The suspended Shinto-style roof, or tsuriyane, over the dohyo. Above it are displayed the "man'in onrei" banners thanking the audience for a sold-out house.
Man'in Onrei (満員御礼) means full house. Banners are unfurled from the ceiling when this is achieved during honbasho. However, it is not necessary to be at 100% capacity to unfurl the banner. Typically when seats are over 80% filled the banner is unfurled, however they have been unfurled with numbers as low as 75% and not unfurled with numbers as high as 95%. When it is completely full it is called fudadome (札止め).
Overview[]
After the juryo division and the dohyo-iri, the banners are unfurled from the ceiling thanking the audience for a soul-out house. The banners are presented to the east side, west side, back side and front side. During the first Kokugikan (built in 1909), when the Shinto-style roof was not suspended. It was held on four pillars, and when they thanked the audience for a full-house, they would display the banners on each four pillars. After the creation of the Kuramae Kokugikan, the four pillars were abolished and the current system was established.
Records[]
The continuous record of man'in onrei was 666 days, lasting from the 11th day of the November, 1989 tournament till the 2nd day of the May, 1997 tournament. The Public Relations Department of the Japan Sumo Association explained that there is no clear standard for the man'in onrei, but they generally unfurl the banners when the number of visitors reaches 90% or more of that capacity.
In addition, when the numbers of visitors was strict, they wouldn't thank the audience even if they exceeded 90%. However in recent years (2003-2014), sumo hasn't been as popular due to the fact of one sole yokozuna and the scandals. On day 7 in the September, 2011 tournament, they still unfurled the banners even though the audience was at 75%.