A sumo career ends the same way for everyone: a topknot cut off in front of a crowd. What happens next depends entirely on the rank you happened to reach. This is the story of the wrestlers who get a fortune and a coaching career, and the far larger number who get a diploma to earn, a restaurant to open, or a body already collecting diagnoses in their thirties.
After the Cut: What Happens When a Sumo Wrestler Retires Read More »
Six times a year, one hand-lettered sheet of paper decides a sumo wrestler’s salary, status and living arrangements. Here’s how the banzuke works today, and the three centuries of shrine placards, loopholes and paperwork crises that got it there.
The Banzuke: How One Sheet of Paper Runs the Sumo World Read More »
Sumo presents itself as an ancient, unbroken tradition, but its 1,300-year history is a tale of constant survival and reinvention. From Shinto harvest bouts and samurai battlefield training to Meiji-era imperial patronage and the rise of foreign champions, discover how village grappling became Japan’s most storied national institution.
A Brief History of Sumo: From Divine Duel to National Institution Read More »
