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A sekitori (関取) is a rikishi (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and jūryō.[1] The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fraction of those who enter professional sumo achieve sekitori status.
Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions. The benefits of being a sekitori compared to lower ranked wrestlers are significant and include:
- to receive a salary and bonus (those in the lower divisions merely receive an allowance)
- to have one's own supporters' club
- to wear high quality men's kimono and other items of attire
- to have a private room in the training stable
- to be able to get married and live away from the training stable
- to have junior rikishi to effectively act as their personal servants
- to wear a silk mawashi with stiffened cords (called sagari) in tournament bouts
- to participate in the ring entrance ceremony and wear a keshō-mawashi
- to wear the more elaborate ōichō chonmage hairstyle in competition and on formal occasions
- to become an elder in the Sumo Association if one is sekitori for long enough
- ^ Gunning, John (September 16, 2018). "Sumo 101: Sekitori". The Japan Times. Retrieved September 19, 2018.