlers in Korean wrestling attire dating from the Kofun period.Template:Sfn As sumo became embedded in Japanese myths and legends, stories of powerful wrestlers began to appear in the Template:Translit (one of the first historical record of Japan), and with them the first accounts of matches held during the Yamato kingship period.Template:Sfn At the same time the function of sumo wrestler began to appear under the term Template:Nihongo.Template:Sfn The latter were conscripts from the provinces sent to the Heian court as tribute organized by local governors who, in order to supply the court's festivities with participants, ordered the communities to send to the capital any man gifted in wrestling, horse-racing or archery.Template:Sfn Although at the time wrestlers enjoyed a certain degree of recognition, with some being recruited into the palace guard; sending wrestlers was compulsory throughout the territory, and any delay was punishable by imprisonment.Template:Sfn In 821, codes resembling the beginnings of etiquette were introduced at the court to organize the tournaments held during banquets.Template:Sfn With the Minamoto clan's rise to power, sumo and its wrestlers began to shift their practice from a court entertainment to a real military training.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn During the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga made sumo a popular sport, aided by the emergence of large cities (like Edo, Osaka, Sendai and Nagoya), which soon began to compete with Kyoto's cultural monopoly, as it had been Japan's only metropolis.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn These new cultural centres saw the emergence of wrestling groups, from both the commoners and the warrior classes, who took part in festivities at shrines.Template:Sfn
Edo period and sumo structuringEdit
During the period of peace established under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced an unprecedented period of vagrancy for many samurai who had lost their social standing with their previous masters, who had been deposed or killed so that the shogunate could assert itself.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn These masterless samurai, called Template:Translit, could not engage in any activity under their social category under threat of punishment, and with the period of peace, it had become almost impossible to be recruited by local lords who no longer needed to build up a sizeable military retinue.Template:Sfn During the same period, sumo was gradually establishing itself as a popular sport, and two extremes coexisted side by side. On one side, certain powerful clans (such as the Kishū Tokugawa, Maeda, Ikeda, Matsudaira, Sakai and Hosokawa) formed suites of wrestlers organized into royal households called Template:Nihongo, and elevated them to the status of vassals.Template:Sfn On the other, a number of Template:Translit had no choice but to put their martial art skills to good use in street sumo tournaments, called Template:Nihongo, for the entertainment of passers-by.Template:Sfn Similarly, a number of street entertainment wrestling groups formed and began touring, sometimes with the support of shrines that occasionally recruited them as part of religious festivities and to help priests raising money for the construction of buildings.Template:Sfn
Eventually, this mix of professional wrestlers and disgraced Template:Translit, along with the commoners who took part in the contests of strength of the street tournaments, came into conflict over money.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Tense brawls, even deaths, sometimes occurred.Template:Sfn Public order became so disturbed by 1648 that Edo authorities issued an edict banning street sumo and matches organized to raise funds during festivities.Template:Sfn The edicts did not stop there, however, and also had an impact on wrestlers for some thirty years, with the publication of an order banning the use of Template:Translit, or ring name, a tradition observed since the Muromachi period.Template:Sfn At the same time, instructions sent out to local lords advised drastic savings on suite costs, and the maintenance and recruitment of vassalized wrestlers ceased altogether.Template:Sfn Over the next two decades or so, the wrestlers, now without any income, decided to petition the authorities to lift the bans, forming coalitions of interests to protect themselves from any violent repression of their movement.Template:Sfn
In 1684, a Template:Translit named Template:Nihongo, leader of one of these coalitions, obtained permission to hold a tournament after proposing a new etiquette associated with matches organization.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In fact, the systematization of sumo in Edo (with the introduction of the first Template:Translit and the strict use of the forty-eight first Template:Translit) went hand in hand with the authorization of sumo tournaments.Template:Sfn As sumo inevitably became systematized, new wrestler ranking systems were put in place with the development of the use of Template:Translit and the introduction of the ranks of Template:Translit, Template:Translit and Template:Translit.Template:Sfn
Around 1717, local lords, who had ceased to maintain suites of wrestlers, revived the practice. The term Template:Translit also appeared at the same time, along with the more specific term Template:Nihongo, which referred to wrestlers attached to the patronage of local lords.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn With the emergence of etiquette, notable differences began to emerge to differentiate retainers of local lords from wrestlers who were not under the protection of a patron. Template:Translit were allowed to carry two swords, while wrestlers without patrons carried only one, or even a dagger.Template:Sfn Wrestlers who took part in tournaments without the patronage of lords did not yet have samurai status or a salary and their finances depended largely on donations they could receive from the organizers of charity tournaments or admirers.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Their participation was motivated in particular by the fact that they could be scouted by the lords' households, if their results or popularity were worthwhile, and by the fact that they were fed and housed for the duration of the tournament.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In those days the promotion system was decided by the tournament organizers who then distributed the profits to the elders who then redistributed funds to their wrestlers, with the wrestlers under the protection of the lords receiving bonuses and having financial security and the others being kept in poverty.Template:Sfn
The lords' wrestlers were given samurai status and a salary.Template:Sfn They were allowed to participate as special guests in official tournaments organized with the approval of shrine authorities.Template:Sfn During these tournaments, they represented the power of the domain in whose name they wrestled, and wore the lords' symbols on large aprons called Template:Translit.Template:Sfn As representatives of their domains, wrestlers attended tournament matches at the foot of the ring, and made a point of contesting decisions unfavorable to their lords, as part of rivalries between clans.Template:Sfn To avoid confrontations, it became customary to declare draws or postpone the decision on the outcome of a match.Template:Sfn
