In sumo, -ranked wrestlers receive a monetary reward at the end of each tournament that supplements their basic salary. This system is called , and it is based on a personal bounty held by each wrestler called .
Overview In addition to their monthly salary, are eligible to receive monetary awards based on their performance in tournaments. These bounties are paid six times a year, at each tournament, to -ranked wrestlers (competing in the division or higher). Wrestlers in the division and below do not receive a salary, though they are given an allowance.
Since the most common way to increase the bounties is to achieve (having more wins than losses) in a tournament, a match in which a wrestler stands at seven wins and seven losses on the final day of a tournament will decide whether he achieves or (more losses than wins). This occurrence is sometimes referred to as ; a win in these circumstances is called , and a loss is called .
The with the smallest bounty was the 60th Futahaguro, who never won a championship. Having been in the makuuchi ranks for only 20 tournaments, he had received only at the time of his expulsion.
Calculation + Minimum values Rank Payment When a wrestler enters professional sumo, he is credited with . Every time he achieves , this value increases by (or 50 ) for each additional win over the number of losses (e.g. for a 9–6 record). No deduction is made for a record, a leave of absence, or a suspension.
There are minimum values of that are paid to wrestlers of different rank (, , and ), should they not be eligible for a greater amount already. If a wrestler is subsequently demoted, any amount awarded through these minimums in excess of that earned via the wrestler's win-loss record will be deducted again from the account.
Bonuses In addition, wrestlers with outstanding performances will receive bonuses. A will receive a bonus if he can defeat a during a tournament. Such a win is called a ( "gold star"). Former Akinoshima won 16 during his career, which gave him a account that was larger than those of many .
Winning the (championship) gives a bonus of , which increases to if the championship was won with a "perfect" record of 15–0, which is called a .
Conversion The value of the account is multiplied by a predefined number to give the actual distributed monetary bonus to the wrestlers; the current multiplier, since the year 1998, is 4,000. This means that, as an example, a victory will be worth per annum additional income for the remainder of the wrestler's career. +EvolutionUntil 1969 1,0001970–1984 1,5001985–1997 2,5001998–present 4,000
Examples With its strong bias towards large scores and top division championships, the highest accounts are credited to the strongest . accounts of over (corresponding to an additional income of per year) have been achieved by the very strongest such as Taihō, Chiyonofuji and Hakuhō. + Case of Hakuhō (after the September 2021 tournament)AdditionCumulative debut as and below Promotion to → as Promotion to → 1×10= from to Promotion to → (already above ) as as 2×30= as 1×50= Promotion to → (already above ) as as 27×30= as 15×50= Total Hakuhō broke the record of set by Taihō.
+ Case of Endō (after the May 2025 tournament)AdditionCumulative debut as and below Promotion to → as Promotion to → 1×10= from to Demotion from → as Promotion to → (already above ) 6×10= from to as from to Total
References