occupation dejima takeharu
Professional sumo is divided into six ranked divisions . Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win / loss records in ___MASK9___ tournaments . For more information see " kachi - koshi " and " make - koshi ". Wrestlers are also ranked within each division . The higher a wrestler ' s rank within a division is , the stronger the ___MASK78___ level of opponents he will have to face becomes . According to tradition , each rank is further subdivided into East and West , with East being slightly more prestigious , and ranked slightly higher than its West counterpart . The divisions , ranked in order of hierarchy from highest to lowest , are as follows : Korea is a historical state in East Asia , since 1945 divided into two distinct ___MASK50___ states : North Korea ( officially the " Democratic People ' s Republic of Korea ") and South Korea ( officially the " Republic of Korea "). Located on the Korean Peninsula , Korea is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast . It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the East Sea . Russia ( from the  Rus '), also officially known as the Russian Federation , is a country in Eurasia . At , Russia is the largest country in the world by surface area , covering more than one - eighth of the Earth ' s inhabited land area , and the ninth most populous , with over 140 million people at the end of March 2016 . The European western part of the country is much more populated and urbanised than the eastern , about 77 % of the population live in European Russia . Russia ' s capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world , other ___MASK63___ urban centers include Saint Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod and Samara . A is an ___MASK9___ professional sumo tournament . There are six held each year , a system established in 1958 . Only " honbasho " results matter in determining promotion and relegation for " ___MASK83___ " ( sumo wrestlers ). Tournaments in general may be called " basho ". A literal translation of " honbasho " is " main ( or real ) tournament ". This term is used to distinguish these tournaments from display " basho " which are held as part of sumo tours , between the six major tournaments . Such display tournaments may have prize money attached but a wrestler ' s performance has no effect on his ranking . This type of sumo is often called " hana - sumo " ( lit . flower - sumo ) as it is not taken as seriously by the wrestlers . " Honbasho " last for 15 days . Sumo wrestlers ranked in the top two divisions (" makuuchi " and " jry ") wrestle once each day , while those of the lower divisions wrestle seven times , approximately once every alternate day . The sport originated in Japan , the only country where it is practiced professionally . It is generally considered a " gendai bud " ( a modern Japanese martial art ), but this definition is misleading , as the sport has a history spanning many centuries . Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo , and even today the sport includes many ritual elements , such as the use of salt purification , from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto ___MASK52___ . Life as a wrestler is highly regimented , with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association . Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal sumo training stables , known in Japanese as " heya ", where all aspects of their daily lives  from meals to their manner of dress  are dictated by strict tradition . Japan (" Nippon " or " Nihon " ; formally "" or " Nihon - koku ", means " State of Japan ") is a ___MASK50___ island nation in Eastern Asia . Located in the Pacific Ocean , It is lying off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland ( east of China , Korea , Russia ) and stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and near Taiwan in the southwest . NHK operates two terrestrial ___MASK38___ services ( NHK ___MASK78___ TV and NHK Educational TV ), two satellite ___MASK38___ services ( NHK BS - 1 and NHK BS Premium , both now high - definition ___MASK38___ services ), and three ___MASK18___ networks ( NHK ___MASK18___ 1 , NHK ___MASK18___ 2 , and NHK FM ). ___MASK98___ , officially the Republic of China ( ROC ), is a state in East Asia . Neighbors include China ( officially the People ' s Republic of China , abbreviated as PRC ) to the west , Japan to the northeast , and the Philippines to the south . ___MASK98___ is the most populous state that is not a ___MASK82___ of the United Nations , and the one with the largest economy . A ritual " is a sequence of activities involving gestures , words , and objects , performed in a sequestered place , and performed according to set sequence ." Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community , including a ___MASK54___ community . Rituals are characterized but not defined by formalism , traditionalism , invariance , rule - governance , sacral symbolism , and performance . The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese ___MASK47___ of Education , Culture , Sports , Science and Technology . " ___MASK83___ " ( active wrestlers ), " gyji " ( referees ), " tokoyama " ( hairdressers ), and " yobidashi " ( ushers / handymen ), are all on the Association ' s payroll , but the organisation is run entirely by " toshiyori " ( elders ). The organization has its headquarters in Yokoami , Sumida , Tokyo . China , officially the People ' s Republic of China ( PRC ), is a unitary ___MASK50___ state in East Asia . With a population of over 1 . 381 billion , it is the world ' s most populous country . The state is governed by the Communist Party of China , and its capital is Beijing . It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , five autonomous regions , four direct - controlled municipalities ( Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai , and Chongqing ), and two mostly self - governing special administrative regions ( Hong Kong and Macau ), and claims sovereignty over Taiwan . The country ' s ___MASK63___ urban areas include Shanghai , Guangzhou , Beijing , Chongqing , Shenzhen , Tianjin and Hong Kong . China is a great power and a ___MASK63___ regional power within Asia , and has been characterized as a potential superpower . This is the only division that is featured on NHK ' s standard live coverage of sumo tournaments . The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage , with only the " makuuchi " broadcast having bilingual English commentary . Dejima Takeharu (   , born March 21 , 1974 ) is a former sumo wrestler from Kanazawa , Ishikawa , Japan . A former amateur champion , he made his professional debut in 1996 , reaching the top makuuchi division the following year . In 1999 he won the ysh or tournament championship and earned promotion to the second highest rank of zeki , but he lost the rank in 2001 and , for the most part , remained a maegashira until his retirement in 2009 . He won ten special prizes and six gold stars over his long career . He wrestled for Musashigawa stable . It is awarded in each of the six annual " honbasho " or ___MASK9___ tournaments , to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts . " Ysh " are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions . The prize money for a top " makuuchi " division championship is currently 10 million yen , while for the lowest " jonokuchi " division the prize is 100 , 000 yen .