Mawashi

In sumo, a mawashi (廻し^?) is the belt (loincloth) that the rikishi (or sumo wrestler) wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi (see below) as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyō-iri.

For top ranked professional rikishi, it is made of silk and comes in a variety of colours. It is approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) in length when unwrapped, about two feet wide and weighs about 8 to 11 lb (3.6 to 5.0 kg). It is wrapped several times around the rikishi and fastened in the back by a large knot. A series of matching colour, stiffened silk fronds, called sagari are inserted into the front of the mawashi. Their number varies from 13 to 25, and is always an odd number. They mark out the only part of the mawashi that it is illegal to grab on to: the vertical part covering the sumotori's privates, and if they fall out during competition the gyōji (referee) will throw them from the ring at the first opportunity.

Sometimes a rikishi may wear his mawashi in such a way as to give him some advantage over his opponent. He may wear it loosely to make it more difficult to be thrown, or he may wrap it tightly and splash a little water on it to help prevent his opponent from getting a good grip on it. His choice will depend on the type of techniques he prefers to employ in his bouts. Thus a wrestler preferring belt sumo will usually wear it more loosely, while those preferring pushing techniques will tend to wear the mawashi more tightly.

Many rikishi are superstitious and they will change the color of their mawashi to change their luck. Sometimes a poor performance will cause them to change colors for the next tournament, or even during a tournament, in an attempt to change their luck for the better.

Rikishi only wear the silk mawashi during competitive bouts either during ranking tournaments or touring displays. During training, a heavy cotton mawashi is worn. For senior rikishi in the top two divisions (the so-called sekitori), this belt is coloured white, and it is worn with one end distinctively looped at the front. Sagari are not worn during training.

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Wikipedia