Gyoji, Dohyo with its surroundings, and Customs
Gyoji The person who is the game director of Sumo is called Gyoji. He judges the game, and raises the referee's fan called Gunbai to the winner. However subtle the judge is, he is required to judge and raise Gunbai to one side. If he made a mistake, that is called Gunbaisashichigae. The shout he let out is also important. On odd-numbered days, first, he calls the name of the east side sumo wrestler. To the contrary, on even-numbered days, first, he calls the west side.
At the start of the game, he says Hakkiyoi. Japanese word, Hakiyoiyoi, which means that people heighten their feelings and they will try to do their best, is shorten to it. When he says Nokotta, he tells the game is still even to both wrestlers.
To be Gyoji, you must finish your compulsory education, and you need the approval of board of sumo directors. After that, you belong to Gyojikai, the group of all of Gyoji. You study the history of sumo, how to judge the games, and you also have to train your voice.
By the way, women cannot be Gyoji unfortunately. At this time, there are two Gyoji groups, the Kimura and the Sikimori. Shonosuke Kimura who is very famous on TV is in charge of Tategyoji, which means the top of Gyoji.
Gyoji have rank, we can easily tell them from the color of their clothes rope and Gunbai's tassels. For example, purple is for Tategyoji, and blue is for Jyuryo rank Gyoji. The Kimura and the Sikimori are different in how to grip their Gunbai. The Kimura's one is called In, the Sikimori's one is Yo. The difference comes from the direction of their palms. In the Kimura's way, his palm points down, but in the Sikimori's way, his palm is upside down.
Dohyo and its surroundings
The ring wrestled sumo is called Dohyo in Japanese. It is shaped into round and its diameter must be four meters and fifty-five centimeters. It is made of so hard soil that we cannot leave our footprints, but outside the circumference, there are some spaces scattered sands. This is because we can find clearly the footprint of the wrestler pushed out.
The ring needs sixty-six straw bags, and they have their own functions. Sixteen of them called Shobudawara that become the victory or defeat line are used for the ring's circumference. Four of them called Tokuhyo that also make important ending line are put between every four Shobudawara, and they are not on the circumference. The reason is in its name, Tokuhyo has gotten its name because "losing" wrestler can get some spaces before he is perfectly pushed out of the ring.
Above the ring, we can see big roof suspended from forty meters height ceiling. It is called Tsuriyane. This is made of light aluminum alloys, zelkova trees, and so on. Two solid wire ropes are supporting its weight, six tons.
The curtain decorated at the bottom of the roof is Mizuhikimaku. Its color is purple and it has the symbol mark of sumo association, white cherry blossom. It is said that "water" can calm the enthusiasm on the ring. Also, how to wind the curtain is fixed, we should wind it from the North. This is connected with the movement of the sun and four seasons. Each corner of the roof is decorated with its own colored tassel made of silk. We call them Shibisa in Japanese. The colors suggest four seasons and four gods. The northeast corner is blue; it suggests spring and the god of blue dragon, Seiryushin. The southeast corner is red; it suggests summer and the god of red bird, Suzakushin. The southwest is white; it suggests autumn and the god of white tiger, Byakkoshin. The northwest is black; it suggests winter and the god of black turtle, Genbushin. It is said that these tassels are set up for the safety of the ring and richness of our food.
Customs on the ring
There are a lot of customs in wrestling sumo. The water sumo wrestlers take by the ring is for rinsing out their mouths and making their body clean. It is called Chikaramizu or Keshomizu. If your wrestler's rank is over Jyuryo, you can take the water. The paper is used for wrestlers to wipe their lips and body, and the name is Chikaragami or Keshogami. Two thousands sheets of paper are prepared for one tournament. The salt is scattered for cleansing the ring and making wrestlers' feelings calm. For a day, they need forty-five kilograms salts. After sumo wrestlers go up the ring, they do sumo-style leg stamps. That is called Siko in Japanese. It has special meanings that we can take away the weakness from the ring.
If the wrestler wins the game, he will receive a prize from Gyoji and move his hand like a sword. It is called Shikirigatana, and you have to move your hand like this; First, you move your hand to the left , after that, you move it to the right, finally, you stop at the middle. The ceremony of spinning a bow is called Yumikorishiki. After the last game on each day, the wrestler who belongs to the same sumo-beya with the last game's winner spins a bow. His wrestler's rank is usually Makushita, but only at the ceremony, he is allowed to wear the "apron" called Keshomawashi and the particular hairstyle O-icho. It is said that spinning a bow means the winner's joyful feeling.
References:
http://www.sumo.or.jp/museum/culture
Sumo written by Katsuji Futagoyama(1972), Kodansya
Mitsue
Last updated 6-Dec-2001