HUSHED up affairs, brutal sex bans and a box of unlikely tricks that leave lovers dazzled in the bedroom – romance in the wild world of sumo wrestling can be truly larger than life.
Back in Japan, the sport’s top competitors must balance celebrity status with a strict training regime that dictates every aspect of their lifestyle – and that includes getting hot and heavy.
It comes as 40 top sumo wrestlers flew into London this week to compete in a five-day tournament at the Royal Albert Hall – only the second time ever such an important competition has happened outside of Japan.
Sumo hopefuls are sent at the young age of 15 to specialist training “stables” and drilled from dawn until dusk in the sport’s ancient traditions, where brutal codes of conduct must be adhered to.
However, the celebrity status afforded to the highest ranking wrestlers known as sekitori, makes the pain worth it.
They have their own fan clubs, servants, the glory of victory – and importantly, are also allowed to have lovers.
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But in recent years, this has led to scandal in a sport normally cloaked in tradition and mystery.
Ryuden Goshi, 34, is one of the sport’s top competitors and has wrestled in the top division since 2018.
He got engaged to his partner of four years, nurse Mai Fukumaru, in February 2019, and married in June that same year at a wedding attended by 430 guests.
However, he would soon find himself at the centre of a cheating scandal that plunged his reputation into jeopardy.
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In May 2021, the magazine Shukan Shincho revealed that Ryuden had been having an affair with a fan since 2018.
It was reported that the fan then fell pregnant – and was allegedly paid five million yen, equivalent to £25,000, to not only keep their relationship hidden, but to get an abortion at Ryuden’s insistence, which she claims to regret getting.
The investigation also revealed Ryuden had broken Covid guidelines several times to go out with women who were not his wife. The athlete has not commented publicly on the claims.
Novice wrestlers need not worry about anything like this happening, however – because fighters below the top two divisions are banned from having girlfriends, and women are forbidden from living in the stables.
Those in the top two divisions are permitted to live outside of the community with their partners – but it comes with great risk.
Should they drop down into the below division, they have no choice but to stop living with their wife and return to life in the stable.
Finding partnership
Those that have girlfriends and wives, however, often make quite the pair thanks to the size difference.
Wrestler Takayasu Akira, 35, fell for the singer Konomi Mori, 36, when he was in his twenties, and tied the knot in July 2022.
Meanwhile, top wrestler Ozeki Takakeisho, 29, who retired in 2024 after reaching the sport’s highest rank, set his eyes on someone who came from within the world of sumo.
He married former model Yukina Chiba, the daughter of a former wrestler, in 2020 – originally bonding over their love of grilled meat.
He lets go of the raised belly fat, and my waist is buried in that soft flesh. It’s soft and warm…it’s like I’m wrapped up in a futon of flesh
Speaking to magazine 25 Ans, Yukina revealed how his dedication to sumo impressed her.
She said: “At the time, Ozeki was only 23 years old. Seeing him achieve his rank at such a young age and his dedication to sumo, I thought he was an admirable person. That hasn’t changed.”
Other couples include Nishikigi Tetsuya, 35, who married his partner Momoyo in 2019 – who is seven years older than him.
Nishikigi also admitted to Nikkan Sports that he proposed to her with a necklace, rather than a ring, as he was unsure of her finger size.
Meanwhile, wrestler Midorifuji Kazunari, 29, tied the knot in 2024 with Chihiro Kawamoto – the daughter of a supporter of the stable he is a part of.
Athletic agility
To the untrained eye, a look at the difference in size between the wrestler and their partner may have some questioning the practicalities of their sexual relationship.
However, sex expert Kate Taylor revealed to The Sun that there are plenty of techniques that the wrestlers are likely to use to ensure they deliver when it comes to lovemaking.
To begin with, certain positions can be useful.
Kate said: “The main issue when you’re a heavier man, is that your stomach can hang down over your nether regions, creating a no-go area.
“Sumo wrestlers would likely use the girl-on-top position, and try to raise their feet higher than their head, so their stomach falls back. This makes sex a lot easier.”
It is also worth noting that sumo wrestlers often have a different bodily composition to others who weigh similar amounts.
After all, they are athletes – and despite their size are agile and strong, and exercise more than most people.
Normally, when people get fat, it’s stored around the organs. However, studies have shown that the majority of a sumo wrestler’s fat is stored under their skin – a result of the high level of physical exercise they do.
Additionally, sumo wrestlers tend to have normal levels of cholesterol in their blood, again thanks to their brutal exercise regime.
Kate added: “Being agile is always a bonus in bed. Having upper body strength would help, because sumo wrestlers could then adopt wilder positions.
“Being overweight can lower a man’s testosterone levels, so they possibly might not have as high a sex drive as another type of athlete,” she also warned.
First-hand experience
But what is sleeping with a sumo wrestler actually like?
Stories are few and far between – but one woman in her mid thirties once retold her “addictive” experience sleeping with a top-ranked wrestler to the Japanese magazine Nikkan Gendai.
“With his build, I thought it would be understandable if we didn’t work out,” she said, “but it was amazing.”
“He lifted his belly fat all the way up like this. It was like flipping up the sagging flesh…that way, it didn’t get in the way when he put it in.”
She added: “He lets go of the raised belly fat, and my waist is buried in that soft flesh. It’s soft and warm…it’s like I’m wrapped up in a futon of flesh.
“It’s like soaking your waist in a hot spring…and it lasts over an hour at a time.”
No wonder the wrestlers make the most of their down time – because their life rising up the ranks in the stables was anything but relaxed.
There is a strict hierarchy, with the lowest ranking trainees required to cook for the higher ranking wrestlers, and tend to their every need.
Training also starts at 5am – and breakfast is forbidden, as is any kind of personal or private conversation.
And when it comes to what they can wear, only traditional Japanese robes are allowed – even in the freezing winter.
With no upper weight limit in the sport, sumo wrestlers will try and gain an advantage by putting on as much weight as possible.
Key to this is the large traditional stew called chankonabe – filled with meat and vegetables and packed full of protein.
However, the lifestyle of a sumo wrestler can take its toll.
Though exercise keeps them as healthy as they can be given their large calorie intake, they will often succumb to the usual problems associated with obesity as soon as they retire.
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Sumo wrestlers have a life expectancy of 65, around 15 years shorter than that of the average Japanese male.
For now though, all eyes will be on London’s Royal Albert Hall, with the 1,500 year-long legacy of the sport of sumo playing out its latest chapter this week.
