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32-643: The museum was opened in September 1954 when the Kuramae Kokugikan was completed. Its collection were based on materials collected over many years by Tadamasa Sakai, a well known sumo fan and first director of the museum. Its missions are to prevent the loss of materials related to sumo by collecting them and displaying them in the premises of the museum. In January 1985, when the Ryōgoku Kokugikan opened, it moved to its present location. The museum

64-553: A new Kokugikan should be built. In 1982, it was decided a new arena would be built and the Kuramae Kokugikan closed in 1984. At the opening ceremony (September 18, 1954), both yokozuna Chiyonoyama and Kagamisato performed a very rare sandangamae ceremony. In January 1971, yokozuna Tamanoumi and Kitanofuji , performed the same ceremony to commemorate the completion of the renovations. In May 1955, Emperor Shōwa came to his first tenran-zumō at

96-405: A tournament day and may be announced from the dohyō the day prior by a senior gyōji . Although there is no fixed method, for the first half of a tournament the top makuuchi division will generally see its higher-ranked wrestlers ( san'yaku ) paired against its lower-ranked wrestlers ( maegashira ), with the rest of the maegashira fighting among ranks closer in strength. The schedule for

128-475: A tournament undefeated. Other newspapers quickly followed with their own awards. However, these prizes went unclaimed if no rikishi finished undefeated. Wanting a way to decide a definite winner each tournament, by 1900 daily newspapers such as the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun had begun bestowing awards on the wrestler with the best record of a honbasho . The term yūshō emerged to indicate

160-502: A wrestler misses will be regarded as losses when drawing up the next tournament's rankings. If a withdrawal results in an odd number of wrestlers in one division, the schedule is filled in by pairing a lower-ranked wrestler against a higher-ranked wrestler from the next-lowest division. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan is owned by the Japan Sumo Association and is therefore the only venue set up for sumo all year round. Preparing

192-507: A wrestler who had finished with a perfect record, but has since come to denote the tournament champion regardless of his record. Each division has a championship prize for the wrestler with the most wins. The winner of the top makuuchi division's honbasho receives a plethora of trophies and prizes from various organizations, regions and countries, but most notable is the 30kg sterling silver Emperor's Cup . Since 1947, three special prizes called sanshō may be awarded to wrestlers in

224-500: Is an official professional sumo tournament. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi (sumo wrestlers) on the banzuke ranking. The number of honbasho held every year and their length has varied; since 1958 there are six tournaments held over 15 consecutive days in four locations every year. Since 1926 the honbasho are organized by the Japan Sumo Association , after

256-524: Is not taken as seriously by the wrestlers. In the Edo period , the locations of sumo tournaments and the rikishi (sumo wrestlers) who competed in them varied. Sumo was particularly popular in the cities of Edo , Kyoto , and Osaka ; with tournaments held twice a year in Edo, and once a year in both Kyoto and Osaka. The tournaments lasted 10 days each. In 1926, the newly formed Japan Sumo Association increased

288-500: Is typically changed everytime a yokozuna retires, so an exhibition dedicated to the wrestler could take place. Between 2003 and 2022, 109 exhibitions took place in the museum. Kuramae Kokugikan Kuramae Kokugikan ( Japanese : 蔵前国技館 , Hepburn : Kuramae Kokugi-kan ) was a building situated in the Kuramae neighborhood of Taitō, Tokyo which was built by the Japan Sumo Association and opened in 1954. Its construction

320-421: The banzuke , the first aim for most wrestlers is to achieve kachi-koshi , or a majority of wins, and thus ensure a promotion for the next tournament. A playoff on the final day is used to decide the winner in case of a tie. Unless a playoff is required, two wrestlers will fight each other no more than once in a whole tournament. The bout schedule is set by a committee of toshiyori a day or two in advance of

352-411: The makuuchi division for exceptional performances during a honbasho . With honbasho lasting 15 days, sumo wrestlers ranked in the top two divisions ( makuuchi and jūryō ) wrestle once a day, while those of the lower divisions wrestle seven times total, approximately once every alternate day. The lower division matches begin at 8:30am. As honbasho results determine promotion and relegation on

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384-454: The naval hangar of Atsugi . The target capacity was 11,000 spectators. From 1950 to 1953, main tournaments were held at the Kuramae Kokugikan, which was still under construction. Kuramae Kokugikan was officially completed in September 1954. To protect and preserve the rich historical heritage of Sumo, a Sumo Museum was created in the premises of the building. In September 1952, the four traditional pillars ( shihon-bashira ) were replaced by

416-711: The 1950s through 1984, tournaments were held at the Kuramae Kokugikan in Tokyo. The sumo tournament held in Nagoya every July is scheduled to move from the older Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (Dolphins Arena) to the new IG Arena starting in 2025, which the Japan Sumo Association will refer to as the Aichi International Arena. The March 2011 tournament was cancelled due to the Japan Sumo Association launching an investigation into allegations of match-fixing involving several sekitori -ranked wrestlers. This

448-464: The 19th century, a wrestler's record at a tournament was of little consequence, and promotion through the banzuke ranks was more closely tied to popularity. In 1884, the Yomiuri Shimbun began publishing rudimentary summaries of honbasho results in their newspaper. The newspaper Jiji Shinpō began offering the first award for performances in 1889, giving it to any wrestler who finished

480-590: The Association had to maintain a library to register records as one of its activities. When the Association became a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, the maintenance of a museum was stipulated in the statutes of the Association. During the same year, 2014, the Museum celebrated its 60 years of existence by organizing a special exhibition. The museum collects materials related to sumo (such as woodblock prints, banzuke and keshō-mawashi ) and display them to

