Karate Day
Okinawa’s 25 October commemoration links a 1936 naming discussion with a 2005 declaration and present-day demonstrations, education and cultural transmission.
Japanese Martial Arts
Hōnō-zumō
Hōnō-zumō is sumo offered in a religious setting, ranging from local bouts to distinctive ritual performances such as Ōyamazumi Shrine’s hitori-zumō.
Mawashi
The wrapped garment used in sumo serves a competitive function, while ceremonial keshō-mawashi have a distinct form and purpose.
Gyōji
Gyōji are sumo’s referees, combining the direction of bouts with ranked professional duties, ceremonial work and the written administration of tournaments.
Tate-gyōji
Tate-gyōji are the highest-ranking referees in professional sumo, associated with the inherited names Kimura Shōnosuke and Shikimori Inosuke.
Kimura Shōnosuke
Kimura Shōnosuke is the inherited name of professional sumo’s senior tate-gyōji, joining an individual career to a long institutional history.
Shikimori Inosuke
Shikimori Inosuke is one of sumo’s two tate-gyōji names, with a history connecting the Shikimori household, professional succession and ceremonial objects.
Gyōji Costume
Gyōji costume combines formal clothing with rank-specific tassels and footwear; its modern form dates to a documented change in 1910.
Gunbai
A gunbai is a rigid command fan; in sumo it is the referee’s signalling implement and can also be a decorated, inherited professional object.
Dohyō-matsuri
Dohyō-matsuri is the ceremony of prayer and offerings associated with the sumo ring, distinct from a wrestler’s ring-entering ceremony.