Japan Sumo Association

Not to be confused with the Japan Sumo Federation [ja], a public interest corporation that oversees amateur sumo in Japan, or the International Sumo Federation, the international governing body for amateur Sumo.
Japan Sumo Association
日本相撲協会
Nihon Sumō Kyōkai
PredecessorEdo-sumo Kaisho
FormationDecember 28, 1925; 98 years ago (1925-12-28)[1]
Merger ofOsaka Sumo Association
TypeNonprofit
Legal statusPublic Interest Incorporated Foundation
PurposeOrganization of sumo tournaments and promotion of sumo culture.
Maintenance and operation of sumo training schools, Ryōgoku Kokugikan and Sumo Museum.
HeadquartersRyōgoku Kokugikan
Location
Coordinates35°41′49″N 139°47′36″E / 35.69694°N 139.79338°E / 35.69694; 139.79338
Region served
 Japan
Membership
~ 1 000[2]
Official language
Japanese
Chairman
Hakkaku Nobuyoshi
See below
Key people
Kasugano Kiyotaka (current Operations director)
Takadagawa Katsumi (current Judging department chairman)
Yamauchi Masayuki [ja] (current Chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council)
Parent organization
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
SubsidiariesKokugikan Service Company, Sumo Museum
SecessionsTakasago Kaisei-Gumi (1873 – 1878)
All Japan Kansai Sumo Association (1932 – 1937)
AffiliationsYokozuna Deliberation Council (advisory body)
Revenue (2023)
¥13 billion[3]
Websitehttps://www.sumo.or.jp/En/
(in English)
https://www.sumo.or.jp/
(in Japanese)
Formerly called
All Japan Sumo Association (大日本相撲協会)

The Japan Sumo Association (Japanese: 日本相撲協会, Hepburn: Nihon Sumō Kyōkai), officially the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Sumo Association (公益財団法人日本相撲協会, Kōeki zaidanhōjin Nihon Sumō Kyōkai); sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai,[4] is the governing body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling, called ōzumō (大相撲), in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

Concretely, the association maintains and develops sumo traditions and integrity by holding tournaments and tours. The purposes of the association are also to develop the means dedicated to the sport and maintain, manage and operate the facilities necessary for these activities. Therefore, the JSA operates subsidiaries such as the Kokugikan Service Company to organize its economic aspects, the Sumo School to organize training and instruction or the Sumo Museum to preserve and utilize sumo wrestling records and artefacts.

Though professionals, such as active wrestlers, referees, hairdressers and ushers, are all on the association's payroll, leadership positions are restricted to retired wrestlers. The organization has its headquarters in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan arena, in Sumida, Tokyo.[5]

The association is organized on the basis of a balance between respect for the law and continuity of the sport's traditions, deeply rooted in Japan's history and Shinto religion.[6] This gives the association a notoriously secretive reputation.[7][8] Following a number of scandals, the association has implemented numerous reforms in recent decades.

  1. ^ "第 153 回常設展示 「国技・相撲」-近代以降の事件と名力士-" (PDF). National Diet Library (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  2. ^ "収入源や組織構成…相撲協会はどんな団体？" (in Japanese). Nippon Television. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  3. ^ "日本相撲協会 去年の決算 4年ぶりの黒字 入場制限の撤廃で" (in Japanese). NHK. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  4. ^ Buckingham 1994, p. 181.
  5. ^ "Kyokai Information Archived 10 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine." Japan Sumo Association. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. "〒130-0015 東京都墨田区横網1-3-28 財団法人日本相撲協会."
  6. ^ West 1997, p. 165.
  7. ^ West 1997, p. 166.
  8. ^ "もう許されない相撲協会"理事鎖国"". Sports Nippon. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2024.