Gyōji inhabit a world every bit as steeped in tradition as that of the wrestlers they officiate.
Sumo had a changing of the guard atop its referee rankings this month with the retirement of Kimura Shonosuke and the promotion of Kimura Shonosuke. That’s not a printing error. In Japan’s national sport, gyōji (referee) names are connected to rank, with the aforementioned Kimura Shonosuke moniker (and the Shikimori Inosuke name) being the officiating equivalents of the top rank of yokozuna.
In fact, it’s an even more exclusive club in one sense — while Onosato is the 75th yokozuna, the new holder of sumo’s top referee rank is just the 40th Kimura Shonosuke.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
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