朝巣四湯　　

4:00 PM The Yokozuna Ring Entering Ceremony

One of the high points of any tournament day, the yokozuna dohyo-iri or ring entering ceremony is performed with a combination of dignity and strength by each competing yokozuna. Flanked by his sword barer on the right and his usher on the left, the yokozuna goes through a series of motions rich in both tradition and meaning.

Sugawara Michizane/Tenjin sama
born 845, Japan
died March 26, 903, Dazaifu

Japanese scholar of Chinese literature during the Heian period, later deified as Tenjin, patron of scholarship and literature.

He was given important government posts by the emperor Uda, who saw him as a counterbalance to the powerful Fujiwara family. When Uda's son took the throne, Michizane's fortunes were reversed, and he was sent into exile when the new emperor was persuaded that Michizane was plotting against him. Following his death in exile, calamities in the capital were attributed to his vengeful spirit, and he was posthumously reinstated. At shrines dedicated to Tenjin, schoolchildren often buy amulets for good luck on school entrance exams.