The Kanazawa High School Sumo Tournament serves as the pinnacle stage for high school sumo, drawing athletes from across Japan who aim for the summit.

This year marked the first in-person event in four years, navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and coinciding with renovations to the sumo arena.

In an era where online streaming has become the norm for all forms of spectating and theatrical events, it was crucial to reiterate to the local residents, who had distanced themselves due to the pandemic, the unique thrill of witnessing the grand battles the athletes unfold on-site.

For a local event in rural Japan, the budget is $13,000. With a limited budget, impactful strategies were sought after.

1. The enthusiastic cheers revealing the highlight match of the day are still beyond the capabilities of the broadcast microphone to capture.

2. While we've become capable of doing almost everything remotely, the overwhelming experience of being there in person remains unmatched.

3. The long-awaited resumption of raising your voice outdoors, particularly when it's a cheer supporting someone, is a refreshing restart.

4. No pause button, no double speed. Because it can't be easily consumed, it becomes a memory that lingers in the heart.

5. It takes your breath away. Your eyes stay glued. The dohyo, much farther in reality than on a smartphone screen, somehow feels close to the heart.

This tournament is the summit showdown to determine the best in Japan, and the athletes' sculpted, colossal bodies exude a majestic aura. Therefore, we symbolically likened the pairing of two wrestlers to "grand mountains."

The swirling monochrome photographs, inspired by Chinese landscape paintings and photographs of mist-covered high mountains, capture the tension of the summit showdown.

In contrast to the distant perspective of Chinese landscape paintings, close-up shots looking up at the wrestlers authentically reproduce the unique sense of presence and the grandeur of the mountains, providing a sensation that online broadcasts cannot convey.

In both shooting and retouching, we aimed to strike a balance between showcasing the sumo wrestler's physique and creating an appearance reminiscent of a mountain. The layout was kept to a minimum of necessary information and size.