Should you throw your zabuton (seat cushion) when the yokozuna loses?

No — The cushion throw is a real spontaneous crowd tradition for big upsets, but the Japan Sumo Association officially prohibits it because flying cushions can hurt people. As a visitor, never initiate it.

Is it okay to call out 'ganbare!' once the bout is underway and applaud when it's over?

Yes — Yes — cheering a wrestler's name, shouting 'ganbare' (がんばれ), and applauding at the right beats is how the crowd participates. Just stay quiet in the final moment before the wrestlers charge, and skip the heckling.

Can you eat and drink in a masu-seki box seat?

Yes — Yes — eating at your seat is allowed (except in the ringside tamari seats), and bento, beer, and yakitori are part of the sumo experience. Just move only between bouts, don't block the people behind you, and carry your trash out when you leave.

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Sumo Viewing Etiquette: How to Watch a Grand Tournament Without Becoming the Story

A honbasho grand tournament is loud, festive, and surprisingly relaxed — but there are a handful of moments where tourists accidentally cross a line, from copying the famous cushion-throw to yelling right before the wrestlers charge. Here's how to fit right in.

Updated October 12, 2026

Throwing your zabuton after a big upset

A tourist standing up to hurl a seat cushion across the sumo arena after an upset while others duck

Launching your seat cushion when the yokozuna gets beaten

You've seen the clips: a yokozuna (横綱 / grand champion) loses to a lower-ranked wrestler, and suddenly the arena fills with flying zabuton (座布団 / seat cushions). It looks like a sanctioned tradition, so visitors sometimes grab their cushion and join in — or worse, start it. The problem is that a cushion thrown across a packed arena can genuinely hurt people, and the Japan Sumo Association (Nihon Sumō Kyōkai) explicitly prohibits it, with in-arena announcements and official guidance asking fans not to throw them.

A spectator sitting calmly and clapping after an upset while a few cushions fly elsewhere in the arena

Let the locals' tradition be theirs — don't initiate it

Yes, the zabuton throw is a real, spontaneous crowd reaction that still erupts when a yokozuna falls to a big underdog — it's part of the drama and it's not going away. But it's officially prohibited for safety, and as a visitor you absolutely should not be the one who starts it. If a genuine wave of cushions goes up around you after a major upset, that's the crowd doing its thing; you can simply stay seated and enjoy the spectacle. Initiating it, or throwing yours during a normal result, just makes you the foreigner who beaned someone in row 12. 🤼

Cheering and heckling at the wrong moments

A loud spectator shouting and booing during the quiet pre-bout staredown as others look annoyed

Yelling through the staredown and heckling the wrestlers

Sumo isn't a Western stadium sport, and the rhythm of noise is different. Some spectators shout continuously, or yell a wrestler's name during the shikiri (仕切り) — the tense pre-bout face-off where wrestlers crouch, glare, and throw salt — even in the hushed moment right before the charge. Heckling, or screaming into that final silence, is widely criticized by fans and commentators, because that quiet tension is part of the ritual. Phones blaring or ringing during this moment is the same kind of foul.

A spectator clapping and calling out a wrestler's name at the moment the two wrestlers charge

Read the room — quiet before the charge, loud once it's on

As the shikiri (仕切り) reaches its final face-off, the arena goes quiet and the energy builds. Once the wrestlers have clashed and the bout is underway, that's when you let it out — call a wrestler's name, shout 'ganbare!' (がんばれ / 'go for it!'), and applaud when it's decided. The bouts themselves are brutally short, often just a few seconds, so the cheering comes in sharp bursts, not a constant roar. Skip the heckling and keep your phone on silent mode. Match the crowd's rhythm and you'll feel like a regular. 👏

Treating the box seats like a stadium row

A tourist standing up mid-bout in a cramped tatami box seat blocking the view behind, trash scattered around

Standing mid-bout, sprawling across the box, leaving trash behind

The prime seats are masu-seki (枡席) — small, low-walled boxes on the floor with cushions inside, most sold for four people. They're cramped, and visitors used to stadium chairs make three classic mistakes: standing up or wandering during a bout and blocking the view of everyone behind, sprawling out and hogging a box meant for four, and walking off leaving bento boxes, beer cans, and yakitori skewers on the floor. All three annoy the people around you in a space where everyone is packed in tight.

