costumes, and the painful thwack, thwack, thwack of bodies hitting the hard surface of the dohyō (ring) over and over again makes it feel as if we are at an actual sumo wrestling bout.

Oyamada is 24 and has competed in 13 tournaments. He trains out of the Naruto stable, which was established by Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kotooshu Katsunori in 2017. That stable is also home to ...