, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Since 2004 its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the only division that is featured on NHK's standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage, with only the broadcast having bilingual English commentary.
literally means "inside the curtain", a reference to the early period of professional sumo, when there was a curtained-off area reserved for the top ranked wrestlers, to sit before appearing for their bouts.
Wrestlers are considered for promotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the previous one. Generally, a greater number of wins than losses () results in a promotion, and the reverse () results in demotion. There are stricter criteria for promotion to the top two ranks, which are also privileged when considered for demotion.
Overview At the top fixed positions of the division are the "titleholder" or ranks of , , and . There are typically 8–12 wrestlers, with the remainder, called , ranked in numerical order from 1 downwards.
literally means "the three ranks", even though it has actually comprised of four ranks since 1909. The discrepancy arose because the was traditionally regarded as an with a special license to wear a particular rope around his waist and perform a distinctive ring-entry ceremony. In modern use has a somewhat flexible definition. This is largely because the top two ranks of and have significant differences from the lower two ranks and from each other. Therefore, a reference to can sometimes mean only the bottom three ranks, or in other cases only and .
For each , there must be at least one and on each side, east and west, normally two of each rank, but there may be more. Although there is usually a there is no requirement for one, and it has sometimes happened that no active or no were listed in the ranks. If there is more than one but only one , the lower rank will be filled out by designating one of the as . There is no recorded instance of there being fewer than two and in total.
There are a number of privileges and responsibilities associated with the ranks. Any wrestler who reaches one of them is entitled to purchase one of the membership shares in the Japan Sumo Association, regardless of the total number of tournaments they have spent in the top division. They may be called on to represent all sumo wrestlers on certain occasions. For example, when the president of the Sumo Association makes a formal speech on the opening and closing days of a tournament, he is flanked by all the wrestlers in their . Similarly they may be called to assist in welcoming a VIP, such as members of the Imperial Family, to the arena.
The can be split into two groups: the senior and , and the junior and .
The former group have special promotion criteria and higher salaries, and have additional perks such as a higher number of junior wrestlers to assist them, an entitlement to park in the Sumo Association compound and voting rights in the election for Association directors. Senior and also have added responsibilities. They are expected to represent wrestler views to the Association, assist in advertising events and meet event sponsors.
The latter group, and , have lesser responsibilities and just like are still eligible for one of the three special prizes (), that are awarded for exceptional performance of lower ranking wrestlers at the end of each tournament.
is the highest rank in sumo. The name literally means 'horizontal rope' and comes from the most visible symbol of their rank, the worn around the waist. The rope is similar to the used to mark off sacred areas in Shinto, and like the it serves to purify and mark off its content. The rope, which may weigh up to , is not used during the matches themselves, but is worn during the ring entrance ceremony.
As of May 2025, a total of 75 sumo wrestlers are officially recognized by the Japan Sumo Association to have earned the rank of ; considering that formal record-keeping only began with Tanikaze Kajinosuke and Onogawa Kisaburō in 1789, this roughly averages out to one every three years.
History
There are two competing legends regarding the origin of the rank. According to one, a 9th-century wrestler named Hajikami tied a around his waist as a handicap and dared anyone to touch it, creating sumo as it is now known in the process. According to the other, legendary wrestler Akashi Shiganosuke tied the around his waist in 1630 as a sign of respect when visiting the Emperor and was posthumously awarded the title for the first time. There is little supporting evidence for either theory—in fact, it is not even certain that Akashi actually existed—but it is known that by November 1789, starting from the fourth , Tanikaze Kajinosuke, and the fifth , Onogawa Kisaburō, were depicted in prints as wearing the . These two wrestlers were both awarded licences by the prominent Yoshida family.
Before the Meiji era, the title was conferred on who performed sumo in front of the . This privilege was more often determined by a wrestler's patron having sufficient influence rather than purely on the ability and dignity of the wrestler. Thus, there are a number of early wrestlers who were, by modern standards, in name only. In these early days, was also not regarded as a separate rank in the listings, but as an with special dispensation to perform his own ring entering ceremony.
At first, the Yoshida family and the rival fought for the right to award a wrestler a license. The Yoshida family won this dispute, because the 15th Umegatani Tōtarō I, one of the strongest wrestlers of his time, expressed his wish that he be awarded a license by the Yoshida family in February 1884, and consequently Gōjō family licenses were no longer officially recognized.
