Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings

Japan Times

a day ago

Sumo's updated rankings have been released, and for the first time since Hakuho retired in 2021 there are yokozuna on both the east and west sides of the banzuke.
Well, not exactly on both sides.
Onosato may have been promoted to the sport's highest rank following back-to-back championship wins as an ōzeki in March and May, but one of sumo's lesser known rules means he's listed under both his new and old ranks on the latest banzuke.
While it's acceptable (if not ideal) to have just one, or indeed no, yokozuna on the rankings, there must always be at least one ōzeki on each side of the banzuke.
With Onosato's elevation to grand champion leaving Kotozakura as the sole occupant of sumo's second highest rank, that left a slot which had to be filled.
As a result, Onosato finds himself listed as yokozuna-ōzeki for the upcoming Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
It's the first time since Chiyonofuji in 1981 that a newly promoted yokozuna was given such a designation.
While yokozuna-ōzeki may sound like an intermediate rank, it's simply a formality to ensure that a centuries-old balance — which predates even the creation of the yokozuna rank — is maintained.
Onosato, despite the designation, is a full yokozuna and considered equal in every way to Hoshoryu. Apart from additional kanji characters over the former man's name on the banzuke, nothing will be different in their responsibilities, or how they are treated.
Onosato or Hoshoryu may not be required to hold down the second ōzeki slot for too long, as just below Kotozakura is a trio of sekiwake, all of whom have title-winning experience and are coming off double-digit wins.
Kirishima, of course, already has reached sumo's second highest rank, while Daieisho or Wakatakakage making it to ōzeki is within the bounds of possibility — even with the past struggles of both men to maintain the consistently high standards needed to do so.
Onosato (right) and fellow yokozuna Hoshoryu visit the IG Arena, the new venue for the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, on Tuesday. |
JIJI
Historical rarities such as yokozuna-ōzeki aren't the only points of interest on sumo's latest banzuke, with an eye-raising decision immediately noticeable near the upper part of the rankings.
Takayasu may possess a historic run of bad luck inside the ring, but the former ōzeki remaining at sumo's fourth highest rank of komusubi following a 6-9 outing in May is a stroke of unprecedented good fortune.
Since the advent of the 15-day system in 1939, there have been 126 incidences of a komusubi posting a 6-9 record. In every single one of those 126 cases the man in question found himself back in the maegashira ranks the following tournament.
Takayasu staying at komusubi means that for fast-rising Ukrainian star Aonishiki there is no sanyaku — the three ranks below yokozuna — debut this time out.
The 21-year-old burst onto the scene after arriving in Japan as a refugee just three years ago, and has performed far better than almost anyone predicted in the top division thus far.
With back-to-back 11-win outings that earned fighting spirit prizes, Aonishiki is on a tear though the top ranks that should see him in the sanyaku ranks before long.
As expected, consecutive division titles in the second tier for Kusano have earned the former college standout a spot in the top tier.
As is usual for wrestlers reaching a high rank or the top division for the first time, Kusano met the press while seated alongside his stablemaster.
Isegahama, of course, is now run by former yokozuna Terunofuji, rather than his predecessor — the former Asahifuji — who had been in charge of the stable since 1993.
That will take some getting used to, especially while Terunofuji still sports his top knot.
For the moment Kusano is continuing to use his family name as a shikona (ring name) as have many other alumni from his alma mater sumo powerhouse Nihon University.
In fact, prior to Onosato, the only college yokozuna to achieve the same rank in ōzumo, Wajima, also hailed from Nihon University and never adopted a shikona, using his family name throughout his entire professional career.
But while Kusano opted to stand pat, another top division debutant who did have a shikona made a change.
Wakaikari, the son of former maegashira Oikari, opted to revive the name of Fujinokawa just a couple of weeks after the most recent user of that shikona passed away at the age of 64.
While Wakaikari was a unique name that honored his father, currently a sumo elder called Kabutoyama, Fujinokawa is a shikona that has a history in his Isenoumi stable that stretches back to the 1840s.
On the topic of name changes, IG Arena — the newly opened venue which becomes the home of sumo in Nagoya from this year — appears on the banzuke for the first time, and it's jarring to see Roman letters among a sea of kanji written in a specific sumo style.
As with every new banzuke there are countless other name changes, over-promotions and under-demotions worthy of discussion, but for Nagoya 2025 the name atop the rankings with the unusual designation stands out.
A new yokozuna, a new venue. The latest banzuke continues a centuries-old tradition of setting the stage for what is to come.
Here's hoping the tournament that takes place in Nagoya later this month lives up to its billing.