Though rich with detail, the aim of the game is enticingly simple – make your opponent touch the ground with any part of his body which isn’t the sole of his foot, or push him out of the ring, or dohyo, altogether.
Rikishi train intensely from a young age in order to master the precise rituals and 82 different winning techniques, or kimarite, but it was through their adventures outside of the dohyo that they stole the hearts of old and new British fans.
Because the 40 rikishi who travelled to compete in London crammed plenty of quintessentially British traditions into their visit.
Accustomed to taking on board up to 10,000 calories per day in pursuit of their ultimate competition weight, in London they swapped their usual high-protein chankonabe stew for fish and chips and pints of Guinness in between tours of Harrods and photo opportunities outside the Houses of Parliament.
Wrestlers were seen visiting Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross, made famous by the Harry Potter series, and some even made it as far as Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
Most-loved, though, were the photos snapped of the huge frames of the rikishi getting around the capital in black cabs, red buses – and even by bike., external