In May 1890, the name was written on the for the first time due to the 16th Nishinoumi Kajirō I's insistence that his status be recorded. In February 1909, during the reigns of the 19th , Hitachiyama Taniemon, and the 20th, Umegatani Tōtarō II, it was officially recognized as the highest rank. Since the establishment of the on 21 April 1950, wrestlers have been promoted to by the Japan Sumo Association. The first promoted by the Sumo Association was the 41st Chiyonoyama Masanobu.
Criteria for promotion In modern sumo, the qualifications that an must satisfy to be promoted are that he has enough power, skill and dignity/grace (品格 ) to qualify. There are no absolute criteria, nor is there a set quota: there have been periods with no wrestlers at rank, and there have been periods with as many as four simultaneously.
The power and skill aspects are usually considered with reference to recent tournament performance. The de facto standard is to win two consecutive championships as or an equivalent performance. In the case where the "equivalent performance" criterion is used, the wrestler's record over the previous three tournaments is taken into account with an expectation of at least one tournament victory and one runner-up performance, with none of the three records falling below twelve wins. Thus, a consistent high level of performance is required. Winning two tournaments with a poor performance between them is not usually sufficient. Also, achieving runner-up performance in three consecutive tournaments is not sufficient: an example is Kisenosato in 2013 and 2016. The rules are not set in stone; hence, in reaching their conclusion the Yokozuna Deliberation Council and Sumo Association can interpret the criteria more leniently or strictly and also take into account other factors, such as total number of tournament victories, the quality of the wins, and whether the losses show any serious vulnerabilities.
The issue of (dignity and grace) is more contentious, as it is essentially a subjective issue. For example, Hawaiian-born Konishiki, in particular, was felt by many to be unfairly kept from status due to his non-Japanese origin, and many Sumo Association members even openly said that foreigners () could never achieve the needed to be a . In the case of Konishiki, other issues such as his weight were also cited. The debate concerning foreigners having the dignity to be a was finally laid to rest on 27 January 1993, when Hawaiian-born Akebono was formally promoted to after only eight months as an . Since then, the issue of whether foreigners have the necessary dignity has become irrelevant as seven of the ten wrestlers to achieve sumo's ultimate rank following Akebono in 1993 were not born in Japan: Musashimaru in the United States and Asashōryū, Hakuhō, Harumafuji, Kakuryū, Terunofuji, and Hōshōryū all in Mongolia.
Other wrestlers have also been held back. For example, Chiyonoyama in the 1950s was not immediately promoted due to his relative youth despite winning consecutive tournaments, although he later achieved the top rank. On the other hand, Futahaguro was given the title of in 1986, despite immaturity being cited in opposition to his promotion. After being promoted, he was involved in several misbehaviors that embarrassed the Sumo Association such as hitting one of his (manservant or personal assistant) over a trivial matter in a scandal that had six of his seven decide to leave him. The promotion again proved to be a fiasco when it was later revealed that he had a heated argument with his stable boss, Tatsunami, and stormed out of the , allegedly striking Tatsunami's wife on the way. Futahaguro eventually retired after only one and a half years at the top rank and became the only in sumo history ever to retire without having won at least one top division championship.
Becoming
Elevation to rank is a multi-stage process. After a tournament, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, a body of lay people (that is, not former sumo wrestlers) who are appointed by the Japan Sumo Association to provide an independent quality control on promotion, meet and discuss the performance of the top-ranked wrestlers. Usually, at the instigation of the Japan Sumo Association, they can make a recommendation that a particular -ranked wrestler has the necessary attributes to be promoted. Their recommendation is then passed to the Judging division and then the Board of Directors of the Sumo Association who make the final decision.
If a wrestler is deemed to have met the criteria, then he will be visited in his training stable by a member of the Sumo Association Board of Directors who will formally give him the news. In the following days, a or ceremonial rope will then be made in his stable, and he will practice the ring entrance ceremony with advice from a previous or current . Finally, he will have his inaugural ceremonial ring entry ceremony held at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, which is usually completed within a couple of weeks of the tournament end.
Retiring Unlike other sumo ranks, a cannot be demoted, but in exchange their performance is held to a very high standard. A is expected to regularly win championships, or at least be a serious contender for them, and even a single (losing record) can pose concerns. It is common for a to withdraw from a tournament for health reasons, even after the tournament has started, if they find themselves unable to perform at the expected level. A who is consistently unable to compete at the peak of the sport is expected to retire from competition altogether. The strength and informal nature of these expectations are a major reason that the promotion criteria for are so strict in the first place.
Retirement can also in some cases (such as Futahaguro, Asashōryū, or Harumafuji) be prompted by a judgment that the has not upheld the dignity of the rank, independent of tournament performance.
Notices