Life as a 10-year-old, 13-stone sumo in training

Kyuta Kumagai, already a world champion, trains six days a week and eats up to 4,000 calories a day in his quest to go professional in Japan’s national sport, writes Jack Tarrant

Kyuta, centre, warms up with other boys before training, at Komatsuryu sumo club, Tokyo, in August of last year (Reuters)

Among the young sumo wrestlers lifting weights in the ring, 10-year-old Kyuta Kumagai stands out.

At 187lb (84kg), Kyuta is twice the size of the other children his age and is so dominant that he wrestles, and beats, boys five or six years older.

Last year, he was crowned the under-10 world champion, beating out competition from as far afield as the UK and Ukraine.

His training regime, devised by his father Taisuke, is relentless.

He trains six days a week, either at his local sumo club or lifting weights. He also swims and practices track and field to build up the flexibility and explosive quickness needed for sumo wrestling.

Kyuta raises his hand to answer a question at Meiji elementary school (Reuters)

Talking to other students in a group discussion (Reuters)

Kyuta and family pray for success as a sumo wrestler at Nominosukune shrine, where the God of Sumo is said to reside (Reuters)

Kyuta is treated to a steak meal by his father at 'Chime' restaurant in Tokyo (Reuters)

Kyuta has been on the programme since his father entered him in a tournament while still in kindergarten.

“I didn’t teach him anything, he could do various things naturally,” said Taisuke, a former amateur sumo.

“There is a talent for sumo and he has that talent. He won the tournament. I thought he may have something special.”

A shy boy of few words, Kyuta’s motivations are simple.

“It is fun to beat people older than me.”

A trophy, which Kyuta won at the Hakuho Cup 2020 sumo tournament, is displayed in front of family photos in the living room of Kumagai’s home in Tokyo (Reuters)

Kyuta carries his sister Nanami, 16, on his back after having dinner (Reuters)

Kyuta eats steak, which his father bought him as a reward after training (Reuters)

Kyuta takes a bath after coming back from school at his home in Tokyo (Reuters)

When it became apparent the boy had talent, Taisuke moved the family to the Fukugawa area of Tokyo that is famous for producing sumo wrestlers. It has an abundance of clubs and Nominosukune Shrine, where the God of Sumo is said to reside, meaning there is a lot of local support for the Kumagais.

Father and son use a local temple for intense one-on-one training. The sessions tend to finish with the pair wrestling up and down the carpet in front of the main shrine.

Taisuke pushes Kyuta so hard that the child is often left breathless and crying. But he believes it is the only way to get the best out of his son.

“I think he is managing to make time for himself and I think he has time to play with his friends,” explained Taisuke. “I don’t think it is too much pressure.”

Kyuta has dinner with his mother Makiko, 47, and sister Nanami, 16, at their home (Reuters)

Taisuke Kumagai, 50, adjusts his son Kyuta's loincloth called a mawashi, during a training session at Komatsuryu sumo club (Reuters)

Kyuta lifts dumbbells during a one-on-one training session which his father organized at the Buddhist temple Joshin-ji (Reuters)

Kyuta does a plank during a one-on-one training session (Reuters)

The training is expensive and requires a huge commitment from the entire family, including his mother Makiko.

“I don’t do gambling. Instead, I’m betting everything on this,” Taisuke said.

Key to any sumo’s success is their diet.

On an average day, Kyuta will consume 2,700 to 4,000 calories, including over a litre of milk and copious amounts of protein. Steak is his favourite.

Over a bowl of chanko nabe, a speciality sumo broth, Taisuke said Kyuta needs to put on another three stone by the time he enters middle school in two years.

If he does that, the hope is he will be taken in by a high-profile sumo stable and Taisuke said there has already been interest.

Kyuta practises sumo with a boy at Komatsuryu sumo club in Tokyo (Reuters)

Kyuta wrestles with a boy the same age as him, during a training session (Reuters)

Kyuta trains on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu Sumo Club (Reuters)

Kyuta trains on a Dohyo (Reuters)

His current coach, former professional wrestler Shinichi Taira, thinks Kyuta has what it takes.

“At the moment, he has great talent,” said Taira.

Kyuta wants to reach the level of “yokozuna” – the highest ranking in the sport.

But he admits the regime can be brutal.

“Sumo training is something you don’t describe with words like ‘enjoy’,” Kyuta said.

“When it became tough… I have thought about quitting sometimes.”

For now though, the grind towards the top continues, for both father and son.

Reuters, photography by Kim Kyung-Hoon