Letter from Tokyo: At a shade over two metres tall and with the rippling frame of a bodybuilder and the face of a movie star, Kaloyan Mahlyanov looks about as good as it is possible to get while wearing nothing but a giant nappy.
In just three years, the man better known in Japan as Kotooshu has cruised to the top of the sumo ranks and into the hearts of thousands of female fans, becoming that unlikeliest of beasts: a sumo pin-up.
The Bulgarian, whose sumo name means "European Harp", is on the verge of clinching his first major trophy at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, making him the fastest-rising star in the sport's history.
Win or lose, he has already made his mark, becoming the first wrestler to win 12 bouts in a row as Shin-sekiwake (junior champion) and earning himself - with his good looks and impeccable manners - the popular media title "The David Beckham of Sumo". "He is so big and cute," one female fan told state broadcaster NHK. "He looks like a giant, kindly bear."
Sumo could certainly use some Beckham-like glamour. Since the 1990s, when the handsome siblings Takanohana and Wakanohana dominated the dojo, the sport has plunged in popularity and empty seats now mar most tournaments.
Sumo scouts find it increasingly difficult to recruit young, affluent Japanese willing to sacrifice their best years to eating rice porridge and grappling with sweaty, fat men in stables, meaning the sport is now dominated by men from poorer countries.
So dominant are foreign wrestlers, the Sumo Federation has limited non-Japanese recruits to one per stable. Some believe Kotooshu may help conservative Japanese swallow the idea that this most traditional of sports no longer belongs to them.
"There is nothing else they can possibly object to, other than the fact that he is not from Japan," says sumo fan Koji Kobayashi. "He looks good and fights well, and he is not rude or unpopular. He hardly even drinks."
The yokozuna (grand champion) is the fiery Mongolian Asashoryu, who has clinched six straight titles but is unlikely to win any beauty contests or prizes for good manners.
Indeed, he has proved one of sumo's more controversial champions, thanks to his bad-boy antics and inability to keep his emotions in check, which some traditionalists say tarnishes the all-important dignity of the sport.
Kotooshu, the son of a Bulgarian wrestling champion who was head-hunted by Japanese sumo scouts in 2002, has also struggled with the demands of the austere sumo lifestyle, saying he initially hated the Japanese diet so much he lost 8kg in his first week. But the rewards of a successful sumo career, including the attentions of beautiful models and wads of cash, persuaded him to knuckle down.
"He could already buy 20 houses for his family in Bulgaria with the money he has won here," says NHK sumo commentator Murray Johnson. "Foreign wrestlers like him are hungrier than their Japanese counterparts, which is why they're standing out more."
Still only 22 and already a hero in Bulgaria, Kotooshu says he is in for the long haul. "The bouts are over in less than a minute, the weak and the strong are sorted out so quickly," he recently told a Japanese magazine. "It's the best."
