A sumo dohyo.
The dohyo (土俵) is the ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held. A modern dohyo is a circle of rice-straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter, and for official tournaments (honbasho) is mounted on a square platform of clay 6.7m on a side, and 34 to 60 cm high. The surface is covered by sand.
Yobidashi construct a new dohyo.
A new dohyo is built prior to each tournament by the yobidashi (ring attendants), who are responsible for this activity. The process of building the dohyo takes three days, and is done with traditional tools. The clay used is taken from the banks of the Arakawa River in Saitama Prefecture. However, with growing urbanization clay from Ibaraki Prefecture has started to be used. The dohyo is removed after each tournament, and in the case of Nagoya, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs. The yobidashi also build the dohyo for training stables and sumo touring events.
Tawara (bales of rice straw)
The diameter of 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 dohyo. 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 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 the wrestlers must position themselves at the start of the bout. The shikiri-sen is painted daily with white enamel paint. Around 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 it 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 1953 May tournament) is suspended above the dohyo, 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 dohyo. Colored tassels (fusa), which replaced the colored columns, are suspended from the corners. They represent the four seasons and the four spirits of directions:
- Green – Azure Dragon of the East (青龍), Spring
- Red – Vermilion Bird of the South (朱雀), Summer
- White – White Tiger of the West (白虎), Fall
- Black – Black Tortoise of the North (玄武), Winter
The dohyo in training stables is not mounted but is otherwise the same as those used in tournaments. One dohyo is standard, although some larger stables have built two.
Dohyo Matsuri[]
See more at: Dohyo Matsuri