London — Sumo’s largest worldwide showcase in historical past rocked London this week, spotlighting greater than 40 wrestlers throughout 100 bouts with blistering palm thrusts, gorgeous face slaps and an unforgettable lightning-fast overarm throw. The ultimate championship conflict of the Grand Sumo Match was a battle of giants — a Goliath versus solely a barely smaller Goliath.
Colliding with the pressure of some tons and sending clay into the air, 330-pound Hoshoryu Tomokatsu seized the blue silk belt — the mawashi — of 420-pound Onosato Daiki. Momentum carried the heavier man to the sting of the ring, then Hoshoryu powered him out, sealing an ideal 5-0 report in simply 10 seconds. The 5,000-strong crowd inside London’s sold-out Royal Albert Corridor erupted in cheers.
Hoshoryu Tomokatsu competes towards Onosato Daiki through the ultimate match through the Grand Sumo Match at Royal Albert Corridor on Oct. 19, 2025, in London.
Ryan Pierse / Getty Pictures
“I’m just glad to have got through the five days with no injuries,” Hoshoryu mentioned backstage after claiming the championship trophy.
“If someone decides that we’ll do this in America, of course I’ll be there,” mentioned the 26-year-old.
For younger American boys watching and dreaming of coming into sumo’s sacred ring, his recommendation was rooted in self-discipline and perseverance.
“You must work hard to be a sumo wrestler if that is your dream. Everyone has dreams — but only you can achieve them,” he mentioned.
Sumo is a lifetime of devotion. Wrestlers sometimes start coaching round age 15, the minimal age to hitch a heya, or secure, the place they reside communally and prepare full-time below a stablemaster, a retired wrestler. To outsiders, sumo might appear to be a sport however for its practitioners, it’s a lifestyle formed by 1,500 years of formality and self-discipline, rooted in Shinto prayers for a bountiful harvest.
Wrestlers compete within the Grand Sumo Match at London’s Royal Albert Corridor in October 2025.
Ramy Inocencio
London’s Royal Albert Corridor — higher recognized for the echoes of The Beatles, Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen than the slaps and grunts of huge muscle males — was reworked into a spot of reverence to mirror that.
“We’ve had teams, artisans in the U.K. create this 1.5 ton roof,” he mentioned, gesturing to the huge hanging roof over the ring paying homage to a Shinto shrine. “It is more than sport … we had a ring blessing ceremony where the Sumo Association blessed the ring in the same way that they would for all of their shows in Tokyo.”
He defined the few rows of crimson ground mats circling the ring have been probably the most coveted — and the riskiest.
“You’re really going to have to stay focused because at any moment there might be a 400 pound sumo wrestler bearing down on you, so no time to check your phone,” Gamble mentioned with a smile. These seats are “the most expensive, the best and the most dangerous.”
Huge wrestlers meant huge logistics. The venue introduced in 10 tons of clay to construct the sacred ring — the dohyō — and needed to procure practically a ton of rice. The athletes eat as much as 10,000 energy a day, principally within the type of a protein-rich stew, known as chanko-nabe.
The heaviest sumo wrestler ever recorded stays Konishiki Yasokichi, the Hawaiian-American who weighed 633 kilos at his peak. He competed on the Royal Albert Corridor in 1991, when sumo first ventured past Japan’s shores — the final time the corridor hosted the game till now.
This week’s occasion marked sumo’s first abroad match in 34 years, and solely its second in historical past. The greater than 40 “rishiki” — not all from Japan however Mongolia and Ukraine too — stopped lots of people of their tracks exterior Buckingham Palace and Huge Ben, crossing Abbey Street like The Beatles and on the “Harry Potter” Platform 9 3/4 attraction at King’s Cross station.
As Hoshoryu raised his championship trophy — the ornate Emperor’s Cup, flown in from Tokyo — the second symbolized greater than victory. It was a celebration of an historic Japanese custom discovering new life — and new followers — removed from house.
