EN_GB 
JA The article highlights the growing cultural ties between Japan and the UK through two major events: the return of professional sumo to London after 34 years, and the emergence of our very own UK Ekiden.
With strong support from both countries and a vision to develop the UK Ekiden into a large-scale road race that could one day produce Olympic-level athletes, the initiative shows how Japanese culture—both sumo and ekiden—is steadily taking root in the UK.
Read the full article below, translated from Japanese.
Seeing a sumo wrestler paired with Big Ben—one of London’s iconic landmarks—was such an unexpected combination that it made me smile.
A professional sumo exhibition was held in London this October for the first time in 34 years. The five-day event at the Royal Albert Hall, the world-renowned music venue, was completely sold out. The wrestlers were even given nicknames; Ura, known as “The Magician,” thrilled the crowd with his rare *tsutaezori* backward body drop.
During the yokozuna ring-entering ceremony, the audience chanted “Yoisho!” in unison. “Their manners were so impeccable, it was as if they had studied in advance,” Ura remarked. Londoners welcomed this piece of Japanese traditional culture with both respect and enthusiasm. It was, in a sense, a historic and superb performance that further deepened the bond between Japan and the UK.
Speaking of the Japan–UK bond, another Japanese traditional sport took root in Britain last year: the “UK Ekiden.” The second event, held this June, featured mixed teams of five men and five women running a 114-kilometer course divided into ten segments, from Windsor in the western suburbs of London and back. Thirty-one teams participated across the university and corporate divisions. In the university division, Cambridge and Oxford also competed, but Ritsumeikan University—the only team invited from Japan—took the victory.
The founder of the UK Ekiden is Anna Dingley. She is well-versed in Japan, having spent about eight years living there: she arrived in 1996 as a teacher in Kagoshima Prefecture through the Japanese government’s JET Programme, and later served as director of the UK Pavilion at the 2005 Aichi Expo.
What convinced Dingley to launch an ekiden in the UK was the 2024 Hakone Ekiden. Until then, she had largely spent her New Year holidays in her home country and didn’t know about Hakone. But during a business trip to Japan in January 2023, she read a newspaper article noting that the next race would be the 100th running. “I was struck by the depth of its history, and it seemed strange that such a race wasn’t known around the world,” she said.
Determined to witness the milestone event in person, she traveled to Japan for New Year’s 2024. “I was moved by the bonds among the runners supporting each other. It was wonderful to see such a positive sense of unity across generations at the start of the year. I felt strongly that I wanted to bring ekiden to the UK.”
In 2024, Japan’s Emperor and Empress also visited the UK in June. Sensing a perfect opportunity, Dingley secured support from both the Japanese Embassy in London and the British Embassy in Tokyo, and obtained sponsorship from Japanese and British companies. That June, she successfully launched the first UK Ekiden with 18 teams.
But her efforts extend beyond the main race. A “Mini Ekiden” was also created, sending sashes to elementary schools across the country. This year, twenty schools participated, giving children a fun introduction to the joy and team-building spirit of ekiden.
The UK Ekiden course runs along the Thames River path. Because much of it is unpaved and narrow, it’s difficult to significantly increase the number of teams for now. Even so, Dingley has a clear vision: “In the future, I want to turn it into a road race like Hakone. I want to raise the level of competition so that athletes who run this ekiden can eventually win Olympic medals, and make it an event that continues for a hundred years.”