The London Grand Sumo Tournament was a great success.

I watched the fourth and fifth days’ performances on these YouTube channels.

I’ll include links.

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[London Sumo 2025] DAY4 digest❗️ 2025/10/18
現地より速報❗️【大相撲ロンドン公演】4日目ダイジェスト❗️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBbtd2DVM8o

Their explanation of sumo (in English) was excellent too.

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Sumo LIVE in London • October 19, 2025 – (Final day) Day 5
大相撲ライブ ロンドン場所 五日目
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1EiAg2RgVs

My impressions:

■The wrestlers looked almost godlike

The London performance was so authentic, I was amazed.

Suddenly, a sumo ring and sumo wrestlers appeared in England.

It was truly mysterious, like a dream. A strange, exotic and beautiful dream.

Sumo is more than just a martial art; it also has a religious dimension.

For example, sumo wrestlers raise their feet and stomp firmly on the ground in the ring. Originally, this powerful stomp was meant to ward off evil and pray for a good harvest.

Even today, this movement (shiko) is believed to ward off evil spirits and symbolizes bountiful harvests and good health.

Reference:
相撲の四股は豊作祈願？　意外な相撲の起源とは
https://agri.mynavi.jp/2018_05_09_26926/

The sumo wrestlers’ massive bodies stomping the ground at this event were almost divine, almost like messengers from foreign gods. It was captivating.

Japanese gods are said to be generous, so perhaps they drove away evil spirits from the audience and brought them good!

It was also surprising to Japanese people that the British people were so well-mannered in this performance, which featured many ritualistic movements, with one commenting, “They really understand sumo!”

It’s often said that Britain and Japan are similar because they’re both island nations, but perhaps their cultures also share similarities.

■A sumo wrestler from Ukraine

Many sumo wrestlers today are of foreign origin, and Aonishiki (安青錦) is originally from Ukraine.

His background is fascinating, so please read on.

Look at this, he has what you might call his “Japanese family” in Japan.

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Aonishiki Arata wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aonishiki_Arata

安青錦 wikidia Japanese  https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E9%9D%92%E9%8C%A6%E6%96%B0%E5%A4%A7

He came to Japan after the war broke out in his home country.

His friends let him live in their rooms for free.

“In Japan, he was hosted at Yamanaka’s apartment in Kobe (Hyōgo Prefecture), where his host family spent their own money so that he could stay in Japan in the best possible conditions, helping him to cope with homesickness and loneliness, with Yavhusishyn calling them his “Japanese family”.(Aonishiki Arata wikipedia)

That’s a great story. Try making some Japanese friends too. They can be kind and loyal.

In London, he amazed the audience with a spectacular move that somersaulted 145kg sumo wrestler Ura!!

You can watch him answer questions in English (with an interpreter)at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo here.

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【ノーカット】安青錦「横綱を目指して」 日本国籍取得の意向も
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=%e9%9d%92%e9%8c%a6%e3%80%80%e6%a8%aa%e7%b6%b1&&mid=95A0A542A7BA9FF72C9A95A0A542A7BA9FF72C9A&&mcid=8A45189EA9AA4ED68029C23F19C3D12E&FORM=VRDGAR

By the way, his family is in Germany.

“I want to aim to become a Yokozuna (the highest-ranking sumo wrestlers)“(Free translation by TOSHI)

says Aonishiki, who is still only 21 years old and also intends to obtain Japanese citizenship.

Reference:
小結安青錦「横綱目指す」　最速三役、日本国籍取得の意向も
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOKC099ND0Z01C25A0000000/

His Japanese is very good.

I’m excited to see what the future holds.

■The Dietary Wisdom of Sumo Wrestlers

There’s been a change in our household as well. I cook, and I’ve started to follow the example of sumo wrestlers’ diet.

Sumo wrestlers’ food is called “chanko,” and “chanko nabe (sumo wrestler’s hotpot)” is particularly famous, with entire restaurants specializing in it.

I’ve been there myself, and it’s lightly seasoned and delicious.

I found a recipe book for sumo wrestlers’ meals written by a former sumo wrestler, so I tried cooking some, so I tried cooking some, and it was well-balanced, nutritious and delicious.

The title of the book is 『元力士 櫻流 絶品ちゃんこ』(池田書店), name of the author is 櫻正行(Masayuki SAKURA).

I previously wrote that my husband is a tough, hard worker, eats a lot, and likes light flavors (he eats a lot, so strong flavors give him headaches).

He eats like a black hole, so I was at a loss as to what to do.

Reading this book was an eye-opener.

So, I should imitate the diet of sumo wrestlers!

Let’s make sumo wrestler’s hotpot!

My husband loved it. I also eat a lot of vegetables and mushrooms, so my stomach feels better now.

This book was very interesting.

Sumo wrestlers receive lots of luxurious ingredients from their supporters. That’s why he’s even butchered a wild boar.

His recipes include using eggs in the sauce for boiled tofu, and using plenty of garlic and dried shiitake mushrooms in his “sumo wrestler’s miso” (apparently there is such a miso. Miso is a fermented soybean paste) – which is also interesting.

Sumo wrestlers eat in a special order, where the stronger wrestlers eat first. Apparently, in the past, there were times when weaker wrestlers didn’t have the chance to eat, because they ran out of food, but apparently that’s no longer the case.

For those of you with big eaters around you! You can use this sumo wrestler’s food wisdom!

This book was also available on Amazon.

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I look forward to your continued support.

I look forward to your engagement, follows, likes, and comments are welcome.

For now, I plan to reply to the comments.

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※TOSHI, I had been a writer who mainly focuses on food for around 5 years. I am looking for media that will publish my essays about Japan,  gourmet Mystery novel (※), etc. Feel free to contact me via ClubRosy’s X (Twitter) DM. https://twitter.com/ClubRosy

or Email toshijprose●gmail.com (change ● to @ please)

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amazon page of TOSHI’s book（竹井夙 Toshi TAKEI’s book）⇩⇩ [美しい人々　Beautiful people] etc.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%9C%AC-%E7%AB%B9%E4%BA%95-%E5%A4%99/s?rh=n%3A465392%2Cp_27%3A%E7%AB%B9%E4%BA%95+%E5%A4%99

As for our daily life, I, or “Rosie-chan,” tweet on Twitter at Club Rosie, almost everyday. so please take a look if you like. It seems that it may be possible to translate with Google.

Club Rosy Twitter
https://twitter.com/ClubRosy

【What is a Japanese cuisine that men love?】Beautiful stories from far away From Japan
https://clubrosy.jp/article/3665.html

【Japanese brides weren’t allowed to eat】Beautiful stories from far away From Japan

https://clubrosy.jp/topimg/3565.html

The articles I wrote

TABIZINE　⇩⇩
http://tabizine.jp/author/toshi/