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Paper short abstract

This paper explores shikona (sumo ring names) of salaried wrestlers as a form of linguistic world-building, showing how kanji choice, naming conventions and tradition construct a culturally shared image of Japan within contemporary professional sumo.

Paper long abstract

Shikona, the ring names used by professional sumo wrestlers, constitute a unique form of linguistic creativity embedded in strong institutional and cultural constraints. This paper examines shikona of all active salaried wrestlers (sekitori) in the makuuchi and juryo divisions as of January 2026, treating them as a corpus through which a specific linguistic image of Japan is constructed and maintained.

Drawing on 70 shikona, the study approaches these names not as isolated lexical items, but as culturally loaded signs operating at the intersection of language, tradition, and collective imagination. Particular attention is paid to kanji selection, recurrent morphemes (e.g. references to mountains, natural phenomena, animals, virtues, or auspicious concepts), inherited naming patterns, and the balance between individual identity and institutional continuity.

Methodologically, the paper combines the concept of the linguistic image of the world with culturally informed interpretation, while explicitly addressing the risk of over-interpretation inherent in symbolic readings of proper names. Rather than reconstructing individual intent, the analysis focuses on shared conventions and dominant semantic fields, understood as elements of a broader discursive system within professional sumo.

The preliminary findings suggest that shikona contribute to a coherent linguistic representation of Japan that emphasizes continuity, strength, natural imagery, hierarchy, and tradition, while selectively accommodating regional references and limited signs of individual distinction. As such, shikona function not merely as identifiers, but as performative linguistic constructs that reinforce a culturally recognizable vision of “Japaneseness” within the ritualized space of sumo.

The paper is intended as a foundation for further detailed analysis and aims to demonstrate the relevance of shikona as a valuable source for studying language, culture, and identity in contemporary Japan.