Photo by Michihiro Taguchi — shot ringside.
Abi is a thrusting-pushing (tsuki-oshi) sumo wrestler from Shikoroyama stable who won the Emperor’s Cup at the November 2022 Kyushu tournament. He fights with rapid-fire thrusts and a high leg-lift in his shiko, and he modeled his style on his stablemaster, the former sekiwake Terao. He reached sekiwake and has spent fifteen tournaments in the titled ranks, winning exactly as many bouts there as he has lost. He is 32, and on the Nagoya 2026 ranking sheet he was down at maegashira 12. This guide explains his rise, his suspension and comeback, his surprise title, and where he stands now.
Where he stands now — August 2026
| Rank | West maegashira 12, Nagoya 2026 ranking sheet |
| Stable | Shikoroyama |
| Age | 32 (born May 4, 1994, Koshigaya, Saitama) |
| Size | 188 cm, 167 kg |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake |
| Championships | 1 — November 2022 |
| Last three tournaments | March 2026, maegashira 5, 4–6 and withdrew · May 2026, maegashira 9, 5–10 · July 2026, maegashira 12, 7–8 |
Fifteen tournaments in the titled ranks, and a dead heat
In February 2025 Taguchi added up Abi’s time in the two junior titled ranks. Five tournaments at sekiwake, 38 wins and 37 losses. Ten at komusubi, 67 wins, 68 losses and 15 days missed. Add the two rows together and Abi’s career in the titled ranks comes to 105 wins and 105 losses over fifteen tournaments — our own sum of Taguchi’s two lines, and about as exact a description of a career as arithmetic ever produces. He is good enough to keep arriving there. He has never been good enough to stay.
Taguchi’s own reading at the time was not pessimistic: Abi had spent one tournament at komusubi and three at sekiwake during 2024, and there was no argument about the ability. He expected the totals to keep growing.
They have not. Since then he has gone the other way — maegashira 5 and a withdrawal in March 2026, maegashira 9 and a 5–10 in May, maegashira 12 and a losing 7–8 in July. Three tournaments, three demotions, no sanyaku appearance. That is the risk built into thrusting sumo: it is the fastest way to win a bout and the least forgiving style to carry into your thirties, because it asks the legs to do everything and offers no way to slow a bout down when they stop cooperating.
The championship still stands, and it is worth remembering what it took. He came back from a three-tournament suspension that dropped him to makushita 56, four divisions down, and won the Emperor’s Cup less than two years after his return. Whatever the ranking sheet says now, almost nobody makes that climb.
Key takeaways
- Abi is a top-division sumo wrestler from Shikoroyama stable, known for a fast tsuki-oshi (thrusting-pushing) attack.
- He won his first Emperor’s Cup at the November 2022 Kyushu tournament after winning a three-way playoff against Takayasu and Takakeisho.
- He earned a Fighting Spirit Prize on his top-division debut in January 2018 and a second in May 2019.
- He took kinboshi off yokozuna Hakuho and Kakuryu in 2018, and beat yokozuna Terunofuji in January 2022.
- A three-tournament suspension in 2020 dropped his rank to Makushita 56, but he climbed back to the top division in four tournaments.
Career and rise through the ranks
Abi made his jonokuchi debut under his family-name shikona, Horikiri, at the July 2013 tournament, and he won the jonidan championship that September. He reached the juryo division ten tournaments out of jonokuchi and renamed himself Abi on that promotion. His first juryo stint lasted only four tournaments before he fell back into makushita.
He fought his way back and won a juryo championship playoff in September 2017, defeating Kotoyuki. That run carried him to the top makuuchi division for the January 2018 tournament, where he was 23 years old and rated a top prospect.
Style and techniques
Abi fights as a tsuki-oshi (thrusting-pushing) wrestler. He launches rapid-fire thrusts from the tachiai and lifts his leg high during his shiko. He built this style on his stablemaster, the former Terao, a famed thrusting specialist; early in his career his thrusts lacked power, but they sharpened over time. His title run leaned on classic pushing techniques (kimarite) such as oshidashi (push-out) and hataki-komi (slap-down).
Notable results
Abi won the Fighting Spirit Prize on his top-division debut in January 2018. He took a kinboshi off yokozuna Hakuho in May 2018 and another off yokozuna Kakuryu in July 2018. He broke out in 2019, winning a second Fighting Spirit Prize with ten wins in May, then making his komusubi debut that July, where he survived a 5-7 start and won his last three bouts for an 8-7 winning record. His full-year 2019 record was 54-36, including a strong 6-3 against ozeki.
