Rikishi– category –
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Takanohana: The Star Who Carried 1990s Sumo
Takanohana was the biggest Japanese star of 1990s sumo. A yokozuna who won 22 top-division championships, he headlined the decade's defining rivalry with the Hawaiian yokozuna Akebono, retired in 2003, and later worked as a stablemaster ... -
Akebono: Sumo’s First Foreign-Born Yokozuna
Akebono was the first foreign-born wrestler ever promoted to yokozuna, sumo's highest rank, reaching the top in 1993. Born in Hawaii and built on a frame of unusual height and reach, he won 11 top-division championships and shaped the sp... -
Asashoryu: Sumo’s First Mongolian Yokozuna
Asashoryu was the first wrestler from Mongolia ever promoted to yokozuna, sumo's highest rank, and the sport's dominant force through the mid-2000s. He won 25 top-division championships, including an unprecedented sweep of all six tourna... -
Taiho: The Yokozuna Who Defined an Era of Sumo
Taiho Koki was the 48th yokozuna and won 32 top-division championships between 1960 and 1971, a total that stood as the record for more than forty years, until Hakuho passed it. The Japan Sumo Association's own list of grand champions gi... -
Asanoyama: The Rise and Fall and Rise of an Ozeki
In sumo, Asanoyama is a former ozeki from Takasago stable who fell further than any ozeki of the modern era and climbed back twice. He was promoted to the rank in 2020 and held it for seven tournaments. He did not lose it to a losing rec... -
Takayasu: The Star-Crossed Ozeki Chasing a Title
In sumo, Takayasu is a former ozeki from Tagonoura stable and the oldest man in the top division. He held ozeki for fifteen tournaments between 2017 and 2019 and has been a maegashira ever since. He has never won a championship: three pl... -
Daieisho: The Explosive Pusher and His Championship
In sumo, Daieisho is a pushing-and-thrusting specialist out of Oitekaze stable, run by the former Daishoyama. A product of the powerhouse Saitama Sakae High School sumo club, he climbed steadily through the ranks, won the January 2021 ch... -
Oho: Taiho’s Grandson and Otake Stable Sumo Wrestler
\n\nOho is a sumo wrestler of Otake stable and a grandson of the legendary yokozuna Taiho, and he has never missed a day in 51 tournaments. The third of the four Naya brothers, he debuted under his birth name Naya, took a gold star off y... -
Chiyonofuji: The Wolf, His Glory and Tragic End
In sumo, Chiyonofuji is remembered as one of the sport's greatest yokozuna — a wrestler who won 31 yusho and put together a 53-bout winning streak despite competing at a far lighter weight than his rivals. He was the first wrestler to re... -
Hakuho: The Greatest Yokozuna of All Time
Hakuho is the greatest yokozuna in sumo history. A yokozuna is the highest rank in professional sumo, and Hakuho holds its defining records: 45 top-division championships, 1,187 career wins, and 16 perfect 15-0 tournaments — all all-time...
