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50-659: The growing popularity of Sumo during the Meiji period led to the building of the original Kokugikan in Ryōgoku. Until then, Sumo bouts were performed in temples precincts and depended on the weather. In March 1906, the 22nd Imperial Diet decided to build an indoor sumo facility within the precincts of the Ekōin temple in Ryōgoku . The task was given to two of the most predominant architects in Japan at

100-484: A yobidashi , guide patrons to their seats and supply them with refreshments in exchange of a tip. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan also has its own yakitori skewers factory in the basement of the building. For its first tournament, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan was visited by Emperor Shōwa . It was the first time Tenran-sumo was performed on the first day of the first tournament of the year. The January 1985 tournament also marked

150-652: A burnt-out Kokugikan. The November tournament of 1946 was the last tournament to occur in the arena. Since then, the Kokugikan has been used for roller skating , professional boxing and professional wrestling . Japan's first public wrestling match was held at the Memorial Hall on September 30, 1951. It was also used as the venue for the All Japan Judo Championships in May 1951. In 1958,

200-553: A concert at the venue as part of his world tour " Freshen Up " on November 5, 2018. In May 2021 the stadium was used as a vaccination center for the COVID-19 vaccine , with some retired sumo wrestlers among those getting vaccinated. The arena is served by the Ryōgoku Station with platforms to the south and east of the arena. The JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line platforms to the south are served by local trains while rapid trains bypass

250-442: A conference room for the protest rally. Due to aging equipment, notably failing to meet fire protection regulations, the building was dismantled in 1983. After the demolition, the complex building facility " Ryogoku City Core " and other offices, residences, and restaurants were built. In the courtyard, the location of the dohyō of the former Kokugikan is indicated by a circle on the ground. The second Ryōgoku Kokugikan opened as

300-622: A flower-theme decorated corridor for souvenirs buying. Now under the control of the Japan Sumo Association, the cha-ya were originally independent named teahouses that sold tickets and refreshments to their customers. Following a system of inheritance, today's 20 businesses can be dated back to the nineteenth century, the oldest teahouse dating back to 1818. Now the teahouses also offer gifts packages. Their services usually go to regular customers who have agreements in place. Attendants (called dekata ) dressed in attire that resembles

350-489: A huge umbrella. Although it was a Western-style building, the roof imitated the kondo (centerpiece) of Horyuji Temple . The opening ceremony was held on June 2, 1909. Originally set to be called Shobukan ( lit. Home of Martial Arts) by the founding committee chairman Itagaki Taisuke , the building took the name of Kokugikan ( lit. National Sports Hall) thanks to another member of the committee, writer Suiin Emi . The arena

400-455: A long and solemn ceremony. Only sekitori with at least 30 tournaments in the top division can qualify for a ceremony at the Kokugikan, other wrestlers usually perform the ceremony at hotels or in their stable . Kanreki dohyō-iri ceremonies, where former yokozuna celebrate their sixtieth birthday during a particular yokozuna dohyō-iri ceremony, are also usually held at the Kokugikan. The Kokugikan also holds sumo events for boys such as

450-645: A milestone in Sumo as yokozuna Chiyonofuji achieved a zenshō yusho while yokozuna Kitanoumi (who had been yokozuna for 10 years) announced his retirement on the third day of the tournament after three consecutives defeats. Since its completion, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan is the place where every Tokyo tournaments are held in January, May and September. The arena also holds other sumo related events such as retirement ceremonies, known as danpatsu-shiki , where sekitori -ranked wrestlers ritually cut their topknot in

500-603: A regular venue for NJPW's events such as the G1 Climax . In 1998, Antonio Inoki 's Universal Fighting-Arts Organization held its first card at the arena. As All Japan began to use the Nippon Budokan as its main venue, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan became established as a venue for rival promotion NJPW. In 2009, DDT Pro-Wrestling held its first event in the arena . World Wonder Ring Stardom has held multiple events in Ryōgoku beginning in 2013. WWE also held numerous events in

