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1: Those rope belts come from a Shinto ritual. The rope is called Shimenawa and it is used to distinguish places of rest. From there, similar style of rope was made to fashion belts for Kimonos and so forth, and they were considered good luck. During or after that, they became notifiers higher-ranked Sumo wrestlers' status.
2: The top-knot just signifies one's status as a Samurai. I'm sure there's a story behind it, but I don't know it. To have it removed is a serious dishonor.
3: In Japanese culture, like every other culture, certain types of animals rack up amounts of superstition. I can't say I know too much about Japan's other than certain types are considered very good fortune.
4: Yeah, it's formal wear, pretty much.
Fun fact: Most of Japan's first original literature was written by women. Most men were busy copying Chinese texts and women weren't allowed to be educated in Chinese, so they wrote original work in Japan's native script, hiragana.
Wee! Isn't learning fun?!
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