Minatobashira Shrine Dedicated Baby Sumo Ring-Entering Ceremony

About this event

In Tomoura, Kaiyo Town, Tokushima Prefecture, surrounded by beautiful nature, an ancient annual festival of Minatobashira Shrine is held on the day before the Ozato Hachiman Shrine Autumn Festival. A sumo ring is set up in the gymnasium of the former Kaifu Junior High School, and baby boys born during the past year perform their dohyo-iri ring-entering ceremony. Dressed as cute little sumo wrestlers, the babies wear valiant decorative kesho-mawashi aprons embroidered with their ring names based on their own names, sporting motifs like tigers or hawks, and tie red-and-white striped hachimaki headbands. Since many babies cannot walk yet, they make their grand appearance held in the arms of the gyoji referee. Once in the ring, as the gyoji shouts the victory call, the babies are held high in the air to pray that they grow up big, strong, and robust like sumo wrestlers. The scheduled event timeline includes reception, opening ceremony, ring-entering ceremony (Group 1), nursery school children's sumo, ring-entering ceremony (Group 2), and a big-catch rice-cake toss (after the Group 2 ring-entering ceremony). Details will be posted as soon as they are finalized.

Venue

Kaiyo Municipal Kaiyo Junior High School

34-83 Ozato Matsubara, Kaiyo-cho, Kaifu-gun, Tokushima 775-0203