Sumo is Japan’s national form of wrestling. It combines elements of martial arts, spectacle, and sacred ritual. No other sport features a pre-match ceremony as philosophical and symbolic as that found in sumo. Before a bout, wrestlers greet one another with gestures demonstrating that they come with pure intentions, without weapons, and are prepared to prove their superiority through fair competition. The three fundamental pillars of sumo are spirit, technique, and body. One of the core principles followed by sumotori (sumo wrestlers) states: “Do not become arrogant in victory; do not lose heart in defeat.” The sumo wrestling ring, known as the dohyo, is a raised platform built on a clay foundation. The competition area is a circle marked by rice-straw bales partially buried in the surface. A bout is contested between two wrestlers. Victory is awarded to the wrestler who either forces the opponent out of the ring or causes any part of the opponent’s body, other than the soles of the feet, to touch the ground. Competitors wear a special belt called a mawashi, approximately 9.8 meters long, which is wrapped around the waist and between the legs to form a traditional wrestling garment. Before the match begins, wrestlers perform a series of ritual actions with symbolic meaning. They enter the dohyo, scatter handfuls of salt to purify the ring from evil spirits, and perform the ceremonial shiko stomping exercise. The bout is preceded by a psychological confrontation known as shikiri. With clenched fists, the wrestlers slowly approach one another until they are almost face to face, locking eyes in an intense stare-down (niramiai) in an attempt to intimidate their opponent before the contest begins. Although a sumo match may last anywhere from just a few seconds to several minutes, it is often filled with dramatic and highly tense moments. The excitement is heightened by the enormous size of the competitors, many of whom weigh 150 kilograms or more.