Sumo Grand Tournament: Wrestlers enchant Britain by taking over the Royal Albert Hall

Although rich in detail, the goal of the game is very simple – make your opponent touch the ground with any part of his body that is not the sole of his foot, or push him out of the ring, or dohyo, completely.

Rikishi train extensively from a young age in order to master the precise rituals and 82 different winning techniques, or kimarite, but it is through their adventures outside of the dohyo that they steal the hearts of British fans old and new.

Because 40 rikishi Those who traveled to compete in London crammed plenty of quintessentially British traditions into their visit.

Accustomed to eating up to 10,000 calories a day in pursuit of the ultimate competitive weight, in London they swapped their usual high-protein chancunbe soup for fish and chips and pints of Guinness between rounds of Harrods and photo opportunities outside the Houses of Parliament.

Gladiators have been seen visiting Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross, made famous by the Harry Potter series, and some have even made it to Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

However, the most favorite were the photos of the huge rikishis roaming the capital in black taxis, red buses and even by bicycle., external