Wholesaler running out of noodles, roof reminiscent of a Shinto shrine, plenty of new chairs supporting weights upto 200Kg, reinforced toilets and warnings to spectators about sumo wrestlers falling or thrown from the ring into the ringside area. These are some of the preparations as London hosts its first Grand Sumo Tournament since 1991 with 40 sumo wrestlers including Yokozuna Hoshoryu Tomokatsu and Yokozuna Onosata Daiki competing at the Royal Albert Hall starting today.
This is only the second time that the Grand Sumo Tournament is happening outside Japan with London playing host to the first such tournament in 1991 and the organisers including Royal Albert Hall and Japan Sumo Association have been busy chalking out plans for the mega event, which will see Sumo wrestlers weighing in excess of 130 Kgs each to more than 180Kg competing for five days with the matches happening on the sand dohyo (ring),inside the hall, which has hosted tennis matches, boxing fights, strongman contests as well music concerts in the past.
“We’ve actually had to source and buy new chairs which can take up to 200kg in weight. Our usual standard is only 100kg. They’ve also had to reinforce the toilets. It’s the ones that are screwed into the wall which are the most challenging. We also had to take special insurance as the jeopardy of having a ringside cushion is fairly substantial. And the Rice Bill. It’s substantial. I know the wholesaler actually ran out of noodles, because we’d already ordered so many from them,” Matthew Todd, the Royal Albert Hall’s harassed director of programming, told The Guardian.
The last time a sumo event happened in London was in 1991 when Hokotoumi Nobuyoshi, a Yokozuna, won the title. This time Hokotoumi, who is now the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, is returning to oversee the preparations as well as conduct of the tournament in London. The event, which is promoted by Martin Campbell-White, who was instrumental in organising the event in 1991, is also seeing the Japanese staff making the straw bales used to surround the ring with empty beer bottles brought from Japan to beat the bales into shape. “I think there’s an element of curiosity. Lots of Japanese people from Europe and based in the UK are very keen to come. And there are a great number of Japanophiles who are intrigued by it. And there are more than a few people who are travelling fans of sumo.There’s a tremendous discipline to it. They are enormous, bulky wrestlers, but they are trained to be wonderful athletes. Most of them can do the splits; their suppleness is breathtaking,” White told the Times. Hokotoumi too shared his joy on seeing sumo returning to England shores. “We always had an ambition to come back here. It is a unique, special place for me personally. I like the culture, I like the history, and I like that everyone here drives on the left.” Hakkaku told The Guardian.
According to Japanese website Mainichi, the event will see 1,050 ice balls, 1000 packets of instant miso soup, 750 packets of instant ramen, 700kg of rice and 400 bottles of soy sauce to feed the 40 sumo wrestlers during the duration of the tournament. The organisers have also sourced 11 tonnes of sumo-appropriate soil sourced from Kettering, according to The Times. With the heavily built sumo wrestlers competing in front of a packed Royal Albert Hall, which has also hosted concerts of musicians like Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Lata Mangeshkar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and many others, the organiser has also issued warnings as well as details in the questions and answers section on its website to the spectators to consider during the tournament. “For five days, the Hall will transform into a temple of Sumo, complete with an authentic soil and sand dohyō (ring) and a roof reminiscent of a Shinto shrine.
Each match is a captivating spectacle, combining explosive athleticism and ceremonial splendour. From the vibrant, hand-embroidered silk kesho-mawashi robes to the ancient salt-throwing rituals, every element is steeped in history and culture. Food and/or beverages will not be allowed in the ringside, please be aware that sand or salt may occasionally be thrown from the ring. The tournament will be presented in the traditional style without barriers between the ring and these seats. It is possible that wrestlers may fall or be thrown from the ring into the ringside area as part of the competition. We therefore advise that ringside cushions may not be suitable for those with mobility issues and customers accept that any use of these seats is used entirely at their own risk,” states the website.
On Tuesday, Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu and Japanese Onosato Daiki visited areas surrounding the Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and also interacted with the locals. Prior to the tournament, both Daiki and Hoshoryu had finished with identical points after 15 days of bouts in the Aki Basho, Japan’s most prestigious tournament, with Daiki winning the play-off, a first in 16 years. Daiki, who had become the quickest sumo wrestler to attain the Yokozuna rank earlier this year, shared his delight about sumo returning to English shores after many years. “I’m happy that sumo is back after so many years. I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic sumo is. Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult. My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.” Daiki told Sky Sports.
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Hoshoryu, though, shared his love for English Premier League side Chelsea. “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports.
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