Sumo Scene / Naked Ambassadors’ to Return to London for 1st Time in 34 Years; Sumo Tour to Feature 2 Yokozuna in 5-Day Run

By Kuniyuki Kamimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

14:18 JST, October 1, 2025

The Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament came to a thrilling conclusion Sunday after days of non-stop action at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan. Normally, the tournament would be followed by an extended regional tour, but this year will be different.

Instead of going around the country, the wrestlers will be leaving it.

The destination will be London, where for five days starting Oct. 15, the top wrestlers will present the sport to the British public in the first tour to the capital in 34 years.

Overseas tours featuring the sport’s elite are held at the invitation of the host country, but also serve the Japan Sumo Association’s interests by introducing the sport to a wider global audience.

And it’s not just matches in the ring. The wrestlers also take part in goodwill events and interact with the local people — as such, they have earned the moniker of “naked ambassadors.”

Twenty years have already passed since the last overseas tour was held in Las Vegas in 2005. The long blank has been due to a combination of various factors, such as scandals in the sumo world, economic downturns overseas and the COVID-19 pandemic.

And yet, in the ensuing years, there has been a significant boom in global awareness of and interest in sumo. Many foreign tourists to Japan see sumo as a symbol of traditional Japanese culture. This was reflected in the large number of overseas spectators among the crowds at Ryogoku Kokugikan for the Autumn tourney.

Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku stressed the significance of the long-awaited overseas tour, calling it “a unique opportunity to introduce Japanese culture.”

In fact, the chairman himself participated in the previous London tour in 1991 during his active days as yokozuna Hokutoumi.

“I remember that the atmosphere was incredibly exciting,” Hakkaku said, reliving memories from over three decades ago. “At the end, I had to give a speech in English. I was so nervous.”

Many aspects of the sumo experience have a mysterious allure for Western spectators, whether it be the ring-entering ceremony by the yokozuna wearing the Shinto-affiliated rope, the ancient attire of the referees and yobidashi who call the wrestlers into the ring, or the distinct pounding of Japanese drums.

In January this year, the sport was suddenly left without a single wrestler in the highest rank of yokozuna when Terunofuji (now stablemaster Isegahama) announced his retirement.

However, since then we have seen the emergence of two new yokozuna in Hoshoryu and Onosato, who will travel to London as the “faces” of the sumo delegation.

I cannot wait to see how British spectators react to seeing the elite of sumo live and in person.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.