Editing Sumo (section)

==History==
===Antiquity (pre-1185)===
{{See also|Shinto origins of sumo}}
[[File:Figure group entitled 'The Wrestlers' or 'Kawatso Saburo Overcoming Matano Goro' - RC1008-1.tif|thumb|Japanese figure group entitled '''The Wrestlers' or 'Kawatso Saburo Overcoming Matano Goro'.'' The sculpture depicts Kawatso Saburo wrestling with Matano Goro during a famous sumo match of AD 1176. The pair are shown in the hold 'kawazu-gake' named after Saburo, the victor. This item is possibly a miniature example of [[Iki doll|Iki-ningyō]] (living dolls), the Japanese tradition of making life-sized life-like dolls which were popular in misemono (exhibitions) during the Edo period of Japan and showed dramatic historical scenes.]]
Prehistoric wall paintings indicate that sumo originated from an agricultural [[ceremonial dance|ritual dance]] performed in prayer for a good harvest.<ref name="USADojo">{{cite web |url=https://www.usadojo.com/history-of-sumo/ |title=History of Sumo |last=Sharnoff |first=Lora |date=August 13, 2013 |website=USA Dojo |access-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229215600/https://www.usadojo.com/history-of-sumo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The first mention of sumo can be found in a ''[[Kojiki]]'' manuscript dating back to 712, which describes how possession of the Japanese islands was decided in a wrestling match between the ''[[kami]]'' known as [[Takemikazuchi]] and [[Takeminakata]].

[[Takemikazuchi]] was a god of thunder, swordsmanship, and conquest, created from the blood that was shed when [[Izanagi]] slew the fire-demon [[Kagu-tsuchi]]. [[Takeminakata]] was a god of water, wind, agriculture and hunting, and a distant descendant of the storm-god [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto|Susanoo]]. When [[Takemikazuchi]] sought to conquer the land of [[Izumo Province|Izumo]], Takeminakata challenged him in hand-to-hand combat. In their melee, Takemikazuchi grappled Takeminakata's arm and crushed it "like a reed", defeating Takeminakata and claiming Izumo.<ref name="fight-library">{{cite web|url=https://fight-library.com/2020/04/14/history-lesson-sumo-wrestlings-ancient-origins/|title=History Lesson: Sumo Wrestling's Ancient Origins|publisher=Fight-Library.com|author=Blaine Henry|date=April 14, 2020|access-date=April 26, 2020|archive-date=May 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515051255/https://fight-library.com/2020/04/14/history-lesson-sumo-wrestlings-ancient-origins/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ashkenazi>{{cite book|last=Ashkenazi|first=Michael|title=Handbook of Japanese Mythology|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2003|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofjapane0000ashk|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofjapane0000ashk/page/266 266]|isbn=9781576074671}}</ref>
[[File:舟塚古墳 (小美玉市) 出土 埴輪 力士.JPG|thumb|259x259px|Haniwa sumo wrestler]]
The {{lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}}, published in 720, dates the first sumo match between mortals to the year 23&nbsp;BC, when a man named [[Nomi no Sukune]] fought against Taima no Kuehaya at the request of [[Emperor Suinin]] and eventually killed him, making him the mythological ancestor of sumo.<ref name="USADojo" /><ref name="Kokugakuin">{{cite web |url=http://k-amc.kokugakuin.ac.jp/DM/detail.do?class_name=col_eos&data_id=23231 |title=Encyclopedia of Shinto: Sumō |author=Shigeru Takayama |publisher=Kokugakuin University |access-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124072953/http://k-amc.kokugakuin.ac.jp/DM/detail.do?class_name=col_eos&data_id=23231 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', Nomi broke a rib of Taima with one kick, and killed him with a kick to the back as well.<ref name="fight-library" /> Until the Japanese Middle Ages, this unregulated form of wrestling was often fought to the death of one of the fighters.<ref name="USADojo" /> In the [[Kofun period]] (300–538), ''[[Haniwa]]'' of sumo wrestlers were made.<ref>{{Cite web |title=男子立像（力士像）埴輪 文化遺産オンライン |url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/205108 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=bunka.nii.ac.jp |language=ja}}</ref> The first historically attested sumo fights were held in 642 at the court of [[Empress Kōgyoku]] to entertain a Korean legation. In the centuries that followed, the popularity of sumo within the court increased its ceremonial and religious significance. Regular events at the Emperor's court, the {{Transliteration|ja|sumai no sechie}}, and the establishment of the first set of rules for sumo fall into the cultural heyday of the [[Heian period]].

