London — Sumo’s biggest international showcase in history rocked London this week, spotlighting more than 40 wrestlers across 100 bouts with blistering palm thrusts, stunning face slaps and an unforgettable lightning-fast overarm throw. The final championship clash of the Grand Sumo Tournament was a battle of giants — a Goliath versus only a slightly smaller Goliath.
Colliding with the force of a few 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 edge of the ring, then Hoshoryu powered him out, sealing a perfect 5-0 record in just 10 seconds. The 5,000-strong crowd inside London’s sold-out Royal Albert Hall erupted in cheers.
“I’m just glad to have got through the five days with no injuries,” Hoshoryu said backstage after claiming the championship trophy.
He hadn’t planned a celebration, but told CBS News he’s ready to go where his career takes him.
“If someone decides that we’ll do this in America, of course I’ll be there,” said the 26-year-old.
For young American boys watching and dreaming of entering sumo’s sacred ring, his advice 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 said.
Sumo is a life of devotion. Wrestlers typically begin training around age 15, the minimum age to join a heya, or stable, where they live communally and train full-time under a stablemaster, a retired wrestler. To outsiders, sumo may look like a sport but for its practitioners, it is a way of life shaped by 1,500 years of ritual and discipline, rooted in Shinto prayers for a bountiful harvest.
London’s Royal Albert Hall — better known for the echoes of The Beatles, Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen than the slaps and grunts of massive muscle men — was transformed into a place of reverence to reflect that.
“I’ve worked here 11 years, and this is one of the most exciting weeks I’ve ever been part of,” said David Gamble, head of programming at the hall, who gave CBS News a special, behind-the-scenes tour.
“We’ve had teams, artisans in the U.K. create this 1.5 ton roof,” he said, gesturing to the massive hanging roof over the ring reminiscent of 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 explained the few rows of red floor mats circling the ring were 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 said with a grin. These seats are “the most expensive, the best and the most dangerous.”
Big wrestlers meant big logistics. The venue brought in 10 tons of clay to build the sacred ring — the dohyō — and had to procure nearly a ton of rice. The athletes consume up to 10,000 calories a day, mostly in the form of a protein-rich stew, called chanko-nabe.
The heaviest sumo wrestler ever recorded remains Konishiki Yasokichi, the Hawaiian-American who weighed 633 pounds at his peak. He competed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1991, when sumo first ventured beyond Japan’s shores — the last time the hall hosted the sport until now.
This week’s event marked sumo’s first overseas tournament in 34 years, and only its second in history. The more than 40 “rishiki” — not all from Japan but Mongolia and Ukraine too — stopped a lot of people in their tracks outside Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, crossing Abbey Road like The Beatles and at 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 moment symbolized more than victory. It was a celebration of an ancient Japanese tradition finding new life — and new fans — far from home.
