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Japanese sumo wrestling regulatory agency

The Japan Sumo Association (日本相撲協会), sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ōzumō, 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). This means concretely that the Association maintains and develops sumo traditions and integrity by holding tournaments and The purposes of the Association are also to develop the means dedicated to the sport and maintain, manage and operate the facilities necessary for these activities. Therefore, the JSA operates subsidiaries such as the Kokugikan Service Company to organize its economic aspects, the Sumo School to organize training and instruction or the Sumo Museum to preserve and utilize sumo wrestling records and artefacts. Following a number of scandals, the Association has implemented numerous reforms in recent decades. TOC

The Association has a long and rich history that dates back to the ancient rites of Shinto. Established in 1925 to award the "Prince Regent Cup" (later Emperor's Cup) during main tournaments, the Association became a Special Incorporated Foundation then a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation in 2014.

The Association has its origins in a Shinto ritual (or festival) that has been held since ancient times to pray for a bountiful harvest. This primary form of sumo was called Shinji zumo (神事相撲). In 1757, during the Hōreki era, the beginnings of the Association were established as "Edo sumo Kaisho" (江戸相撲会所), later called Tokyo sumo. During the Edo period, sumo bouts (called kanjin sumo, 勧進相撲), were often held to raise funds to develop provinces (new construction or repair of bridges, temples, shrines and other public buildings) or for entertainment purposes. Sumo wrestling was also actively practiced among samurai as a form of combat training called buke sumo (武家相撲). Local rulers, or daimyō, controlled sumo and gained financing from it. On the other hand, their protection to wrestlers was a guarantee of status. Rikishi were appointed as vassals of feudal lords and became samurai as well as being the champions of the feudal domain to which they were linked. Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu specifically wanted "street" sumo prohibited and determined sumo should only be held for charitable purposes (perpetuating kanjin sumo). The wrestlers were also paid with extra revenue from these events. Written rankings, known as banzuke, were introduced from 1761 and the assembly of lords that organized these rankings began to emerge as a full fledge organization. In this time, sumo came to be called "ōzumō" (大相撲), "grand sumo" or professional sumo. As sumo began to showcase the power of daimyo, lords began to codify the sport and negotiated with each other to secure ownership of wrestlers under a system called kakae (抱え). Slowly, noble houses (the most prominent of which was the Yoshida family) began to develop methods of sponsor to ensure dominance over this popular form of entertainment. Licenses began to be introduced in the eighteenth century, creating the rank of yokozuna (in 1789), or the rank of tate gyōji ; both of them still existing today. In the 19th century, the Meiji Restoration leaders abolished the shogunate and the feudal system that supported it. To adapt and survive, the lords introduced the change to the system of salaries and directors that is known today. In 1884, Emperor Meiji began to support sumo tournaments which helped to give sumo wrestling a reputation as a national event. However, due to the diminishing power of lords that regulated the sport, parallel organizations began to develop their own form of tournaments. In 1869, the Osaka sumo Association (大坂相撲協会, Ōsaka zumou kyōkai) was founded and created a rivalry that emulated the history of sumo. Each associations had their own history and changes. For example, from 1888 to 1895 the "Kōkaku gumi" (廣角組), led by wrestlers Onaruto and Shingari, broke off from Osaka sumo. In December 1925, Tokyo sumo became the Greater Japan Sumo Association (Dai Nihon Sumō Kyokai, 大日本相撲協会). In January 1927, Osaka sumo merged with the Greater Japan Sumo Association after a long decline. The 88 elders of the Tokyo contingent and the 22 elders from the Osaka contingent merged and disputed their first common tournament with a common banzuke during the Hatsu basho (January tournament). In the run up to the merger during 1925 and 1926, a series of three joint tournaments was held to assess the relative strength of the rikishi in both organizations. Confirming the prevailing opinion that Osaka sumo was inferior, the Tokyo camp largely won out and wrestlers as high as ōzeki in Osaka sumo were relegated to the third makushita division in the new merged rankings. However, the yokozuna from both sides were maintained, as there was no precedent for demoting them, allowing Osaka sumo to save face. Later that year, the first chairman of the Association, Lieutenant General Hirose Masanori, was named. From 1933 to 1937, the Greater Japan Sumo Association briefly experienced a secession during the Shunjuen Incident. The strike of the wrestlers led to the foundation of the Kansai Sumo Association (Kansai Kakuryoku Kyokai, 関西角力協会) by members of the Dewanoumi ichimon. The secessionist association later dissolved. In 1944, the first successor from the sumo world was chosen and former Tsunenohana became chairman of the Association. After the war, the Association was further modernized. Due to sumo being seen as the national sport, the Association was ancillaried to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 1958 as a Special Incorporated Foundation and named Japan Sumo Association. In 2014, it shifted to a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation.