550-413: A solemn ritual, both yokozuna performed a yokozuna dohyō-iri , ōzeki Wakashimazu and Asashio performed a Shinto sumo ritual (called shinji-zumō ( 神事相撲 ) ) and yokozuna Chiyonofuji and Kitanoumi performed a very rare sandangamae ceremony. The planned construction site for the new Kokugikan is a place prone to urban floods, therefore the introduction of a rainwater utilization system for

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600-512: Is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Ryōgoku , Tokyo . The formal name of the temple is Shoshūzan Muen-ji Ekō-in ( 諸宗山 無縁寺 回向院 ) , reflecting its founding principle of Pariṇāmanā , or the spreading of Amida Buddha's benevolence to all souls of all living creatures. On March 2, 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki destroyed 60 to 70% of the city of Edo (Tokyo) and killed about 100,000 people. The shōgun Tokugawa Ietsuna wished to commemorate

650-735: Is a monument called the Chikara-zuka ( 力塚 , 'power mound') , built in 1937 by the Sumo Association as a memorial to past wrestlers. Today it has become a place where apprentice wrestlers come to pray for power. After World War II , sumo tournaments moved to various venues in Tokyo and then to the Kuramae Kokugikan arena in Taitō, Tokyo , before returning to the Ryōgoku district in 1985. The current Ryōgoku Kokugikan arena

700-481: Is located only about 400 meters from the temple. 35°41′36.39″N 139°47′31.31″E  /  35.6934417°N 139.7920306°E  / 35.6934417; 139.7920306 Dohy%C5%8D A dohyō ( 土俵 , Japanese pronunciation: [doçoː] ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical dohyō is a circle made of partially buried rice- straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments ( honbasho ), it

750-401: Is mounted on a square platform of clay 66 cm high and 6.7m wide on each side. In professional sumo, a new dohyō is built prior to each tournament by the yobidashi (ring attendants), who are responsible for this activity. The process of building the dohyō and its 66 cm high platform takes three days and is done with traditional tools. The clay used is taken from the banks of

800-488: Is said to have been introduced by Yoshida Zenzaemon sometime during the Edo period . The Yoshida family was a prominent gyōji family. The ceremony is done to purify and consecrate the dohyō , while also inviting the kami ( Shinto deities) down to watch sumo. The ceremony is led by one of the tategyōji (head referee) along with two other gyōji . The gyōji take the place of Shinto priests. The tategyoji will pray for

850-581: Is suspended above the dohyō , called the tsuriyane . The roof weighs 6.25 tons and is supported by cables that can hold up to 30 tons. Around the tsuriyane hangs a purple banner which is embroidered with the Japan Sumo Association 's mon . Prior to the September 1952 tournament, the tsuriyane had been supported by columns, but they were removed to allow fans an uninterrupted view of the dohyō . Colored tassels ( fusa ), which replaced

900-595: The Arakawa River in Saitama Prefecture . However, due to growing urbanization, clay from Ibaraki Prefecture has started to be used. The surface is covered by sand . The dohyō is removed after each tournament and, in the case of the Nagoya tournament, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs. The yobidashi also build the dohyō for training stables and sumo touring events. The diameter of

950-774: The Goodwill Sumo Tournament, and high-school championships, such as the National Junior High School Sumo Tournament. The arena also regularly hold the All Japan Sumo Championships ( Japan Sumo Federation main event) and Hakuhō Cup (a children's sumo event). Also, prior to each Tokyo tournaments, willing wrestlers will meet in joint training in the training room of the Sumo School for four to six days. These trainings are usually in presence of

1000-466: The Kokugikan was asked by the Sumida municipality. The roof area is 8,360 m. Rainwater is stored in an underground 1,000 m rainwater tank, and 70% of miscellaneous water used at the Kokugikan is covered by this rainwater. In the event of an earthquake, this water can be used as emergency domestic water. When a heavy snowfall falls, this rainwater can be ejected from the headdress on the roof to melt

