:Yobidashi

The status of {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} did not appear until 1750.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=75}} Before the appearance of this term to specifically designate the staff responsible for announcing the wrestlers, several different terms were used over time to designate the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}}. During the Heian period, there was a role known as {{nihongo|fushō|奏上}}, who was responsible for presenting the wrestlers to the emperor and the nobility who attended the matches.{{cite magazine |title=Sumo |magazine={{Interlanguage link|Sumo (magazine)|ja|3=相撲 (雑誌)|lt=Sumo Magazine}} |publication-date=March 2019 |publisher=Baseball Magazine, Inc. |pages=48–49}} During the Edo period, the role became more codified, the staff responsible for calling the wrestlers inherited the name {{nihongo|maegyōji|前行司}}, meaning 'preceding referees'.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=75}} Later came the terms {{nihongo|fure|触れ}} and {{nihongo|nanori|名乗り}}, both of which also mean 'to announce something', to refer more specifically to the personnel announcing the wrestlers.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=75}} Since in earlier times the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} would sit down on their heels in the middle of the ring when the wrestlers arrived and call them by name, they inherited another name: {{transliteration|ja|tsubaki gyōji}}, meaning 'squatting referees'.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=75}}{{cite web|url=https://osumo3.com/2019/10/21/%E3%80%8E%E5%88%A9%E6%A8%B9%E4%B9%8B%E4%B8%9E%E3%81%AE%E5%91%BC%E5%87%BA%E3%81%97%E6%AD%B4%E5%8F%B2%E8%AC%9B%E5%BA%A7%E3%80%8F%E9%96%8B%E5%82%AC%E3%83%AC%E3%83%9D%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%80%9C%E3%81%9D/|title=Rikinojo's Yobidashi History Lecture Event Report ~Part 1~ |date=21 October 2019|work=Osumo3 Magazine|language=ja |access-date=31 October 2023}}

The maximum number of {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} allowed in the Sumo Association is 45.{{cite web|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sports/story/1051/|title=Special feature: All about sumo yobidashi|language=ja|author=Koichi Kitade|website=NHK|date=17 November 2019|accessdate=23 June 2023}} As of April 2023, there are 45 {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} within the Sumo Association.

{{transliteration|ja|Yobidashi}} are employees of the Japan Sumo Association, but like the wrestlers, they are affiliated with the stables.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=102}} Like {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}}, new {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} recruits can only begin their career under the age of 19 and must have completed compulsory education. Most enter at 15,{{cite web|last=Hotta|first=Harumi|title=Several questions to a yobidashi: KOKICHI (Kiriyama beya)|url=https://www.lemondedusumo.com/english/MDS25_yobi_interview.php?mag=mds&num=25|work=Le Monde du Sumo |access-date=23 June 2023}} and it is not uncommon for most to be wrestlers who have not managed to break through but are keen to stay in professional sumo. They then work up a career ladder roughly based on the ranking system for wrestlers until their retirement at 65.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|title=Sumo 101: Yobidashi (ring announcers)|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/05/23/sumo/sumo-101-yobidashi-ring-announcers/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=23 May 2019|access-date=23 May 2019|archive-date=23 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523125048/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/05/23/sumo/sumo-101-yobidashi-ring-announcers/|url-status=live}} The current ranking system was created in July 1993 and consists of the following nine ranks:

• {{nihongo|tate-yobidashi|立呼出}}
• {{nihongo|fuku-tate-yobidashi|副立呼出}}
• {{nihongo|san'yaku-yobidashi|三役呼出}}
• {{nihongo|makuuchi-yobidashi|幕内呼出}}
• {{nihongo|jūryō-yobidashi|十両呼出}}
• {{nihongo|makushita-yobidashi|幕下呼出}}
• {{nihongo|sandanme-yobidashi|三段目呼出}}
• {{nihongo|jonidan-yobidashi|序二段呼出}}
• {{nihongo|jonokuchi-yobidashi|序ノ口呼出}}

