Nishikido stable

Hakkaku stable (八角部屋, Hakkaku-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Takasago ichimon or group of stables. It was established in September 1993 by former yokozuna Hokutoumi, who took with him four wrestlers from Kokonoe stable. The stable has so far produced nine sekitori, four of whom have reached the makuuchi division. As of November 2022 it had 28 wrestlers, the largest in professional sumo. Many Hakkaku wrestlers have the kanji 北勝 (pronounced hokuto or hokutō) in their ring name, taken from the former name of their head coach.

The 1894 Tokyo earthquake (明治東京地震, Meiji-Tokyo jishin) occurred in Tokyo, Japan at 14:04 PM on June 20. It affected downtown Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa prefecture, especially the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama. The earthquake's epicenter was in Tokyo Bay, with a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter magnitude scale. The depth of the 1894 earthquake has not been determined, but it is thought to have occurred within the subducting Pacific Plate under the Kantō region. The death toll was 31 killed and 157 injured. The earthquake was mentioned by author Ichiyō Higuchi in her work Mizu-no-ue no nikki, in which she described damage to buildings in Yotsuya, and soil liquefaction in the Mita area of downtown Tokyo. She also commented on an aftershock which occurred at 22:00 that night. The earthquake is also mentioned by author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki in his autobiographical work, Yosho-jidai, in which he described how his family's house collapsed during the earthquake, a traumatic event to which he attributed his lifelong phobia of earthquakes. By 1894, Tokyo and Yokohama had numerous foreign residents, many of whom commented on the earthquake in their writings and diaries. The National Science Museum of Japan in Tokyo has a collection of twenty two photographs of the earthquake in the form of albumen papers, lantern slides and dry plates. A considerable number of photographs were taken just after the event for the use at the former Imperial Earthquake Investigation Committee in its official reports of the 1894 earthquake, but almost all of the original plates have been lost.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum (江戸東京博物館, Edo Tōkyō Hakubutsukan) is a historical museum located at 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-Ku, Tokyo in the Ryogoku district. The museum opened in March 1993 to preserve Edo's cultural heritage, and features city models of Edo and Tokyo between 1590 (just prior to the Edo period beginning) and 1964. It was the first museum built dedicated to the history of Tokyo. Some main features of the permanent exhibitions are the life-size replica of the Nihonbashi, which was the bridge leading into Edo; scale models of towns and buildings across the Edo Meiji, and Showa periods; and the Nakamuraza theatre.Designed by Kiyonori Kikutake, the building is 62.2 meters tall and covers 30,000 square meters. The concrete exterior is designed based on a traditional rice storehouse (takayuka-shiki style) and is the same height as the Edo Castle. Kikutake claimed that the building "crystallizes Japanese culture in built form," concerning the structure's traditional references but contemporary execution. There are eight floors, one below ground and seven elevated off the ground by four columns, with an open air plaza at ground level. The first floor has a museum shop, restaurants, and a ticket counter. The primary entrance is on the third floor, reached by a bright red escalator from the plaza. The fifth and sixth floors contain permanent exhibits, with temporary special and feature exhibits on the first and fifth floors. The seventh floor is a library that houses 560,000 texts and cultural items related to Edo and Tokyo.The museum opened thirteen years after the Shitamachi Museum and six years after the Fukagawa Edo Museum, all part of a national trend for building local history museums. The exhibits for all three were primarily designed by Total Media.Formerly owned and operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is accented by the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum across the city in Koganei Park. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is now operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture.

