Sumo wrestling-themed restaurant in Japan offers new opportunity for former competitors

The spot in central Tokyo opened in November

Former sumo wrestlers Kotoohtori, 40, and Towanoyama, 45, pose for a photograph with a tourist from the U. S. , who is wearing a sumo wrestler costume, on the sumo ring at Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka in Tokyo, Japan June 30, 2023. REUTERS / Issei Kato

The restaurant opened in November last year and is an opportunity for employment for former sumo wrestlers

Former sumo wrestlers Kotoohtori and Towanoyama hold sumo demonstrations for tourists at the restaurant

A young tourist wearing a sumo wrestler costume tries to spar against former sumo wrestler Towanoyama

Nadine, 43, from the US, wears a costume and tries to spar against Towanoyama on the sumo ring

Tourists from abroad wait for Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka, a sumo wrestling themed restaurant to open, in Tokyo, Japan June 30, 2023. REUTERS / Issei Kato

Ohtori spent his two-decade sumo career struggling for wins so he could move up the ranks of Japan's traditional sport, but now he is fighting to entertain a different crowd – curious tourists.

He is one of six former wrestlers putting on sumo demonstrations catering to overseas travellers, who are returning in droves after a two-year Covid-19 lockdowns, as the weaker yen makes such trips cheaper than they have been in decades.

"I want foreigners and Japanese people alike to have a greater understanding of sumo," said Ohtori, 40, whose full ring name, Koto-ohtori, means "harp phoenix".

"My older brothers were always pretty rough," he said of his pro days, which he began at 15. "It's more fun now, of course, because I can interact with everyone."

His performance venue, Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka, opened in central Tokyo in November last month, a month after Japan restarted visa-free travel. Beneath its vaulted roof is a sumo ring and 14 tables, where patrons pay 11,000 yen ($76) to eat breaded cutlets before watching – and joining – the action.

Another former sumo wrestler, Yasuhiro Tanaka, started the restaurant after founding a company to give former wrestlers a second career as actors in commercials and movies. He said he wants to recruit more wrestlers to do evening performances.

On a recent afternoon, Ohtori engaged in comedic and realistic sparring against his larger opponent, Towanoyama, called "Jumbo" by the English-speaking emcee for the sake of the all-foreign audience.

Jose Aguillar, a quality-control manager from Monterrey, Mexico, had ringside seats with his family and said he was eager to see something "iconic from Japan" on a Covid-delayed vacation for his daughter's quinceanera birthday bash.

When it came time to don a well-worn sumo costume, and face Jumbo in the ring, Aguillar was at the head of the line.

"At the beginning, I said, 'Oh, why did I choose to be the first one? I (should) wait for others," Aguillar, 46, said after pushing a compliant Jumbo out of the ring. "But no, it was really, really amazing."

Themed restaurants are part of a tourism ecosystem that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes will add 5 trillion yen a year to the nation's economy. Sumo has gained even more popularity after the Netflix drama, Sanctuary, about the sport became a hit in May.

The lunch performances are full of laughs, but surgery scars on Ohtori and Jumbo speak to the physical toll of sumo, which recruits teens and leaves many wrestlers with scant employment prospects when they retire in their thirties.

"As sumo wrestlers, we couldn't really play around at all," said Tanaka, 47, who admitted he wasn't a particularly strong competitor. "So now I want everyone to be able to earn a salary and live a happy, enjoyable life."