In order to maintain and develop the traditions and order of Sumo, the Association is mainly responsible for holding competitive tournaments (called honbasho) in January, March, May, July, September and November. The Association also holds regional tours (called ). The Japan Sumo Association holds these tournaments each year with different purposes for each kind. Main tournaments are televised and help to maintain the interest of sumo as a sport by broadcasting the competitions. The jungyō meanwhile are important for the popularity of wrestlers and allow fans to meet them in the form of meet and greet events. The Association is also responsible for the recruitment, instruction and training of wrestlers via the heya system or the Sumo School. Its operations are authorized and defined by the administrative agency of the Act on Authorization of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Incorporated Foundation (Act No. 49 of 2006). Professor Mark D. West defined the organization of the Association as a "complex web of formal legal rules and informal social norms" while the association's choice to apply rules or to defect to norms "is based on a calculation of comparative efficiency". Japanese citizenship is also a prerequisite. Each share is associated with a particular name, and in the sumo world the former wrestler will be known by that name, usually with the suffix oyakata. The members are also often called elders in English. An exception to the normal acquisition is made for the most successful rikishi, former yokozuna, who may be offered a "one generation" elder stock (called ichidai toshiyori) without having to use a traditional share in the Association and enter their retirement duties with their wrestling name. Since this exception system has been in place, three former wrestlers (Taihō, Kitanoumi and Takanohana) have obtained this status. A fourth, Chiyonofuji, was offered this status but preferred a normal share and became Kokonoe oyakata. These four all achieved more than twenty tournament championships in their active careers. The members of the Association receive a salary and are expected to assist in the running of their stable and the Association, from selling tickets and security work at the most junior level, to taking charge of one of the Association departments as a director. These members are also the only persons given the authority to train new sumo wrestlers. They do this by opening or taking over a training stable, or heya (changed to beya as a suffix) which will take the same name as the founder's elder name. Thus Dewanoumi oyakata will be the owner of Dewanoumi beya. Typically about 50% of the Association members have their own stable, while the rest are required to be affiliated with one and assist the principal owner. It is common for the most senior members of the Association to concentrate on their Association responsibilities and pass the day to day management of a stable to another. If a senior oyakata wishes to do this, the two may elect to swap names so that the stable can keep the more prestigious name. A recent example was in 1996, when the Association's chairman Dewanoumi oyakata (former yokozuna Sadanoyama), swapped names with Sakaigawa oyakata (former sekiwake Washūyama) who took over the running of Dewanoumi stable. The Association members are also split into various ranks. A new retiree will begin his career as a coach at toshiyori rank (commonly called oyakata), except for former ōzeki and yokozuna who are automatically granted Committee Member rank. The most senior Association members are Committee Members. All members are required to retire when they reach the age of sixty five (with a possible five year extension if approved by the board of directors), after which they can pass their name to another, provided that person meets the Association's eligibility requirements. In the case of a one time membership mentioned above the name merely lapses. Like the toshiyori kabu system there can be only a limited number of them.

To this organization adds an advisory body called the Yokozuna Deliberation Council. Department Role Yokozuna Deliberation Council An organization composed of experts outside the Association and mainly recommending rikishi for promotion to yokozuna.

The possession of a toshiyori kabu is essential for the functioning of Association as elders (assembled in a board of trustees called hyōgiin kai, 評議員会) votes for the board of the Association. The election process is heavily influenced by the stables regroupments to which coaches are distributed in. Each stable belong to an ichimon, or clan. There is currently five ichimon, each bearing the name of its leading stable: Dewanoumi, Isegahama, Nishonoseki, Takasago and Tokitsukaze. The ichimon serves as quasi political groupings, each clan nominating candidates for the ten positions or so that are available on the Association's board each election cycle. Each vote is normally along the interests of the ichimon, which explain why the bigger clans more often holds the Association's chairmanship. Former wrestler popularity however plays a role in the credit given to an application. For example, former yokozuna Takanohana won four straight election bids to become director before his demotion in 2018, despite being the leader of a small ichimon. Stables aren't equally divided among the ichimon. As of October 2022, Nishonoseki has the most stables with 15, but Dewanoumi has the most affiliated oyakata (elders) with 35. The ichimon was however short lived and was disbanded in 2018 after the Takanoiwa affair. Until 2018, there have been non aligned stables, or loose coalitions that weren't formal ichimon, but in 2018 the Association ruled that all stables had to belong to one of the current ichimon.