Shimpan

This article about a judge in sumo. For a kind of a feudal domain in the Edo period, see Shinpan (daimyo).

Shimpan(審判) are the judges of a professional sumo bout. In a sumo honbasho tournament five shimpan sit around the ring to observe which wrestler wins the matchup. When judging tournament bouts they wear formal Japanese dress of otokomono, haori with mon, and hakama. At the end of each bout an initial decision is given by the gyōji (the ring referee), which is usually correct and no action is taken by the shimpan.