As a fan of all things Japan, you’ve probably heard about sumo. It’s a sport where big men go up against each other and wrestle inside a circular ring. Though not many people know the intricacies of sumo wrestling, everyone knows that sumo wrestlers, otherwise known as sumotori, have to be big!
Let's jump right in!
- What is Sumo?
- How Do Sumo Wrestlers Get Big?
- What Do Sumo Wrestlers Eat Daily?
- What is the Meaning of Chanko Nabe?
- What is Chanko Nabe Made Of?
- Are Sumo Wrestlers Healthy?
So what exactly do sumo wrestlers eat to keep their size? Do they still keep a healthy diet? Do sumotori have to reach a certain number of calories daily? Can sumo wrestlers eat just about anything? Grab your wrestling tickets and your chopsticks, today we’re going to learn about sumo and everything a sumo wrestler eats!
WHAT IS SUMO?
Before we dive into a sumo wrestler’s diet, we have to learn a little bit about sumo wrestling. Sumo is Japan’s national sport. It’s a style of wrestling where two players try their best to grapple their opponent outside an elevated ring called a dohyo. The rules of sumo are simple: whoever leaves the ring or touches the ground with any part of his body outside of the soles of his feet loses.
There really aren't any weight restrictions or size classes in sumo. Wrestlers can easily find themselves matching off against someone three or four times their size! That’s why the sumotori need to be powerful and big. Wrestlers typically weigh 300-400 pounds. Weight gain is an important part of their training. The bigger a wrestler, the better!
HOW DO SUMO WRESTLERS GET BIG?
Well, for one thing, sumo wrestlers have to eat a lot to get big. But they don't just eat anything! In fact, their diet is pretty controlled, and they eat only two meals a day (well, two very big meals). Sumotori usually skip breakfast and begin the day with grueling training sessions that last five long hours of grappling, pushing, shoving, and working out.
After that, sumo wrestlers eat their first meal of the day. Though their lunch is made up of healthy ingredients, the portion sizes can be massive. Sumotori usually have double the caloric intake of an average human being, eating in the range of 4,000-7,000 calories in a day. Since sumo wrestling matches happen nearly every other month, wrestlers have to keep up with this diet all year round!
WHAT DO SUMO WRESTLERS EAT DAILY?
After their intense fasted morning workout, sumo wrestlers hunker down for lunch at around 11 am. Every day, sumotori have to eat chanko nabe, a special hot pot dish that's a staple in the life of a wrestler. It’s made with a lot of good quality ingredients like healthy meat and a lot of different vegetables.
Chanko nabe is pretty protein-rich and nutrient-dense. If it's served in smaller portions, it'd make a perfectly appropriate meal for a regular person. For sumo wrestlers, however, chanko nabe has to come supersized so they can stay strong and big. Not only that, but sumotori pair chanko nabe with lots of beer and copious amounts of rice - about five to ten bowls of it!
In the sumo beya or sumo stable, chanko nabe is served first to the senior wrestlers and to the guests. The seniors get the first pick of whatever ingredients there are in the chanko nabe. After the seniors, the juniors get whatever is left of the stew.
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WHAT IS THE MEANING OF CHANKO NABE?
That’s easy! The word “chanko” refers to anything that a sumotori makes, while the word “nabe” means hot pot. If you put the two together, “chanko nabe” essentially means sumo hot pot. But there’s more to chanko nabe than just a simple stew! It actually has a lot of history to it. 
Chanko nabe was invited to the historic Ryogoku area of Tokyo in 1937. This small town, located along the banks of the Sumida River, is actually home to Japan's national sport, sumo. Not only does the area have the prestigious Ryogoku Kokugikan Stadium, which hosts three of the six annual Grand Sumo tournaments, but it also has numerous sumo stables or sumo-beya, statues of famous yokozuna (senior wrestlers), and, of course, a ton of chanko nabe restaurants!
WHAT IS CHANKO NABE MADE OF?
Made by sumo wrestlers themselves, chanko nabe is made with a stock base that's seasoned with salt, soy sauce, miso, and other Japanese condiments. Each sumo stable or sumo beya has its own special recipe for chanko nabe, but the key ingredients are usually the same. There's meat, usually chicken, fish, and tofu, as well as a lot of vegetables like cabbage, bok choy, and daikon.
Traditionally, sumo wrestlers only made chako nabe stock from chicken. That's because the Japanese believed that four-legged animals were unlucky in sumo wrestling. You see, in sumo, if your hands touch the flour, you lose the match. Four-legged animals have all their limbs touching the floor, so they're not meant for sumo at all!
Though modern chanko nabe can be made with beef and pig stock, a lot of sumo stables stick to chicken. In fact, almost all sumo beya serve purely chicken chanko nabe before and during sumo tournaments. You can't have luck against you before a match!
WHAT ELSE DO SUMO WRESTLERS EAT?
Chanko nabe might make up a huge chunk of a sumo wrestler’s diet, but sumotori also have to eat other dishes to help them bulk up. For dinner, sumo wrestlers eat Japanese dishes that are filled with protein and complex carbs. Some great examples of these would be fried mackerel, soba noodles, and kani salad. For snack time, there are healthy Japanese snack options like onigiri or rice balls.
ARE SUMO WRESTLERS HEALTHY?
Given their ginormous size and their massive meals, a lot of people wonder whether sumo wrestlers are healthy. After all, obesity increases the likelihood of chronic diseases that can lead to death, like stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers. But did you know that even though sumotori are big, sumo wrestlers actually don't have that much visceral fat at all?
Among the different kinds of fat, visceral fat is considered the most deadly since it surrounds your organs, such as your heart, lungs, and liver. However, CT scans of wrestlers reveal that sumo tori don't really store their fat viscerally. Instead, sumo wrestlers store their fat underneath their skin. They have normal levels of triglycerides and low levels of cholesterol!
How do sumo wrestlers do it? Well, that's because they train really, really hard every single day. Underneath the surface of fat underneath their skin, sumo wrestlers have a lot of muscle that helps manage their glucose levels and stabilize their metabolism. Even though they're massive in size, sumotori are the healthy kind of big!
Not only that, but you might have noticed that even though sumotori eat a lot, they always eat healthy! Sumo wrestlers always focus on protein to build muscle and complex carbs to fuel their bodies. They actually avoid sugary drinks, candy, and oily dishes so that they can maintain a healthy body.
There you have it! Today, we learned a whole lot about sumo and what sumo wrestlers eat. Before you read this article, you probably thought that sumo wrestlers could eat just about anything, from gallons of soda to ice cream. But it turns out that the diet of a sumotori is actually pretty healthy!
What about you? Are you going to try to eat big and healthy like a sumo wrestler? Are you curious about making your own chanko nabe? Well, if you ever decide to eat like a sumotori, remember to always eat healthy! See you at the next Japanese foodtrip!
