The "Dohyo of Dreams"
Crossroads of the world's amateur sumo community

Click here to view/download an English/Japanese information brochure (in Adobe PDF).

Constructed in 1997, the "Dohyo of Dreams" (hereafter referred to as the "DoD") is the first permanent working sumo ring to exist in the United States since 1952. It conforms to official Nihon Sumo Kyokai dimensions. In 2004, a dohyo was built in Round Rock, TX. However, it has since been demolished to make room for the expansion of a martial arts dojo. The Oceanside Sumo Kyokai (OSK) has announced plans to construct a dohyo in the backyard of one of its members. We really wish them all the best: the more dohyo the better, and then maybe they will put on a tonamento or two. But until they finish it, the "DoD" is once again the only permanent working sumo ring in North America.

Construction took place in the backyard of "Meade Station", the house in Garden Grove, CA owned by Southern California Sumo Kyokai (SCSK) charter members Lorinda Kasten-Lowerre and Jim Lowerre. They, together with Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dudrow and Dr. Gregory Wheeler, comprised the original construction crew. A 20' by 20' square of sod was removed, and several bags of sand and water softener salt were stirred into the loam. A 15' diameter circle was measured out, and short lengths of soft styrofoam 'fundoodle' were set into the earth to mark the ring boundary.

A ceramic vase was filled with the sacred elements of Shinto: rice, salt, seaweed, dried squid and sake. This vase was placed in a hole dug in the center of the dohyo. More sake and salt were poured in: the hole was then filled and tamped. The vase is still in place.

The 'fundoodles' did not work out. When the rains came, they popped out of the ground; they also did not give the sumotori anything to anchor a foot on to prevent being pushed out. Longer styrofoam pieces tied down with twine were tried, with no improvement. For a couple of years, the rubber tawara from the SCSK's portable dohyo were laid on the surface to form the ring when needed.

The next attempt at permanent tawara was the installation of canvas bags filled with dirt. Unfortunately, the canvas could not stand up to the elements: upon inspection a year or so later, most of the bags had rotted out. But Matsuzaki-san, the SCSK's very esteemed patron (who still competes on occasion at a healthy 77 years of age), purchased purpose-made bags made from rot-resistant synthetic cloth. We filled these with dirt and sand, then tied them with polypropylene rope (also rot-resistant).

A 15' circle was measured out, and a trench dug to accommodate the new tawara. Once each bag was laid in and adjusted, dirt was carefully filled in around it and hand-tamped with the traditional empty sake bottle. When all the tawara were in place, a heavy tamper was used to set the dirt firmly. The result has been very rugged and serviceable to the present day.

The "DoD" currently hosts two events on the Southern California sumo calendar: SHUNBUN (The Spring Equinox Tournament), which is held in March on the Saturday closest to the vernal equinox, and SHUUBUN (The Fall Equinox Tournament), which is held in September on the Saturday closest to the autumnal equinox. Both events are presented by the SCSK and sanctioned by the United States Sumo Federation. The "DoD" is also used for practice sessions, and is available by prior arrangement with the management.

In "Yukikaze's" opinion, SHUNBUN 2006 has been the greatest tournament held on the "DoD" thus far. We had nineteen competitors, including Dan Kalbfleisch (SUMO SHIMPO 2006 Outstanding California Sumotori), Wes Jones (SUMO SHIMPO 2006 Rookie Sumotori) and Judy Morrow (SUMO SHIMPO 2006 Outstanding Junior Sumotori). But the major story was the three-man team from Mongolia that Troy Collins brought to the event: "Mukii" (lightweight), "Bilgay" (middleweight) and "Tugsu" (heavyweight). Like the Mongol hordes of the past, they descended onto the "DoD" and carried off every gold medal they competed for. If all three of them had entered the Open competition, they would have swept the podium! This photo shows all the competitors along with referee Harry "Tonkatsu" Dudrow (wearing cap, right center) and the Mongolian team coach (wearing cap, far right).

The "DoD" has also been the site of several media productions. A prime example of this was "Omakase", a San Diego State University film school project. Two dream sequences (sumo and samurai) were filmed here.

In the following photos, an MTV video crew is shooting footage for a show featuring massive local phenom Steve Jimenez (17 years old, 400-plus pounds).

Most recently, the "DoD" served as a backdrop for a magazine article featuring OSK sumotori Trent Sabo (2002, 2003, 2005 National lightweight champion; 2004 World Cup lightweight champion) and Javonn Rushing (2004 Snake River Classic lightweight silver medalist; SHUUBUN 2004 lightweight and openweight champion). In the photo at right their Oceanside teammate Jason Gilbert, who has competed in bodybuilding contests, steps between Trent (left) and Javonn for an informal posedown! (The article, written by Dennis Nishi with photographs by Sye Williams, appears in the November 2007 issue of MUSCLE & FITNESS magazine, which is now on sale.)

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