OKI CLASSIC SUMO
Okinoshima Town
Okinoshima Town, Shimane Prefecture
Oki Classic Sumo
Oki Classical Sumo is performed only on special occasions within Okinoshima Town,
such as shrine relocation ceremonies and completion commemorations of large-scale public works.
It is characterized by bouts beginning in the evening and continuing until the afternoon of the next day,
and by a best-of-two format where the winner of the first bout concedes victory to the second.
The highest rank is Ozeki. At peak times, around 200 wrestlers from inside and outside the town gather,
and nearly 300 bouts are held, including wari-zumo and gonin-nuki.
After the tournament, the pillars erected around the ring are presented to the wrestlers who served official roles.
ACCESS
Shimane Prefecture
About 50m total
FlightAbout 50m
Mizuwakasu Shrine
It is the Ichinomiya Shrine of the Oki Islands, enshrining Mizuwakasu no Mikoto and two other deities. The Engishiki records it as a great deity shrine, indicating it has been an influential place of worship since the Heian period. The elegant festival handed down at the shrine is one of the three major festivals of Oki and was designated an intangible folk cultural asset of the prefecture in March 1973. There is a sumo ring within the shrine grounds, and Oki Classical Sumo is held on this ring during the shrine’s relocation ceremony, which takes place once every 20 years, and when the roof is replaced.