Career highlights
| Date | Result |
|---|---|
| July 2013 | Jonokuchi debut as Horikiri; jonidan championship that September |
| September 2017 | Juryo championship playoff win over Kotoyuki |
| January 2018 | Top-division debut; Fighting Spirit Prize |
| May / July 2018 | Kinboshi off yokozuna Hakuho, then Kakuryu |
| May 2019 | Second Fighting Spirit Prize (ten wins) |
| July 2019 | Komusubi debut; 8-7 winning record |
| January 2022 | Beat yokozuna Terunofuji |
| March 2022 | Ranked sekiwake after back-to-back 12-3 tournaments |
| November 2022 | First Emperor’s Cup (Kyushu tournament) |
Suspension and comeback
His last bout before suspension was day 6 of the July 2020 tournament, against Ryuden, after which he withdrew. During a period when the Sumo Association urged everyone to avoid non-essential outings, Abi repeatedly visited a hostess club, filed a false report, and had an accompanying junior wrestler corroborate the lie. He had married only on June 24 that year.
The Board’s August 6 sanctions were a three-tournament suspension, a 50% pay cut for five months, automatic retirement if he caused further trouble, life under his stablemaster’s supervision, and a ban on outings. The withdrawal and suspension dropped his rank from Maegashira 5 all the way down to Makushita 56.
Returning in March 2021, Abi won back-to-back makushita championships at 7-0, climbed back to juryo, and ran off 21 straight wins counting from makushita. He won the juryo championship in September 2021, taking the 2,000,000 yen title prize and returning to makuuchi in just four tournaments.
The 2022 Kyushu title
After returning to makuuchi, Abi posted 12-3 and 12-3 in two tournaments and was ranked sekiwake for March 2022. He beat yokozuna Terunofuji in January 2022.
At the November 2022 Kyushu tournament, on the final day, Abi won his first Emperor’s Cup. Sitting at three losses, he beat two-loss Takayasu to force a three-way playoff (tomoe-sen). In the playoff he slapped Takayasu down instantly, then thrust out Takakeisho to take a major upset title. He had no ozeki bout in the regular schedule, so Takakeisho’s entry into the playoff finally gave him an ozeki opponent.
Related reading
- Ichinojo’s first title — another surprise maegashira champion.
- Kotoshoho’s first title — a companion first-title story.
- Daieisho — Abi’s most-frequent top-division opponent and a fellow tsuki-oshi specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of sumo does Abi fight?
Abi is a tsuki-oshi (thrusting-pushing) wrestler. He fires rapid thrusts from the tachiai and lifts his leg high in his shiko, a style he built on his stablemaster, the former Terao.
When did Abi win his first championship?
He won his first Emperor’s Cup at the November 2022 Kyushu tournament, taking a three-way playoff against Takayasu and Takakeisho on the final day.
Which yokozuna has Abi beaten?
He took kinboshi off yokozuna Hakuho in May 2018 and Kakuryu in July 2018, and he beat yokozuna Terunofuji in January 2022.
Why was Abi suspended in 2020?
During a period when the Sumo Association urged everyone to avoid non-essential outings, Abi repeatedly visited a hostess club, filed a false report, and had a junior wrestler corroborate the lie. The Board suspended him for three tournaments.
What stable does Abi belong to?
Abi belongs to Shikoroyama stable, run by the former sekiwake Terao, whose thrusting style he models his own sumo on.
How high did Abi rise in the rankings?
He reached sekiwake, the higher of the two junior titled ranks (sanyaku) below ozeki, for the March 2022 tournament after back-to-back 12-3 records.
Reporting note: this article draws on Michihiro Taguchi’s ringside reporting and original statistical work published in Dohyo no Mokugekisha — his count of the current wrestlers whose highest rank is sekiwake (February 18, 2025). Rank, age, measurements and stable were rechecked against the Japan Sumo Association’s wrestler profiles on August 2, 2026, and per-tournament results against the Association’s published tournament sheets on August 5, 2026. Official bout-by-bout records are available from the January 2013 tournament onward.
Updated August 5, 2026.
Read next: sekiwake and komusubi explained · Daieisho · kinboshi: the gold star for beating a yokozuna · all ten ranks, in order
