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 .
For top ranked professional (known as), the mawashi is made of silk and comes in a variety of colours. It is approximately 30feet in length when unwrapped, about wide and weighs about 8to. It is wrapped several times around the and fastened in the back by a large knot. A series of stiffened silk fronds of matching colour called are inserted into the front of the .[1] Their number varies from 13 to 25, and is always an odd number. They mark out the only part of the that it is illegal to grab on to: the vertical part covering the 's groin, and if they fall out during competition the (referee) will throw them from the ring at the first opportunity.
Many are superstitious and will change the color of their to change their luck. Sometimes a poor performance will cause them to change colors for the next tournament, or even during a tournament, in an attempt to change their luck for the better. An example of this was done by Ōnoshō during the 2020 July tournament, when, after several losses in a row, he decided to change from crimson to dark gray.
only wear the silk during competitive bouts either during ranking tournaments or touring displays. During training, a heavy white cotton is worn. For senior in the top two divisions, this belt is coloured white, and it is worn with one end distinctively looped at the front. are not worn during training.
ranked in the lower professional divisions wear a black cotton both for training and in competition. In competition, cotton are inserted into the belt, but these are not stiffened.
Amateur sumo wrestlers wear a cotton of any color without the looping accorded to the senior professional's training garb. Additionally, they may wear a tag on the front of their that identifies them individually or the nation they are competing for, depending on the competition. Amateur sumo wrestlers are also allowed (or required, in the case of women wrestlers) to wear shorts or leotards under their while professional are not.[2]
Sometimes a may wear his in such a way as to give him some advantage over his opponent. He may wear it loosely to make it more difficult to be thrown, or he may wrap it tightly and splash a little water on it to help prevent his opponent from getting a good grip on it. His choice will depend on the type of techniques he prefers to employ in his bouts. Thus a wrestler preferring belt sumo will usually wear it more loosely, while those preferring pushing techniques will tend to wear the more tightly.
If a wrestler's comes off during a tournament bout, he is automatically disqualified.[3] This is extremely rare, but did occur in May 2000, when wrestler Asanokiri's came off during a match with Chiyohakuhō.[4] However, for most of sumo's history, whether or not a wrestler's came off during a bout was considered irrelevant, and the policy of disqualification only came into place when Japan began adopting European attitudes towards nudity.[4]
Wrestlers in the two upper divisions, and, are allowed to wear a second ceremonial during their ring entering ceremony. The silk 'belt' opens out at one end into a large apron which is usually heavily embroidered and with thick tassels at the bottom. The fringe and tassels of the are usually gold but may be any color except purple, which is reserved for use by and only.[5]
The may advertise the produce of a sponsor of the (for example Bulgarian Kotoōshū was sponsored by a Japanese brand of yogurt, "Bulgaria", which was prominently displayed on the front of his) or be a gift from one of the 's support groups. Alternatively, some foreign-born (such as Czech-born Takanoyama) bear their national flag on their . Popular may be given many of these .
have matching sets of three, with two being worn by his wrestler "assistants" (his and) during his ring entrance ceremony.
In the Edo period, the also served as the wrestler's fighting . However, as the aprons become more ornate, eventually the two functions were split apart. In this period wrestlers were normally sponsored by feudal or overlords, whose clan crest would therefore appear on the .