Promotion through these ranks is based primarily on experience, although ability is also taken into account, particularly in promotions to the top ranks. Junior {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} however undergo six months of theoretical training in one of the Kokugikan's training rooms under the tutelage of their seniors. It takes around 15 years for a {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} to be promoted from the bottom of the hierarchy to the rank of {{transliteration|ja|jūryō-yobidashi}}. The {{transliteration|ja|makuuchi-yobidashi}} are promoted only after 30 years of service. {{transliteration|ja|Tate-yobidashi}} are not generally promoted until they have 45 to 50 years of experience. Most of these ranks clearly follow those for the ranking of {{transliteration|ja|rikishi}}, or wrestlers, with the exception of the {{transliteration|ja|tate}} and {{transliteration|ja|fuku-tate}} ranks, which stand for chief and deputy chief, respectively. This system is identical to that applied for {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}}. Prior to July 1993, {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} were simply ranked first-class, second-class and so on.

While a {{transliteration|ja|tate-yobidashi}} earns between 360,000 and 400,000 yen ($2,513, or €2,313 as of November 2023) a month, the average Japanese salary for a salaryman, a young apprentice earns just 14,000 yen ($97, or €89 in November 2023) a month. In the past, {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} lived on tips alone.{{sfn|Kenrick|1969|p=126}} In the same way that low-ranking wrestlers are deprived of certain freedoms, junior {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are also forbidden to live anywhere other than in their stable and are not allowed to marry while {{transliteration|ja|sekitori}}-ranked {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are allowed these liberties and have a {{transliteration|ja|tsukebito}} assigned to them. The tasks that are undue to a {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} depend on his rank, although all {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are versatile, with the highest ranks appearing at the end of the day and performing tasks that put them in the public eye.

Since October 2019 the {{transliteration|ja|tate-yobidashi}} position has been vacant after the incumbent, Takuro, from Kasugano stable, was suspended for two tournaments and announced his retirement for hitting a junior {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} over the head after he caught him eating in the customer seating area on {{transliteration|ja|jungyō}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2019102500925&g=spo|title=Tate-yobidashi suspended for 2 tournaments = Violence issue, resignation accepted - Grand Sumo

|date=25 October 2019|work=Jiji Press Agency|language=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917220620/https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2019102500925&g=spo|archive-date=17 September 2020}} In September 2023, however, it was announced that Jirō (also from Kasugano stable), would be promoted by two ranks to become {{transliteration|ja|tate-yobidashi}} from December 25 of the same year, when the banzuke for the January 2024 tournament will be released.{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202309280000967.html|title=次郎が立呼び出しに昇進 呼び出し最高位が約４年ぶりに復活、12月25日付|trans-title=Jiro promoted to tate-yobidashi, the highest yobidashi rank is restored after almost 4 years, on December 25.|date=28 September 2023|publisher=Nikkan Sports|access-date=28 September 2023|lang=ja}} On the same date, the {{transliteration|ja|fuku-tate-yobidashi}} role–vacant since November 2015–will be taken up by Katsuyuki from Shibatayama stable.

File:Dohyo covering.jpg}}]]

During the tournament, {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are by far the busiest workers, staying for the whole of the fighting days, staying on site from 7:30{{nbsp}}am to 6{{nbsp}}pm. These tasks begin before the official opening of the tournaments ({{transliteration|ja|honbasho}}) with the construction of the {{transliteration|ja|dohyō}} (sumo ring).

{{See also|Dohyō}}

Construction begins five days before the first day of the tournament ({{transliteration|ja|shonichi}}). 40 tonnes of a special clay, called Arakida, collected in the town of Kawagoe (Saitama Prefecture) are needed for its construction and the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} use small trucks to transport the materials. As well as building the ring, the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are also responsible for the facing of the {{transliteration|ja|tsuriyane}} (the suspended roof above the {{transliteration|ja|dohyō}}). Supervision of the construction does not necessarily fall to the {{transliteration|ja|tate-yobidashi}}. Depending on their skills, a {{transliteration|ja|san'yaku-yobidashi}} may also supervise the construction of the ring. During {{transliteration|ja|jungyō}} (tours), not all {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are present, and it is not uncommon for local volunteers to help with {{transliteration|ja|dohyō}} construction.{{cite web|url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/57562|title=Behind the Scenes of Japan's National Sport, Sumo Wrestling: The Amazing Behind-the-Scenes Craftsmanship!|date=9 January 2015|work=Weekly Toyo Keizai|language=ja|access-date=23 June 2023}}

