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The Grand Sumo Tournament

Location: This Historic London Venue, the British Capital. Dates: October 15th through 19th

Exploring Japan's National Sport

Sumo represents Japan's iconic national sport, combining tradition, discipline and Shinto religious rituals with origins over a millennium.

This combat sport involves two competitors – called rikishi – competing inside a raised circular ring – the dohyo – measuring 4.55m (14.9 ft) across.

Traditional ceremonies take place before and after every match, highlighting the ceremonial aspects in sumo.

Customarily prior to competition, an opening is made at the center of the dohyo and filled with symbolic offerings by Shinto priests.

The hole gets sealed, containing within a spirit. Sumo wrestlers subsequently execute a ceremonial stomp and clap to drive off bad spirits.

Elite sumo is governed a strict hierarchy, with competitors involved commit completely to it – living and training in group settings.

Why London?

This Major Sumo Event is taking place internationally for just the second time, as the tournament occurring in London from Wednesday, 15 October through October 19th.

The British capital with this iconic venue also hosted the 1991 tournament – marking the initial occasion such an event took place outside Japan in sumo history.

Explaining the reasoning behind going overseas, the Japan Sumo Association chair stated he wanted to share with London audiences sumo's attraction – an ancient traditional Japanese culture".

Sumo has seen substantial growth in international interest globally recently, and a rare international tournament could further boost the popularity of Japanese culture abroad.

Sumo Bout Mechanics

The basic rules of sumo are straightforward. The match is decided once a wrestler gets pushed from the ring or touches the floor with anything other than the sole of his feet.

Matches can conclude almost instantly or continue several minutes.

Sumo features two main fighting styles. Aggressive pushers generally push their opponents from the arena through strength, while belt-fighters prefer to grapple the other rikishi employing judo-like throws.

Elite wrestlers often master various techniques and can adapt against different styles.

Sumo includes dozens of victory moves, including dramatic throws strategic evasions. The variety in moves and tactics keeps audiences engaged, so surprises and upsets may happen in any bout.

Weight classes are not used within sumo, so it's common to observe wrestlers with significant size differences. Sumo rankings determine matchups instead of physical attributes.

Although female athletes do compete in amateur sumo worldwide, they cannot enter professional tournaments including major venues.

Life as a Sumo Wrestler

Sumo wrestlers live and train in communal facilities called heya, under a stable master.

Everyday life for wrestlers centers completely around the sport. Early mornings dedicated to training, followed by a substantial lunch the traditional stew – a high-protein dish designed for weight gain – with rest periods.

Typical rikishi consumes between multiple servings per meal – approximately 10,000 calories – with notable instances of massive eating exist in sumo history.

Wrestlers purposely increase mass to enhance leverage in the ring. Despite their size, they possess surprising agility, rapid reflexes and explosive power.

Virtually every aspect of wrestlers' existence are regulated by their stable and the Sumo Association – creating a distinctive existence in professional sports.

A wrestler's ranking determines earnings, living arrangements and even personal assistants.

Younger less established wrestlers perform duties in the stable, while higher ranked ones enjoy preferred treatment.

Competitive standings get determined by results during yearly events. Wrestlers with winning records move up, unsuccessful ones descend the rankings.

Prior to events, updated rankings gets published – a ceremonial list showing everyone's status within the sport.

At the summit exists the rank of Yokozuna – the ultimate achievement. Yokozuna represent the spirit of sumo – transcending winning.

Who Becomes a Rikishi

There are approximately 600 rikishi competing professionally, with most being Japanese.

International competitors have participated significantly for decades, with Mongolian athletes achieving dominance in recent times.

Current Yokozuna include global participants, with competitors from various nations reaching elite status.

Recently, foreign prospects have traveled to the homeland seeking wrestling careers.