Sumo is a physical sport to many, but it is very much a spiritual rite to others. The bouts commence and end with a bow, in much the same way as judo or kendo bouts start with a similar acknowledgment of the opponent. Mutual respect is forever the name of the de facto national game.
Another similarity sumo shares with other forms of Japanese martial arts is the attitude of its participants. The victor should never laud it over the vanquished, and emotion — be it positive or negative — should appear only in private, never atop the earthen dohyo (which is why Asashoryu recently received so much heat for his triumphant post-victory pose).
Yet, despite the austere attitudes of so many in sumo, one aspect of the sport that relies largely on spectacle, albeit in a slightly somber form, is the ring-entering ceremony called the dohyo-iri.
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