Ryogoku Sumo and Shitamachi

The Ryōgoku Edo NOREN occupies the former site of the old Ryōgoku Station, identified by its high, gabled roof and the dark, industrial steel trusses that span the cavernous interior. It serves as a dining hall built around an authentic…

The green, copper-plated roof of the Ryogoku Kokugikan rises above the Sumida neighborhood like a massive, inverted bowl. This arena serves as the cathedral of professional sumo, housing the Japan Sumo Association and hosting three of the…

The former Yasuda Garden features a central tidal pond where the water level once rose and fell with the flow of the nearby Sumida River. Zenjiro Yasuda, a prominent financier, acquired this estate in nineteen twenty-two to serve as his…

A low stone wall encloses this park, separating a quiet patch of green from the dense streets of Sumida. This ground marks the former residence of Kira Yoshinaka, a high-ranking official of the Tokugawa shogunate. In the early eighteenth…

The Dewanoumi-beya Sumo Stable is a tall, narrow concrete building marked by a simple, weathered nameplate near the entrance. It holds a distinct place in sumo history because it has produced more Yokozuna, the sport's highest rank, than…

The temple grounds hold a massive stone mound marked with a simple pillar, surrounded by the busy streets of Ryogoku. In sixteen fifty-seven, the Great Fire of Meireki killed over one hundred thousand people in Edo. The shogunate ordered…

The iron pot sitting on the tables at Chanko Kawasaki is the center of the room. This restaurant serves chanko nabe, the high-calorie stew sumo wrestlers eat to gain weight and maintain their strength. The shop occupies a space once owned…