The term seniority came to the attention of the American business scholar James Christian Abegglen in his book, as a representative feature of Japanese management, along with lifetime employment and unions in the business.
Japanese society is still functioning with meaning in the seniority system. Sumo society is one of them. Sumo is a traditional culture strongly dominated by nationalistic colors, as can be seen that it is called the “Gyoji(行司)" of Japan.
The official convention of Sumo is called Honbasyo(本場所). During the Honbasyo show, a lot of people are mobilized. Rikishi(力士), a contestant who competes directly with Sumo, as well as Gyoji, a judge who makes a decision on a Sumo wrestling match, Yobidashi(呼出し), who calls for a player to appear and Tokoyama(床山), who is responsible for the burials, are all essential for process of Ozumo(大相撲). There is a strict hierarchy in each of these organizations, and the seniority is commonly dominant.
In this paper, we analyze the case of seniority, which still has important meaning in Japanese society, by studying the origins of Gyoji, the qualifications of Gyoji, the mission of Gyoji, the class of Gyoji and the promotion system. It is meaningful to consider how the seniority system works in Japan.