MEET IT IN 30 SECONDS
番付
Banzuke can mean sumo’s rankings or the sheet issued before an official tournament. The position and size of the writing help make the hierarchy visible, with wrestlers arranged on East and West sides.
East appears on the right of the sheet and West on the left. They do not divide wrestlers by geographic origin; that is listed separately. A banzuke is also different from a daily bout schedule. Consult the torikumi to find who faces whom.
The six divisions are makuuchi, jūryō, makushita, sandanme, jonidan and jonokuchi. Within makuuchi are the ranks yokozuna, ōzeki, sekiwake, komusubi and maegashira. Yokozuna is therefore not a seventh division. Numbered positions such as a maegashira’s maime identify a place within a rank or division.
The highest-ranked wrestlers appear in larger characters, with lower divisions packed into smaller writing. The sheet also lists personnel such as gyōji, yobidashi and elders. Not every name belongs to a competing wrestler. Check the tournament, date and venue before treating a sheet as a record of current rankings.
On the January 2012 sheet shown here, East is marked on the right. The large rightmost column identifies yokozuna, lists Mongolia separately and then gives the ring name 白鵬翔. These answer three different questions: rank, origin and name. East does not mean that the wrestler comes from eastern Japan. The centre identifies Heisei 24, fifteen days beginning on 8 January, and Ryōgoku Kokugikan, dating this particular document.
The large central heading 蒙御免, read gomen kōmuru, means permission has been granted. It preserves wording associated with permission to hold Edo sumo events, a different kind of information from the tournament dates and venue beneath it.
Within the same rank and numbered position, East precedes West. East maegashira 2 therefore ranks above West maegashira 2, which in turn ranks above East maegashira 3. The first position is commonly called hittō; larger numbers lie farther down the order. These paired positions do not automatically identify opponents for a particular day, which requires the separate bout schedule.
Makuuchi and jūryō wrestlers are sekitori. They ordinarily wrestle throughout the fifteen days, while wrestlers in makushita and below ordinarily have seven bouts. Eight wins and seven losses is therefore a winning record in fifteen bouts, just as four wins and three losses is in seven. Crossing from makushita into jūryō also changes conditions such as monthly pay, clothing and participation in the ceremonial entry wearing a keshō-mawashi.
Printed tiers are not divisions: the usual sheet has five tiers, with jūryō and makushita sharing the second, although competition has six divisions.
Tournament results shape the revised rankings, rather than age or length of service. Yokozuna is an important exception: a wrestler who reaches that rank is not demoted. The banzuke therefore cannot be treated as a points table with a fixed move for each win.
Gyōji also write the banzuke, arranging names in bold strokes and different character sizes. The Japan Sumo Association shows a handwritten master, or motogaki, from which the published sheet is printed at a reduced size. Use the genuine tournament sheet to identify names and positions.
Rankings are published before an official tournament, with the precise release date shown in the association’s schedule. Printed sheets serve spectators and collectors, while the association also presents information online. The publication date and the dates of the tournament are separate.
After an ōzeki records a losing tournament, the following tournament is commonly called kadoban. Another losing record means two consecutive losing tournaments and demotion to sekiwake. Ten or more wins in the tournament immediately following demotion permit a return to ōzeki in the next one. This special route does not describe promotion and demotion at every rank. Yokozuna, by contrast, has no demotion procedure.
The banzuke committee meets within three days of a tournament’s end. It consists of elders in the judging department; gyōji attend as clerks, rather than independently deciding rankings because they write the sheet. The committee assesses records alongside available positions and other wrestlers’ results. A winning record does not mechanically purchase a fixed number of places.
Gyōji then write a motogaki master in sumo lettering for reduced printing. The full rankings are normally announced thirteen days before the next tournament, although new jūryō promotions and certain other promotions are announced earlier for preparations. Decision and publication are distinct steps.
In 1757, Edo sumo combined East and West on one vertical sheet. Kyoto and Osaka had used two horizontal sheets, one for each side. The single-sheet format continued, although its contents and ranks changed. Sumo practice is older than this paper format.
Mitate banzuke applied a sumo-like ranking layout to other subjects, including hot springs. Such prints show the circulation of the format, but they do not document wrestlers’ positions. Establish what a historical sheet ranks before using it as evidence.
Fukuoka City Museum explains that yokozuna originally licensed an upper-ranked wrestler to perform the special ring-entry ceremony, rather than beginning as an independent rank. Its account dates the appearance of yokozuna on the banzuke to 1890. Katsuragi’s sumo museum account identifies 1909 as its formal establishment as the highest rank. One date concerns the printed label and the other the institutional position.
Tokyo and Osaka began staging unified tournaments in January 1927 after their sumo associations merged. Their separate banzuke also had to become one ranking. According to the Japan Sumo Association, wrestlers with duplicate ring names were required to change them, while ranks below yokozuna were settled through an assessment of ability.
An East–West Federation sumo event was held for that assessment, and its results were used to compile the joint banzuke. The merger therefore involved comparing wrestlers from both organisations, rather than simply assigning Tokyo to the east side and Osaka to the west.
The East–West allocation, place of origin and ring name.
East 2 comes before West 2, which comes before East 3.
Jūryō and makushita share the second tier; competition still has six divisions.
Eight wins against seven losses, or four wins against three losses, respectively.
Sekitori receive different conditions, including pay, bout schedules and clothing.
Two consecutive losing tournaments lead to sekiwake; ten wins in the immediately following tournament permit restoration in the next one.
The elders decide the order, gyōji write the master for reduction, and the full sheet is normally published thirteen days before the next tournament.
The printed appearance of yokozuna, and its formal establishment as the highest rank.
Duplicate ring names were changed. Ranks below yokozuna were assessed through an East–West Federation event, whose results were used to compile the joint banzuke.
