Sumo shows offer new life for retired rikishi
Sumo is an all-enveloping lifestyle. Unlike in other professional sports, there are no days when wrestlers are just regular people. The topknot is a constant reminder of the total commitment needed in ...
Sumo wrestlers beat heat and make new fans at summer camps
For many, the words "training camp" and "summer" are synonymous with American football and particularly the NFL. Ever since George Plimpton's 1966 book "Paper Lion" first drew back the curtain on ...
Kids tournaments provide much more than just recruiting grounds
You can become a professional sumo wrestler at 15 years old. That's the age most kids are when they graduate junior high school and complete compulsory education. The academic year in Japan ...
Rikishi pulling their weight in buildup to RWC in Japan, but rugby's gain could be sumo's loss
The 2019 Rugby World Cup is less than two months away. The tournament, which is the world's third-largest sporting event, undoubtedly will have a major impact, not just on rugby in Japan, but on many other sports in the host nation. What those effects will be ...
Kakuryu adds to solid resume with latest win
Yokozuna Kakuryu lifted the Emperor's Cup last Sunday after a final day defeat of fellow yokozuna Hakuho. The win gave Kakuryu his sixth title overall, with half of those championships coming in the past 18 months, after a period in which speculation was rife about ...
Kakuryu wakes up a winner after lifting Emperor's Cup in Nagoya
Yokozuna Kakuryu said he woke up to a blissful Monday morning, after winning his sixth top-division title at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. "I woke up feeling really great. I was more focused than usual," Kakuryu said of his impressive 14-1 performance at Dolphins Arena, ...
Kakuryu beats fellow yokozuna Hakuho on final day to clinch sixth title
Yokozuna Kakuryu won his sixth top-division title by defeating Hakuho at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday and avoiding a playoff with the all-time championship record holder. Kakuryu (14-1) summoned every ounce of his strength to fight off an attack from his yokozuna colleague, ...
The Japan Sumo Association's highest authority is the chairman of its board of directors. The current occupant is 56-year-old Hakkaku, who has been in power since 2015. Like the majority of his predecessors, Hakkaku is a former yokozuna. Known as Hokutoumi when at that rank, he won ...
Sumo 101: Non-traditional training
Sumo is often described as a lifestyle rather than a sport. As regimented as a military and requiring the total immersion of a religious order, it's certainly much more multifaceted than any other activity that makes the sports section of this paper. For many in sumo, ...
Yokozuna Kakuryu reclaimed the sole lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Saturday as yokozuna rival Hakuho suffered a shock loss to former ozeki Kotoshogiku with one day remaining at the 15-day tournament. Kakuryu will go into the final day with a one-win lead ...
Kakuryu suffers first loss, bring him into a tie with Hakuho at 12-1
Yokozuna Kakuryu relinquished his perfect record and his sole lead Friday in a shock loss to No. 7 maegashira Tomokaze at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Kakuryu fell into a tie with his fellow yokozuna Hakuho at 12-1 with two days remaining at the 15-day ...
Sumo receives extensive coverage year- round in the Japanese media. While it may not get the column inches that baseball does (understandable when you consider the respective sizes and number of participants in both sports) it's still a significant amount of media attention. To facilitate that, ...
