Photo by Michihiro Taguchi — shot ringside.
Oho is a sumo wrestler of Otake stable and a grandson of the legendary yokozuna Taiho — back in the sanyaku ranks at komusubi on the Nagoya 2026 banzuke, announced June 29. The third of the four Naya brothers, he debuted under his birth name Naya, climbed from the bottom of the rankings, and by March 2025 had won the Technique Prize and reached his first sanyaku rank. This guide explains his lineage, his rise through the divisions, and the Taiho-founded stable he is expected to lead.
- Who: The third of the four Naya brothers, born to Taiho’s third daughter and the former wrestler Takatoriki.
- Stable: Otake stable, the Taiho sumo dojo founded by his grandfather.
- Style: A thrusting-and-pushing (tsuki-oshi) wrestler, 191 cm and 181 kg.
- Breakthrough: A kinboshi over yokozuna Terunofuji in March 2024, then the Technique Prize and promotion to sekiwake after January 2025.
- Future: As Taiho’s grandson, he is tipped to become the next head of Otake stable.
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, 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.
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.
The new juryo tournament was a rude welcome: Oho slumped to 5 wins and 10 losses. He returned and went 36–24 over four tournaments to book his place in the top division.
Into makuuchi as the youngest in the division
Oho entered makuuchi at the January 2022 basho as the youngest man in the division, aged 21. Standing 191 cm and weighing 181 kg, he cuts an imposing figure. As his many wins by oshidashi (push-out) and oshitaoshi (push-down) suggest, he is a thrusting-and-pushing wrestler.
The climb to sekiwake, 2022 to 2025
The top division did not hand Oho an easy footing. He dropped back to juryo for one tournament after his debut, then re-entered in May 2022 and finished the year 38–37 across five makuuchi tournaments. In November 2022 he lost to ozeki Takakeisho. In 2023 he posted a losing year of 43 wins and 47 losses while ranked in the lower-to-middle makuuchi, and his intake-mate Hoshoryu pulled ahead of him.
The turn came in 2024. At the March basho Oho reached the makuuchi joi — the top ranks that face the yokozuna and ozeki — for the first time, and he took a kinboshi (gold star) by beating yokozuna Terunofuji, finishing 7–8. He lost to all four ozeki that tournament — Kirishima, Hoshoryu, Takakeisho and Kotonowaka — and closed the year at 47 wins and 43 losses. At the September 2024 basho he beat ozeki Kotozakura and Hoshoryu and went 9–6 for his first winning record in the joi.
January 2025 was the breakthrough. Oho won 12 bouts, advanced to the championship playoff (tomoe-sen) and narrowly missed the title, and collected the Technique Prize (Gino-sho) — his first-ever sansho. The reward followed at once: promotion to sekiwake. March 2025 brought his first sanyaku rank, his 20th tournament since reaching makuuchi.
Otake stable and the Taiho line
Otake stable was founded by the great yokozuna Taiho, starting life as the one-generation-elder Taiho stable. It raised wrestlers including Kyoho and Shishiho. The former ozeki Takatoriki, a disciple of the former ozeki Takanohana, inherited the stable after marrying Taiho’s third daughter — the union that made him Oho’s father.
As Taiho’s grandson, Oho is expected to become the future head of Otake stable. Independence rules set the bar: a stablemaster-in-waiting must have reached yokozuna or ozeki, or wrestled 25-plus tournaments at sekiwake or komusubi, or completed 60-plus total makuuchi tournaments. His climb to sekiwake puts the first of those marks within reach.
The name itself carries the weight of that legacy. Taiho received his shikona from his stablemaster Nishonoseki, the former ozeki Saganohana, on reaching juryo in his third year. It refers to the legendary giant bird Peng — oho — that flies ninety thousand li in a single flight. Taiho went on to win 11 straight bouts from day one as a new makuuchi entrant, and the grandson now carries the same name into the upper ranks.
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. Who is Oho’s grandfather?
His grandfather is Taiho, the legendary yokozuna who founded Otake stable. Oho’s mother is Taiho’s third daughter, and as Taiho’s grandson he is expected to become the future head of the stable.
Q. Why did he change his name to Oho?
He competed under his family name Naya from his debut, then took the fighting name Oho when he reached the juryo division at the January 2021 basho. The shikona traces back to Taiho’s own name, after the giant bird Peng that flies ninety thousand li in a single flight.
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 (oshidashi) and push-down (oshitaoshi).
Q. What has Oho achieved?
He took a kinboshi over yokozuna Terunofuji in March 2024, advanced to the championship playoff and won the Technique Prize in January 2025, and was promoted to sekiwake — his first sanyaku rank — in March 2025.
Q. What is Otake stable?
It is the sumo stable founded by yokozuna Taiho, which raised wrestlers such as Kyoho and Shishiho. The former ozeki Takatoriki inherited it after marrying Taiho’s third daughter.
Photos by Michihiro Taguchi, shot ringside.
