View source for Dohyō

{{Short description|Space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
[[Image:Tamura Jinja, Takamatsu 05.JPG|thumb|A ''dohyō'']]
A '''''dohyō''''' ({{lang|ja|土俵}}, {{IPA|ja|doçoː}}) is the space in which a [[sumo]] wrestling bout occurs. A typical ''dohyō'' is a circle {{convert|4.55|m|0|abbr=on}} in diameter, bounded by partially buried rice-[[straw bale]]s. In official professional tournaments (''[[honbasho]]''), it is mounted on a square platform of [[clay]] {{convert|66|cm|abbr=on}} high and {{convert|6.7|m|abbr=on}} wide on each side.

==Configuration and construction==
[[File:Dohyo all.png|thumb|upright|left|Illustration showing a ''dohyō'' in use at a modern professional match]]
In professional sumo, a new ''dohyō'' is built prior to each tournament by the ''[[yobidashi]]'' (ring attendants), who are responsible for this activity. The process of building the ''dohyō'' and its {{convert|66|cm|in|sp=us|adj=mid|-high}} platform takes three days and is done with traditional tools.<ref name="NHKQA">{{cite news|author=Morita, Hiroshi|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/qa/|title=Sumo Q&A|work=[[NHK World-Japan]]|access-date=December 25, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|title=Grand Sumo: The Beauty of Tradition|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQSEW1NFRwo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/EQSEW1NFRwo |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube| date=18 October 2015 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> The clay used is taken from the banks of the [[Arakawa River (Kantō)|Arakawa River]] in [[Saitama Prefecture]]. However, due to growing urbanization, clay from [[Ibaraki Prefecture]] has started to be used.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Newton|first1=Clyde|title=Dynamic Sumo|date=1994|publisher=[[Kodansha International]]|location=Tokyo|page=18}}</ref> The surface is covered by [[sand]]. The ''dohyō'' is removed after each tournament and, in the case of the [[Nagoya]] tournament, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs. The ''yobidashi'' also build the ''dohyō'' for training stables and sumo touring events.

The diameter of the ring is 15 ''[[Shaku (unit)|shaku]]'' ({{val|4.55|u=m}}),<ref name="NHKQA"/> which increased from 13 ''shaku'' ({{convert|3.94|m|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in 1931.<ref>[http://www.vcci.or.jp/vcci_e/member/katsudo/publish/rensai/rensai01_084.pdf Sumo and the Dohyo (Sumo ring)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928192626/http://www.vcci.or.jp/vcci_e/member/katsudo/publish/rensai/rensai01_084.pdf|date=September 28, 2007}} Nobuhiko Tsunefuka, 'The dohyo of the Edo period had a diameter of 13 shaku (3 m, 94 cm) and this size was enlarged by {{convert|61|cm|sp=us|disp=sqbr}} at an Emperor’s Sumo match on April 29, 1931 to the current diameter of 15 shaku (4 m, 55 cm)'</ref> The rice-straw bales (''tawara'' (俵)) which form the ring are one third standard size and are partially buried in the clay of the ''dohyō''. 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.

{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = vertical
| width     = 215
| image1    = Former-Ryogoku-Kokugikan-Sumo-Hall-Interior-c1910.png
| caption1  = Match at the [[Ryōgoku Kokugikan]] {{c.|1910}}, note the posts in the corners of the ''dohyō'' holding up the roof
| image2    = Ryogoku Kokugikan Tsuriyane 05212006.jpg
| caption2  = The Ryōgoku Kokugikan in 2006, note the suspended roof and hanging tassels
}}
At the center are two white lines, the {{nihongo|''shikiri-sen''|仕切り線}}, behind which the wrestlers must position themselves at the start of the bout. First introduced in the spring tournament of 1928, they are painted {{cvt|90|cm}} long, {{cvt|6|cm|frac=8}} wide and {{cvt|70|cm}} apart.<ref name="shisen">{{cite news|author=Gunning, John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/07/14/sumo/sumo-101-shikiri-sen/|title=Sumo 101: Shikiri sen|newspaper=[[The Japan Times]]|date=July 14, 2019|access-date=December 25, 2020}}</ref> The ''shikiri-sen'' are touched up by ''yobidashi'' at the end of each day with white enamel paint.<ref name="shisen"/> The painted lines are notably slicker than the surrounding dirt, but rarely cause a wrestler to slip due to their narrowness.<ref name="shisen"/> 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 this is clean of any previous marks immediately prior to each bout.<ref>{{cite book|last= Hall|first= Mina.|title= The Big Book of Sumo|publisher= [[Stone Bridge Press]]|year= 1997|isbn= 1-880656-28-0}}</ref>

