The sumo ring-entering ceremony (dohyo-iri), explained
The dohyo-iri is a ring-entering ceremony, not a fight. The wrestlers of a division walk in wearing heavy embroidered silk aprons, form a circle facing out, clap once to get the gods' attention, raise their aprons slightly, and file out. The top-ranked wrestler, the yokozuna, has his own separate entrance with two attendants and a thick white rope belt.
Whether a yokozuna is competing, and how many, changes from tournament to tournament. Check the current top rankers with the Japan Sumo Association. Japan Sumo Association ↗
What you are seeing
- The juryo (second division) and makuuchi (top division) each have their own ceremony before their bouts begin.
- The aprons (kesho-mawashi) are sponsored and often elaborate; each wrestler is introduced by name and home region.
- The yokozuna's entrance is slower and more formal, with stamping (shiko) and a rope belt worn only by wrestlers of that rank.
What to watch next
- Use the ceremony to spot the wrestler you are following as he is announced.
- Watch the yokozuna's stamping: it is meant to drive evil out of the ring before the day's serious bouts.
- The ceremony marks the shift in the day - after the top-division entrance, the bouts that fill the arena are about to start.
A common first-timer mistake
Expecting the ceremony to be the main event and feeling let down. It is an introduction; the point is what comes after it.
Words you may hear
- Dohyo-iri
- the ring-entering ceremony
- Kesho-mawashi
- the embroidered ceremonial apron
- Yokozuna
- the top rank; the only wrestlers who perform their own entrance with a rope belt
Sources and review
Created and photographed in Ryogoku by a Tokyo-based spectator. Facts reviewed against Japan Sumo Association materials on 25 August 2026.