CLEMSON — In a lesser-traveled corner of the internet, Justin Jones and Mengkin Ragan talk sumo on the Minimum Effort Podcast. Their 2025 awards episode, four months in, had just 53 views on YouTube.

The task of melding two disparate cultures is always a challenge for national sumo federations around the world. Taking a 2,000-year-old Japanese sport that is intrinsically tied to the history, ...

OSAKA—Three days after winning the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, Kirishima was promoted to ozeki here on March 25, returning to the sport's second highest-rank after nearly two years. A messenger from ...

Sumo and smiles — two words that rarely go together. Japan’s national sport is famous for the stoic seriousness with which its participants conduct their affairs both inside and outside the ring.

In less than a year, Nathan Rault has gone from never stepping into the ring to becoming an international sumo wrestler. The Southampton-based wrestler, who is originally from Jersey, took up the ...

Kirishima, second from left, accepts his return to the rank of ozeki during a ceremony in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on March 25, 2026. (Kyodo) OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Spring Grand Sumo Tournament champion ...