Сумодағы дәстүрлі көмекшілер

Traditional handyman in professional sumo wrestling

A , often translated in English as "usher", "ring attendant", or "ring announcer", is an employee of the Japan Sumo Association, responsible for various tasks essential to the traditional running of professional sumo tournaments (honbasho) in Japan. The yobidashi are involved in building the dohyō (wrestling ring) or calling wrestlers (rikishi) to the ring when it is their turn to fight. They are also entrusted with other roles, both administrative and artistic, in the service of the stable to which they are attached. Established during the Heian period, the role of yobidashi was not codified until the Tenmei era. Nicknamed "sumo's workhorses" by former sekiwake Takamiyama, the yobidashi are required to wear traditional clothing in public and are subject to a strict hierarchy in their organisation.

The status of yobidashi did not appear until 1750. Before the appearance of this term to specifically designate the staff responsible for announcing the wrestlers, several different terms were used over time to designate the yobidashi. During the Heian period, there was a role known as fushō (奏上), who was responsible for presenting the wrestlers to the emperor and the nobility who attended the matches. During the Edo period, the role became more codified, the staff responsible for calling the wrestlers inherited the name maegyōji (前行司), meaning 'preceding referees'. Later came the terms fure (触れ) and nanori (名乗り), both of which also mean 'to announce something', to refer more specifically to the personnel announcing the wrestlers. Since in earlier times the yobidashi would sit down on their heels in the middle of the ring when the wrestlers arrived and call them by name, they inherited another name: tsubaki gyōji, meaning 'squatting referees'.

The maximum number of yobidashi allowed in the Sumo Association is 45. As of April 2023, there are 45 yobidashi within the Sumo Association. and it is not uncommon for most to be wrestlers who have not managed to break through but are keen to stay in professional sumo. The current ranking system was created in July 1993 and consists of the following nine ranks: In September 2023, however, it was announced that Jirō (also from Kasugano stable), would be promoted by two ranks to become tate yobidashi from December 25 of the same year, when the banzuke for the January 2024 tournament will be released. On the same date, the fuku tate yobidashi role–vacant since November 2015–will be taken up by Katsuyuki from Shibatayama stable.

The yobidashi's most emblematic task is to call the wrestlers into the ring for their match of the day. Dressed traditionally and holding a simple white fan, they call the wrestlers by their shikona, or ring name, in a high pitched and melodious way. The use of a fan was originally intended to prevent droplets of saliva from soiling the sacred surface of the dohyō. Junior yobidashi also help senior gyōji during the [[Glossary of sumo terms#kaobure gonjō ceremony. Less publicly, yobidashi also take care of many small requests made by the Sumo Association executives on judging duty or guard duty in the corridors, such as fetching drinks or cigarettes. The kimono worn by the yobidashi often displays sponsors' names in black characters and logo. each yobidashi has eight different kimono which he wears during all 15 days of each basho. The costume is the same for senior and junior ranked yobidashi and only the kimono worn on the torso varies in color and the names on the back. Since the kimono display the logos and names of the sponsors, it is often offered by them and the yobidashi rarely choose the colors of their kimono. Their hakama colors and designs, on the other hand, are often decided within an ichimon, but it can also be presented by rikishi who have been promoted to [[Makuuchi#Ōzeki or yokozuna as a commemorative gift and the shikona, or ring name, of the said wrestler can be seen at top of the back of the hakama, in place of the name of the stable to which the yobidashi belongs, which is normally found there.