Since professional sumo was intrinsically linked to the domains of the local lords, the sport also reflected their health and the political situation in Japan.Template:Sfn During the Tenpō era, the feudal system was shaken by famine and rebellions, and the wrestlers who took part in the tournaments gradually withdrew to perform their duties at the households of the Template:Translit who maintained them.Template:Sfn With this lack of the most popular figures, the public gradually deserted the tournaments, leading to a recession within the sumo associations.Template:Sfn During the Template:Translit period, the feudal system collapsed, leading to a period of uncertainty about the future of the sport and therefore of wrestlers.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, sumo had succeeded in establishing itself as a popular sport, recognized as the national sport, leading to the survival of the wrestlers' status.Template:Sfn
Meiji Restoration and social movementsEdit
With the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system, wrestlers lost the patronage of the lords, who could no longer maintain households of their own.Template:Sfn With the loss of income security and social status came a period of semi-censorship of sumo, with the adoption of Western ideology leading to the perception of sumo as unworthy of the new era, as the matches were seen as barbaric and the semi-nudity of the wrestlers shocking.Template:Sfn With the disappearance of government protection, some wrestlers organized themselves into fire brigades.Template:Sfn At the same time, political circles were organized to preserve some of Japan's indigenous traditions, saving the privilege of wrestlers to wear samurai Template:Translit (topknot) in 1871.Template:Sfn With the absence of patronage on the part of the lords, a social crisis was also revealed among wrestlers, who now openly criticized the distribution of winnings from charity tournaments.Template:Sfn When Emperor Meiji ordered a match to be held in front of him in 1884, wrestlers Umegatani I and Ōdate made such an impact on him that his attitude towards the sport was changed, and with it the attitude of imperialist groups calling for the abolition of sumo, restoring a semblance of popularity to the sport.Template:Sfn
Although sumo itself continued, the Meiji period was also marked by the first social movements in the history of professional sumo. In the 1870s, the first wrestlers' revolt was organized by Takasago Uragorō (then still called Takamiyama) asking for better treatment (without initial success) and breaking away from the Tokyo-based association before merging again.Template:Sfn After that initial movement, a number of reforms were introduced to adapt the competitions to Japan's new political and financial context, notably by distributing better salaries to wrestlers and basing the latter on results.Template:Sfn Social movements in sumo did not cease, however, and in 1911 a strike by low-ranking wrestlers called for a new wage reform, securing a bonus (made up of payment in cash and a deposit in a pension fund) distributed to all wrestlers who were not Template:Translit or Template:Translit (professional sumo's top two ranks).Template:Sfn In 1923, another strike known as the Mikawajima Incident demanded better pensions for wrestlers and was led by Template:Translit Ōnishiki, without success.Template:Sfn Finally, in 1932 (Taishō era), the last major wrestlers' strike broke out with the Shunjuen Incident, calling for fundamental reform of the newly created Japan Sumo Association and leading to a mass resignation of wrestlers the likes of which professional sumo had never seen before.Template:Sfn Eventually, the situation calmed down and sumo enjoyed a new boom in popularity, notably driven by Template:Translit Futabayama.Template:Sfn
During the second Sino-Japanese war, sumo emerged as a sport of pride, driven by strong nationalist sentiment and taking hold where Western sports (such as baseball) were denounced.Template:Sfn As ambassadors of national sentiment, sumo wrestlers were sent on tour to occupied Manchuria and China to perform in front of soldiers.Template:Sfn With the turning point of the war in 1943, competitions were disrupted. The Tokyo bombings killed many wrestlers, and those who survived were either drafted into the army or navy, or incorporated into provincial work units.Template:Sfn Popular figures in the sport were also forced to leave competitions, such as Tochinishiki who left the association to be drafted into the navy at Arai, Shizuoka during the 1944–1945 period; or Yoshibayama, then newly promoted in the Template:Translit division, who had been drafted during the 1943–1946 period and was shot in the left thigh.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the 1960s, sumo wrestlers once again served as emblems of Japan, with the first international tours of professional sumo since the '30s. In the summer of 1965, Taihō, Kashiwado and Sadanoyama were part of a group of eight wrestlers who went to the Soviet Union at the invitation of the Russian government to perform goodwill matches. Since the wrestlers fought in Template:Translit (fighting loincloth), the press echoed the diplomatic rapprochement, dubbing the Template:Translit delegation the 'naked ambassadors.'Template:Sfn
LifestyleEdit
The life of a Template:Translit is first and foremost oriented towards strict rules of absolute obedience and respect for superiors and seniors.Template:Sfn Revolving around a strict hierarchy that may seem "outdated" or "feudal", the sumo wrestler's life is in reality based above all else on his own personal skills, since only his results–and the guarantee of more victories than defeats at official tournaments (called Template:Translit)–are the guarantees of his success.Template:Sfn With success comes progression in the sumo hierarchy, which is not as much about rank as it is about status, the rank determining dress, earnings and treatment from peers.Template:Sfn
A professional sumo wrestler leads a highly regimented life. The Sumo Association prescribes the behavior of its wrestlers in some detail. For example, the association prohibits wrestlers from driving cars, although this is partly out of necessity as many wrestlers are too big to fit behind a steering wheel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
RecruitsEdit
Recruiting young wrestlers is an essential aspect of perpetuating the sport's wrestling pool.Template:Sfn Since the 1970s, sumo has developed an intensive scouting system.Template:Sfn The largest stables have established scouting networks throughout the country, partly supported with the help of their nationwide patron organizations, with retired wrestlers and patron-club members acting as part-time scouts for the stables.Template:Sfn It is also not rare for acquaintances of the master, or one of the stable wrestlers, to also bring potential apprentices to the stable.Template:Sfn When on provincial tours, masters always lookout for potential talent.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Despite all the efforts made by masters to attract new talent, it is often the case that young wrestlers are motivated to join the stable solely by the reputation and achievements of the current master.Template:Sfn
