The ring purification ceremony for the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament takes places at Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. As always, the ceremony is open to the public and free of charge. Entry is allowed between 9:20 and 9:50 a.m. All ...
The newly-released banzuke (rankings) for the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament see Hakuho back in his old familiar 'Yokozuna 1 East' position. It is the 48th time that the Mongolian veteran has occupied the top slot — a sumo record. Indeed at this stage in his ...
Visitors to Japan, encountering sumo for the first time, are often surprised to learn that not only are there rikishi from places as far afield as Georgia, Mongolia and Hawaii, but that foreigners have dominated the sport for the better part of a decade ...
Sumo's Autumn Regional Tour has reached Kansai and will continue winding its way westward until it arrives in Yamaguchi prefecture at the end of the month. From there it's just a short hop across the Kanmon Straits to Fukuoka, where the November Grand Sumo Tournament ...
Last week's column featured links between sumo and American football, including a mention of how yokozuna Wakanohana took up the latter sport after retiring from the raised ring. He isn't the only former yokozuna with connections to the gridiron, however. The 54th yokozuna, Wajima, likewise became ...
Former top-division wrestler Osunaarashi fell to 45-year-old actor Bob Sapp in his mixed martial arts debut this week. The fight at Saitama Super Arena, which was widely derided online and in the media, slowed to a snail's pace after 30 seconds, and ended with both ...
Takanohana's retirement, announced on Tuesday, brings to an end the Hanada dynasty's 72-year-long involvement in sumo. The scion of a family that dominated both in the ring and in the headlines since the 1950's, Takanohana never seemed at ease in the sport that was his ...
All sumo wrestlers get a week off starting the day after a tournament ends. Most head back to their hometowns for some much needed rest and relaxation. Some just continue to work out and lift weights daily. A few spend most of the time either sleeping or ...
The last day of a sumo tournament is called senshuraku and it's packed with all kinds of ceremonies and events not seen over the preceding 14. The word itself combines the characters for "thousand," "autumn" and "comfort" and is an old industry term for the ...
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo. To date just 72 men have attained the status since it was first created in the late 1700s. Yokozuna can never be demoted. They are seen as the living embodiment of sumo, and when no longer able to uphold ...
