A rikishi (力士), sumōtori (相撲取り) or, more colloquially, osumōsan (お相撲さん), is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who participate in professional sumo tournaments in Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally.
Sumo wrestlers training in their stable in 2009
Haniwa of a sumo wrestler
Ōzeki Asashio Tarō I with his keshō-mawashi bearing the "Bamboo and Sparrow" crest of the Date clan, as he wrestled under the Uwajima Domain.
Low-ranking wrestlers carrying a sekitori's belongings (Ryōgoku Kokugikan entrance in 2009)
Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet.
A sumo match (tori-kumi) between yokozuna Asashōryū (left) and komusubi Kotoshōgiku in January 2008
Haniwa sumo wrestler
Sumo match in Tokyo c. 1890s
Sumo wrestling scene c. 1851