The sumo ring has always been a “sacred” arena where “only men may tread, bound by centuries of ritual and pride”, said The Japan Times. But now that Japan has elected its first female prime minister, ...

TOKYO (AP) — For centuries, sumo's deep links with the Shinto religion barred women from entering the ring, let alone allowing them to participate. While women remain excluded from professional sumo, ...

Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Reeno Hashimoto and Koji Ueda at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article. While professional sumo wrestling in Japan maintains its ...

TOKYO — Sumo is more than a sport in Japan. It’s a sacred tradition, a 1,500-year-old spectacle steeped in Shinto ritual and ceremony. But at its heart lies a long-standing taboo: women are still ...

It's a scene you would expect to see in Tokyo. But the sound of bare feet padding, and bodies thudding on the mat of a sports hall in Belfast signals an unlikely first - the ancient Japanese tradition ...

Participation has more than doubled in recent years, 24-year-old coach and alumna Nana Kakuda said. Kakuda, who began wrestling in elementary school, remembers being unable to enter a national ...