1050-477: The Ryōgoku Kokugikan and the surrounding sumo stables. After the war , the Kokugikan was occupied by the allies forces and the budo ban was enforced, preventing tournaments until November. As the arena was requisitioned by the allies, the Kokugikan undergone a new phase of restoration and was renamed Ryogoku Memorial Hall . The renovations were completed by September 1946 leaving the November 1945 tournament to

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1100-649: The Ryōgoku Kokugikan was destroyed in the Great Kantō earthquake and tournaments had to be held at the Butokuden lot in Nagoya. In February 1944, the Kokugikan was requisitioned by the military and turned into a balloon bomb factory. The Summer tournament was therefore held at the Korakuen Stadium (sekitori) and Meiji Jingu Stadium (Makushita and below). In March 1945, an air raid over Tokyo damaged

1150-738: The Ryōgoku between 2010 and 2015, the latest being WWE's The Beast in the East . Other promotions to have held an event at the venue include Super World of Sports , UWF International , Fighting Network Rings , All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , Wrestle and Romance , JWP Joshi Puroresu , Michinoku Pro Wrestling , Tokyo Pro Wrestling , Battlarts , Pro Wrestling Zero1 , World Japan , Hustle , Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling , Inoki Genome Federation , Dragongate , Pro Wrestling Noah , Wrestle-1 , Big Japan Pro Wrestling , Tenryu Project , Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling , Gleat , and Dream Star Fighting Marigold . The Kokugikan also host Boxing competitions including

1200-545: The aging Kuramae Kokugikan became less practical due to modernization problems. Therefore, the Japan Sumo Association sought to purchase a new location to build a new arena. Considering a move to the location of a defunct freight rail yard next to Ryōgoku Station , the Japan Sumo Association began to hold consultations with the Japanese National Railways (JNR) in June 1977. Faced with large deficits at

1250-414: The colored columns, are suspended from the corners. They represent the four seasons and the four spirits of directions: The dohyō in training stables is not raised but is otherwise the same as those used in tournaments. One dohyō is standard, although some larger stables have built two. After the dohyō has been built, a ceremony called the dohyō matsuri (ring ceremony) is held. The dohyō matsuri

1300-401: The construction be shortened by half a year, in place of the two years initially planned, and completed by January 1985. On September 20, 1982, plans for the new Kokugikan were announced during a press conference. The new arena would be made of three floors above ground and two underground. The total floor area is 35,700 m and the seating capacity is 11,098. The ring and the square seats on

1350-597: The country. Like the Kuramae Kokugikan, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan hosted a number of professional wrestling events as soon as its first year of service. In September 1985, the first wrestling card, promoted by All Japan Pro Wrestling , happened with the first Japanese appearance of the Road Warriors . In December of the same year, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) held its first card in the Ryogoku. It became

1400-508: The first floor are movable and can be stored for multi-purpose use, so that they can be used effectively outside the 45 days of the annual sumo competition. A ground breaking ceremony was held on April 27, 1983. Both yokozuna Kitanoumi and yokozuna Chiyonofuji performed a yokozuna dohyō-iri as part of the Shinto ceremony. On January 9, 1985, the inauguration ceremony and unveiling party were held with 2,300 people in attendance. Following

1450-524: The former Kokugikan (Ryōgoku, Sumida Ward) was purchased from the Japan Sumo Association by the Nihon University , to create a large auditorium that could hold unified ceremonies such as entrance ceremonies and graduation ceremonies throughout the university. The Memorial Hall was therefore renamed Nihon University Auditorium ( 日大講堂 , Nihon Kōdō ) . During the Zenkyōtō the auditorium was used as

1500-401: The hole. The sacred sake is then shared with everyone in attendance. To conclude the ceremony, the yobidashi in a procession with taiko drums called a fure-daiko will begin. The procession will go around the dohyō three times before leaving the proceeding out into the street to announce the beginning of the tournament. At the end of the tournament, one gyōji is thrown into the air by

