Ryogoku Kokugikan
Ryogoku Kokugikan (両国国技館), also known as Ryogoku Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Yokoami neighborhood (bordering to the Ryogoku neighborhood) of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a capacity of 11,098 people.
It is mainly used for sumo wrestling tournaments (honbasho) and hosts the Hatsu (new year) honbasho in January, the Natsu (summer) honbasho in May, and the Aki (autumn) honbasho in September. It also houses a museum about sumo.
The venue is also used for other indoor events, such as boxing, pro wrestling, and music concerts. In past years, it has hosted the finals of New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament as well as the Sakura Genesis and King of Pro-Wrestling events and the WWE's The Beast in the East event in 2015. In 2017 it hosted Ferrari's 70th anniversary celebrations.
History
The original Kokugikan in Ryogoku in 1909.
The growing popularity of Sumo during the Meiji period led to the building of the original Kokugikan in Ryogoku in 1909. The Japanese army appropriated the facility in World War II, and some tournaments were held outdoors at a baseball stadium. During the occupation of Japan, SCAP saw sumo as less threatening than other martial arts, and allowed a tournament there in November 1945. The occupation forces subsequently took over the area, however, and turned it partially into a skating rink. One more tournament was held in November 1946, but tournaments were thereafter held on the grounds of the Meiji Shrine until 1954. Tournaments were subsequently held in the Kuramae Kokugikan, which opened in 1954, until it was replaced by the current Ryogoku Kokugikan in Yokoami in 1985. It will host the boxing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In Other Media
In the anime series Hajime no Ippo, some of the characters participate in boxing matches in the Ryogoku Kokugikan.
In the manga and anime series Aah! Harimanada, the Ryogoku Kokugikan is featured prominently and all the sumo tournaments are held there.
In the manga series Hinomaru Zumō, some of the tournaments are held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.
In the manga series Prison School, some of the characters attend a student sumo tournament in the Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Transportation Links
The arena is served by the Ryogoku Station with platforms to the south and east of the arena. The JR East Chuo-Sobu Line platforms to the south are served by local trains while rapid trains bypass the platforms by going through a tunnel north of the platforms. The two main platforms are built as an island platform, with trains heading west to Tokyo and east to Chiba, while there is a third terminal platform that is only used on special event days. The Toei Subway Oedo Line platforms lie in a north-south axis directly underneath Kiyosumi Street to the east of the arena. There are regular trains to Iidabashi and Tochomae from platform 1 and Daimon and Roppongi from platform 2.
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