15.Sumo | Wakamatsurui Public Site

Sumo, referred to as sumai-no-sechie since ancient times, is an entertainment that has been performed at various festivals including at the imperial court during boys’ festivals.

It has been dedicated before the altar in the otabisho for the Wakamatsuri since its foundation. It is thought that this dedicatory sumo match was performed under the festival magistrate, Asahina Sozaemon, and had the sumo referee, Yoshida Hayate, and wrestlers who followed him from Suruga. It was not part of the Togyo Gyoretsu parade at the time. By the later Edo period, however, those wrestlers who resided in the castle town as well as villages within the domain territories also began to participate in the parade in addition to their duties at the otabisho.
Today, amateur wrestlers in the prefecture who belong to the Wakayamaken Sumo Federation participate in the parade and compete in the ring.