In the middle of the dohyō a square hole is cut in where the tate-gyoji will then place inside: torreya nuts, dried chestnuts, salt, washed rice, dried squid or cuttlefish and kombu (seaweed). The tate-gyoji will then pour sacred sake into the hole, and around several other places around the dohyō before he will put more clay into the hole. The yobidashi will eventually cover up the hole. The sacred sake is then shared with everyone in attendance.
Outside of Tokyo, the dohyō is dismantled after each tournament and in Nagoya, pieces are taken home by the fans as souvenirs.
Around the ring is finely brushed sand called the ja-no-me (蛇の目, snake’s eye), which can be used to determine if a wrestler has just touched his foot, or another part of his body, outside the ring. The yobidashi ensure this is clean of any previous marks immediately prior to each bout.
In professional sumo, women are not allowed to enter or touch the dohyō, a tradition stemming from Shinto and Buddhist beliefs that women are “impure” because of menstrual blood.
A dohyō (土俵, Japanese pronunciation: [doçoː]) is the ring in which a sumo wrestling bout occurs. A typical dohyō is a circle 4.55 m (15 ft) in diameter, bounded by partially buried rice-straw bales. In official professional tournaments (honbasho), it is mounted on a square platform of clay 34–60 cm (13–24 in) high and 6.7 m (22 ft) wide on each side.