White packages given to winners of sumo bouts

Thanks.

I was watching yesterday's highlights and I noticed for the first time that the winning wrestler always seems to look away from his opponent after he has won.

We were talking about this, and wondering whether this was out of respect and/or not wanting to make his opponent lose face after being defeated.

In so many western competitive sports (even non-fighting sports), it is so common for the winner to want to "eyeball" the loser as a final insult after winning.

Watching the Day 15 highlights, I saw one instance where the winner not only got the prize money envelopes, but also (and at the same time) got what looked like two arrows.

The winner wasn't one of the wrestlers who won individual prizes (and I saw those prizes at the end of the programme - they were trophies). The only thing that I remember which marked out the winning wrestler as special was that winning the Day 15 bout gave him an 8-7 score, and he needed that score in this tournament in order to keep his rank.

Is anyone able to tell me what the arrows were for, please? Were they anything to do with the fact that the wrestler was keeping his rank?

Thanks a lot.

It is, so to say, a ceremonial practice that a pair of arrows is given to a winner of the third last bout on the final day of a Grand Sumo regular competition.
To answer your question, this practice has nothing to do with how many bouts the sumo wrestler won, neither with whether he can remain in his position.

The historical context of such practices concerning the last three bouts on the final day...... may be a long story to tell.

Thanks very much.
I continue to learn...

Just a couple of other points, Winter Visitor, that I don't think were mentioned.
The envelopes or money is called kensho.

And the bout only starts when the goyji (referee) has his gumbai(fan) facing the front, flat. Prior to that you will notice that the wrestlers throw salt, come and crouch, but if the goyji has the gumbai side on, the game is not ready to start, and the wrestlers stand up again, or even go back to the corners, throw more salt, and come back to crouching, waiting for the front faced gumbai. The game is then started by mutual consent, and stopped if the goyji thinks it wasn't even, calling out matta matta.

Sumo is a very additive sport, when you understand a little it is so exciting.

To address the earlier question of staring, I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. I should think that to stare at a defeated opponent would be taken as very aggressive and a form of gloating. The defeated opponent would certainly be offended, but more importantly it would make the victor seem very bad and un-sumo like. Maintaining composure and control is very important, and gloating after a victory is just as bad as not being able to accept a defeat (probably worse, actually). You'll notice that wrestlers never (well, extremely rarely anyway) show any signs of celebration after a victory. No fist pumps or jumps for joy. The most emotional ones will clearly looked pleased, or even crack a smile. But the general goal is to be placid; to not appear upset after a defeat or happy after a victory.

Also, it seems most people consider staring to be an inherently more aggressive gesture in Japan than in the West generally, by the way.

Thanks again to all who've replied.

My knowledge of this fascinating sport has gone from zero to novice level in a very short time, mainly thanks to the forum community. I really appreciate all of your help, and I look forward to learning more. Can't wait for the next grand tournament!