Yamachan'sSumo, Simply Sumo, explained for beginners

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Sumo Glossary

Every Japanese term used on this site, with the characters, how to say it, and what it actually means. Each entry links to the page where it is explained in context.

Reference  ·  Updated as the site grows

Sumo commentary is full of Japanese words that are never translated, because translating them properly takes a paragraph. This page is that paragraph, compressed into a line.

Translations here are fixed. Wherever a term appears elsewhere on the site, it is rendered exactly as it is below — so a word never means one thing on one page and something slightly different on another.

The ring

The ring. A raised platform of packed clay with a circle of straw bales on top, built new for every tournament. The dohyo explained
A bale of rice straw. Buried in the clay so only the top curve shows, these form the boundary of the ring. The dohyo explained
The four bales set slightly further out, at north, south, east and west. Originally for drainage; now they give a wrestler a few extra centimetres at those four points. The dohyo explained
The two short white lines at the centre, marking where the wrestlers crouch before the charge. The dohyo explained
The band of fine sand just outside the bales. Swept smooth between bouts so that a footprint in it can be used as evidence in a close decision. The dohyo explained
The roof suspended above the ring, with nothing holding it up. Installed before each tournament rather than being part of the building. The roof above the ring
The four large tassels at the corners of the suspended roof. Blue-green, red, white and black — each a season, a compass direction and a guardian said to protect the ring. The roof above the ring

Before the bout

The crouch. Both men squat at the lines and stare at each other, testing whether this is the moment to start. Before the bout
The charge that begins the bout. Both wrestlers must put both hands down on the clay before launching. Before the bout
"No more waiting." Called by the referee once the time limit is up, meaning the next crouch has to be the start. Before the bout
A request to reset. Before anyone launches, one wrestler decides the timing will not meet and asks for another crouch. Before the bout
"Their breathing did not meet." One man launches and the other does not — a start that simply failed to happen, with nobody asking for anything. Before the bout
Hands not properly down. If a wrestler is judged to have launched without both hands on the clay, the bout is restarted — even after the two have collided. Usually it is the referee who stops it; the head judge at ringside can stop it too. Before the bout
The leg stomp. One leg is lifted high to the side and brought down hard — a stretch, and a way of driving out what is bad in the ground. Shiko
Purifying salt. Thrown onto the clay before each attempt at a start, to cleanse the ring. Why they throw salt
A small cone of salt placed on a dish beside a doorway in Japan, for the same purifying reason. Why they throw salt

Judging

An objection to the result. The five ringside judges then step up onto the ring with the referee to discuss it, and may consult a video replay. How a match is won
"Dead body." A wrestler already past saving. If his opponent is in this state, the attacker can touch down first and still be given the win. How a match is won
"Excess of zeal." The attacker steps out of the ring first while driving his opponent to the edge, and loses. When a win is not a technique

Winning

The "deciding hand" — the official name for how a bout was won, chosen from a list of more than eighty and announced seconds after the end. What is kimarite
Frontal push out. The winner pushes his opponent out with the bodies apart, holding nothing at the finish. Oshidashi vs yorikiri
Frontal force out. The bodies are together and the winner keeps a grip on the belt or body as he walks his opponent out. Oshidashi vs yorikiri
The pushing style. Keeping the opponent at arm's length and never letting the bout become a grappling contest. Push or grapple
The belt style. Closing the distance, taking hold of the mawashi, and working from a grip. Push or grapple
The outside grip position: your arm has gone over the top of your opponent's arm. The two throws
The inside grip position: your arm has gone under his, against his body. The two throws
Overarm throw. A throw made with the outside arm — the one you will hear more often of the two. The two throws
Underarm throw. A throw made with the inside arm, worked from underneath and close in. The two throws
Slap down. The winner moves out of a charge and presses his opponent down as he passes. What is kimarite
Pull down. A closely related result to hatakikomi, differing in how the loser was brought down. What is kimarite
Sidestepping at the charge instead of meeting your opponent. Legal, and the surest way to draw a long sigh from a crowd. Not a kimarite — it describes how a bout began, not how it ended. Henka
"Not a technique." A group of results where the loser defeated himself rather than being beaten by something the winner did — 勇み足 (isamiashi), stepping out while attacking, is one of them. When a win is not a technique
A volley of open-handed thrusts to the chest and upper body. A way of fighting rather than a winning move — it never appears as the announced result. Tsuppari
"Thrust out." The result announced when a series of thrusts sends the opponent out backwards. Tsuppari
An open-handed slap. Legal, and a different action from the thrusts of tsuppari: it swings in along a curve rather than going straight out. Opinions on it differ. Tsuppari
Thrust down sideways, usually with one hand at the side of the body. The fourth most common result. The five most common
The same drive as yorikiri, except the opponent goes down rather than merely out. The five most common
The family of backward body drops. Six techniques; across 190,450 published bouts they account for 48 results between them, and three have never been recorded. The rare kimarite
The most-used of the backward drops, and still only 20 times in 190,450 bouts. The rare kimarite

