In sumo wrestling, the straw bales forming the dohyo’s circular boundary are called tawara.
A dohyo is a raised earthen platform covered with sand. Its contest area is outlined by 俵, or tawara: bundles of rice straw partially buried in the clay. The tawara define the circular boundary that wrestlers must keep inside during a bout.
The four bales at the cardinal points are slightly recessed compared with the others. This arrangement reflects the traditional construction of the ring and helps distinguish the official fighting area. The dohyo itself is rebuilt before each major tournament, while the straw bales are replaced as part of that preparation.
Tawara are not the same as the shimenawa, the sacred rope associated with Shinto symbolism, nor are they the wrestler’s mawashi. A wrestler loses when any part of the body other than the soles of the feet touches outside the tawara, or when another body part touches the dohyo first inside the boundary.