512-417: The arena, 10 years after the end of the war, to support the sport. Until then, sumo bouts for the emperor were held at the imperial palace . The Kuramae Kokugikan is also famous for holding sold-out professional wrestling venues, including Tokyo Pro, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) cards and the first women's professional wrestling tournament. The arena also saw

544-500: The birth of Antonio Inoki as a star. The arena also held different tournaments for a large variety of sports, including boxing, judo and kendo. It was used as the venue for the first All Japan Kendo Championships (1953) and the first World Judo Championships (1956). The Kuramae Kokugikan is seen in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice . Honbasho A honbasho ( Japanese : 本場所 ) , or Grand Sumo Tournament in English,

576-408: The border of a winning and losing record to win and achieve a kachi-koshi ; wrestlers with top records will also face each other to increase the possibility of a decisive bout. Matchmaking in the second-highest jūryō division works somewhat similarly to the top division, although there are no san'yaku . In the third-highest makushita division and below, wrestlers are matched against those with

608-461: The building, and another one on the side way of the arena. Guided tours are sometimes held during the exhibition period. In January 2020, the Sumo Museum closed its door in the process of a renovation plan and in prevision of the 35th anniversary of the Ryōgoku Kokugikan . Exhibitions are displayed alternately six times a year, with different themes changing each time. The exhibition schedule

640-436: The current tsuriyane (suspended ceiling), as the matches began to be broadcast. From 1953 to 1971, the Kuramae Kokugikan underwent a series of renovations, including electric boards to announce the bout results, air conditioning and heating. Originally built using recycled materials, there had been some debate within the Japan Sumo Association as to whether the arena should be fully renovated or partially renovated, or whether

672-474: The lack of space, the exhibitions are not permanent and change every two months. Admission is free, but since it is attached to the Kokugikan, only those who have an admission ticket for the Kokugikan can enter when there is a tournament or a paid event in the arena. However, anyone can enter freely on all other opening days. There are two entrances, one at the front gate of the Kokugikan on the second floor of

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704-498: The merger of the Tokyo and Osaka sumo associations. The term honbasho means "main (or real) tournament" and is used to distinguish these tournaments from unofficial tournaments which are held as part of sumo tours, between the six major tournaments. Such display tournaments may have prize money attached but a wrestler's performance has no effect on his ranking. This type of sumo is often called hana-sumo ( lit. flower-sumo) as it

736-406: The new Kokugikan was underway since around 1940 but was suspended due to the war. After the war, the old Kokugikan was occupied by the allied forces enforcing the budo ban, forcing the Japan Sumo Association to hold tournaments and Sumo venues in shrines and baseball stadiums. Due to resource shortages after the war, the beginnings of the arena were built using the scraps from the demolition of

768-468: The number of honbasho held each year from two to four. In 1928, they introduced rules such as marking uncontested bouts as forfeitures ( fusenshō ) to help guarantee tournaments end with a clear winner. A playoff structure was implemented in 1947 to decide a champion in the case of tied records. In 1949, the length of the tournaments was extended from 10 days to 15. In 1958, the number of honbasho held each year increased again, this time to six. Before

800-626: The other venues for their respective honbasho begins a week in advance. 2020's July and November tournaments and the March 2021 tournament were all held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo to avoid unnecessary travel during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan . The current Ryōgoku Kokugikan was opened in 1985. Prior to that an arena of the same name hosted honbasho in Tokyo from 1909 to 1946. From

832-565: The public. It also functions as a research center to study and examine the history of sumo and holds public conferences (called "Master talk event") where former wrestlers reflects on their career and answer questions from fans. Curators also publish a bulletin called the Sumo Museum Bulletin (相撲博物館紀要) since 2002, to publish the results of their research. The museum is a small institution (150 m), with only one exhibition room and three curators to provide visits and organization. Due to

864-426: The same record almost without exception, with ranks kept as close as possible. Outside playoff bouts, neither wrestlers from the same heya (stable) nor wrestlers related by blood are scheduled to fight each other in any division. If a wrestler has withdrawn due to injury or retirement from a scheduled bout, his opponent wins by default ( fusenshō ). A loss by default is known as fusenpai . Any remaining bouts that

896-544: The second half of the tournament will have mainly san'yaku fighting each other, with the remainder of the ranks determined by their win–loss records up to that point. One consideration is to minimize the necessity for a tie-breaking bout, particularly if a contender for the championship is lower-ranked and has thus far faced only other lower-ranked wrestlers. In the last day, wrestlers with 7-7 records are scheduled to face each other if possible, to avoid any possibility of match-fixing where wrestlers will allow another wrestler on

928-482: Was conducted without spectators due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and surrounding areas. It was the first time since World War II that a basho had been closed to the general public. The move followed a request from the Japanese Government that major public events be cancelled, postponed or scaled down in order to control the spread of the virus. The Sumo Association added that if any of

960-426: Was based on the private collections accumulated by Sakai Tadamasa  [ ja ] , a Japanese politician, who became the first director of the museum. Since then, thanks to donation from individuals and institutionalized collection, the Museum gathered around 30 000 pieces, half of them still being inherited from Sakai's collection. When the association was established in 1925, the act of endowment stipulated that

992-535: Was decided to replace the old bomb-damaged Ryōgoku Kokugikan . It closed its doors in 1984. The building was torn down and sporting events were transferred to the second Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The place is now the site of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Sewage. The Sumo Association has owned the site of the former Tokyo Technical High School at the base of Kuramae Bridge since before World War II . The construction plan for

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1024-606: Was the first cancellation of a honbasho since 1946, when the May tournament was not held because of renovations to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan following damage sustained in World War II . The May 2011 tournament went ahead but was described by the Sumo Association as a "Technical Examination Tournament" rather than a full-fledged honbasho , with free admission and no prize money or trophies awarded. The March 2020 tournament

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