Behind the scenes the height of the dohyo has been lowered for Tokyo

[Moti Dichne]

The height of the dohyo has been lowered by 1 sun (approximately 3.03 centimeters) for Natsu Basho. There is no obligation to publicize the change in height, so it is not widely known. It appears that neither the Oyakata on the judging committee nor the rikishi have noticed. There are five "supervisors" who oversee the construction of the dohyo. One of the supervisors, Daikichi (54, Hakkaku beya), said, "If any Oyakata notice, I intend to go and explain, but so far there haven't been any." The regulations for the height of the dohyo have a range of 34 to 60 centimeters. For this tournament, the height was changed from 1 shaku 9 sun (approximately 57.57 centimeters) to 1 shaku 8 sun (approximately 54.54 centimeters). The fact that it is measured in sun and shaku is also a tradition that is characteristic of Ozumo. Why was it lowered by 1 sun? The dohyo at Ryogoku Kokugikan has been designed to be electrically stored under the floor since its opening in 1985. First, the dohyo is lowered straight down, and then it is slid sideways from the front to the opposite side under the floor. However, when storing the dohyo that was made for the previous tournament in Tokyo, the protective bales got stuck and it couldn't slide. A strange noise was heard, the bales came off, and the yobidashi had to repair it. The cause is unclear. It is thought that the motor used to store the dohyo was replaced with one from a different manufacturer last year, but the truth remains unknown. Gorou (62, Ootake), one of the supervisors for the construction of the dohyo and a yobidashi, explained, "We decided to lower it because it would be a big problem if it got stuck in the machinery again." The height remains 1 shaku 9 sun for regional tournaments, but it has been changed to 1 shaku 8 sun for the honbasho in Tokyo. When the dohyo was built before this Natsu Basho, the yobidashi used a metal rod as a reference and adjusted it by hand. However, lowering it by only 1 sun (approximately 3.03 centimeters) is not noticeable to anyone. Even Sadanoumi, the veteran rikishi who made his debut in Haru of 2003, did not notice. "If I noticed that, I'd be scolded for being too neurotic," he said with a wry smile. It's still unclear whether underfloor storage will work at this height. Yoshiaki Tomiyasu (former Juryo Yamanishiki), section chief of the Kyokai's Facility Management and Utilization Promotion Office, said, "There's a Kyokai workshop on June 3rd, so we'll try putting it away on the 2nd. We won't know if it works until we try..." [Ichiro Sasaki]