On the night of 9/10 March 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) conducted a devastating firebombing raid on Tokyo, the Japanese capital city. This attack was code-named Operation Meetinghouse by the USAAF and is known as the Great Tokyo Air Raid in Japan. Bombs dropped from 279 Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers burned out much of eastern Tokyo. More than 90,000 and possibly over 100,000 Japanese people were killed, mostly civilians, and one million were left homeless, making it the most destructive single air attack in human history. The Japanese air and civil defenses proved largely inadequate; 14 American aircraft and 96 airmen were lost. The attack on Tokyo was an intensification of the air raids on Japan which had begun in June 1944. Prior to this operation, the USAAF had focused on a precision bombing campaign against Japanese industrial facilities. These attacks were generally unsuccessful, which contributed to the decision to shift to firebombing. The operation during the early hours of 10 March was the first major firebombing raid against a Japanese city, and the USAAF units employed significantly different tactics from those used in precision raids, including bombing by night with the aircraft flying at low altitudes. The extensive destruction caused by the raid led to these tactics becoming standard for the USAAF's B-29s until the end of the war. There has been a long-running debate over the morality of the 10 March firebombing of Tokyo. The raid is often cited as a key example in criticism of the Allies' strategic bombing campaigns, with many historians and commentators arguing that it was not acceptable for the USAAF to deliberately target civilians, and other historians stating that the USAAF had no choice but to change to area bombing tactics given that the precision bombing campaign had failed. It is generally acknowledged that the tactics used against Tokyo and in similar subsequent raids were militarily successful. The attack is commemorated at two official memorials, several neighborhood memorials, and a privately run museum.

Kataonami stable (片男波部屋, Kataonami-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables. It was founded in 1961 by former sekiwake Tamanoumi Daitarō, who branched off from Nishonoseki stable. Former sekiwake Tamanofuji took over the running of the stable upon Tamanoumi's death in 1987. In February 2010 he passed control over to another former sekiwake, Tamakasuga, remaining in the stable under the elder name Tateyama. As of January 2022 it had five active wrestlers.

Ryōgoku Station (両国駅, Ryōgoku-eki) is a railway station in Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei).

Kise stable (木瀬部屋, Kise-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It was established in its current form in December 2003 by former maegashira and Nihon University amateur champion Higonoumi, who branched off from Mihogaseki stable. The stable's first top division wrestler was Kiyoseumi in January 2008. Its foreign recruit, Georgian Gagamaru, in May 2010 earned promotion to the top division. It is a popular destination for wrestlers with collegiate sumo experience like its stablemaster, and the retirement of Gagamaru in November 2020 opened up another spot for a foreigner.Following the demotion of Kise-oyakata (or stablemaster) in May 2010 after a scandal involving the selling of tournament tickets to members of the yakuza, Kise stable was dissolved with all 27 of its wrestlers moving to the affiliated Kitanoumi stable. Kise was allowed to reestablish the stable in April 2012. All former members, as well as newcomers Jōkōryu and Sasanoyama (now Daiseidō), joined the reconstituted stable. Jōkōryu reached the rank of komusubi in 2014, but has since fallen greatly down the ranks due to injury, and Daiseidō in September 2017 became the eleventh wrestler from Kise to reach jūryō since its founding in 2003. As of January 2022, it has 25 wrestlers, six of them are sekitori (salaried ranks). Kise stable's first makuuchi championship was delivered by Tokushōryū in the January 2020 tournament. The 33-year-old won from the bottom-most makuuchi rank of maegashira 17, after spending all but one of the previous 12 tournaments in the jūryō division.In May 2022 the stable recruited the first ever student of the University of Tokyo, an elite academic institution, to join professional sumo.

Ryōgoku (両国) is a district in Sumida, Tokyo. It is surrounded by various districts in Sumida, Chūō, and Taitō wards: Yokoami, Midori, Chitose, Higashi Nihonbashi, and Yanagibashi. In 1659, the Ryōgoku Bridge was built, spanning the Sumida River just upstream of its confluence with the Kanda River. Its name, meaning "two provinces," came from its joining Edo (the forerunner of Tokyo in Musashi Province) and Shimōsa Province. The district derived its name from that of the bridge. The Forty-seven rōnin avenged the death of their lord, Asano Naganori, by breaking into the mansion of his enemy, Kira Yoshinaka, in 1703. Part of the mansion has been preserved in a public park in Ryōgoku. Ryōgoku Station in the neighboring Yokoami district was opened in 1904, bringing rail transportation to the area. It is regarded as the heartland of professional sumo. Most training stables or heya are based there. The first Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium for sumo was completed in 1909. The present one was built in 1985 in the Yokoami district north of Ryōgoku. Three of professional sumo's six annual official tournaments take place there.