At the [[Ryōgoku Kokugikan]], a roof resembling that of a [[Shinto shrine]] (which has been of the [[Shinmei-zukuri]] style since the May 1953 tournament) is suspended above the ''dohyō'', 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 (emblem)|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 ''dohyō''. Colored tassels (''fusa''), which replaced the colored columns, are suspended from the corners. They represent the four seasons and the [[Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)|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 (Chinese constellation)|White Tiger of the West]] (白虎), Fall
*Black – [[Black Tortoise|Black Tortoise of the North]] (玄武), Winter

The ''dohyō'' in training stables is not raised but is otherwise the same as those used in tournaments. One ''dohyō'' is standard, although some larger stables have built two.

==''Dohyō matsuri''==
After the ''dohyō'' has been built, a ceremony called the ''dohyō matsuri'' (ring ceremony) is held. The ''dohyō matsuri'' is said to have been introduced by Yoshida Zenzaemon sometime during the [[Edo period]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guttmann|first1=Allen|last2=Thompson|first2=Lee|title=Japanese Sports: A History|date=2001|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|location=Honolulu|page=24}}</ref> The [[House of Yoshida Tsukasa|Yoshida family]] was a prominent ''[[gyōji]]'' family.

The ceremony is done to purify and consecrate the ''dohyō'', while also inviting the [[kami]] ([[Shinto]] deities) down to watch sumo. The ceremony is led by one of the ''tategyōji'' (head referee) along with two other ''gyōji''. The ''gyōji'' take the place of Shinto priests. The ''tategyoji'' will pray for the safety and well-being of the wrestlers. In the middle of the ''dohyō'' a square hole is cut in where the ''tategyoji'' will then place inside: torreya nuts, dried chestnuts, salt, washed rice, dried squid or cuttlefish and kombu (seaweed). The ''tategyoji'' will then will pour sacred sake into the hole, and around several other places around the ''dohyō'' before he will put more clay into the hole. The ''yobidashi'' will eventually cover up the hole. The sacred sake is then shared with everyone in attendance.

To conclude the ceremony, the ''yobidashi'' in a procession with [[taiko]] drums called a ''fure-daiko'' will begin. The procession will go around the ''dohyō'' three times before leaving the proceeding out into the street to announce the beginning of the tournament.

At the end of the tournament, one ''gyōji'' is thrown into the air by the low ranking wrestlers as a way of sending off the kami and officially ending the tournament.

==Image gallery==
<gallery>
File:土俵 (25256220600).jpg|An outdoor ''dohyō'' in [[Setagaya]], Tokyo.
File:Gamagori City Gamagori Junior High School (2013.05.03) 04.jpg|''Dohyō'' at Gamagori Junior High School
File:2019 Dewamoumi training ring.jpg|Training ''dohyō'' at [[Dewanoumi stable]], note how it is not on a raised platform
File:土俵 2007 (37080600251).jpg|Freshly painted ''shikiri-sen'' with a mat covering them to protect against the tarp that will be placed over the ''dohyō''<ref name="shisen"/>
File:Interior of Ryogoku Kokugikan suspended ceiling.jpg|Underside of the suspended roof at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, note the hidden lights. The roof is usually raised up to the ceiling, and only lowered for sumo matches.
File:Demo_Budo_Jkt_2018_Sumo.jpg|Amateur sumo competitions and training may sometimes use pre-built, portable dohyō made of canvas and foam plastic.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commonscat|Dohyō}}
*''[[Dohyō-iri]]''
*[[Clay court]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dohyo}}

[[Category:Shinto architecture]]
[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sumo terminology]]
[[Category:Sumo venues in Japan]]
[[Category:Ring (martial arts)]]