Crying Sumo Wrestling to Commemorate the Restoration of Ichikawa Danjuro IX's "Shibaraku"

Date and Time: Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Postponed in case of bad weather.)

Reserve date: April 26, 2026 (Sunday). Cancellation if it rains on the reserve date.

time
“Shibaraku” bronze statue memorial service 10:45

[Part 1] With reception: 10:15-10:45
• Competition briefing: 11:10 (Please arrive 10 minutes prior)
- Entering the sumo ring (*): 11:15
• Start of initiative: 11:25 - 12:15
[Part 2] With reception: 12:10-12:40
• Competition briefing: 12:55 (Please arrive 10 minutes prior)
- Ring-entering ceremony (*): 13:00
• Start of initiative: 13:10-14:00
[Part 3] With reception: 13:55-14:25
• Competition briefing: 14:40 (Please arrive 10 minutes prior)
- Sumo ring entrance ceremony (*): 14:45
• Start of initiative: 14:55-15:45

(*Regarding the sumo ring entrance ceremony)

Each contestant's name is called out one by one, a wooden clapper is placed, and all contestants walk around the sumo ring, lining up with the referee in the center.
Commemorative photos will be taken (by family members) in both the east and west sections.

venue
Special stage in front of the "Shibaraku" bronze statue in the plaza behind the main hall of Asakusa Kannon Temple
Banners are displayed throughout the area behind the Kannon statue.

Application period: Must arrive by Friday, March 27, 2026

Applications must be submitted via return postcard (a lottery will be held if there are many applicants).
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To: Asakusa Tourism Association (General Incorporated Association)
Address: 3rd Floor, 1-34-7 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Please fill in the following information when applying.
1. Child's name (phonetic spelling)
2. Date of birth and gender
3. Parent's name
4. Contact information (mobile phone number, email address)
5. Address
*Please write in legible handwriting.
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Number of people recruited: 160 people

Eligibility: Children born in the previous year

Participation fee: 15,000 yen per child (to be collected at the venue on the day of the event)

Souvenirs: Amulets for praying for successful childbirth, special mawashi (loincloth) for crying sumo wrestling, and more.

Commemorative photos: A paid photo booth will be set up, and professional photographers will be hired to take the pictures.

Competition Method: First, the east and west ring-entering ceremonies begin, with parents carrying their children circling the ring, bowing to it, and then stepping back.
At that moment, the sumo referee sits in the center of the ring with his fan held horizontally.
When called upon, the parents step forward from either side of the stage and hand their child over to the sumo wrestlers, who are dressed in loincloths.
(The sumo referee and announcer wear the same attire as in sumo.)The man holding the child in the sumo ring is a member of a university sumo club and is wearing a mawashi (sumo belt).
The referee announces his name, and the grappler steps onto the sumo ring holding a child.
At the referee's call of "Look at each other, look at each other," the grapplers on both sides make the children look at each other.
In the call "Hakkeyoi, nokotta," the sumo referee, the announcer, and the grappling specialists use various techniques.
They try to make me cry somehow.The way the person making the call and setting up the pairings acts is amusing.
The child who cries first is declared the winner, and after being declared the winner, they leave the field.However, the souvenirs are the same for both parties.