Hi everyone! Nice to meet you again! It is How Unique Japan.
In this article, I would love to talk about Sumo wrestling again. (If you haven’t seen the article, Sumo Westling, please click here).
However, it is not about the wrestlers. It is about a referee named Gyoji.
Then, who is the ref for the Sumo?
You might have seen a dressed man with a kimono, hakama, and a fan standing between the two wrestlers when the match started. It is the referee in Sumo Westling Gyoji.
Like the other sports, he rules the match. For example, he keeps his eye on the two wrestlers fighting whether the movement is a penalty and decides which one wins is his duty.
But the ref is not for only judgment. They have several duties, each of them intense. For example, writing wrestlers’ names on the tournament board with the Shuji (penmanship) and event planning for the game season. So, they also the management. One more, they create and keep all fight records. So, they are SUPER BUSY!
How do they get the Job?
Besides, becoming the ref is extremely tough. Just a few people could get success. How many people could, every year? It is ONLY ONE.
Thus, the total number of refs is not so many. The sumo official institution has only 45 members, and they hire only one as a new member every year. So, it is an elite profession/career.
One more surprise. There are no interviews or exams. So then, who could be the Gyozi?
It is a long way. Someone who wants to be that needs some process. First, he must join a sumo club* before they get 19 years old.
*(The retired wrestler can make his club. However, he needs permission to open the club from the sumo official institution.)
After he joins, he works as an attendant for the higher-ranked wrestler and waits till a recommendation (from the institution) comes.
It is a long journey indeed. However, it is not yet!
If someone gets the recommendation, he moves from the club to a technical training school and studies about the ref (Gyozi) for three years! During school, he would also learn how to call wrestlers names (how to make a voice on the dohyo), how to decide the win or lose, and rules.
Oh, and do not forget to practice the penmanship!
The payment
The referees are ranked the same as the sumo wrestlers. It means the new ref who graduated from the technical school recently could not get good money. The average payment for the first month would be 1,066.44 US dollars each month (2023, March). It is not much.
But a high-ranked ref can own good money. They can get 108062 US dollars every year!
The penalty for the ref
The penalty of misjudgment is strict. If the ref made a mistake about 6 or 9 times during his career, he would get a rank down. (If he did wrong three times in one match, he would lose one ranked down with no excuse).
Sumo wrestling is one of the most official sports in Japan. Therefore, any license to be a wrestler or ref is so hard. (To be honest, I thought, there were too much strict rules!)
To close
Sumo wrestling is one of the most official sports in Japan. Therefore, any license to be a wrestler or ref is so hard indeed. (To be honest, I thought there were too many strict rules!)
If you have the chance to see some matches of the Sumo, I recommend you observe any details including the ref Gyozi. You will notice that there is more uniqueness.
Thank you so much for reading this article! If you get more curious about Japan’s uniqueness, please feel free to visit this blog’s front page! Probably, I would be able to offer some more you want.
OK! See you next article of How Unique Japan article!