Photo by Michihiro Taguchi — shot ringside.
In sumo, Oho is a makuuchi wrestler of Otake stable and the third of the four Naya brothers. The grandson of the legendary yokozuna Taiho, he rose from the bottom of the rankings under his birth name Naya, weathered a long stretch in the lower divisions, and reached the top division as the youngest man in makuuchi.
Born into a sumo dynasty
Oho is the third son of the four Naya brothers, born to the third daughter of the great yokozuna Taiho and the former wrestler Takatoriki. Growing up inside a sumo family, he was the kind of boy who walked to the sumo dojo from his elementary-school days. He carried that on into middle school and high school, joining the sumo club at each stage. His high school was Saitama Sakae, a famed breeding ground for the sport that has produced ozeki such as Goeido and Takakeisho.
When it came time to turn professional, the path was all but written for him. He entered Otake stable — formerly led by Otaki — the Taiho sumo dojo founded by his own grandfather. He took to the ring under the family name Naya.
A flying start, then the makushita wall
His debut could hardly have gone better. In the maezumo preliminary bouts he reeled off three straight wins and was the first to lock up his shin-jo promotion. He went on to take the jonokuchi championship, and in his third bout he beat Hoshoryu, a wrestler from his own intake. Clearing each division in a single tournament, he climbed straight into the makushita ranks.
That is where the climb stalled. In makushita he posted his first losing record and slipped back down to sandanme once. After going 3–3 in makushita he lost again to Hoshoryu. He bounced back up in a single tournament, but a long spell of makushita life followed.
Along the way came a string of telling results. At the July 2019 basho he met Tenkukai and lost. At the January and March 2020 tournaments he beat Chiyonokuni, and at the November 2020 basho he got past Ichiyamamoto.
Reaching juryo and changing his name
It took 11 tournaments after his return to makushita before he earned promotion to new juryo. Counting from jonokuchi, the journey ran 16 tournaments and a record of 75 wins and 37 losses. At the January 2021 basho, on reaching juryo, he set aside the name Naya and took the fighting name Oho. By then his intake-mate Hoshoryu was already three tournaments into his own makuuchi career.
The new juryo tournament was a rude welcome: Oho slumped to 5 wins and 10 losses. He dropped back to makushita but climbed straight back to juryo in a single tournament — a vital recovery, since failing to return quickly risked tipping him back into another long makushita stay. From there he went 36–24 over four tournaments and booked his place in the top division.
Into makuuchi as the youngest in the division
As a new makuuchi entrant, Oho already carried some history against the top-division men he had met in juryo:
- Wakamotoharu — 1 win, 3 losses (including one walkover loss)
- Hozan — 2 wins
- Abi — 0 wins, 2 losses
- Sadanoumi — 1 win, 1 loss
He also held a single win over Tenkukai, and a single loss apiece to Ura, Ichiyamamoto and Tsurugisho.
Standing 191 cm and weighing 181 kg, Oho cuts an imposing figure. As his many wins by oshidashi (push-out) and oshitaoshi (push-down) suggest, he is a thrusting-and-pushing wrestler. Still only 21 and the youngest man in makuuchi, this young warrior’s sumo keeps drawing the eyes of the fans.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Who is Oho in sumo?
He is the third of the four Naya brothers and a grandson of the yokozuna Taiho, born to Taiho’s third daughter and the former wrestler Takatoriki. He wrestles for Otake stable and debuted under the name Naya.
Q. Why did he change his name to Oho?
He competed under his family name Naya from his debut, then adopted the fighting name Oho when he reached the juryo division at the January 2021 basho.
Q. What kind of wrestler is Oho?
He stands 191 cm and weighs 181 kg, and fights a thrusting-and-pushing style, with many wins by push-out and push-down. Still 21, he is the youngest man in the makuuchi division.
Photos by Michihiro Taguchi, shot ringside.