1550-505: The hosting of the boxing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics . In 2025, it will also host Capcom Cup 11, a Street Fighter 6 championship event for Capcom Pro Tour 2024. In 1992, The Kokugikan hosted the very first official Street Fighter II tournament. On April 4, 2014, the K-pop boy group Got7 held their first Japanese showcase in the venue. In 2017 it hosted Ferrari 's 70th anniversary celebrations. Paul McCartney performed

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1600-419: The offices of the Japan Sumo Association and, at the rear of building, the "Sumo School" where new recruits must complete a six-month course on various topics such as calligraphy, sports science, sumo history and civics in addition to sumo's basic movements and techniques. Near the main entrance, two Inari shrines (called Toyokuni Inari and Shusse Inari) are dedicated to wrestlers safety and success. Originally

1650-623: The platforms by going through a tunnel north of the platforms. The two main platforms are built as an island platform, with trains heading west to Tokyo and east to Chiba, while there is a third terminal platform that is only used on special event days. The Toei Subway Ōedo Line platforms lie in a north–south axis directly underneath Kiyosumi Street to the east of the arena. There are regular trains to Iidabashi and Tochomae from platform 1 and Daimon and Roppongi from platform 2. Ek%C5%8D-in Ekō-in ( 回向院 ) , also known as Honjo Ekō-in ,

1700-572: The press and oyakata . Finally, the public broadcast company NHK hold in the Kokugikan its own Sumo event, called the NHK Welfare Sumo Tournament ( NHK福祉大相撲 , Enu Eichi Kei Fukushi Ōzumō ) . Taking place each February, this charity event has been held since 1966. It takes the form of a festival where traditional jungyo activities are performed (sumo wrestlers songs, yokozuna's tsuna exhibition, makuuchi bouts). The profits are donated to social care institutions across

1750-471: The real estate transactions, 9.6 billion yen the Sumo Association had set aside in reserves, and a 500 million yen subsidy from the Ministry of Education. As the project to build a new arena progressed, the overall picture of a Kokugikan which made full use of modern technology was solidified. The construction faced heavy challenges in terms of cost and construction period as the Sumo Association requested that

1800-405: The ring is 15 shaku (4.55 meters), which increased from 13 shaku (3.94 meters) in 1931. The rice-straw bales ( tawara (俵)) which form the ring are one third standard size and are partially buried in the clay of the dohyō . Four of the tawara are placed slightly outside the line of the circle at the four cardinal directions, these are called privileged bales ( tokudawara ). Originally, this

1850-470: The ring is finely brushed sand called the ja-no-me (蛇の目, snake's eye), which can be used to determine if a wrestler has just touched his foot, or another part of his body, outside the ring. The yobidashi ensure this is clean of any previous marks immediately prior to each bout. A roof resembling that of a Shinto shrine (which has been of the Shinmei-zukuri style since the May 1953 tournament)

1900-438: The safety and well-being of the wrestlers. In the middle of the dohyō a square hole is cut in where the tategyoji will then place inside: torreya nuts, dried chestnuts, salt, washed rice, dried squid or cuttlefish and kombu (seaweed). The tategyoji will then will pour sacred sake into the hole, and around several other places around the dohyō before he will put more clay into the hole. The yobidashi will eventually cover up

1950-512: The series of big fires in Tokyo. The arena burned down due to the accidental fire and its large roof collapsed. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan was destroyed for the first time and needed to be built from scrap. The total amount of damage amounted to about 1.2 million yen and the tournaments had to be held at the Yasukuni Shrine until the arena was rebuilt in January 1920, notably using zinc to fortify the roof. Three years later, in September 1923,

2000-479: The snow. The ring is illuminated by 124 lights for TV broadcasts, and the angles of each are adjusted so as not to interfere with the wrestlers' mental unity and to prevent halation caused by the wrestlers' sweat. In addition, since Japanese people have dark hair, the lighting in the audience seats on the background of the ring is adjusted so that the colors appearing on the TV screen are not dark. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan houses

