dohyō

thumb|A dohyō in Takamatsu A dohyō (, ) is the ring in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical dohyō is a circle in diameter, bounded by partially buried rice-straw bales. In official professional tournaments (honbasho), it is mounted on a square platform of clay high and wide on each side.

==Configuration and construction== thumb|upright|left|Illustration showing a dohyō in use at a modern professional match In professional sumo, a new dohyō is built prior to each tournament by the yobidashi (ring attendants), who are responsible for this activity. The process of building the dohyō and its platform takes three days and is done with traditional tools. The clay used is taken from the banks of the Arakawa River in Saitama Prefecture. However, due to growing urbanization, clay from Ibaraki Prefecture has started to be used. The surface is covered by sand. The dohyō is removed after each tournament and, in the case of the Nagoya tournament, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs. The yobidashi also build the dohyō for training stables and sumo touring events.