Location Sumida, Tokyo, Japan Operator Japan Sumo Association Opened January 1985 Phone +81 3-3623-5111 | Owner Japan Sumo Association Capacity 11,098 Height 40 m | |
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Public transit JR East/Toei Subway:
Chūō-Sōbu Line and at Ryogoku Address 1 Chome-3-28 Yokoami, 墨田区 Tokyo 130-0015, Japan | ||
Ryōgoku Kokugikan (両国国技館, Ryōgoku Kokugikan), also known as Ryougoku Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Yokoami neighborhood (bordering to the Ryōgoku neighborhood) of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a capacity of 13,000 people. It is mainly used for sumo wrestling tournaments (honbasho) and hosts the Hatsu (new year) honbasho in January, the Natsu (summer) honbasho in May, and the Aki (autumn) honbasho in September. It also houses a museum about sumo. The venue is also used for other indoor events, such as boxing, pro wrestling, and music concerts. In past years, it has hosted the finals of New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament as well as the Invasion Attack and King of Pro-Wrestling events. On July 4, 2015, WWE hosted its The Beast in the East event in the arena.
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History
The growing popularity of Sumo during the Meiji period led to the building of the original Kokugikan in Ryōgoku in 1909. The Japanese army appropriated the facility in World War II, and some tournaments were held outdoors at a baseball stadium. During the occupation of Japan, SCAP saw sumo as less threatening than other martial arts, and allowed a tournament there in November 1945. The occupation forces subsequently took over the area, however, and turned it partially into a skating rink. One more tournament was held in November 1946, but tournaments were thereafter held on the grounds of the Meiji Shrine until 1954. Tournaments were subsequently held in the Kuramae Kokugikan, which opened in 1954, until it was replaced by the current Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Yokoami in 1985. It will host the boxing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In other media
In the anime series Hajime no Ippo, some of the characters participate in boxing matches in Ryōgoku Kokugikan.
In the manga series Prison School, some of the characters attend a student sumo tournament in Ryōgoku Kokugikan.