It’s almost sumo time, and pictures released on the Sumo Kyokai’s twitter feed show the team busy building the dohyo for this weekend’s start of the Aki basho. The raised fighting platform will be consecrated in a ceremony a bit before noon in Tokyo on Saturday. It’s unknown if, given the restrictions around COVID-19, if the public will be invited to attend as they were in less restrictive times.
I understand that the clay is re-used each time, which makes me wonder whether there is a salt build up hat could degrade the clay strength over time. Are there any chemicals added to counteract this?
The cover photo showed white particles which made me wonder if something is being added during the remix.
In the case of the Dohyo at the Kokugikan, about 20 centimeters of clay is removed, with fresh clay applied during the reconstruction. As for the picture, It looks like they’re using some sort of potting soil for the inside of the tawara.