Along with Mount Fuji, cherry blossom and Tokyo’s neon-lit expanse, sumo wrestlers are an enduring symbol of Japan. Unlike the aforementioned subjects, however, getting decent pictures of top sumo wrestlers, or rikishi, is notoriously difficult. British photographer Lord K2 (aka David Sharabani) has succeeded, however, and has now published a new book called Sumo. As he explains, it’s been quite a journey.
Perseverance pays off
‘As far as I’m aware there are no fixers in the sumo industry. I spent a year attempting numerous avenues to gain access, and eventually, I was introduced to a contact who was able to open doors for me – this came as a surprise at a time when I thought I had exhausted nearly all options.’
In the past few decades, the sumo stables…