The {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}}'s most emblematic task is to call the wrestlers into the ring for their match of the day. Dressed traditionally and holding a simple white fan, they call the wrestlers by their {{transliteration|ja|shikona}}, or ring-name, in a high-pitched and melodious way.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=64}} The use of a fan was originally intended to prevent droplets of saliva from soiling the sacred surface of the {{transliteration|ja|dohyō}}. Because of the large number of wrestlers in the divisions, the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} who enter the ring are notoriously using cheat sheets so as not to make any mistakes in public. On odd-numbered days, the call is made from the east, then the west, and on even-numbered days the call is made in the other way round.

File:Japon tokyo 0801a.jpg

Another recognisable task of the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} is parading the {{transliteration|ja|kenshō}} (advertising) banners around the ring before particular match-ups between popular wrestlers, which are often sponsored by companies.{{sfn|Kenrick|1969|p=122}} The {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are responsible for banging the {{transliteration|ja|taiko}} drum at different times of the day. Originally, these different times were used to convey different messages to spectators outside the arena. The first drum sound is the {{nihongo|ichiban-daiko|一番太鼓}}, played during the 15 days of the tournaments, for 30 minutes from 8{{nbsp}}am to announce the opening of a day of matches. At the end of the day, immediately after the {{transliteration|ja|yumitori-shiki}} (bow-twirling) ceremony, the {{nihongo|hane-daiko|跳ね太鼓}} is played to invite spectators leaving the arena to disperse. Before the Second World War, the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} took part in the tours separately and by {{transliteration|ja|ichimon}} (clan), therefore the method used to beat the drum was different and these variations are traditionally preserved today, even if all {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} now take part in the tours equally. High-ranking {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} finally accompany {{transliteration|ja|sekitori}}-ranked wrestlers in their {{transliteration|ja|dohyō-iri}} ring-entering ceremonies by sounding their {{transliteration|ja|hyōshigi}}, an instrument consisting of two pieces of cherry wood tied together with a cord.

Other tasks on match days include: sweeping the ring, providing purification salt, handing towels to wrestlers, displaying banners showing that a match has been decided by default (usually due to a competitor's withdrawal), or subject to a rematch after the next two bouts, and ensuring that, during a bout, no wrestler injures himself on the bucket of {{transliteration|ja|chikara-mizu}} (power water) situated at each east and west side of the ring. The {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are also responsible for bringing the thick cushions of the {{transliteration|ja|makuuchi}}-ranked wrestlers to the ring, which are handed to them by the {{transliteration|ja|tsukebito}} (assistant) who come out of the changing rooms.{{cite web|last=Schuler|first=Nicolas |title=Sumo's different jobs (part 2): The Yobidashi|url=https://www.lemondedusumo.com/english/MDS25_yobi_article.php?mag=mds&num=25|work=Le Monde du Sumo |access-date=31 October 2023}} Junior {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} also help senior {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}} during the {{transliteration|ja|kaobure gonjō}} ceremony.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|title=Sumo 101: Kaobure|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/09/13/sumo/sumo-101-kaobure/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=13 September 2019|access-date=23 June 2023|archive-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918001801/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/09/13/sumo/sumo-101-kaobure/#.XYF3zIR_pkg|url-status=live}} Less publicly, {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} also take care of many small requests made by the Sumo Association executives on judging duty or guard duty in the corridors, such as fetching drinks or cigarettes.

Nevertheless, the responsibility for {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} is not simply confined to tournament days. As {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}}, like wrestlers, belong to the stables, they are also entrusted with tasks by their stablemasters, such as running errands or keeping track of wrestlers' progress during training sessions. When a stable goes on tour in the odd-numbered months, the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} are also responsible for making the necessary arrangements to reserve accommodation for the masters and wrestlers.{{sfn|Kenrick|1969|p=126}} When a stable's {{transliteration|ja|keikoba}} (training area) needs rebuilding, {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} from the same {{transliteration|ja|ichimon}}, to which the stable belongs, take charge of the construction.

