Congratulations Hakuho on 25th tournament victory

Undoubtedly, Mongolian Hakuho is one of sumo’s greatest. Yesterday he won the Tokyo tournament, his 25th! In the background is Bulgarian hottie Kotooshu, who scored his eighth win on the last day to maintain his ozeki status.

Sumo wrestler riding a bicycle

These gentle giants have captured my heart. Photo by Paolo Patrizi.

Sumo wrestlers getting their hair done

Photo by Paolo Patrizi.

Sumo wrestlers washing themselves with hose on sidewalk

Another photo by Paolo Patrizi.

Sumo wrestler frying up some food

I love Paolo Patrizi‘s intimate portraits of sumo wrestlers in and around the Tokyo “stables” where they train. Wonder what this one is cooking?

Funeral for Taiho, Japan’s greatest post-war sumo wrestler

Taiho, one of Japan’s great yokozuno sumo champions, had a lavish funeral with mountains of white flowers. Current champion Hakuho led the mourning. Taiho was very hot in his youth. He was half-Ukranian and born in the Soviet Sakhalin island, which are claimed by the Japanese as the Karafuto island.

Sumo wrestlers descending stairs at the train station

As much as I enjoy seeing sumo wrestlers at ringside, in all their fleshy nakedness, it’s also super exciting to come across them in daily life: at the ward office, or in the train system. They are immediately recognizable, and always impeccably dressed and groomed.

Hakuho doing a ritual dance, dressed like a sacred Shinto tree

There is something deeply spiritual about sumo. I love that Hakuho’s belt and lightning bolts evoke the ones you see tied around Shinto shrine trees. Maybe the gods enjoy hanging out with the sumo players, as much as with the micro- green spaces by the shrines.

Two top ranked sumo wrestlers, Mongolians Hakuho and Harumafuji

The Tokyo tournament saw Harumafuji rise to the level of yokozuna, sumo’s highest rank. Now there are two, including Hakuho, whose crotch is just behind the head of the well-dressed sweeper.

This European sumo wrestler has no belly

All the European wrestlers, including my favorite, Kotooshu, have the same basic body shape as the Mongolian, Japanese wrestlers. This European wrestler looksstrong, but his body type seems wrong for the ring. How would you recognize him in public as a sumo champion?