Meet Yamamotoyama, a Japanese sumo wrestler weighing in at 252 kilograms who is about to join the top division of the sport:

At least 100 kilograms heavier than the average juryo weight of 149 kilograms, and the tallest in the division at 191 centimeters, Yamamotoyama gained experience in amateur sumo’s top ranks at high school and Nihon University before joining the Onoe stable, where he picked up experience fighting a range of wrestlers from fellow man-mountain Baruto to the more wiry Satoyama.

Apparently this makes even bigger than Musashimaru:

Ex-Yokozuna Musashimaru, who enjoyed a career free of injury despite similarly imposing 237-kilogram bulk, proved that size is not necessarily an impediment to a stellar sumo career.

“But it’s very tough for big men unless they train their lower bodies,” the former grand champion warns.

The heaviest recorded sumo wrestler was Hawaiian born Ozeki Konishiki, who once weighed 284 kilograms in his prime. The previous record for a grappler born in Japan was the 240 kilograms by juryo wrestler Susanoumi.

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Wearing nothing but a mawashi (loincloth), two larger-than-life opponents face each other in a dohyo (wrestling ring) to push, wrestle or throw each other out of the ring. This is the basic definition of sumo wrestling but, like any other centuries old Japanese tradition, the “why” and the “how” is more important than the “what”.

Sumo has been performed the same way since the Edo Period (early 1600′s) and still retains the rituals and techniques developed in those early years. The rikishi (wrestlers) even wear their hair in a topknot – the hairstyle typical of samurai in the Edo period. the umpires and referee wear elaborate kimono-style garb that depicts their experience ranking. Before each bout, both wrestlers toss salt into the ring because the dohyo is a sacred place. After each day’s match, a lower ranked wrestler closes the event by performing the yumitori-shiki (bow dance).

Sumo wrestling bouts are fast – some lasting only a few seconds – and very intense, with a series of three “stare down” practice starts that the wrestlers use to intimidate their opponent. These trained athletes weigh in at 300-400 pounds, but follow a stringent regiment of training and nutrition that creates an athlete of great strength. Wrestlers grapple at each other with their bare hands and employ a range of moves that require precision, timing, and balance to succeed.

For centuries sumo wrestlers were exclusively of Japanese birth. In the last two decades, foreign wrestlers have begun to compete in greater numbers and have earned top rankings. Currently there are 60 non-Japanese professional sumo wrestlers out of a total of 700. China, Russia and several other Eastern European countries have made an impressive showing recently, but in the 1990′s two American wrestlers — Konishiki and Akebono (both from Hawaii)– were the first to reach the yokozuna rank.