Sumo words 相撲用語
Every term the site uses, in plain English. On any page, a dotted underline means you can tap the word for its meaning.
People12
- gyōji 行司
- The referee, who gives the first decision on every bout.
- myōseki 名跡
- An elder name. There are 105, and a wrestler needs one to stay on as an elder.
- Nihon Sumō Kyōkai 日本相撲協会
- The Japan Sumo Association, which runs professional sumo.
- onna-zumō 女相撲
- Women's sumo. It's amateur only today.
- oyakata 親方
- A stablemaster or coach, almost always an elder of the association.
- rikishi 力士
- A professional sumo wrestler.
- sekitori 関取
- A wrestler in the top two divisions, makuuchi and jūryō, who's paid a salary.
- shikona 四股名
- A wrestler's ring name. It can change many times over a career.
- shimpan 審判
- The five judges who sit around the ring and can overrule the referee.
- tokoyama 床山
- A hairdresser employed by the association to tie the wrestlers' topknots.
- toshiyori 年寄
- An elder of the Japan Sumo Association. There are 105 elder names.
- yobidashi 呼出
- A ring attendant who calls the wrestlers up and builds the ring.
Ranks and divisions16
- banzuke 番付
- The official ranking list, published before each tournament.
- jonidan 序二段
- The fifth division. Its size isn't fixed.
- jonokuchi 序ノ口
- The sixth and lowest division, where new recruits first appear.
- jūryō 十両
- The second division, and the lowest that's paid a salary.
- kadoban 角番
- An ōzeki who must win at least eight bouts or lose the rank.
- komusubi 小結
- The fourth rank, the lowest of the named ranks above maegashira.
- maegashira 前頭
- The numbered rank-and-file of the top division.
- maezumō 前相撲
- Debut bouts for new recruits who aren't on the banzuke yet.
- makushita 幕下
- The third division, and the highest one that isn't salaried.
- makuuchi 幕内
- The top division: 42 wrestlers, from yokozuna down to the maegashira.
- ōzeki 大関
- Champion, the second-highest rank.
- san'yaku 三役
- The named ranks above maegashira. Sources differ on whether yokozuna counts.
- sandanme 三段目
- The fourth division, with 160 wrestlers since January 2025.
- sekiwake 関脇
- The third rank, just below ōzeki.
- yokozuna 横綱
- Grand champion, the top rank. A yokozuna can't be demoted.
- Yokozuna Shingi Iinkai 横綱審議委員会
- The Yokozuna Deliberation Council, which recommends promotions to yokozuna.
The tournament23
- basho 場所
- A tournament. The six official ones each year are honbasho.
- fusen 不戦
- A default. One wrestler doesn't turn up, so the other wins without a bout.
- fusenshō 不戦勝
- A win by default, when the opponent doesn't turn up.
- ginō-shō 技能賞
- The special prize for technique.
- honbasho 本場所
- One of the six official tournaments each year.
- hoshitori 星取
- A wrestler's win-loss record, shown as white and black marks.
- kachi-koshi 勝ち越し
- A winning record for the tournament: at least eight wins from 15, or four from seven.
- kantō-shō 敢闘賞
- The special prize for fighting spirit.
- kenshō-kin 懸賞金
- Prize money that sponsors put up for a single bout.
- kettei-sen 決定戦
- A playoff for the title when wrestlers tie for the best record.
- kinboshi 金星
- A gold star: a maegashira's win over a yokozuna.
- kyūjō 休場
- Absent from a tournament through injury or illness.
- make-koshi 負け越し
- A losing record for the tournament: at least eight losses from 15, or four from seven.
- musubi no ichiban 結びの一番
- The last bout of the day.
- nakabi 中日
- Day 8, the middle Sunday of a tournament.
- sanshō 三賞
- The three special prizes for top-division wrestlers below ōzeki.
- senshūraku 千秋楽
- The final day of a tournament, day 15.
- shonichi 初日
- Day 1 of a tournament, which falls on a Sunday.
- shukun-shō 殊勲賞
- The special prize for outstanding performance against yokozuna and ōzeki.
- torikumi 取組
- A bout, or the list of bouts for a day.
- yaochō 八百長
- A fixed bout.
- yūshō 優勝
- The tournament championship, won by the best record in a division.
- zenshō 全勝
- A perfect record, winning every bout of the tournament.
In the ring16
- dohyō 土俵
- The ring: a raised platform of packed clay.
