. 4). The rankings on the
banzuke are decided by an assembly composed of 20 sumo judges and three supervisors who gather a few days after each official tournament. The assembly assigns ranks to over 600 wrestlers in six divisions based on their performance in the previous tournament. There are no precise rules for assigning rank, but the general rule is that a wrestler who achieved
kachi-koshi (a majority of wins) will be raised in the rankings and a wrestler with a
make-koshi (a majority of losses) will be lowered in the rankings. The degree of a wrestler's success or failure will help give the assembly a benchmark for figuring how far he rises or falls in the rankings. High-ranking
gyōji then take on the laborious task of copying down the new rankings on a traditional Japanese paper roll called a
maki. They carefully write down the
kanji characters of each wrestler participating in a tournament in a calligraphy style called
sumo moji. The work is very intricate and requires a great deal of skill. It usually takes about a week to complete the document. The
banzuke information is carefully guarded for several weeks before it is released, which is usually on the Monday 13 days before an official tournament begins. The
banzuke is printed at a greatly reduced size on sheets of paper (58 cm x 44 cm) and copies are distributed by the
Japan Sumo Association. Sumo
stables buy a large quantity of them to give to their sponsors. Tea houses in the
Tokyo sumo venue
Kokugikan also buy them to give out to their patrons. They are also available for purchase for a small fee at tournament sites. ==See also==