Since 1973, all new aspirants must have completed at least compulsory education.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the Japanese education system, it means graduating from the six years of primary school and the three years of junior high school.Template:Sfn<ref name="NHK-recruit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of January 2024, recruits are no longer subject to physical standards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, these had always been subject to revision, with the introduction of a minimum of Template:Height and Template:Convert in 2012,<ref name="NHK-recruit"/> replacing the need for recruits to be a minimum Template:Height tall and weigh Template:Convert in the early 2000s.Template:Sfn With the exception of recruitments based on special criteria, all wrestlers must be under 23 years old.<ref name="NHK-recruit"/> Before the abolition of the height and weight prerequisite, young aspirants were subject to a physical examination to confirm that they met the minimum height and weight requirements to compete.<ref name="NHK-recruit"/> To meet the height requirements, some recruits even injected silicone on top of their head to gain a few centimetres - a practice that is now prohibited.Template:Sfn With the abolition of the height and weight prerequisite system, the Sumo Association now judges new recruits on the basis of an athletics test, reintroduced in April 2024 for the first time in 12 years. The test is based on seven physical tests (back strength, grip strength, repeated horizontal jump, handball throw, handstand, standing long jump and 50-meter run).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In professional sumo, the majority of new aspirants sign up in March, the end of the school year in Japan.<ref name="NHK-recruit"/>Template:Sfn All new wrestlers are then required to attend the Sumo School, located at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, where they spend six months learning the basic movements as well as calligraphy, history, Template:Translit (folk songs) and sports medicine.Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=foreignschool>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> If a new recruit experiences a record rise and already reaches the status of Template:Translit before completing his course at the Sumo School, it is accepted that he may not take part in lessons, although all the wrestlers who have found themselves in this situation have decided not to make use of this right (such as Endō and Ichinojō).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, Hakuōhō became the first wrestler in sumo's recorded history to earn his promotion to Template:Translit before attending any of the school's classes, nonetheless also deciding to participate in the lessons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
RanksEdit
Template:See also Professional sumo classifies its wrestlers into six divisions, in addition to Template:Translit status, under which newcomers without Template:Translit status must first develop.Template:Sfn In the highest division, the Template:Translit, there are five different ranks.Template:Sfn A parallel status to the traditional hierarchy also exists with the status of Template:Translit. This allows wrestlers who have competed and succeeded on the national amateur scene to begin their career at a more advantageous rank in the Template:Translit and Template:Translit divisions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Statistics shows that only one wrestler in fifty makes it to the Template:Translit division, just one in a hundred becomes a Template:Translit wrestler, and only one in four hundred makes the Template:Translit rank.Template:Sfn Hence, most wrestlers retire from professional sumo without ever having reached the salaried levels.Template:Sfn
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The lowest ranked wrestlers are expected to obey and act as assistants to their coaches and to the wrestlers ranked as Template:Translit, meaning every wrestler ranked in Template:Translit or above.Template:Sfn In the lower divisions, however, the question of seniority and rank brings some nuances to the way wrestlers are treated. In Template:Translit, the wrestlers no longer have to perform the most thankless tasks and have a few extra freedoms within the stable.Template:Sfn In the division above, in Template:Translit, the wrestlers have even more rights and are considered experienced enough to teach the basics to young wrestlers.Template:Sfn When they retire, wrestlers who have reached Template:Translit and spent enough time in Template:Translit are eligible for a job offered by the Sumo Association and a retirement gratuity.Template:Sfn
In the stable, the senior wrestlers (even lower-ranked ones) have authority over their juniors and win the title of Template:Nihongo, allowing them to exercise authority, notably during training, over their Template:Nihongo; meaning every wrestler with less seniority than them.Template:Sfn However, Template:Translit exercise their authority in a brutal manner, and many of the violent scandals in professional sumo are their fault.Template:Sfn
When a wrestler reaches the Template:Translit ranks, he becomes a Template:Translit and his daily life changes completely, with his daily needs taken care of for him.Template:Sfn The difference in treatment between wrestlers classified as Template:Translit and those who are not is such that an expression says that the two statuses are 'like heaven and hell.'Template:Sfn A Template:Translit-ranked wrestler has many privileges. He is assigned a minimum of one Template:Translit (assistant) who will act as his personal servant, helping him dress and prepare, carrying his belongings, helping him bathe, acting as a secretary or running specific errands on behalf of his superior.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name=101tsukebito>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The higher a Template:Translit climbs in the hierarchy, the more assistants he is entitled to.Template:Sfn<ref name=101tsukebito/> Wrestlers who qualify as Template:Translit have the additional privileges. These include having their name hand-painted with that of their sponsor on Template:Translit (tall banners), which are then erected at the entrance to tournament arenas during Template:Translit.<ref name="sumo101-ichimon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Around the ring, Template:Translit are entitled to a number of small perks, such as personalized towels during pre-bout preparations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While waiting for their match, wrestlers ranked in the Template:Translit division are entitled to their own personalized waiting Template:Translit (cushion). These, often donated by sponsors, are made of silk with about 20 cm of padding and bear the wrestler's name.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Backstage, the wrestlers are distributed in the preparation rooms according to their rank, the higher ranked a wrestler is, the further away from the door he is. At the top of the hierarchy, a Template:Translit is installed at the end of the room.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To transport their personal belongings, Template:Translit use an Template:Nihongo, a bamboo and Template:Translit luggage box dating back to the Edo period.<ref name=101akeni>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Each wrestler has an Template:Translit bearing his name. At the top of the hierarchy, a Template:Translit is allowed to use three, as he has more regalia.<ref name=101akeni/>
Life in the stableEdit
Sumo life centers around the training stables, to which all active wrestlers must belong.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Most wrestlers, and all junior ones, live in their stable in a dormitory style: training, cleaning, eating, sleeping and socializing together.Template:Sfn Since stable members live in a brotherhood similar to a family, they are forbidden to fight another member of their stable during tournaments.Template:Sfn
