Thanks go to Isabo for the explanation:
That is a shinto shrine, the rope is called shimenawa and the paper strips are gohei. They mark boundaries to sacred areas/objects/kami. that’s why they’re on torii gates, mark the boundary to a sacred shrine/area.
Also, Simon, as you’re obsessed with sumo, you’ll notice it looks an awful lot like the belt sumo wrestlers (highest ranking ones) wear during ceremonies, right? I guess b/c Sumo was originionally a performance to Shinto kami (that’s simply translated as gods to foreign cultures, but kami means much more/different things).
