Editing Sumo (section)

===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]].