How a wrestler is treated in his stable is based on his ranking.Template:Sfn Wrestlers ranked in the lower divisions get up at dawn (usually around four or five) to do morning chores around the building and stretch in preparation for the usual empty stomach morning training.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Just before the training session, the day's lunch team begin their preparations.Template:Sfn The morning exercises done by the wrestlers are designed to exhaust wrestlers and strengthen their "fighting spirit", and are repeated every morning without exception.Template:Sfn Gradually by rank, the wrestlers join in the training and the stablemaster only appears once the Template:Translit wrestlers have joined.Template:Sfn Template:Translit-ranked wrestlers always turn up last, often around eight o'clock, and their assistants have to temporarily leave the training to help them put on their Template:Translit.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn On arrival at the training hall, Template:Translit are systematically greeted by wrestlers of lower rank than themselves.Template:Sfn
Around eleven, the wrestlers head for the baths-in descending order of rank, so that the Template:Translit always benefit from a clean bathroom.Template:Sfn When the Template:Translit practice is at its peak, the stable cooks begin to prepare the first and major meal of the day.Template:Sfn Wrestlers eat only two meals a day and spend at least one of those sitting around a bubbling pot of chankonabe.Template:Sfn In most stables the cooking brigade is supervised by one of the oldest and most experienced of the low-ranking wrestler, affectionately referred to as Template:Nihongo.Template:Sfn Wrestlers eat by turns according to rank.Template:Sfn Each wrestler is served by another wrestler belonging to a rank lower than his own, the Template:Translit eating first and the youngest apprentices last.Template:Sfn The lowest ranks must patiently and hungrily wait until all of the others have finished and gone to have a nap.Template:Sfn This regimen of no breakfast and a large lunch followed by a sleep is intended to help wrestlers put on a lot of weight so as to compete more effectively.Template:Sfn Sumo wrestlers also drink large amounts of beer.<ref name="DiscoverBecoming">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Clothing and physical appearanceEdit
Template:See also Template:Translit are bound by strict traditional dress codes. As they advance in their careers, wrestlers earn the right to wear certain clothing and accessories, meaning a wrestler's appearance generally indicates his rank.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wrestlers' dress codes have changed over the years. Before the Heian period, the wrestlers came to the ring with distinctive flower crowns to distinguish wrestlers from the eastern team (alcea flowers) and those on the western team (calabash flowers).Template:Sfn This practice later gave its name to the Template:Nihongo, the two corridors through which wrestlers enter the ring.Template:Sfn Wrestlers also wore loose-fitting front loincloths similar to Template:Translit but called Template:Translit.Template:Sfn
Today's wrestlers are expected to wear the Template:Translit and traditional Japanese dress at all times when in public. It is common for wrestlers to receive their clothes as gifts.Template:Sfn
The Template:Translit-ranked wrestlers and above have the right to wear formal costumes.Template:Sfn It includes the right to wear Template:Translit pants and crested kimono and jacket (respectively called Template:Translit and Template:Translit) fastened by a Template:Translit, a braided cord.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
In Template:Translit, wrestlers can wear "Template:Translit".<ref name="JSA-clothes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Nihongo is a technique for removing the dye colour that can be adapted to any shape and considered to be of a higher-rank than simply sewing or embroidering the symbols a posteriori.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The technique later gave its name to the clothing because the name of the wrestlers always appear in a different colour than that of the textile.<ref name="JSA-clothes"/>
During their bouts, wrestlers also wear distinctive loincloths (called Template:Translit) which are also subject to rules depending on the said wrestler's rank.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Since colors fade over time, it is also easy to recognize a wrestler who is more senior than another of equivalent rank by the color of their loincloth, the most senior wrestlers having yellowed (for Template:Translit) and faded (for Template:Translit and below) loincloths over the years.Template:Sfn
In Tokyo, the districts hosting wrestling stables have made a specialty of selling large kimonos adapted to the Template:Translit's physique.Template:Sfn
Wrestlers are entitled to clothing rights. These accumulate as follows (from their beginnings to the highest ranks):<ref name="JSA-clothes"/>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Ranks | Clothing | Template:Translit belt | Footwear | Accessories | Mawashi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Translit-ranked wrestlers | Template:Translit | Template:Translit | Crêpe-made or polyester Template:Translit belts | Template:Translit sandals and bare feet | None | In training: cotton-made and black
During tournaments: coloured Template:Translit (of the wrestler's choice) are inserted into the training Template:Translit |
| Template:Translit | ||||||
| Template:Translit | Kimono and simple Template:Translit surcoat (only for official occasions) | Enamelled Template:Translit sandals and black tabi socks | ||||
| Makushita | Hand-made cloak and muffler | Silk-made and patterned belts (Template:Translit) | Oil-paper umbrella and scarf | |||
| Template:Translit-ranked wrestlers | Template:Translit | Crested Template:Translit (called Template:Translit) and Template:Translit pants | Template:Translit and white Template:Translit socks | In training: cotton-made and white
During tournaments: colourful silk Template:Translit known as Template:Translit with seaweed-stiffened Template:Translit | ||
| Template:Translit | Template:Translit-style Template:Translit with the wrestler's name and personalised designs | |||||
The Japan Sumo Association is also able to regulate the physical appearance of its wrestlers. Template:Translit are expected to grow their hair long, in order to be worn in a style of Template:Translit, a topknot similar to the samurai hairstyles of the Edo period.Template:Sfn Young wrestlers wear a simplified version, while wrestlers ranked in the two highest divisions (Template:Translit and Template:Translit) wear a more elaborate version called Template:Nihongo because it resembles the leaf of the ginkgo tree.Template:Sfn
The association's statutes stipulate that wrestlers "must keep their bodies clean".<ref name=beard2>Template:Cite news</ref> For this reason, the Sumo Association has banned the wearing of beards since 2019, judging that it made wrestlers' appearance too dirty. It was common at the time for wrestlers to allow themselves to grow a designer stubble during tournaments out of superstition, fearing that shaving during a winning streak would attract bad luck and put an end to it.<ref name=beard2/> The wearing of sideburns was however preserved.<ref name="Asahi-beard">Template:Cite news</ref> Similarly, wrestlers are expected to cut their fingernails short and tattoos are prohibited.<ref name=beard2/><ref name="Asahi-beard"/>
SalaryEdit