2050-590: The time, Tatsuno Kingo and Kasai Manji  [ ja ] (mostly known for the Bank of Japan, the Hamadera Park Station or the Tokyo Station). Inspired by western architecture, the building is Japan's first dome-shaped steel framed building. Construction began in June 1906 and the arena was quickly nicknamed "big iron umbrella" ( 大鉄傘 , Daitetsusan ) because of the large roof resembling

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2100-455: The time, JNR was receptive to the idea of selling the property, aided by its belief that if the new Kokugikan was built next to the station, the number of passengers served would increase. As the land in Kuramae was selected as a candidate site for the construction of a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo, the association acquired the means to purchase the land located in Ryōgoku. The move to Ryōgoku

2150-569: The twin-shrines were built in the backyard of the former Ryōgoku Kokugikan and were relocated in 1963 in the Kuramae Kokugikan before finally moving to their current location. The arena also includes a number of dedicated venues such as the Sumo Museum , restaurants or a banquet hall for chankonabe tasting. Emblematic venues also includes the Annaijo Entrance ( lit. Information desk, also called Chaya-dori : Tea House Street),

2200-645: The victims of the fire, most of whom were not survived by relatives. For this purpose he erected a monument called the Banninzuka (Mound of a Million Souls) and held a great memorial service conducted by Jun'yo Jōjin ( 遵誉上人 , Holy Priest Junyo) of Zōjō-ji . A temple for prayers to Amida Buddha was built at the same time. This was the origin of the Ekō-in, which today continues to offer a resting place for any soul who did not leave relatives behind, including victims of natural disasters, prisoners, and animals. The temple

2250-403: The wrestlers must position themselves at the start of the bout. First introduced in the spring tournament of 1928, they are painted 90 cm long, 6 cm wide and 70 cm apart. The shikiri-sen are touched up by yobidashi at the end of each day with white enamel paint. The painted lines are notably slicker than the surrounding dirt, but rarely cause a wrestler to slip due to their narrowness. Around

2300-474: Was built next to the temple for the sumo matches. In 1909, the tournaments were moved into the original Ryōgoku Kokugikan , a modern arena in the temple precincts that had a capacity of 13,000 spectators and that was nicknamed as the Great Iron Umbrella. This contributed to the popularity of the sport by making it possible to hold sumo tournaments regardless of the weather. Also in the precincts

2350-562: Was decided in 1980, and in March 1982, a land purchase contract was concluded between JNR and the Sumo Association. The cost of purchasing the land in Ryōgoku was 9.4 billion yen, while the Sumo Association was able to sell its Kuramae property to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for 14.3 billion yen. A total of 15 billion yen was procured for the construction of the new arena, comprising the 4.9 billion yen profit from

2400-478: Was known as a sumo wrestling venue during the Edo and Meiji periods . The kanjin-zumō , a charity fund raising event permitted by the Tokugawa shogunate and the origin of the current professional sumo, was first held in the temple in September 1768. The temple was the site of all tournaments from October 1833 to 1909. These 76 years are known as the period of "Ekō-in sumō". A large, two-story temporary facility

2450-516: Was thought to accommodate 13,000 people, including about 1,000 square seats. The inner diameter of the building was 62m, and the central height was 25m. In 1931, the Japan Sumo Association decided to replace the old Irimoya-zukuri style roof of the ring with a Shinmei-zukuri style roof. The building of the Ryōgoku Kokugikan consecrated the evolution of Sumo from a Shinto ritual to a national sport. The first Kokugikan suffered extensive damage during its years of service. In November 1917, during

2500-401: Was to allow rain to run off the surface, when sumo tournaments were held outdoors in the open. Today, a wrestler under pressure at the edge of the ring will often try to move himself round to one of these points to gain leverage in order to push back more effectively against the opponent who is trying to force him out. At the center are two white lines, the shikiri-sen ( 仕切り線 ) , behind which

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