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Heya (sumo)

For other uses, see Heya (disambiguation).

Sumo wrestlers of Naruto stable with, in the centre in suit and tie, stablemaster Naruto (the former Kotoōshū). On the right, in costume, junior-ranked yobidashi and gyōji also belong to the stable.

In professional sumo wrestling, a heya or beya (部屋, lit. 'room'),[a] most commonly and metaphorically translated in English as "stable",[1][3][4] but also known as "training quarters",[4] or "fraternity",[5] is an organization of wrestlers where they train and live in a "quasi-monastic and militaristic lifestyle".[3]

Closer to a medieval fraternity than a modern sports team, a stable is a group that lives, eats, trains, sleeps and socializes together, under the authority of one or more elders.[5] Additionally to wrestlers, all the traditional sports professionals (such as gyōji, yobidashi and tokoyama) must belong to a heya. Heya vary in size, with the largest and most successful stables having a completely different training environment from the smaller stables that have a dimension described as being more family-oriented.[6] Most heya are based in and around the Ryōgoku district of Tokyo, sumo's traditional heartland, although the high price of land has led to some newer heya being built in other parts of Tokyo or its suburbs.[7]

In 2004, the Japan Sumo Association recorded a record number of 55 active stables.[8] There are currently 45 active sumo stables (as of October 2024), each of which belongs to one of five ichimon (factions or clans).[b] These groupings of heya, each with their own history, traditionally serve to maintain the cohesion of stables linked by family ties, but also have a role to play in the struggle for influence within the Japan Sumo Association.

  1. ^ a b Cuyler 1979, p. 72.
  2. ^ Kenrick 1969, p. 51.
  3. ^ a b Gunning, John (18 September 2018). "Sumo 101: Heya (Stables)". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Sumo stable". Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary (4th ed.). Kenkyusha Limited. 1990. ISBN 4-7674-2015-6.
  5. ^ a b Buckingham 1994, p. 82.
  6. ^ Schilling 1994, p. 56.
  7. ^ Cuyler 1979, p. 137.
  8. ^ Nagayama Satoshi (19 January 2024). "揺らぐ「相撲部屋」制度―入門者減が招く大相撲の危機とは" (in Japanese). Nippon.com. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  9. ^ "List of elder stocks by occupation and attachment to sumo stables and clans". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 1 September 2024.


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