Template:See also Professional sumo wrestlers only began to be paid according to a wage system in May 1957.Template:Sfn Only wrestlers ranked Template:Translit and above receive a monthly salary.Template:Sfn All wrestlers ranked below are given no monthly wages but receive a more modest allowance during the tournaments.Template:Sfn Compensation paid to lower-ranked wrestlers varies according to their rank.Template:Sfn In addition, the salary received by Template:Translit also depends on the division in which they wrestle and their rank.Template:Sfn In addition, sumo wrestlers benefit from favourable tax treatment.<ref name="TJT-pay">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For example, they are exempt from paying taxes on cash gifts received from individual supporters, although the gifts they receive from corporate supporters are taxed.<ref name="TJT-pay"/> They are also subject to more advantageous income tax laws, which means that wrestlers are taxed less for the same salary than someone who is not involved in professional sumo.<ref name="TJT-pay"/>
However, compared to other popular sports in Japan, particularly baseball, professional sumo seems to pay its athletes poorly, with the maximum annual salaries and bonuses capped at around 36 million yen, while in other sports athletes easily reach a hundred million yen a year.<ref name="TJT-pay"/><ref name="NHK-salary">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to former Gagamaru and Tochinoshin, Template:Translit Hakuhō (sumo's most successful wrestler) earned around ¥100 million a year (about US$646,840 and €607,200 as of April 2024) during his active years, all bonuses included.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, there is no pension fund as such in professional sumo.Template:Sfn Wrestlers depend almost exclusively on the earnings generated by their success in the ring.Template:Sfn
Wrestlers who are not Template:Translit earn allowance at tournaments as follows:<ref name="NHK-salary"/>
- Template:Translit: ¥165,000 (about US$1135 and €994)
- Template:Translit: ¥110,000 (about US$756 and €701)
- Template:Translit: ¥88,000 (about US$605 and €561)
- Template:Translit: ¥77,000 (about US$529 and €491)
Since the January 2019 tournament, the monthly salary figures for the top two divisions are:<ref name="NHK-salary"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Template:Translit: ¥3 million (about US$26,500 and €19,000)
- Template:Translit: ¥2.5 million (about US$22,000 and €16,000)
- Template:Translit and Template:Translit: ¥1.8 million (about US$16,000 and €11,500)
- Template:Translit: ¥1.4 million (US$12,500 and €9,000)
- Template:Translit: ¥1.1 million (about US$9,500 and €7,000)
In addition to the basic salary, Template:Translit-ranked wrestlers also receive additional bonus income, called Template:Translit, six times a year (once every tournament, or Template:Translit) based on the cumulative performance in their career to date.Template:Sfn Prior to the establishment of the salary, wrestlers were exclusively paid according to this system.Template:Sfn Wrestlers in the lower divisions earned three yen for each victory and fifty yen for each Template:Translit score, with the amount increasing as they moved up the hierarchy.Template:Sfn Various bonuses added at the time of promotions, championships and Template:Translit were also added.Template:Sfn Today, the Template:Translit continues to be registered and paid, but as a complement to the salary, and the amounts have been recalculated.Template:Sfn
Template:Translit receive an additional allowance every two tournaments, associated with the making of a new Template:Translit belt worn in their ring entering ceremony.Template:Sfn Wrestlers who place in the Template:Translit category also receive bonuses.Template:Sfn Also, prize money is given to the winner of each divisional championship, which increases from ¥100,000 for a Template:Translit victory up to ¥10 million for winning the top division.<ref name="NHK-salary"/> In addition to prizes for a championship, wrestlers in the top division giving an exceptional performance in the eyes of a judging panel can also receive one or more of three special prizes (Template:Translit), which are worth ¥2 million each.<ref name="NHK-salary"/>
Individual top division matches can also be sponsored by companies, with the resulting prize money called Template:Translit. For bouts involving Template:Translit and Template:Translit, the number of sponsors can be quite large, whereas for lower-ranked matchups, no bout sponsors may be active at all unless one of the wrestlers is particularly popular, or unless a company has a policy of sponsoring all his matchups. Template:As of, a single sponsorship cost ¥70,000, with ¥60,000 going to the winner of the bout and ¥10,000 deducted by the Japan Sumo Association for costs and fees.<ref name="kensho">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Immediately after the match, the winner receives an envelope from the referee with half of his share of the sponsorship, while the other half is put in a fund for his retirement.<ref name="kensho"/>
The Template:TranslitEdit
The question of wages for professional wrestlers led to the creation, after the Shunjuen Incident, of a wrestlers' club called Template:Nihongo.Template:Sfn Only salaried wrestlers belong to this group.<ref name="takamiyama">Template:Cite book</ref> Traditionally, wrestlers have used a representative to informally pass requests, particularly in relation to wages, to the elders sitting on the Board of Directors.Template:Sfn The association does not recognize the Template:Translit as a union in the strict sense of the term.Template:Sfn Relations between the Template:Translit and the association's directors are therefore often compared to those between a child asking his parents for pocket money.Template:Sfn It is common for wrestlers' demands to be ignored, and for them not to push the issue any further.Template:Sfn In his memoirs, former Template:Translit Takamiyama wrote that in the Template:Translit meetings, the Template:Translit sometimes joked about a collective strike, but the action was rarely, if ever, considered.<ref name="takamiyama"/>
Traditionally, the Template:Translit is represented by top-ranked wrestlers, notably Template:Translit,<ref name="takamiyama"/> although in the past several intermediaries between the association and the Template:Translit have been lower-ranked wrestlers (such as Fujinishiki or Aonosato).Template:Sfn Since Template:Translit Kakuryū's retirement in 2021, the presidency of the Template:Translit is currently vacant.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
PunishmentsEdit
