Guide

Two men, a clay circle. First to step out, or to touch the clay with anything but the soles of his feet, loses. That is the whole sport. Everything else — ranks, houses, salt, the fifteen-day grind — is how Japan has dressed that rule for centuries.

The men are rikishi. There are six grand tournaments a year — honbasho — always in odd months, always fifteen days. The rest of the calendar is practice, exhibition tours, and a new ranking sheet. You can follow all of it from here.

Read in this order

Start with the bout, then the tournament, then the words on the sheet. Skip ahead if Y, O, S, K, and M already look like ranks. Come back to any page when a word lands on a card.

1. 01A bout 一番How a sumo bout is won and lost — the ring, the charge, the referee, and what to watch for in ten seconds.
2. 02A basho 本場所Fifteen days, six times a year. Pairings, winning records, the yusho, sansho, and how a live day is built.
3. 03Ranks 階級Yokozuna down through jonokuchi — who is salaried, who can fall, and why east sits slightly above west.
4. 04Banzuke 番付の見方Columns, calligraphy, extra ozeki slots, and why East sits on the right of a printed sheet.
5. 05Kimarite 決まり手The winning techniques you will actually see — belt, push, slap, and the rest of the everyday list.
6. 06The year 一年Six basho, six weeks in between — jungyo, the banzuke meeting, and what to do when the dohyo is dark.
7. 07Houses 部屋Heya are training houses, not teams — oyakata, ichimon, morning practice, and who fights whom.
8. 08Glossary 用語Banzuke, basho, kachi-koshi, kadoban, and the rest — in plain English, grouped the way a basho works.

Two things you will hover or tap

Rank codes and kimarite explain themselves where they appear — hover or tap any underlined mono value. M3e is a rank address. yorikiri is how a bout ended. Both are pinned open here so you can see the shape.