In sumo wrestling, a is a ring-entering ceremony () performed by a former in celebration of his 60th birthday (called in Japanese). If he is a (a sumo elder), the ceremony is usually held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, the main sumo hall in Tokyo. Those who are not current members of the Japan Sumo Association must hold it at another location. A special red is created and worn, instead of the usual white . Reaching your 60th birthday is an important occasion in Japan and is celebrated by wearing a red item. This is commonly known as an but this term is unofficial. If the dew-sweeper or sword-bearer is a former , he wears his own .
History The first was originally held to celebrate the achievements of legendary Tachiyama, who had recorded just three defeats since his promotion to the supreme title of , on the occasion of his sixtieth anniversary. The ceremony took place at the , a renowned French cuisine restaurant in Tsukiji (Chūō, Tokyo). The , the 's supporters association () when he was still active, organized a 300-cover banquet for the event, attended by, among others, Tōyama Mitsuru and , two influential members of the nobility to whom the Japan Sumo Association owed much of its influence.
Kanreki performed at Kokugikan
Wrestlers are listed using their ring name, followed by their then name in brackets if they were retired at the time of the ceremony.
YearWrestlerDew-sweeperSword-bearer1952 Tochigiyama Moriya (Kasugano) Akinoumi Setsuo (Fujishima) Haguroyama Masaji (active)1956 Tsunenohana Kan'ichi (Dewanoumi) Chiyonoyama Masanobu (active) Futabayama Sadaji (Tokitsukaze)1985 Tochinishiki Kiyotaka (Kasugano) Sadanoyama Shinmatsu (Dewanoumi) Wakanohana Kanji I (Futagoyama)1988 Wakanohana Kanji I (Futagoyama) Takanosato Toshihide (Naruto) Wakanohana Kanji II (Magaki)2000 Taihō Kōki (special ) Chiyonofuji Mitsugu (Kokonoe) Kitanoumi Toshimitsu (special )2013 Kitanoumi Toshimitsu (special ) Takanohana Kōji (special ) Chiyonofuji Mitsugu (Kokonoe)2015 Chiyonofuji Mitsugu (Kokonoe) Harumafuji Kōhei (active) Hakuhō Shō (active) 2021 Asahifuji Seiya (Isegahama) Aminishiki Ryūji (Ajigawa) Harumafuji Kōhei (No longer in Sumo Association) 2023 Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi (Hakkaku) Hokutofuji Daiki (active) Okinoumi Ayumi (Kimigahama)
Kanreki performed at other locations
YearWrestlerDew-sweeperSword-bearerVenue1937 Tachiyama Mineemon Tachienoumi Namiemon (Kise) Tachihikari Den'emon (Naruto) 2002 Kitanofuji Katsuaki Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi (Hakkaku) Chiyonofuji Mitsugu (Kokonoe) Hakkaku stable and Hotel East 212007 Mienoumi Tsuyoshi (Musashigawa) Miyabiyama Tetsushi (active) Dejima Takeharu (active) Hotel Grand Pacific Meridian
Tachiyama's was the first and the only one to use the style until Asahifuji's in 2021. Mienoumi performed an early seven months before his 60th birthday, on the 25th anniversary of the founding of Musashigawa stable.
Other eligible Yokozuna Minanogawa Tōzō, Akinoumi Setsuo and Hiroshi Wajima also reached the age of sixty years whilst retired, but did not perform a (all three had left the sumo world many years before). Kagamisato Kiyoji (Tatsutagawa), Tochinoumi Teruyoshi (Kasugano), Sadanoyama Shinmatsu (Sakaigawa) and Kotozakura Masakatsu (Sadogatake) received red but did not perform . Kagamisato and Kotozakura did not perform due to poor health. Similarly Tochinoumi did not perform due to muscle problems in his right arm dating back to his active days. Sadanoyama declined because at the time he had just lost the chairmanship of the Sumo Association in controversial circumstances. Asashio Tarō (Takasago) had a red made, but died aged 58 without performing the ceremony.
Asahifuji was scheduled to perform the kanreki ceremony on 30 May 2020 but the event was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was eventually held on 3 October 2021 at the Kokugikan.
Ōnokuni Yasushi reached 60 years of age in October 2022, however, no plans for a were reported.
See also List of yokozuna
References
External links Article with images of (Japanese) (retrieved via Wayback Machine)