The Japan Sumo Association's statutes set out disciplinary measures for its wrestlers. These have been subject to change over time, mainly in the 2010s, after match-fixing and gambling scandals. Until 2014, punishments consisted of five levels, to which was added a so-called "extraordinary" level. The wrestlers were subject to (from lightest to heaviest punishment): reprimand, salary reduction, suspension, demotion and dismissal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=nikkei-punish>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An extraordinary sanction (the expulsion) was then eventually added to the dismissal that allowed the association to dismiss a wrestler without retirement pay. The expulsion was the most severe sanction in the disciplinary statutes. This required a three-quarters vote in favor from the board of directors, composed at the time of the directors, Template:Translit as well as Template:Translit and Template:Translit.<ref name=nikkei-punish/> Since the founding of the All Japan Sumo Association in 1925, no wrestler had ever been expelled from the association. The only cases of expulsion was in 1873, with Koyanagi and Takasago.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following the 2011 match-fixing scandal, 23 wrestlers were however expelled from the association. Although marking a historic milestone, the disciplinary decision also embroiled the association in a legal battle with Sōkokurai, the latter setting a precedent in the association's history by attacking and winning in court against the association in order to be reinstated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In January 2014, the association shifted to a Template:Interlanguage link and the disciplinary statutes were amended, removing the sanction of expulsion and adding a recommendation to retire before the ultimate sanction of dismissal.<ref name=nikkan-punish>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2018, the sumo association also clarified its disciplinary rules, establishing a system for increasing penalties according to the rank of the concerned wrestler.<ref name=hochi-punish>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the subject of violence, a Template:Translit involved will therefore be subject to a sanction at least equal to a recommendation to retire due to their "social responsibility", a Template:Translit will not have sanctions lower than a suspension when Template:Translit wrestlers or lower normally risk a suspension at the most,<ref name=hochi-punish/> although there have been cases of wrestlers ranked as Template:Translit that have already been recommended for retirement.<ref name=nikkan-punish/>
RetirementEdit
Retirement ceremoniesEdit
When a Template:Translit retires as an active wrestler, he symbolically marks the end of his career by cutting his Template:Translit topknot, symbolizing his traditional samurai rank and his career as a wrestler.<ref name="danpatsu1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The cutting of the topknot takes place in a dedicated ceremony called Template:Nihongo, even if the Template:Translit actually retire several months before the ceremony takes place.<ref name="danpatsu1"/>
The ceremony is regularly held to mark a wrestler's retirement, with lower-ranked wrestlers having a more discreet ceremony often held at the usual end-of-tournament parties.<ref name="danpatsu2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For the top-ranked wrestlers, however, the ceremony takes the form of charity tournaments, with non-stake matches, presentations of traditional sumo-related arts and performances by prestigious guests.<ref name="danpatsu1"/>Template:Sfn The ceremony closes with the actual cutting of the topknot, where the wrestler's guests— all having to pay a symbolic participation fee —follow in succession to cut only a few strands of his hair with gold-plated scissors.<ref name="danpatsu1"/><ref name="danpatsu2"/> Traditionally, the last hairs holding the topknot together are cut by the retiring wrestler's master.<ref name="danpatsu2"/> It is also customary for a retired wrestler to keep his severed topknot in a box or glass case after the ceremony.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Template:Translit ceremony can take place anywhere (and is often held in hotels), but a wrestler must have served at least thirty tournaments as a Template:Translit to perform his ceremony at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Post-retirement careerEdit
Sumo wrestlers who retire can take on responsibilities within the Japan Sumo Association.<ref name="NHK-retirement">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wrestlers who become managers are called Template:Translit, more commonly known as Template:Translit and translated into English as 'elder' or 'master.' Becoming an elder ensures that the retired wrestler will become one of the 105 coaches of the association, responsible for training the wrestlers and for running the association.
Qualifications for becoming a master are determined by regulations: Template:Translit, Template:Translit, and Template:Translit only need one tournament at this rank to be considered for elder status.<ref name="NHK-retirement"/> Wrestlers who have reached the rank of Template:Translit must have maintained it for twenty tournaments, while Template:Translit wrestlers must have maintained their rank for thirty tournaments.<ref name="NHK-retirement"/> Template:Translit and Template:Translit receive preferential treatment and can remain in the association without acquiring elder status for five years (Template:Translit) and three years (Template:Translit).<ref name="NHK-retirement"/>
Wrestlers who have attained the rank of Template:Translit and who have not been sufficiently active in Template:Translit may carry out subordinate functions within the association as Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo.<ref name="NHK-retirement"/>Template:Sfn These retired wrestlers serves as functionaries of the association, typically working at their former stables or within the associated Template:Translit (clan).<ref name="NHK-retirement"/> Template:Translit are tasked to arrange Template:Translit matches and supervising young sumo wrestlers from Template:Translit and below.<ref name="NHK-retirement"/>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Template:Translit are the transportation and storage managers of the association's equipments.Template:Sfn
However, the vast majority of retiring wrestlers do not remain in positions within the Sumo Association.<ref name="number">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The luckiest manage to maintain their public profile by becoming TV personalities, sports commentators or actors.<ref name="F24">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="asahi-retirement">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most of them find themselves in activities unrelated to sumo and with no professional experience, having become wrestlers before their twenties and having had no other activities.<ref name="number"/><ref name="asahi-retirement"/> This makes their situation complex, as when they enter the job market they find themselves competing with other employees of the same age group who do, however, have much more professional experience.<ref name="number"/> Most of the time, retirees have no savings because they have not been able to secure a salary by reaching one of the two Template:Translit divisions.<ref name="F24"/> If they retire after an injury, it is all the more difficult to find work.<ref name="mainichi-retirement">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because they have no experience, most former wrestlers who find work also usually earn less than others in the same occupation.<ref name="number"/> Most retirees find work in activities related to either cooking or physical labor, such as foodservices, care for the elderly and sports coaching.<ref name="number"/><ref name="mainichi-retirement"/> The majority find work in chankonabe restaurants, putting to good use the techniques they had learned while preparing meals in the stables.<ref name="mainichi-retirement"/>
Some former sumo wrestlers tried their luck competing in mixed martial arts or professional wrestling, with limited achievements.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sumo wrestlers who have fought in mixed martial arts include Akebono Tarō, Alan Karaev, Baruto Kaito, Henry Armstrong Miller, Kōji Kitao, Ōsunaarashi Kintarō, Tadao Yasuda, Takanofuji Sanzō, Teila Tuli and Wakashoyo Shunichi.
