is a form of

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

played by women. Professional sumo traditionally forbids women from competition and ceremonies. Women are not allowed to enter or touch the sumo wrestling ring (''

dohyō A ''dohyō'' (, ) 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 sq ...

''). Despite this, women sumo wrestlers have existed through history and exist in the present day on an amateur level.

History

The first recorded instance of women performing sumo, according to the ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'', is when

Emperor Yuryaku The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

(418–479) summoned two courtesans and ordered them to wear loincloths and to sumo wrestle. Women's sumo would not become common until the 18th century in the middle of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(1603–1868), when a form of ''onna sumo'' was performed in some areas of Japan. Women's sumo was mainly a spectacle associated with

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s. Various types of women's sumo existed, including touring "professionals". These continued to exist after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

,''Seeing Stars: Sports Celebrity, Identity, and Body Culture in Modern Japan'' (2010, Dennis J. Frost; ), p. 48. until women's sumo was cracked down upon by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

and

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

, as they deemed the organizers of it to be corrupting public morals with these spectacles. Women's sumo continued to exist despite a government ban in 1926. The practice would only die after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with the last group dissolving in 1963.

Modern times

Female sumo is prohibited from taking place in professional settings, but exists on an amateur level. The

International Sumo Federation The International Sumo Federation (IFS) is the largest international governing body of sport Sumo with over 87 member countries. It was formed on 10 December, 1992 and is the only Sumo organization recognised by the International Olympic Committee ...

and its events (such as the

Sumo World Championships The Sumo World Championships is an amateur sumo competition organized by the International Sumo Federation. The men's competition started in 1992 and the women's competition started in 2001, with both competitions having been held together. The co ...

and European Sumo Championships) allow female competitors.

Women's Sumo is a form of sumo played by women. Professional sumo traditionally forbids women from competition and ceremonies. Women are not allowed to enter or touch the sumo wrestling ring (''dohyō''). Despite this, women sumo wrestlers have existed throu ...

is an event at the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

and was also featured at the

2013 World Combat Games The 2013 World Combat Games were held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from October 18 to 26, 2013. Venues Games Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was officially opened on October 18, 2013 at 20:30-22:00 local time. Sports Compared to the 5 ...

. The first national championship for amateur women's sumo was held in 1997. The rules are identical to men's amateur sumo, with the exception that the wrestlers wear leotards under a

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked profess ...

, and the matches last a maximum of three minutes instead of five minutes like the ones in men's amateur sumo.

Notable female sumo wrestlers

* Hiyori Kon * Miki Satoyama * Sharran Alexander * Julia Dorny * Hetal Dave * Edyta Witkowska *

Seika Izawa is a Japanese mixed martial artist, currently competing in the atomweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. She is the current Jewels Strawweight, Atomweight and Rizin Super Atomweight champion. As of January 3, 2022, Izawa is ranked as ...

Epp Mäe Epp Mäe (born 2 April 1992) is an Estonian Freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler. She won the silver medal in the 2021 World Wrestling Championships – Women's freestyle 76 kg, women's 76 kg event at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships he ...

* Anna Zhigalova * Vera Koval * Svitlana Iaromka * Sandra Köppen *

Maryna Pryshchepa Maryna Pryshchepa ( Ukrainian: Марина Прищепа; born 28 July 1983) is a Ukrainian judoka. Career She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics (Beijing) in the -78 kg event and lost her opening match to Heide Wollert. Four years later ...

* Yonamine Chiru * Françoise Harteveld * Kellyann Ball

In popular media

* a 2018 Japanese film about women's sumo wrestling in the 1920s. * ''On'nazumou'' (女相撲), a TV drama written by and broadcast in 1991 by TBS Television. It won the 1992 Broadcasting Culture Fund Award Main Award and the 1992 Television ATP Award Excellence Award. Nana Kinomi, who plays the role of Hanamidori Master, won the 18th Broadcasting Culture Fund Award Performance Award. * Women's Sumo featured as subject of the Season 4 Episode 3 of , a documentary drama-style historical cultural program broadcast on NHK General TV. * Women's Sumo is the subject of the manga ''Rikijo'' (りきじょ), written and illustrated by Utamaro and published in Gekkan Action between 2013 and 2015. * In video games, Hinako Shijou from

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

's ''The King of Fighters'' series is a female sumo wrestler and one of the limited examples in the medium. She debuted in ''

The King of Fighters 2000 (''KOF 2000'', or ''KOF '00'') is a 2000 fighting game, fighting video game developed and produced by SNK and released for the Neo Geo (console), Neo Geo arcade and home consoles. It is the seventh installment in ''The King of Fighters'' serie ...

'' as part of the "Woman Fighters Team". * In the film '' Sumo Do, Sumo Don't'', a female character pretends to be a male sumo wrestler while another engages with sumo at the end.

References

Bibliography