The tournament

A grand tournament. Fifteen straight days, six times a year. Usually shortened to basho. What is a basho
A "white star" — a win. Shown as a white circle beside the wrestler's name. What is a basho
A "black star" — a loss. Shown as a black circle. What is a basho
A winning record: more than half your bouts won. Eight of fifteen in the top two divisions, four of seven below them. As a rule it moves you up the rankings. What is a basho
A losing record: more than half your bouts lost. As a rule it moves you down. What is a basho
The final day of a tournament. What is a basho
The championship, awarded in each division to the wrestler with the most wins. What is a basho
The first day of a tournament. In the published schedule it falls on a Sunday. Watching from abroad
The day the new ranking sheet is published — about two weeks before the tournament it applies to. How promotion works

Ranks

The ranking sheet. Every wrestler in the sport, in order, rewritten and reprinted before every tournament. The banzuke explained
A salaried wrestler — anyone in the top two divisions. The line between sekitori and everyone below is the sharpest boundary in the sport. The banzuke explained
The top division — the bouts most broadcasts show. The banzuke explained
The second division. The lowest division whose wrestlers are salaried. The banzuke explained
The third division, immediately below the salaried line. The banzuke explained
The fourth division. The banzuke explained
The fifth division. The banzuke explained
The bottom division, where most wrestlers start. The banzuke explained
The highest rank in sumo. It is never taken away — a yokozuna who can no longer produce results retires instead of being demoted. The banzuke explained
The rank below yokozuna, and the highest of the three sanyaku ranks. The banzuke explained
The second of the three sanyaku ranks. The banzuke explained
The lowest of the three sanyaku ranks. The banzuke explained
The titled ranks taken together: ozeki, sekiwake and komusubi — the three ranks between yokozuna and the numbered maegashira. The banzuke explained
The state an ozeki is in after a losing record: still ozeki, but demoted if the next tournament also goes badly. Ozeki and kadoban
Everyone else in the top division, numbered from one downwards. The banzuke explained
The collective name for the three ranks with names rather than numbers: ozeki, sekiwake and komusubi. Not a rank in itself. Sanyaku
The second of the three sanyaku ranks. A losing record drops a man out of it with no cushion. Sanyaku
The third of the three sanyaku ranks, and the hardest place in the top division to hold. Sanyaku
Everyone in the top division below sanyaku, identified by a number rather than a name. Sanyaku
The highest maegashira place. Written "head of the list" rather than "maegashira 1", though English coverage calls it that. Reading a banzuke
In the top division for the first time. 再入幕 (sai-nyumaku) means back in it after dropping out. How promotion works
Reaching the second division for the first time — and so becoming sekitori. The promotion that changes a life. How promotion works
Reaching sanyaku for the first time. 新 marks a first, 再 marks a return. How promotion works
Not on the ranking sheet at all. It appears on the published retirement list as the rank a wrestler held when he left. Retirement

People and clothing

A sumo wrestler. The word is used far more often than "wrestler" in Japanese. How sumo works
The belt. The only thing a wrestler wears, and the thing a grip is taken on. Push or grapple
A stable. The house a wrestler trains in and, for most of his career, lives in. Usually translated "stable". Inside a stable
A wrestler's ring name, given rather than chosen — and it can change during a career. Not the name he was born with. Shikona
The embroidered apron worn for the ring-entering ceremony. A different object from the belt fought in, and it looks nothing like it. Dohyo-iri
The ring-entering ceremony. Two different ones: a whole division together, and the yokozuna alone in the white rope. Dohyo-iri
The food cooked in a sumo stable — whatever it happens to be. A category, not a dish. Chanko
The hot pot. One kind of chanko — the best known outside Japan, which is why the two words get confused. Chanko
The referee. He does not start the bout — he judges it, and calls matta nashi when the time is up. Before the bout
The fan-shaped implement the referee carries. He points it at the winner; the direction it points is the decision. The gyoji
The attendant who calls the wrestlers up and looks after the ring itself, sweeping and tidying it between bouts. He also hands each man a towel — which is how you can tell the time limit has been reached — and carries the kensho banners. A ranked profession with nine grades. Before the bout
The topknot. Every wrestler whose hair is long enough wears one, and losing it marks the end of a career. The topknot
The plain everyday topknot, worn by everyone. The topknot
The topknot whose end is spread into a ginkgo-leaf fan. Worn by the sekitori when they compete — and by a makushita wrestler on the occasions he is brought up into a juryo bout. The topknot
The specialist hairdressers who tie the wrestlers' hair for them. Like the wrestlers, they belong to a stable, and they are ranked — the Association lists them from 特等床山 down to 五等床山. The topknot
The retirement ceremony at which the topknot is cut off, one snip at a time, the last cut made by the head of the stable. The topknot
Prize money put up by sponsors for one particular bout. One banner carried round the ring before it means one envelope for the winner after it. Kensho
"Hand sword." The three small chopping motions a winner makes before taking the kensho envelopes. Kensho
The final bout of the day, contested by the highest-ranked men available. The whole day's running order builds to it. Why the best bouts come last
The bow-twirling ceremony that closes every day, performed immediately after the concluding bout without fail. Why the best bouts come last
The highest grade of yobidashi. Below it come 副立呼出 and then grades named after the wrestlers’ own divisions — nine in all. The yobidashi
One of several payments a sekitori receives beyond the monthly salary. Sumo pays for winning separately from paying for rank. How wrestlers are paid
The three special prizes awarded in the top division, worth ¥2,000,000 each and rising to ¥3,000,000 from January 2027. How wrestlers are paid
About the translations

Several of these words have no clean English equivalent, and the one-line meanings above are deliberately practical rather than literal. Where a term carries more than a line can hold, the linked page does the work.