NumbersEdit
Professional sumo has always had more wrestlers during periods of great rivalry between champions, with the record number of new apprentices taking the entrance exam set in 1958, at the height of the Template:Nihongo, with 250 successful candidates.<ref name="NHK-recruit"/> At the peak of the Template:Nihongo, in 1992, 160 people were recruited in March alone.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the beginning of the 90s, professional sumo divisions numbered around 900 Template:Translit, hitting a record-high of 943 wrestlers in the 1994 May tournament.<ref name="Asahi-numbers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nikkan-number">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the 2020s, however, professional sumo is struggling to recruit. The number of newcomers to the sport has never been so low since the introduction of the six-tournament-a-year system.<ref name="yomiuri1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the early 2020s, professional sumo recorded a decline of more than thirty percent in the number of wrestlers, reaching only 665 competitors in 2022.<ref name="Asahi-numbers"/> In November 2023 it was revealed that the total number of young recruits who had taken the professional exams during the whole year was 53, beating the record low of 56 new recruits having turned professional after the revelations of the 2012 match-fixing scandal.<ref name="yomiuri1"/> At the first tournament in 2024, the number of wrestlers even fell to 599, dropping below 600 active wrestlers for the first time in 45 years (at the March 1979 tournament).<ref name="nikkan-number"/>
The decline in the number of wrestlers is due in part to the number of scandals that have come to light in the 2010s, discouraging young aspirants from leading a life now known to be marked by hazing and violence.<ref name="Asahi-numbers"/> This drop in the number of wrestlers can also be explained by the dwindling number of amateur wrestlers who normally turn to professional sumo, whose numbers have been falling sharply over the last ten years.<ref name="Asahi-numbers"/><ref name="yomiuri2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Japan's declining birth rate has also been cited as the reason for the drop in the number of new recruits.<ref name="nikkan-number"/>
Since the Sumo Association's bylaws include having "a path to sumo [...] that maintains a level of tradition and discipline that must grow," many see the difficulties in recruiting and maintaining the number of wrestlers as an attack on the perpetuation of the traditional history of sumo.<ref name="yomiuri2"/>
Foreign-born Template:TranslitEdit
Template:See also Professional sumo is practiced exclusively in Japan, but wrestlers of other nationalities participate. Any young man meeting the Japan Sumo Association's recruitment criteria can apply to become a Template:Translit.Template:Sfn However, foreigners must have the support of two guarantors and a work visa.Template:Sfn When officially registered on the Sumo Association's list of professional Template:Translit, foreign wrestlers are registered by country and not by territorial subdivision, such as prefecture of origin.Template:Sfn It is difficult for young foreign recruits to integrate into professional sumo. No translation is provided when young recruits take part in courses at the Sumo School.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To give newcomers the tools they need to integrate, the association requires a year's training at the Sumo School, instead of the 6 months normally required for Japanese recruits, so that foreigners learn Japanese cultural codes and know how to speak, read and write Japanese.<ref name=foreignschool/> Many foreigners give up out of homesickness.Template:Sfn Those who persist generally find it very difficult to integrate into stable life, and more particularly to get used to the diet.Template:Sfn Akebono commented that he had to forget all the codes of life he had learnt over eighteen years and relearn everything in order to adapt effectively to his way of life.Template:Sfn
Historically, professional sumo gradually opened up to foreigners from the 1960s onwards.Template:Sfn Before this date, foreigners had historically tried to join professional sumo.Template:Sfn The earliest recorded attempt by a foreigner to enroll in professional sumo happened in 1885, when stablemaster Urakaze was approached by an American wrestler who wanted to join his stable, but without success because the association's statutes at the time did not clearly state that foreigners were allowed to compete as Template:Translit.Template:Sfn Prior to this date, professional sumo had already recruited non-Japanese wrestlers, notably Ainus and Koreans.Template:Sfn The latter were not considered to be fully Japanese, but were referred to as coming from Japan because Hokkaido is the northernmost prefecture of Japan and Korea was part of the Japanese territory at the time.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The first openly Ainu wrestler to reach the Template:Translit division was Template:Interlanguage link in 1966.Template:Sfn
In the 1930s, American-Japanese Shōji Hiraga became the first foreigner to be recognized as such in the Template:Translit.Template:Sfn In the 1940s, a Japanese-American, Toyonishiki, and the Korean-born Rikidōzan achieved Template:Translit status prior to World War II, but neither were officially listed as foreigners.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the 1970s, around thirty foreign wrestlers joined. Most of them were Koreans born in Japan.Template:Sfn The figurehead of these wrestlers was Maenoyama, who, despite being born in Osaka and having spent his whole life in Japan, was always referred to as "the Korean" by the Japanese media.Template:Sfn In addition, foreigners have also been the subject of debate as to whether they can attain the supreme rank of Template:Translit.Template:Sfn<ref name="buckton">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The most conservative commentators criticize them for their lack of typical Japanese Template:Nihongo; loosely translated as 'dignity' but meaning a balance of self-confidence, self-knowledge and self-control.Template:Sfn [[File:YokozunaAkebonoPuttingOnRopeBelt.jpg|thumb|American-born Akebono was the first foreign-born Template:Translit to reach sumo's highest rank of [[Makuuchi|Template:Translit]].]] The first non-Asian to achieve a significant success in sumo was Hawaii-born Takamiyama. He reached the top division in 1968 and in 1972 became the first foreigner to win the top division championship, becoming the first foreign wrestler to be truly popular in Japan.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Takamiyama was followed by a fellow Hawaii-born Konishiki, of ethnic Samoan descent, the first foreigner to reach the rank of Template:Translit in 1987;Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Native Hawaiian Akebono, who became the first foreign-born Template:Translit in 1993.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Musashimaru, born in American Samoa and raised in Hawaii, became the second foreigner to reach sumo's top rank in 1999.Template:Sfn<ref name="reuters">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This generation of foreign wrestlers was nicknamed Template:Nihongo, to draw a parallel with the Americans who had conquered the country during the 19th century.Template:Sfn
