In a spectacle blending sport and ritual, more than 40 elite sumo wrestlers from Japan have touched down in London today as the city prepares to host the Grand Sumo Tournament — only the second time in history that a full professional “basho” has been held outside Japan.

Sumo wrestlers follow a planned high-calorie, high-protein and carb-rich diet to fuel their intense training and maintain their muscle mass so they are strong for the matches. The average sumo wrestler consumes between six to ten bowls per meal, which equates to around 10,000 calories.

Tama-nishiki weighs 300 lb., wears his hair curled in a knot on top of his head, dresses in a 15-lb. fringed apron and an enormous belt made of twisted straw and paper streamers, looks as if he were proud of having just swallowed a medicine ball.

Good news for any aspiring sumo wrestlers who are on the shorter side: height and weight no longer matter. The Japan Sumo Association announced in late September that potential sumo wrestlers would no longer have to meet the minimum height requirements of ...

Onosato Daiki became the first Japanese man in eight years to be named a yokozuna, or grand champion, the highest title in the sport. By Victor Mather Sumo is Japan’s national sport, steeped in hundreds of years of history and tradition. But Japanese ...

London's Royal Albert Hall has swapped violins for loincloths this week as 40 sumo wrestlers take part in the city's first Grand Sumo Tournament in 34 years. The five-day event marks the Japan Sumo Association's first outing abroad since 2013,

Sumo is more than a sport in Japan. It’s a sacred tradition, a 1,500-year-old spectacle steeped in Shinto ritual and ceremony. But at its heart lies a long-standing taboo: women are still barred from the traditional ring, known as the dohyō in Japanese.