User:OtharLuin/sandbox6

History
During the Genroku period various sumo groups concentrated from the countryside to the major cities of Edo, Osaka and Kyoto. These groups were self-organised under the leadership of elders, who welcomed the wrestlers into their homes, which took the name of (meaning "fraternity house") in reference to the rooms in which these elders met to organise matches during tournaments. During the Hōreki era, masters began to inherit the names of their predecessors, and were gradually referred to by the name borne by the master. Nearly all of the sumo stables founded by the Edo-based sumo association were founded between 1751 and 1781. During this same period, Edo established itself as a major sumo sports center, and wrestlers from other major metropolises emigrated to train with the of the Edo-based sumo association.

During the Edo period, all wrestlers were officially attached to a stable, but a formal exception existed for wrestlers who benefited from the patronage of local lords, The latter were considered "borrowed" from the lords rather than officially attached to the stables, thus giving the name (抱え力士) to the wrestlers and to the system.

Although mostly founded by former wrestlers, some stables dating back to the 17th century were founded by.

Some stables like Tokitsukaze stable or Miyagino stable were founded by active wrestlers that did not yet secured the possession of an elder share and hence first created a training dojo instead of a proper stable.

Finance
The Japan Sumo Association helps existing heya by providing their stablemasters with at least ¥55,000 ($550) in training payments monthly for each wrestler in the stable that is not in the ranks. Extra payments are given every two months for high-ranked wrestlers. The financial help for having a in its stable yield ¥300,000 ($3,000). In addition, stablemasters receive "support payments", "maintenance payments" and "training operations payments" based largely on the rank and number of the stable's wrestlers. Therefore, large stables receive around ¥100 million ($1 million) per year. This system provides incentives for elders to recruit and train winning wrestlers.

Continue with Cuyler p.147

Women in the
Buckingham p. 145

Naming the stable
may only be set up by an, or elder of the Japan Sumo Association. A is always named after the  (the name of the elder share) owned by its head coach. An elder is obligated to retire and pass on ownership of a at age 65. When a new who has not inherited the retiree's elder name takes over a, the name of the  is generally changed to the new owner's elder name to reflect this. Further may be attached to the stable. In September 2006 the Sumo Association tightened the rules on opening up new stables. Now only who spent at least 25 tournaments ranked in  or 60 tournaments in the top  division may do so. The criteria for inheriting an existing are much less strict – the former Kanechika, for example was able to take over Miyagino stable despite having never fought in the top division at all, as only 12 -ranked tournaments or 20 -ranked tournaments are needed.

Recruitment and wrestlers
Most have a network of scouts, who may be former wrestlers themselves, friends of the head coach, or supporters of the, who keep a look out for any powerful or athletic young men and follow the results of local sumo (and judo) competitions. Most new recruits join at the age of 15 or 16, straight from junior high school.

A wrestler is expected to stay with the he joins until the end of his career. There is no transfer system in sumo. The only exceptions are if the coach who originally scouted him leaves to found a new, in which case he might be permitted to follow him, or if a shuts down due to retirement or death of the stablemaster, mismanagement or financial reasons, the remaining wrestlers are often permitted to transfer to another , usually within the same. Just as with wrestlers, all (hairdressers),  (referees), and  (ushers) are attached to a specific  where they normally begin and end their careers.

Stables are mainly ran by family because a stablemaster is more likely to give his stable to a relative if the latter achieve status.

Stablemates matches
A special rule dictates that wrestlers from the same never fight each other in a main tournament, except in playoffs for a  or divisional championship. This notably worked to the advantages of brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana in recent years, as although they both achieved the top rank of, they never had to fight each other (excepting one playoff bout in 1995) as they both belonged to the Futagoyama stable.

Most allow visitors to watch early morning training  free of charge, although rules vary from stable to stable as to the size of the group and whether advance notice or a Japanese speaker are required.

Life in the stable
Most wrestlers, and all junior ones, live in their stable in a dormitory style: training, cleaning, eating, sleeping and socializing together. Since stable members live in a brotherhood similar to a family, they are forbidden to fight another member of their stable during tournaments.

The treatment a wrestler receives in his stable is based exclusively on his ranking. Wrestlers ranked in the lower divisions get up at dawn (usually around four or five) to do morning chores around the building and stretch in preparation for the usual empty stomach morning training. Just before the training session, the day's lunch team begin their preparations. The morning exercises done by the wrestlers are designed to exhaust wrestlers and strengthen their fighting spirit, and are repeated every morning without exception. Gradually by rank, the wrestlers join in the training and the stablemaster only appears once the sandanme wrestlers have started training. Sekitori-ranked wrestlers always turn up last at training sessions, often around eight o'clock, and their assistants have to temporarily leave the training to help them put on their mawashi. On arrival at the training hall, sekitori are systematically greeted by wrestlers of lower rank than themselves.

Around eleven, the wrestlers all head for the baths-in descending order of rank, so that the sekitori always benefit from a clean bathroom. When the sekitori practice is at its height, the stable cooks begin to prepare the first and major meal of the day(usually chankonabe). In most stables the cooking brigade is supervised by one of the oldest and most experienced of the low-ranking wrestler, affectionately referred to as ojii-chan (おじいちゃん). Wrestlers eat by turns according to rank. The sekitori are served by makushita wrestlers, who are in turn served by sandamme wrestlers, and so on down to the youngest apprentices. The lowest ranks, who were up and working before anyone else, must patiently and hungrily wait until all of the others have finished and gone upstairs to have a siesta-like nap.

The

 * Ichimon system introduction
 * Spaia Sports

Each belongs to an  (一門), a grouping of stables that are affiliated. These groups are encouraged to support each other.