Between 2003 and 2014, all four wrestlers reaching the Template:Translit rank were Mongolian: Asashōryū, Hakuhō, Harumafuji and Kakuryū.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, the Mongolian Kyokutenhō became the oldest wrestler in modern history to win a top division championship.<ref name="tenho">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Wrestlers from Eastern European countries such as Georgia and Russia have also found success in the upper levels of sumo. In 2005, Kotoōshū from Bulgaria became the first wrestler of European birth to attain the Template:Translit ranking and the first to win a top division championship.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Restrictions on the number of foreigners allowed in professional sumo began in May 1992, shortly after Ōshima stable had recruited six Mongolians at the same time.<ref name="murakoso">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Sumo Association's new director Dewanoumi, announced that he was considering limiting the number of overseas recruits per stable and in sumo overall. There was no official ruling at the time, but no stable recruited any foreigners for the next six years.<ref name="Tai">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This unofficial ban was then relaxed, but only two new foreigners per stable were allowed, until the total number reached 40.<ref name="Tai"/> Then in 2002, a one foreigner per stable policy was officially adopted, though the ban was not retroactive, so foreigners recruited before the changes were unaffected. The move has been met with criticism, not least because Japanese society, with its centuries-old and xenophobic culture, is accustomed to treating foreign wrestlers as Template:Nihongo, regardless of their place of birth, reinforcing the difference that the public and the media make between foreign and Japanese wrestlers.Template:Sfn<ref name="Tai"/>Template:Sfn Paradoxically, all wrestlers involved in professional sumo are formally treated the same once they have joined the stables, and no distinction is clearly made as to any special treatment for foreigners.Template:Sfn John Gunning also proposed another interpretation of the decision, claiming that this rule was not based on racist sentiment but to ensure that foreign Template:Translit assimilate into sumo culture.<ref name="tachiai">Template:Cite news</ref> He explained, there would be ten Hawaiian wrestlers in the same stable living in their own "little clique", not learning Japanese, so the rule "protects the culture of stables."<ref name="tachiai"/>
Originally, it was possible for a place in a stable to open up if a foreign born wrestler acquired Japanese citizenship. This occurred when Hisanoumi changed his nationality from Tongan at the end of 2006, allowing another Tongan to enter his stable.<ref name="buckton"/> However, on 23 February 2010 the Sumo Association announced that it had changed its definition of "foreign" to "foreign-born" (Template:Translit), meaning that even naturalized Japanese citizens will be considered foreigners if they were born outside of Japan. The restriction on one foreign wrestler per stable was also reconfirmed. As Japanese law does not recognize subcategories of Japanese citizen, this unique treatment of naturalized citizens may be illegal under Japanese law.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Furthermore, since 1976, if a foreigner wishes to remain in the Sumo Association after his retirement, he must give up his nationality and become a Japanese citizen.Template:Sfn<ref name="asahi-foreign">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In July 2007, there were nineteen foreigners in the top two divisions, which was the all-time record of the time with, for the first time, a majority of overseas wrestlers in the top Template:Translit ranks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2022 twenty-six foreign-born Template:Translit from nine countries were listed on the official Template:Translit.<ref name="murakoso"/>
Society's perceptionEdit
In Japan, wrestlers are perceived as gentle giants, possessing both a gentle character and great physical strength.<ref name=nikkansociety>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During sumo's first golden age in the late Edo period, the Japanese collective imagination first developed an image of larger-than-life wrestlers with excessive appetites and superhuman strength.Template:Sfn Tales of thirteen-year-old Akashi lifting rocks to help his farmer father, Tanikaze separating two fighting bulls by grabbing them by the horns, or Shiranui lifting seven sacks of rice spread over his head and shoulders to impress Matthew C. Perry became popular myths and are credited to the wrestlers as biographical elements in their own right, like the stories of mythological heroes.Template:Sfn
During the 1780s, wrestlers became veritable icons and card games and dolls depicting them became widespread.Template:Sfn In order to benefit from the sport's popularity, some physically strong individuals, called Template:Nihongo, were introduced for the duration of one or two tournaments as wrestlers, serving as an attraction without having any real wrestling ability.Template:Sfn Production and distribution of Template:Translit works depicting the sport's most popular figures also became more widespread, with authors like Utagawa Kunisada and Toyokuni, Hasegawa Sadanobu or Hiroshige who gained popularity thanks to their works.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Template:Translit (picture books) and Template:Translit (erotic prints) were also mass-produced, with wrestlers as the central figures.Template:Sfn
In more contemporary times, sumo's links with ancient rituals for good health and good harvest are still alive and well. For example, it is traditional to ask a wrestler to carry babies, in the belief that the children will grow up healthy and strong.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also traditional for children to be dressed as wrestlers so that the qualities of the latter influence them.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also common for spectators to take advantage of the proximity of the wrestlers as they move through the Template:Translit (the two paths to the ring) to touch them, in the belief that this brings good luck.<ref name=nikkansociety/>
In a Japan still hit by numerous natural disasters, it is still common to see local communities requesting the performance of sumo-related rites performed by wrestlers in the belief that this will lessen the long-term effects of disasters.<ref name=nikkansociety/>
Health effectsEdit
Template:See also In contrast to many sports where fat is seen as something to be shed, sumo instead encourages the accumulation of fat as a weapon.Template:Sfn Since the 2000s, the standards of weight gain became less strict to try to improve the health of the wrestlers.<ref name="DiscoverBecoming" /><ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> The Sumo Association ensures the health of its wrestlers by imposing an annual medical check-up.Template:Sfn Sumo wrestlers have a life expectancy of 65, which is 10 years shorter than that of the average Japanese male,<ref name="DiscoverBecoming" /> as the diet and sport take a toll on the wrestler's body.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="LetterToEditor">Template:Cite journal</ref> The main health concern for wrestlers, however, remains the common cold or any other type of viral infection, which are easily transmitted in the Template:Translit (wrestlers' training quarters) environment, where the low-ranking wrestlers' dormitories are conducive to disease transmission.Template:Sfn This ease of infection was particularly closely monitored in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, giving rise to numerous concerns about the number of wrestlers that could be affected by the virus.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Glossary of sumo terms
- Professional sumo divisions
- Template:Translit
- Template:Translit
- Template:Translit
ReferencesEdit
NotesEdit
BibliographyEdit
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
External linksEdit
- Article about the history of sumo wrestlers on the Japan Sumo Association website
- The Life of a Retired Sumo Wrestler, a 2018 Vice documentary on the life of former Template:Translit Iwatefuji and Takamaru
- Template:Cite book, biography of Template:Translit Akebono Tarō via Wayback Machine