Why Do Giant Sumo Wrestlers Smell So Good? (The Secret of “Bintsuke” Oil)

The Secret Hair Wax

The source of this incredible fragrance isn’t high-end designer cologne; it is their hair. To create their iconic, traditional topknot (Chonmage), wrestlers use a special, heavy Japanese hair wax called “Bintsuke Abura.”

The Sweet Scent of Tradition

This traditional wax is scented with an intoxicating, sweet, and powdery fragrance that resembles vanilla, chamomile, and baby powder. Because they use a massive amount of this oil to keep their heavy hair perfectly sculpted during brutal matches, the sweet scent naturally radiates from their bodies.

The Scent of Ryogoku

If you visit the Ryogoku neighborhood in Tokyo, which is the heart of the Sumo world, you can literally smell this sweet vanilla fragrance wafting through the streets and train stations whenever wrestlers are walking by in their yukatas.