Japan’s elite sumo wrestlers slapped, thrust and flipped their way through the first evening of their five-day exhibition tournament in London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday, to the delight of a full house of spectators.

After a ceremony-heavy start and some lively explanations for first-time watchers from Japanese broadcaster NHK’s veteran English-language announcer Hiro Morita, the audience watched the first few bouts in an atmosphere of near-reverence.

By the time the small-but-powerful young wrestler Asakoryu, who like all “rikishi” goes by a single ring name, charged furiously into Sadanoumi in the fifth bout, the crowd had the gist of things. Fans cheered wildly as the elder man locked his opponent in a belt grip before slowly but surely marching him backwards out of the ring.

The event, the first such sumo match in the UK in 34 years, was aimed at promoting ties between the two countries, according to Hakkaku Nobuyoshi, chairman of the Japan Sumo Association.

Spectators revelled in the sight of Midorifuji, the lightest wrestler in London at a mere 114 kg (251 pounds) going toe-to-toe with towering Kazakh fighter Kinbozan — who is 64 kg heavier — before being lifted in the air and dumped outside the ring.

In the second half, the audience began to let rip.

A shout of “I love you Takayasu!” from high up in the arena may not have been the kind of encouragement the former champion wrestler was expecting. But it did the trick and he duly sent his opponent Abi crashing to the dirt.

The most skilful performance of the evening came from the young Ukrainian wrestler Aonishiki, who flipped his much heavier opponent Atamifuji over with a rarely seen technique, thrusting one of his legs outwards from inside the knee while twisting him downwards by the opposite shoulder.

The two grand champions, Hoshoryu and Onosato, each won their bouts in stately fashion to bring the evening to a close.

One final moment of ritual awaited as a junior wrestler stepped into the ring with a long stringless bow to perform the bow-twirling ceremony — a last chance to cast any evil spirits out of the “dohyo” earth and clay fighting platform before sending the audience out into the night.

“It’s just so different up close, so impressive!”, said Japanese London resident Masami Sato as she waited for a bus home outside.