Дохё: Священное пространство сумо

Space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs

A dohyō (土俵, ) is the space in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical dohyō is a circle made of partially buried rice straw bales 4.55 meters in diameter. In official professional tournaments (honbasho), it is mounted on a square platform of clay 66 cm high and 6.7m wide on each side.

After the dohyō has been built, a ceremony called the dohyō matsuri (ring ceremony) is held. The dohyō matsuri is said to have been introduced by Yoshida Zenzaemon sometime during the Edo period. The Yoshida family was a prominent gyōji family. The ceremony is done to purify and consecrate the dohyō, while also inviting the kami (Shinto deities) down to watch sumo. The ceremony is led by one of the tategyōji (head referee) along with two other gyōji. The gyōji take the place of Shinto priests. The tategyoji will pray for the safety and well being of the wrestlers. In the middle of the dohyō a square hole is cut in where the tategyoji will then place inside: torreya nuts, dried chestnuts, salt, washed rice, dried squid or cuttlefish and kombu (seaweed). The tategyoji will then will pour sacred sake into the hole, and around several other places around the dohyō before he will put more clay into the hole. The yobidashi will eventually cover up the hole. The sacred sake is then shared with everyone in attendance. To conclude the ceremony the yobidashi in a procession with taiko drums called a fure daiko will begin. The procession will go around the dohyō three times before leaving the proceeding out into the street to announce the beginning of the tournament. At the end of the tournament one gyōji is thrown into the air by the low ranking wrestlers as a way of sending off the kami and officially ending the tournament.