The Dedicatory Ring-Entering Ceremony of Sumo at Meiji Shrine
Hakuhou(/白鵬), the currently only one Yokozuna(/横綱, the Grand Champion of Sumo wrestling) hosted the “Hounou-Dohyoo-iri”(/奉納土俵入り, a dedicatory Ring-Entering Ceremony) at Meiji Shrine in Shibuya-ward Tokyo on this Jan.6th. 
This ceremony is a popular annual ritual conducted by (a) Yokozuna(s). Sometimes tehre are more than one Yokozuna and the two host it jointly like the one last year. Yet, as Asashoryuu(/朝青龍) retired last year, Hakuhou did by himself , and this ceremony was solely done for the first time in four years.
This ceremony is a special dance of oblation for the deities done by the primary sumo wrestler(s) accompanied by two follower wrestlers. This time Hakuhou did so-called “Shiranui-gata” (/不知火型, a sea fire style) performance. This time the ceremony was spectated by about 3,000 audience.
Meiji Shrine http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.html is a place where the Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shohkenare enshrined and one of the most popular Shinto shrines, which is visited by both Japanese and foreigners. The number of the visitoes there during the new year holidays susually sets the highest of the year. Actuallty, more than 3200,000 people visited the shrine on the first three days of this year 2011.
As some other writers wrote on this site before, the shrine is now a very popular tourist destination even among foreign tourists due to its cultural significance, modern amenities around the facility and its neighboring area, and “Kiyomasa no Ido”(/清正の井戸, the Kiyomasa’s Well) in its garden as one “power spot”. So-called “power spots” are now becoming more and more popular among even Japanese who are interested in health issues, realm of healing or supernatural. Such spots are said to have special healing power or effect to make or keep a person who visits there.
Hakuhou who established remarkable 63 winning matches in a row and five winning seasons in a row at the same time may be an adequate “hero” to celebrate the new year in a quite auspicious atmosphere.
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