Sumo Museum

The Sumo Museum is located in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo, and is run by the Japan Sumo Association. The museum was founded in September 1954, originally in the Kuramae Kokugikan, and moved to its current location in 1985. The collection is based largely on the private holdings of the politician Tadamasa Sakai, who served as its first director and was known as the "Lord of Sumo." Since then, donations and targeted acquisitions have grown the collection to about 30,000 objects, half of which come from Sakai's legacy. The museum's mission is to preserve sumo-related materials such as woodblock prints, rankings lists, and ceremonial aprons and make them accessible to the public.

With a floor area of just 150 square meters and a single exhibition hall, the museum has no permanent display and instead mounts rotating exhibitions. There were originally six shows a year; today there are three, so that each can run longer. The exhibition schedule often changes when a yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo, retires, in order to honor the wrestler in question. Beyond its displays, the small institution also serves as a research center. Lectures are held here in which former wrestlers talk about their careers, and since 2002 the curators have published a scholarly journal. Visitors can usually view the exhibition free of charge, but during the major tournaments in Tokyo, a ticket for the event is required.