Yamachan'sSumo, Simply Sumo, explained for beginners

Sumo, explained in the order it makes sense

Most guides hand you a list of terms. This one gives you a path. Start at the first step, and by the last one you will be watching a bout the way the judges watch it.

Start here

  1. How a match is won Two rules end almost every bout. Everything else is detail.
  2. The four minutes before the charge Salt, staring, false starts — why the build-up is longer than the fight.
  3. Why every win has a name Sumo records how you won, not just that you won.
  4. Reading the banzuke The ranking sheet that decides who fights whom, and what it costs to fall.
  5. The shape of a tournament Fifteen days, and the eight-win line that moves careers.
  6. What the ceremony is for Why salt is thrown before every attempt at a start.
  7. Watching it for real Where to look in the three seconds that decide most bouts.

Or start with what interests you

基本 Basics The rules, the ring, and the shape of a tournament. 番付 Ranks & Promotion How a wrestler rises, and how quickly he can fall. 決まり手 Winning Moves The named techniques, and how to tell similar ones apart. 所作 Rituals & the Ring Everything you can see but cannot explain yet. 力士 Rikishi Life The stable, the training, the food, the retirement. 観戦 Watching Sumo Tickets, streams, seats, and what not to do at the venue.

Why this site exists

Sumo is easy to enjoy and hard to follow. The rules are simple, but nothing is explained to you: not the ranks, not the ceremony, not the word the announcer says the moment a bout ends.

This site is written from Japan, for people watching from outside it. Every diagram here is drawn from scratch, and every Japanese term is given in kanji, in romaji, and in plain English — so you can recognise it when you hear it.