A sumo bout starts when a yobidashi caller says the names of the wrestlers and they appear in the dohyo ring. The time until they actually begin to spar is called shikiri seigen jikan (shikiri time limit), during which they repeatedly face each other. The maximum time allowed is 4 minutes for wrestlers in the highest makuuchi division, 3 minutes in the juryo division and 2 minutes in the makushita division.
Wrestlers boost their fighting spirit by repeating the shikiri until time runs out. When yokozuna Hakuho is worked up, his body can be seen gradually turning red.
The wrestlers enter the ring after the yobidashi calls their names, making brief bows to each other and standing in the corners opposite the chief judge, where salt baskets are placed. They stamp their feet alternately from side to side, which is called shiko.
I wrote in my previous column that shiko is primarily a basic movement in sumo practice to strengthen the lower parts of a wrestler's body. However, the shiko before the bout is a ritual to remove bad energy from the ring.
After stamping their feet, wrestlers in the juryo or higher divisions are given water by the wrestler who won the previous bout or is waiting for the next one. This is called chikaramizu (literally "power water"), and the wrestler who was defeated in the previous bout is not allowed to serve it.
The wrestler about to fight uses the water to clean his mouth and purify himself before starting shikiri.
Next, the wrestlers face each other and take a squatting position called sonkyo. They start a series of actions described by the phrase chiri o kiru (wiping off dust) -- clapping their hands once, spreading the arms wide to the level of the shoulders with palms facing upward, and then turning the palms downward. This action means they will fight squarely without weapons.
Next, the wrestlers turn back to the corners to pick up salt and face each other in front of two lines called shikirisen in the middle of the ring. Here they again stamp their feet alternately from side to side and touch their hands on the ring while facing off.
This shikiri ritual is repeated until time runs out. However, the wrestlers are allowed to start the bout even before the time limit if they can establish a rhythm with each other. They cannot turn back to pick up salt after the time limit, and if a wrestler moves out of the ring after the time limit, he is given a loss.
-- Miki is a sumo expert.
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