- gunbai 軍配
- The referee's war fan.
- henka 変化
- Sidestepping the opening charge.
- kimarite 決まり手
- The winning technique. The JSA's official list has 82.
- kinjite 禁じ手
- A banned move. Using one means an instant loss.
- matta 待った
- A false start at the opening charge.
- mono-ii 物言い
- A conference of the ringside judges over a close call.
- oshidashi 押し出し
- A frontal push-out without a grip on the belt. The most common win.
- shikiri 仕切り
- The crouch-and-stare routine before a bout.
- shini-tai 死に体
- Dead body: a wrestler who can't recover and is ruled the loser.
- tachi-ai 立ち合い
- The opening charge, when both wrestlers launch from the crouch.
- tawara 俵
- The straw bales that mark the edge of the ring.
- tokudawara 徳俵
- Four straw bales set slightly outside the circle.
- tsuppari 突っ張り
- Rapid thrusts with open hands.
- tsuriyane 吊り屋根
- The shrine-style roof that hangs over the ring.
- yorikiri 寄り切り
- A frontal force-out while holding the belt. One of the two most common wins.
Ritual12
- chikara-mizu 力水
- Power water: a ladle of water to rinse the mouth before a bout.
- chirichōzu 塵手水
- A clap and open-arms gesture showing the hands are empty.
- danpatsu-shiki 断髪式
- The retirement ceremony where a wrestler's topknot is cut off.
- dohyō matsuri 土俵祭
- The Shinto ceremony that blesses the ring before a tournament.
- dohyō-iri 土俵入り
- The ring-entering ceremony before the top-division bouts.
- shiko 四股
- The high leg-lift and stamp.
- Shiranui-gata 不知火型
- Yokozuna ceremony style: both arms held out.
- sonkyo 蹲踞
- The balanced squat wrestlers hold facing each other.
- tachimochi 太刀持ち
- The sword-bearer in a yokozuna's ring-entering ceremony.
- tsuyuharai 露払い
- The dew-sweeper, who walks in ahead of the yokozuna.
- Unryū-gata 雲龍型
- Yokozuna ceremony style: left arm bent in, right arm out.
- yumitori-shiki 弓取式
- The bow-twirling ceremony that closes each tournament day.
Dress6
- chonmage 丁髷
- The topknot. Lower-ranked wrestlers wear a plain one.
- keshō-mawashi 化粧廻し
- The embroidered ceremonial apron sekitori wear to enter the ring.
- mawashi 廻し
- The belt a wrestler fights and trains in.
- ōichō-mage 大銀杏髷
- The ginkgo-leaf topknot sekitori wear in tournaments.
- sagari 下がり
- Stiffened silk strings tucked into the front of the belt.
- tsuna 綱
- The thick braided rope a yokozuna wears for ceremonies.
Stable life13
- anideshi 兄弟子
- A senior wrestler in the same stable, like an older brother.
- butsukari ぶつかり
- A pushing drill. One wrestler drives into another across the ring.
- chankonabe ちゃんこ鍋
- The hot-pot stew wrestlers eat in the stable.
- heya 部屋
- A stable: the house where wrestlers train, and where the juniors live.
- ichimon 一門
- One of five groups of related stables.
- keiko 稽古
- Training. In a stable it starts early, around 6am.
- matawari 股割り
- The splits stretch.
- moshiai 申し合い
- Practice bouts where the winner stays on.
- okamisan 女将さん
- The stablemaster's wife, who runs much of stable life.
- shin-deshi 新弟子
- A new recruit.
- suriashi 摺り足
- A footwork drill where the wrestler slides his feet.
- teppō 鉄炮
- A training drill: slapping a wooden pole.
- tsukebito 付け人
- A junior wrestler who works as a sekitori's personal attendant.
The sumo year7
- hanazumō 花相撲
- Exhibition sumo that doesn't affect rank.
- hōnō-zumō 奉納相撲
- Sumo performed at a shrine as an offering.
- intai-zumō 引退相撲
- A one-day exhibition held to mark a sekitori's retirement.
- jungyō 巡業
- A regional tour between tournaments.
- Kokugikan 国技館
- The national sumo arena in Ryōgoku, Tokyo.
- shokkiri 初っ切り
- Comic sumo that shows off the banned moves.
- sumō jinku 相撲甚句
- Sumo folk songs sung by the wrestlers.