Ryōgoku Kokugikan (両国国技館), also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Yokoami neighborhood (bordering to the Ryōgoku neighborhood) of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan (including the Kuramae Kokugikan); the current building was opened in 1985 and has a capacity of 11,098 people.It is mainly used for sumo wrestling tournaments (honbasho) and hosts the Hatsu (new year) honbasho in January, the Natsu (summer) honbasho in May, and the Aki (autumn) honbasho in September. It also houses a museum about sumo.The venue is also used for other indoor events, such as boxing, pro wrestling, and music concerts.

The Tokitsukaze stable (時津風部屋, Tokitsukaze-beya) is a stable of sumo wrestlers in Japan, one of the Tokitsukaze group of stables. It was founded in 1769 and was dominant during the Taishō period. In its modern form it dates from 1941 when it was established by Futabayama, who was still an active wrestler at the time. It was known as Futabayama Dojo until it was re-named Tokitsukaze stable in November 1945 when Futabayama retired. (The stable has the names of both Futabayama and Tokitsukaze at its entrance.) Upon Futabayama's death in 1968 the former Kagamisato took charge for a short time, but Futabayama's widow wanted Yutakayama Katsuo to take over, which he did upon his retirement in 1969. He in turn passed control of the stable on to his successor Futatsuryū in August 2002. As of January 2022 it had 17 active wrestlers, two of whom are sekitori. The death of 17-year-old junior member Tokitaizan (real name Takashi Saito) in a hazing scandal on June 26, 2007, eventually resulted in the dismissal and six years in prison for Futatsuryū. This compelled Tokitsuumi, a long time top division wrestler from the stable, to retire from active sumo and take over as the new head of the stable.Tokitsuumi was asked by the Japan Sumo Association to retire in February 2021 after twice violating COVID-19 safety protocols. Tokitsukaze stable was taken over by former maegashira Tosayutaka.

Honjo (本所) is the name of a neighborhood in Sumida, Tokyo, and a former ward (本所区 Honjo-ku) in the now-defunct Tokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with the suburban Mukojima ward to form the modern Sumida ward.

The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin (四十七士, Shijūshichishi), also known as the Akō incident (赤穂事件, Akō jiken) or Akō vendetta, is a historical 18th-century event in Japan in which a band of rōnin (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master. The incident has since become legendary. It is one of the three major adauchi vendetta incidents in Japan, alongside the Revenge of the Soga Brothers and the Igagoe vendetta.The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless after their daimyō (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was compelled to perform seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a powerful court official named Kira Yoshinaka. After waiting and planning for a year, the rōnin avenged their master's honor by killing Kira. They were then obliged to commit seppuku for the crime of murder. This true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that people should display in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the Meiji era, during which Japan underwent rapid modernization, and the legend became entrenched within discourses of national heritage and identity. Fictionalized accounts of the tale of the forty-seven rōnin are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays, including in the genres of bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names were changed. While the version given by the playwrights may have come to be accepted as historical fact by some, the first Chūshingura was written some 50 years after the event, and numerous historical records about the actual events that predate the Chūshingura survive. The bakufu's censorship laws had relaxed somewhat 75 years after the events in question in the late 18th century when Japanologist Isaac Titsingh first recorded the story of the forty-seven rōnin as one of the significant events of the Genroku era. To this day, the story remains popular in Japan, and each year on 14 December, Sengakuji Temple, where Asano Naganori and the rōnin are buried, holds a festival commemorating the event.