Michihiro Taguchi– Author –
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Who Is the Best Sumo Wrestler of All Time? A Ranking of the Yokozuna
By championships won, the answer is Hakuho, with 45 — more than any wrestler in history. Rank the yokozuna instead by how often they won, how often they took the title and how often they were fit enough to be on the ring at all, an... -
How Much Do Sumo Wrestlers Weigh? Every Top-Division Weight and Height
Sumo weight and height, ranked. -
How Much Do Sumo Wrestlers Make? Salary by Rank, Explained
Only wrestlers ranked in juryo or above are paid a salary at all. At the top the monthly figure is ¥3,000,000 for a yokozuna and ¥1,100,000 for a juryo wrestler, with three steps in between. The four divisions below juryo — the gre... -
Kesho-mawashi: Sumo’s Ceremonial Apron, and What One Costs
A kesho-mawashi is the embroidered silk apron a sumo wrestler wears for the ring-entering ceremony, and the Japan Sumo Association puts the cost at upwards of approximately one million yen. It is not the belt used in bouts. Nobody grappl... -
Kyujo: What Happens When a Sumo Wrestler Sits Out a Tournament
Kyujo is the word for sitting out of a grand tournament. A wrestler who withdraws, whether before the tournament starts or partway through it, is kyujo for the days he misses, and every missed day goes into the official record as a loss.... -
What Do Sumo Wrestlers Wear? Every Piece of Sumo Clothing, by Rank
In a bout, a sumo wrestler wears exactly one thing: the mawashi, a silk or cotton belt wound around the waist and between the legs. The Japan Sumo Association describes the competition belt as heavy silk about 9 metres long and 80 centim... -
Tokoyama: The Sumo Hairdressers Who Tie Every Topknot
A tokoyama is a professional hairdresser employed by the Japan Sumo Association to comb, oil and tie the hair of sumo wrestlers. They are salaried members of the Association, not freelancers, and each one is attached to a stable rather t... -
Sumo Terms Explained: A Glossary of 50+ Words
This is a plain-English glossary of the sumo terms you actually hear. Sumo keeps its Japanese vocabulary untranslated, so a broadcast throws thirty unfamiliar words at a new viewer in twenty minutes. Below, every term is given in romaniz... -
Kadoban: The Rule That Can Cost an Ozeki His Rank
Kadoban is the tournament in which an ozeki's rank is on the line. An ozeki who finishes a tournament with a losing record enters the next one as kadoban. If he posts a winning record there, the flag is cleared and nothing happens. If he... -
Hakkeyoi and Nokotta: What the Sumo Referee Shouts
"Nokotta" means "still in" and "hakkeyoi" is a call to get moving. The referee shouts nokotta, nokotta while the two wrestlers are actively fighting, to tell them the bout is still live and neither has been put out. He switches to hakkey...