===Japanese Middle Ages (1185–1603)===
With the collapse of the Emperor's central authority, sumo lost its importance in the court; during the [[Kamakura period]], sumo was repurposed from a ceremonial struggle to a form of military combat training among ''[[samurai]]''.<ref name="USADojo"/><ref name="Kokugakuin"/> By the [[Muromachi period]], sumo had fully left the seclusion of the court and became a popular event for the masses, and among the ''[[Daimyo|daimyō]]'' it became common to sponsor wrestlers. ''Sumotori'' who successfully fought for a [[Daimyo|''daimyō'''s]] favor were given generous support and ''samurai'' status. [[Oda Nobunaga]], a particularly avid fan of the sport, held a tournament of 1,500 wrestlers in February 1578. Because several bouts were to be held simultaneously within Oda Nobunaga's castle, circular arenas were delimited to hasten the proceedings and to maintain the safety of the spectators. This event marks the invention of the ''[[dohyō]]'', which would be developed into its current form up until the 18th century.<ref name="USADojo"/> The winner of Nobunaga's tournament was given a bow for being victorious and he began dancing to show the war-lord his gratitude.<ref name="fight-library"/>

===Edo period (1603–1867)===
[[File:Sumo-Yokozuna-Shiranui-and-Kimenzan-1869.png|thumb|The 11th Yokozuna, [[Shiranui Kōemon]] and the 13th Yokozuna, [[Kimenzan Tanigorō]] (1866)]]
Because sumo had become a nuisance due to wild fighting on the streets, particularly in Edo, sumo was temporarily banned in the city during the [[Edo period]]. In 1684, sumo was permitted to be held for charity events on the property of Shinto shrines, as was common in [[Kyoto]] and [[Osaka]]. The first sanctioned tournament took place in the [[Tomioka Hachiman Shrine]] at this time. An official sumo organization was developed, consisting of professional wrestlers at the disposal of the Edo administration. Many elements date from this period, such as the ''[[Glossary of sumo terms#D|dohyō-iri]]'', the ''[[Heya (sumo)|heya]]'' system, the ''[[gyōji]]'' and the ''[[mawashi]]''. The 18th century brought forth several notable wrestlers such as [[Raiden Tameemon]], [[Onogawa Kisaburō]] and [[Tanikaze Kajinosuke]], the first historical ''[[Makuuchi#Yokozuna|yokozuna]]''.

When [[Matthew Perry (naval officer)|Matthew Perry]] was shown sumo wrestling during his 1853 expedition to Japan, he found it distasteful and arranged a military showcase to display the merits of Western organization.<ref>{{cite book|title=When, Where, Why, and How It Happened|publisher=Reader's Digest|page=243|editor-first=Michael|editor-last=Worth Davison|year=1993}}</ref>

===Since 1868===
[[Image:Wrestling at Tokyo 1890s.jpg|thumb|Sumo match in Tokyo {{c.|1890s}}]]
The [[Meiji Restoration]] of 1868 brought about the end of the feudal system, and with it the wealthy ''daimyō'' as sponsors. Due to a new fixation on [[Western culture]], sumo had come to be seen as an embarrassing and backward relic, and internal disputes split the central association. The popularity of sumo was restored when [[Emperor Meiji]] organized a tournament in 1884; his example would make sumo a national symbol and contribute to nationalist sentiment following military successes against Korea and China. The Japan Sumo Association reunited on 28 December 1925 and increased the number of annual tournaments from two to four, and then to six in 1958. The length of tournaments was extended from ten to fifteen days in 1949.<ref name="fight-library"/>

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="120px" perrow="3">
File:Grand-Kanjin-Sumo-Tournament-by-Utagawa-Kunisada-1846.png|Kanjin Grand Sumo Tournament ({{Circa|1843}})
File:Kunisada sumo 1851.jpg|Sumo wrestling scene {{c.|1851}}
File:Somagahana Fuchiemon restored.jpg|Somagahana Fuchiemon, {{c.|1850|lk=on}}
File:The_Mission_of_Commodore_Perry_to_Japan_in_1854_(BM_2013,3002.1_105).jpg|American sailors of the [[Perry Expedition]] examining a sumo wrestler (1854)
</gallery>