廻し
まわし
mawashi
= mawashi; sumo wrestler’s belt/loincloth
The mawashi is the thick, belt-like cloth that sumo wrestlers wrap tightly around their waist and groin — it is both the wrestler’s only garment in competition and the primary grip point that determines the outcome of nearly every bout.
A mawashi (廻し) is the heavy loincloth worn by sumo wrestlers during training and competition. Made from several meters of densely woven silk or cotton, it is folded into multiple layers and tied at the back with a distinctive knot. In tournament bouts, grabbing an opponent’s mawashi — particularly the front or side — is a fundamental technique; losing that grip often means losing the match. The word itself has no casual or formal register distinction in everyday use; Japanese speakers simply say mawashi when referring to the garment or to the act of grabbing it during a bout. In sumo terminology, moves like uwatenage (over-arm throw) and shitatenage (under-arm throw) are defined by exactly where on the mawashi the wrestler places his hand.
Learners sometimes confuse mawashi with obi (帯), the sash worn with kimono. The two are structurally similar — both are long strips of cloth wound around the body — but an obi is decorative outerwear, while a mawashi is a functional wrestling garment. Another common question is whether mawashi can be used as a verb; it cannot stand alone as one, though the verb base まわす appears in many compound words. When watching sumo, you will hear phrases like まわしを取る (mawashi wo toru, ‘to grab the mawashi’) and まわしを切る (mawashi wo kiru, ‘to break the grip on the mawashi’) used constantly by commentators.
廻し is written with the kanji 廻 and the hiragana し. The character 廻 (read まわ in this compound) is a variant of 回, meaning ‘to go around’ or ‘to circle.’ It depicts a whirlpool or rotational movement — fitting for a cloth wound repeatedly around the body. The し ending comes from the verb suffix of まわす (廻す), ‘to wrap’ or ‘to turn,’ making 廻し literally ‘the wrapping’ or ‘the thing wound around.’ In modern Japanese, 回し (with the more common 回) is sometimes used interchangeably, but 廻し remains the standard spelling in sumo contexts.
Everyday use
力士は相手のまわしをしっかり掴んで、投げを打った。
Rikishi wa aite no mawashi wo shikkari tsukande, nage wo utta.
The wrestler got a firm grip on his opponent’s mawashi and executed a throw.
Casual / Social Media
初場所を観に行ったとき、友達に「まわしってなんで色が違うの？」と聞かれた。
Hatsu-basho wo mi ni itta toki, tomodachi ni ‘Mawashi tte nande iro ga chigau no?’ to kikareta.
When I went to watch the New Year tournament, my friend asked me, ‘Why are the mawashi different colors?’
Formal / Cultural context
横綱は土俵入りの際、豪華な刺繍が施された化粧廻しを身に纏う。
Yokozuna wa dohyō-iri no sai, gōka na shishū ga hodokosareta kesho-mawashi wo mi ni matou.
When a yokozuna performs the ring-entering ceremony, he wears a kesho-mawashi adorned with elaborate embroidery.
The color and material of a wrestler’s mawashi signals his rank. Lower-ranked wrestlers in training (practice bouts) wear cotton mawashi, typically in dark indigo or black. Once a wrestler reaches the top two divisions — juryo and makuuchi — he earns the right to wear a silk mawashi in any color he or his stable chooses, which is why tournament broadcasts display a vivid range of deep purples, navy blues, and crimsons on the dohyo. A silk mawashi for a top-division wrestler can cost the equivalent of several thousand dollars and is treated as prized equipment.
The kesho-mawashi (化粧廻し, ‘decorative mawashi’) is a separate, apron-like garment worn only during the pre-bout ring-entering ceremony (dohyo-iri) and never used in actual competition. Hanging from the front of the wrestler’s regular mawashi, it is made from embroidered silk and often features imagery chosen by the wrestler’s corporate or individual sponsors — from company logos to traditional Japanese motifs like dragons and cherry blossoms. For yokozuna, the kesho-mawashi is especially significant because their ring-entering ceremony is a formal Shinto ritual, and the garment is considered an offering to the gods of the dohyo.