is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo.
It is awarded in each of the six annual or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions. The prize money for a top division championship is currently 10 million yen, while for the lowest division the prize is 100,000 yen. A runner-up is referred to as a .
The individual idea evolved gradually, from wrestlers simply picking up cash thrown into the ring by spectators after winning matches (common in the Edo period), to wrestlers being given trophies and prizes from private sponsors for performances over an entire tournament (beginning in the Meiji period). Trophies were at first given only for undefeated records, but since draws, no decisions and absences were all possible outcomes, several wrestlers could be eligible and it did not necessarily go to the man with the most wins.
In January 1900, the system recognised today began to take shape when the Osaka Mainichi Shinbun newspaper announced it would give a prize of a decorative apron for either an undefeated record or for the fewest losses, and in the event of a tie, the wrestler who had defeated the most high-ranking opponents would win the prize. Thus the principle of an individual champion was established. Takamiyama Torinosuke's victory in June 1909 was the first to be declared a , and the system was formally recognised by the Japan Sumo Association in 1926 when the Tokyo and Osaka organisations merged.
From June 1909 to October 1931 and from January 1940 to July 1947, there was also a group competition called . The wrestlers were divided into two teams, East and West,There is still East and West designation today, but this is simply for convenience when ranking the wrestlers, and there is no group competition. and it was the team with the better overall score that was awarded a prize.
Though as noted, all six divisions award a championship, the top division championship receives by far the most attention. Consequently, in addition to their prize money, top division winners receive the . It was first donated by Hirohito in 1925 as the . It was changed to its current name upon Hirohito's accession to the emperor's throne in December 1926. There is also a banner with the names of past winners. Both are presented by the chairman of the Sumo Association. There are also many prizes and trophies given by prefectural and foreign governments, as well as businesses. For several years the French President Jacques Chirac donated a trophy. The wrestler is given replicas of all the trophies to keep. In July 2010, and again in May 2011, neither the Emperor's Cup nor any other prizes were handed out, because of controversies over illegal betting and match-fixing respectively. However, in both cases the were still official and counted on the wrestlers' records.
An unbeaten score is known as and is fairly rare; most winning scores are either or ; a winning score of had been about as rare as a historically, since 2021 has been much more common than a however and about as common as a ; by far the most rare top division winning score is a , having occurred only in 1972, 1996, 2017 and 2023. The wrestler who has won the most top division is Hakuhō with 45, followed by Taihō with 32, and Chiyonofuji with 31. Futabayama won 12 in an era when only two tournaments were held each year.
The first foreign wrestler to win the division was the Hawaiian born Takamiyama Daigorō in June 1972. There were no others until Konishiki Yasokichi won his first championship in November 1989. However, due to the dominance of foreign wrestlers in recent years, led by the Mongolian Asashōryū and Hakuhō, there were no Japanese-born winners between Tochiazuma Daisuke in January 2006 and Kotoshōgiku in January 2016. The past few years have also brought multiple other Japanese champions.
Playoffs Any playoffs are indicated on individual wrestler articles' tournament records and elseplace, as one P for every additional bout fought by the wrestler fought on day 15. (Example given below.) Since 1947 a playoff system () has been in place to determine the winner of the if two or more wrestlers finish with an identical score tied for first place. Until then, the would go to whoever was the higher in rank, as it was presumed they had faced better quality opposition, but this caused controversy in 1928, when Hitachiiwa was chosen over despite the fact that one of the formers wins had come by default. There was similar criticism when new Chiyonoyama was denied a championship in November 1945, despite winning all his matches.
The wrestlers who have taken part in the most top division playoffs are Takanohana II with ten () and Hakuhō with ten (). Chiyonofuji has the highest percentage of victories, with a perfect playoff record.
Playoffs with more than two wrestlers involved are fairly common in lower divisions, but have only happened a handful of times in the top division. In such cases lots are drawn to decide who fights first, the sole wrestler to remain undefeated, or to win two consecutive bouts in a three-way (), will alone claim the . A playoff is the only occasion in which wrestlers from the same stable () and relatives can meet in tournament competition.
Three-way playoffs have occurred nine times, first in March 1956 and most recently in July 2026, with Aonishiki winning the by defeating Atamifuji first, then Kirishima in succession. Furthermore, two cases of four-way playoffs occurred in June 1947 and March 1997 respectively, and a unique five-way playoff in November 1996. – The latter's participants achieving the following scores: Musashimaru , Takanonami , Akebono , Wakanohana Masaru , Kaiō . – Musashimaru had to win thrice to secure the . Takanonami won once but lost the final bout. Everyone else lost their only bout. Nevertheless, all four losing wrestlers are equally considered to be runners-up. ()
See also Glossary of sumo terms List of sumo tournament top division champions List of sumo tournament second division champions List of sumo tournament top division runners-up List of sumo record holders
References