Makuuchi explained for visitors

Six divisions

Professional sumo has six divisions, ranked by prestige. Makuuchi is the top, followed by juryo, makushita, sandanme, jonidan and jonokuchi. Wikipedia says wrestlers enter the lowest division and, if their ability allows, work their way up. A broad line separates the top two divisions, whose wrestlers are called sekitori, from the four below, whose wrestlers are known more generally as rikishi. The ranks carry different pay, privileges and status.

What the word means

Makuuchi literally means inside the curtain. Wikipedia explains the name as a reference to an early period of professional sumo, when a curtained-off area was reserved for the top-ranked wrestlers to sit before their bouts. The division is the only one covered by the standard live coverage on NHK, and only its broadcast carries bilingual English commentary, according to the same source. In plain terms, it is the division most fans mean when they say sumo.

The ranks inside it

At the top of Makuuchi are the four titleholder ranks, called san'yaku: yokozuna, ozeki, sekiwake and komusubi. Everyone else in the division is a maegashira, numbered from one downwards. Wikipedia says that wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion before each grand tournament, depending on their record in the last one, and that yokozuna and ozeki have stricter criteria. The size of the division has been fixed at 42 wrestlers since 2004, according to the same article.

How rare it is to get there

Reaching the top division is rare. Wikipedia's article on rikishi says that statistics show only one wrestler in a hundred becomes a Makuuchi wrestler, and that most retire without ever reaching a salaried level. That context helps with the claim that the Kiyosumi show is run by a former Makuuchi wrestler. If the claim is accurate, the person has reached a level few do. This guide cannot confirm anyone's career, and it does not name the performers.

Tournaments and where to see them

Six grand tournaments are held each year, and three of them are in Tokyo, at the Kokugikan in Ryogoku, in January, May and September, per the Japan Sumo Association. The rest go to Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Each tournament lasts 15 days, Wikipedia says, with the highest-ranked wrestlers fighting last on each day. Tournament tickets are sold through the association, not through the show booked on this site.

Words you may hear

A few terms recur at any sumo event. The mawashi is the belt a wrestler wears. The gyoji is the referee, and the yobidashi is the ring attendant who builds and maintains the ring. Before a bout the wrestlers repeat a warm-up routine called shikiri, throw salt into the ring as a symbolic cleansing, and rinse the mouth with chikara-mizu, power water, according to Wikipedia. The winning technique is called the kimarite and is announced after the bout. An MC at a show will usually explain these as they appear.

What it means for the show

A show run by a former top-division wrestler has a link to that world. It is still a staged show: the organiser describes demonstrations, explanations and a chance for guests to try training moves. Do not expect ranked bouts, banzuke rankings or tournament rules to be applied. Expect an English-speaking MC to explain what you are seeing, and use the vocabulary here to follow along.

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