The story
Fiction and adapted settings written by Akitsora Gaming for this title, including invented dialogue and events. This is not a historical or folklore reference. The rules and specification tables define the gameplay and math.
Dohyō no ue de wa, rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru.
— On the ring, everything begins and ends with a bow.
I. The house lights
Before the bouts the hall is dark. Only the ring under the hanging roof is lit, a circle of sand held in by straw bales. Purple curtains hang on four sides; the tassels at the corners are gold and perfectly still.
The wrestler walks in and throws a handful of salt. It lands softly on the sand, and the whole hall hears it.
II. The referee and the gunbai
The gyōji stands across the ring with his gunbai fan. He does not push or pull; he watches. A bout is decided the moment he raises the fan.
To the winner he hands a stack of kensho prize envelopes on the fan. The number on the envelope is the weight of the bout (base game ×2 to ×20).
III. The grand tournament
The day's bouts are written on bout cards. Gather 4 and it is no longer practice — it is the grand tournament, and each of the next 15 bouts counts.
In the tournament the prize envelopes keep stacking (×2 to ×500) until the final day. 3 more bout cards add 5 more bouts.
IV. Cushions in the air
The loudest moment in sumo is not when the champion wins — it is the upset. Cushions fly from the stands, one after another, and land around the ring. It is the whole hall saying, together, well done.