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Insumo, amawashi (廻し) is theloincloth thatrikishi (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear akeshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony ordohyō-iri.
For top ranked professionalrikishi (known assekitori), themawashi is made ofsilk and comes in a variety of colours. It is approximately 30 feet (9 m) in length when unwrapped, about 2 ft (0.6 m) wide and weighs about 8 to 11 lb (4 to 5 kg). It is wrapped several times around therikishi and fastened in the back by a large knot. A series of stiffened silk fronds of matching colour calledsagari (下がり) are inserted into the front of themawashi.[1] Their number varies from 13 to 25, and is always an odd number. They mark out the only part of themawashi that it is illegal to grab on to: the vertical part covering thesumotori's groin, and if they fall out during competition thegyōji (referee) will throw them from the ring at the first opportunity.
Manyrikishi are superstitious and will change the color of theirmawashi 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 byŌnoshō during the 2020 July tournament, when, after several losses in a row, he decided to change from crimson to dark gray.
Sekitori only wear the silkmawashi during competitive bouts either during ranking tournaments or touring displays. During training, a heavy whitecottonmawashi is worn. For seniorsekitori in the top two divisions, this belt is coloured white, and it is worn with one end distinctively looped at the front.Sagari are not worn during training.
Rikishi ranked in the lower professional divisions wear a black cottonmawashi both for training and in competition. In competition, cottonsagari are inserted into the belt, but these are not stiffened.
Amateur sumo wrestlers wear a cottonmawashi of any color without the looping accorded to the senior professional's training garb. Additionally, they may wear a tag on the front of theirmawashi 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 orleotards under theirmawashi while professionalrikishi are not.[2]
Sometimes arikishi may wear hismawashi 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 themawashi more tightly.
If a wrestler'smawashi comes off during a tournament bout, he is automatically disqualified.[3][page needed] This is extremely rare, but did occur in May 2000, whensandanme wrestlerAsanokiri'smawashi came off during a match withChiyohakuhō.[4] However, for most of sumo's history, whether or not a wrestler'smawashi 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,makuuchi andjūryō, are allowed to wear a second ceremonialkeshō-mawashi 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 thekeshō-mawashi are usually gold but may be any color except purple, which is reserved for use byyokozuna andōzeki only.[5]
Thekeshō-mawashi may advertise the produce of a sponsor of therikishi (for example BulgarianōzekiKotoōshū was sponsored by a Japanese brand of yogurt, "Bulgaria", which was prominently displayed on the front of hiskeshō-mawashi) or be a gift from one of therikishi's support groups. Alternatively, some foreign-bornrikishi (such asCzech-bornTakanoyama) bear their national flag on theirkeshō-mawashi. Popularrikishi may be given many of thesekeshō-mawashi.[5]
Yokozuna have matching sets of threekeshō-mawashi, with two being worn by his wrestler "assistants" (histachimochi andtsuyuharai) during his ring entrance ceremony.[5]
In theEdo period, thekeshō-mawashi also served as the wrestler's fightingmawashi. However, as the aprons become more ornate, eventually the two functions were split apart. In this period wrestlers were normally sponsored by feudaldaimyō or overlords, whose clan crest would therefore appear on thekeshō-mawashi.
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