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Kanreki dohyō iri

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In sumo wrestling, a kanreki dohyō-iri (Japanese: 還暦土俵入り) is a ring-entering ceremony (dohyō-iri) performed by a former yokozuna in celebration of his 60th birthday (called kanreki in Japanese). If he is a toshiyori (a sumo elder), the ceremony is usually held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, the main sumo hall in Tokyo. Otherwise, if retired, at another location. A red tsuna is worn, instead of the usual white tsuna. Reaching your 60th birthday is an important occasion in Japan and is celebrated by wearing a red item. This is commonly known as an akatsuna (赤綱) but this term is unofficial. If the dew-sweeper or sword-bearer is a former yokozuna, he wears his own tsuna.

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Kanreki performed at Kokugikan

Wrestlers are listed using their ring name, followed by their then toshiyori name in brackets.

Kagamisato Kiyoji (Tatsutagawa), Tochinoumi Teruyoshi (Kasugono), Sadanoyama Shinmatsu (Sakaigawa) and Kotozakura Masakatsu (Sadogatake) wore red tsuna but did not perform dohyō-iri. Asashio Tarō (Takasago) had a red tsuna made, but died aged 58 without performing the ceremony.

Kanreki performed at other locations

Minanogawa Tōzō, Akinoumi Setsuo and Wajima Hiroshi also reached the age of sixty years whilst retired, but did not perform a kanreki dohyō-iri (all three had left the sumo world many years before). Mienoumi performed an early kanreki dohyō-iri seven months before his 60th birthday, on the 25th anniversary of the founding of Musashigawa stable.

References

Kanreki dohyō-iri Wikipedia