Thursday, March 31, 2016

Division Two (jūryō division) Great matches and they are only getting better.



On joining the ranks of the sumo way of life, all combatants are expected to grow their hair long to form a topknot, or chonmage, similar to the samurai hairstyles of the Edo period.
Videos of all ranks and skill levels can be found here.





At the beginning of the Division Two match (jūryō division) they start two use salt to purify and bless themselves and the ring they fight in.


Sumo wrestlers are expected to wear the chonmage and traditional Japanese dress when in public. Consequently, sumo wrestlers can be identified immediately when in public.


The type and quality of the dress depends on the wrestler's rank. Rikishi in jonidan and below are allowed to wear only a thin cotton robe called a yukata, even in winter.


When outside they must wear a form of wooden sandals called geta that make a distinctive clip-clop sound as one walks in them.



Wrestlers in the makushita and sandanme divisions can wear a form of traditional short overcoat over their yukata and are allowed to wear straw sandals, called zōri.