It is also traditional for {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} to write folk songs, called {{transliteration|ja|jinku}}, based on sumo life.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=102}}

{{transliteration|ja|Yobidashi}} take a single name as their ring name, unlike both the wrestlers ({{transliteration|ja|rikishi}}) and {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}} who have both a surname and given name. This may be related to the practice of the Edo period in Japan whereby only samurai-class persons could hold a surname. The wrestlers (involved in a martial activity) and {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}} (who were lettered) could be construed as having positions consistent with a samurai status, while the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} did not. As in most traditional Japanese activities, the professional name of the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} is sometimes derived from the name of the master who taught them, borrowing a kanji from the master's name.

As from July 1993 the upper ranked {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} also have their names automatically included on the {{transliteration|ja|banzuke}}, the ranking sheet produced prior to each {{transliteration|ja|honbasho}}. With the exception of a period around the Kansei era to Bunsei era, only the {{transliteration|ja|gyōji}} had traditionally been included on the {{transliteration|ja|banzuke}} alongside the wrestlers and their training masters, or {{transliteration|ja|oyakata}}.

File:Yobidashi.png

The outfit worn by the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} is loosely based on an old style Japanese workman's outfit, with {{nihongo|tatsuke-bakama|裁着袴}}, working trousers, and {{transliteration|ja|tabi}} socks.{{cite web|url=https://ola-dosukoisports.com/sumo/yobidashi|title=[Sumo] Yobidashi Here and There: Job Description, How to Become a Yobidashi, Meaning of the White Fan, and More!

|language=ja|work=Dosukoi Sports Magazine|date=23 January 2020|accessdate=23 June 2023}} The kimono worn by the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} often displays sponsors' names in black characters and logo. As there are currently eight main sponsors of the Sumo Association,{{cite web|url=https://www.sumo.or.jp/Admission/partners|title=Meet our official partners|publisher=Japan Sumo Association|language=ja|access-date=23 June 2023}} each {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} has eight different kimono which he wears during all 15 days of each basho. The costume is the same for senior and junior ranked {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} and only the kimono worn on the torso varies in color and the names on the back. Since the kimono display the logos and names of the sponsors, it is often offered by them and the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} rarely choose the colors of their kimono. Their {{transliteration|ja|hakama}} colors and designs, on the other hand, are often decided within an {{transliteration|ja|ichimon}}, but it can also be presented by {{transliteration|ja|rikishi}} who have been promoted to {{transliteration|ja|ōzeki}} or {{transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} as a commemorative gift and the {{transliteration|ja|shikona}}, or ring name, of the said wrestler can be seen at top of the back of the {{transliteration|ja|hakama}}, in place of the name of the stable to which the {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} belongs, which is normally found there.

• List of sumo stables
• {{transliteration|ja|Heya}}, sumo stable
• Other personnel of the Japan Sumo Association

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Cuyler |first=Patricia Lee |date=1979 |title=Sumo: From rite to sport |url=https://archive.org/details/sumofromritetosp0000cuyl/mode/2up?q=the+world+of+sumo |url-access=registration |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |isbn=9780834801455}}
• {{cite book |last=Hall |first=Mina |title=The Big Book of Sumo: History, Practice, Ritual, Fight |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-880656-28-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bigbookofsumohis00hall }}
• {{cite book |last=Kenrick |first=Douglas M. |year=1969 |title=The Book of Sumo: Sport, Spectacle, and Ritual |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofsumosports0000kenr/mode/2up |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |url-access=registration |isbn=083480039X}}

• {{cite web|url=http://tsubotaa.la.coocan.jp/binran/binran_g.html|title=Sumo viewing handbook, call-outs, touches, shouts and in-venue announcements.|language=ja|author=Atsuo Tsubota|accessdate=23 June 2023}} (article on a day of matches)

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.sumo.or.jp/EnSumoDataKyokaiMember/yobidashi List of current yobidashi at Japan Sumo Association homepage]
• {{YouTube|id=7s3yiI0odU4}} - Sumo Prime Time {{transliteration|ja|yobidashi}} episode

Category:Japanese words and phrases

Category:Sumo people

Category:Sumo terminology