Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet.
A sumo match (tori-kumi) between yokozuna Asashōryū (left) and komusubi Kotoshōgiku in January 2008
Haniwa sumo wrestler
Sumo match in Tokyo c. 1890s
Sumo wrestling scene c. 1851
Japanese is the principal language of the Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 120 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide.
A page from the Man'yōshū, the oldest anthology of classical Japanese poetry
A 12th-century emaki scroll of The Tale of Genji from the 11th century