Judge (sumo)

or Shinpan are the ring-side judges of a professional sumo bout. In a sumo ''honbasho'' tournament, five ''shimpan'' sit around the ring to observe which wrestler wins the matchup, with two additional ''shimpan'' serving as video review officials in another room. When judging tournament bouts, they wear formal Japanese dress of '' otokomono'', ''haori'' with '' mon'', and ''hakama''. At the end of each bout, an initial decision is given by the ''gyōji'' (the ring referee), which is usually correct and no action is taken by the ''shimpan''.

Seating and status

Five ''shimpan'' sit around the ring during the tournament. The order of importance of the ''shimpan'' is determined by where they sit. The order of importance goes North, East, South East, South West, West. They will rotate where they sit every day to maintain equality. However, in the top division, only the chief ''shimpan'' and his two deputies may sit in the North. The South East ''shimpan'' also acts as the timekeeper and gives a signal to the ''gyōji'' (referee) when preparation time is up and the wrestlers should fight. Prior to September 1952, the raised shire roof (''tsuriyane'') was supported by columns and the ''shimpan'' would sit in front of the columns.

''Mono-ii''

If one of the ''shimpan'' disagrees or is unsure about the decision, then he raises his hand and the five of them climb into the ring, or ''dohyō'' to hold a ''mono-ii''. A ''mono-ii'' (of the ''shimpan'' only) can in principle also be called by any of the four sumo wrestlers awaiting their bout around the ring, although this is an extremely rare occurrence.

During the ''mono-ii,'' the five ''shimpan'' give their views on what happened. The ''gyōji'' is usually able to listen in but is not expected to take part unless invited to do so. (In a famous case in January 1972, when the ''shimpan'' overruled the ''gyōji'' and said that Kitanofuji was the winner because his opponent was '' shini-tai'' and Kitanofuji was entitled to put his hand down first to prevent injury (''kabai-te''), the ''gyōji'' was seen to be arguing with the officials.) Overturning a call can be a serious matter for a ''gyōji,'' as he has to file a report and it can hinder his promotion, lead to suspension for a number of days, or in very rare cases resignation. For top division matches, two further ''shimpan'' in a separate room serve as replay review officials, in communication with the chief ''shimpan'' (who is always one of the three senior members of the judging committee) via an audio link in his ear.

The use of video was brought in as a result of a famous bout in March 1969 in which the ''yokozuna'' Taihō was adjudged to have lost the bout despite subsequent replays and photographs indicating otherwise. The referee had originally given the victory to Taihō, but the judges reversed his decision. The loss of this bout broke an extremely unusual 45 bout winning streak by the ''yokozuna'' and consequently the decision received much adverse publicity. One of the two ''shimpan'' in the video booth must now also be one of the three most senior judges. This rule was brought in as a result of judging controversies in the 1990s.

The result of the ''mono-ii'' can be to uphold the ''gyōji's'' decision (so-called ''gunbai-dōri''), reverse his decision (''gunbai-sashichigai''), or call a rematch (''torinaoshi''). Prior to 1926, draws (''azukari'') were allowed. The head ''shimpan'' is responsible for making the announcement and a brief explanation to the wrestlers and spectators.

On the rarest of occasions, a rematch () can be called due to a judging error. In a top division match between Kotozakura and Atamifuji at the January 2025 tournament, judge Asahiyama (former Kotonishiki) raised his hand to stop the contest believing that Kotozakura's foot stepped out of the . Video replays confirmed that the foot did not touch the ground outside of the straw bales at the time the hand was raised, and the judges decided to order a rematch.

Status of the ''shimpan''

All the ''shimpan'' are '' oyakata'', or sumo elders, of the Japan Sumo Association and are members of its judging committee. At the end of each ''honbasho'' tournament, the judging committee members also have the responsibility to decide the ranking of the wrestlers for the following tournament, which includes making the initial formal recommendation for the promotion of a wrestler to the rank of '' ōzeki'' to the Sumo Association board of directors. A special advisory body of external members is responsible for initial recommendations of promotion to the top rank of ''yokozuna''.

The judging committee has 23 members at any one time. The three chief ''shimpan'', who are nearly always former ''yokozuna'' or ''ōzeki'', serve two-year terms, while the other 20 members serve one-year terms. An ''oyakata'' is normally expected to have reached at least a high ''maegashira'' rank as an active wrestler and must usually wait at least five years after retirement to become a ''shimpan''. One exception was Nishonoseki (the 72nd ''yokozuna'' Kisenosato), who was named to the judging committee just three years after his retirement.

References

{{Reflist

Sumo people
Sports officiating
Toshiyori