A group sitting shoes-off on cushions in a tatami box eating bento and drinking beer between bouts

Shoes off, sit tight during bouts, carry your trash out

Slip your shoes off and sit on the cushions inside the masu-seki (枡席). Eating and drinking at your seat is allowed (except in the ringside tamari seats) and part of the fun — bento, beer, and yakitori are classic sumo fare, and at Ryōgoku Kokugikan you can also try chanko (the wrestlers' hearty hotpot) in the basement. Just time your movement: get up and stretch or hit the restroom during the gaps between bouts, not while two wrestlers are squared off. And take your trash with you when you leave — bag it and bin it. If a floor box sounds too tight, the isu-seki (椅子席 / chair seats) up in the arena tiers are easier on the knees. 🍱

Mobbing wrestlers and using flash

Tourists crowding and grabbing at a sumo wrestler in a hallway while firing camera flashes

Flash, tripods, and grabbing rikishi as they pass by

Rikishi (力士 / sumo wrestlers) sometimes pass close to fans in and around the venue. Some visitors treat this as a photo free-for-all: firing off flash, setting up tripods, blocking the aisles, or — the real line-crosser — grabbing, mobbing, or chasing a wrestler for a selfie. Flash and tripods are disruptive, blocked aisles are a hazard, and the Japan Sumo Association explicitly asks fans not to touch wrestlers or judges.

A spectator bowing slightly and taking a quick photo as a wrestler walks past in the corridor

Quiet photos, hands off, follow the photo rules

Taking photos from your own seat is generally fine — just skip the flash and tripods, and don't plant yourself blocking an aisle. If a rikishi (力士) passes close by, a quick respectful photo from where you are or a small bow is the low-key way to do it. What you never do is touch them, block their path, or trail after them. And note the exceptions: in the ringside tamari seats, photography without the organizer's permission is banned, and the association asks fans not to wait outside the venue for wrestlers arriving or leaving at some tournaments. Treat them like the professional athletes they are and you'll get your shot. 📸

A grand tournament is more festival than funeral

Sumo can look intimidating from the outside — ancient ritual, Shinto salt-throwing, solemn referees in elaborate robes — so first-timers may arrive bracing for a stiff, museum-quiet experience. It isn’t. A honbasho (本場所 / grand tournament) is a long, festive day out: people come and go, snack on bento, crack open beers, and the place hums with energy. There are six honbasho a year — three at Ryōgoku Kokugikan (両国国技館) in Tokyo, and one each in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka.

The trick is knowing the few moments where the festive crowd suddenly goes quiet and ritual-serious, and not blundering through them. Get those right and the rest of the day is genuinely relaxed.

The rhythm of noise

The single most useful thing to understand is the shikiri (仕切り) — the pre-bout ritual. The two wrestlers step onto the dohyō, toss salt to purify it, crouch, glare each other down, reset, and do it again. In the top division this can stretch on for a few minutes, and as the final face-off arrives the arena goes hushed. Then they charge — and once they’ve clashed, the arena erupts for the bout, which often lasts only seconds.

So the pattern is: quiet anticipation, then a sharp burst of noise. Don’t yell into the silence right before the charge; call out wrestler names and shout ganbare (がんばれ) once the bout is on, and clap when it’s over. Don’t heckle, and silence your phone.

Where you sit changes the experience

The famous floor boxes are masu-seki (枡席) — small cushioned squares, most sold for four, shoes off. They’re tight and atmospheric, perfect for eating and drinking your way through the day’s bouts. Higher up, the isu-seki (椅子席 / chair seats) trade closeness to the ring for easier sitting. Either way, the etiquette is the same: move between bouts, not during them, and take your trash with you.

The two big traps

Two things are especially easy for visitors to get wrong: the zabuton (座布団) throw, and how they treat the wrestlers around the venue. The cushion launch after a yokozuna upset is a real crowd tradition — but it’s officially prohibited for safety, and you should never start it. And when rikishi (力士) pass close by, the rule is simple: quiet photos yes, touching never.

Quick check

Three questions to make sure you’ve got the festive-but-respectful balance right.

Q1 Should you throw your zabuton (seat cushion) when the yokozuna loses?
Q2 Is it okay to call out 'ganbare!' once the bout is underway and applaud when it's over?
Q3 Can you eat and drink in a masu-seki box seat?