Dohyō

In official professional tournaments (honbasho), it is mounted on a square platform of clay 66 cm high and 6.7m wide on each side.

In professional sumo, a new dohyō is built prior to each tournament by the yobidashi (ring attendants), who are responsible for this activity.

[4] The rice-straw bales (tawara (俵)) which form the ring are one third standard size and are partially buried in the clay of the dohyō.

Four of the tawara are placed slightly outside the line of the circle at the four cardinal directions, these are called privileged bales (tokudawara).

Today, a wrestler under pressure at the edge of the ring will often try to move himself round to one of these points to gain leverage in order to push back more effectively against the opponent who is trying to force him out.

[5] The painted lines are notably slicker than the surrounding dirt, but rarely cause a wrestler to slip due to their narrowness.

[6] A roof resembling that of a Shinto shrine (which has been of the Shinmei-zukuri style since the May 1953 tournament) is suspended above the dohyō, called the tsuriyane.

Prior to the September 1952 tournament, the tsuriyane had been supported by columns, but they were removed to allow fans an uninterrupted view of the dohyō.