Photo by Michihiro Taguchi — shot ringside.
Onosato is a yokozuna who wrestles for Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture. He reached sumo’s highest rank for the May 2025 tournament, a record-fast 13 basho after his professional debut and only the second college-trained wrestler ever to make yokozuna after Wajima. He sits at West yokozuna on the Nagoya 2026 banzuke, announced June 29. This guide explains his rise from Niigata schoolboy to college champion, ozeki, and yokozuna.
Stable: Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture, run by the former yokozuna Kisenosato.
Origin: From Niigata; won the Student Yokozuna and Amateur Yokozuna titles at Nippon Sport Science University.
Rank: Yokozuna since the May 2025 basho, promoted in a record 13 tournaments from his debut.
Titles: Four championships, the first as a new komusubi at the May 2024 basho.
Build: 192 cm, 176 kg, with a pushing-thrusting (tsuki-oshi) attack and a right-hand-inside yori drive.
From schoolboy wrestler to college champion
Onosato started sumo at the age of seven and grew up as a dedicated young wrestler. He attended junior high and high school in Niigata before moving on to Nippon Sport Science University. It was in college that he made his name, winning the Student Yokozuna and Amateur Yokozuna titles. He took the Amateur Yokozuna crown in two consecutive years, marking himself out as one of the finest amateurs in the country.
Entering Nishonoseki stable
He chose to enter the Nishonoseki stable, run by the former yokozuna Kisenosato, located in Ibaraki Prefecture where there are few distractions. Thanks to his amateur credentials, he made his professional debut at the rank of makushita 10 tsukedashi, skipping the lowest rungs of the ladder entirely.
A bumpy start in makushita
The start was anything but smooth. On the opening day of the May 2023 basho, Onosato lost to Ishizaki (later known as Asakoryu) by tsukiotoshi. Astonishingly, he lost to Ishizaki again at the following July tournament. That left him in a tight spot at 3–3, with further defeats to capable opponents in Tokisenpu and the jūryō wrestler Kihō. Onosato then won his seventh bout to scrape out a kachikoshi.
A heartbreaking debut in jūryō
That single winning record carried weight: the next September tournament saw him reach jūryō, placed at the very bottom of the division. After dropping the opening day, he reeled off nine straight wins, including a victory over Asakoryu, who was himself on a losing streak. On day 10 he lost to Ichiyamamoto, who held a one-loss record, leaving the two level on a single defeat.
By the final day, both Ichiyamamoto and Onosato sat on two losses. Ichiyamamoto protected his standing by beating the 7–7 Oamami. Onosato, also at 7–7, faced Rōga with promotion to makuuchi on the line. He lost by sukuinage, and the championship slipped away.
So close again, then into makuuchi
At the following November tournament, Onosato found himself in the title race once more. On the final day he met Kotoshoho in a championship playoff. Kotoshoho had already beaten him in their regular-schedule bout on day eight, winning by uwate dashinage. In the playoff, Onosato fell once again, this time to an uwatenage. In the end he was promoted to makuuchi without a single championship at jūryō or below. Standing 192 cm and weighing 176 kg, he favors a pushing-and-thrusting attack and a right-hand-inside yori drive. He was 23 when he reached the top division.
A record-fast first championship
The breakthrough came quickly. At the May 2024 basho, fighting as a new komusubi, Onosato won his first top-division championship. It was only his seventh tournament since turning professional, the fastest any wrestler has gone from debut to a first yusho. His path there ran makushita tsukedashi 6–1, makushita 4–3, jūryō 12–3, jūryō 12–3, makuuchi 11–4, makuuchi 11–4, and komusubi 12–3 for the title. Because he had never won a lower-division championship, his very first sumo title arrived in the top division. He was 23.
Promotion to ozeki
Onosato earned promotion to ozeki nine tournaments after his makushita tsukedashi debut and five after entering makuuchi, without a single losing record in that span. By then he had taken two top-division championships despite never winning a makushita or jūryō title, and he had collected the Shukun-sho (Outstanding Performance) twice, the Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit) three times, and the Gino-sho (Technique) three times. At his ozeki ceremony at Nishonoseki stable he pledged to aim to become a one-of-a-kind, yuiitsu-muni wrestler. He was 24 when he made the rank.
Rise to yokozuna
Onosato was promoted to yokozuna for the May 2025 basho, the second college-trained wrestler ever to reach the rank after Wajima. The promotion came in a record-fast 13 tournaments from his professional debut and nine after entering the top division. He was 24 at promotion and turned 25 at the July 2025 tournament, with four championships already to his name. In his first basho as a yokozuna he finished 11–4, the same win–loss record Wajima posted in his own debut yokozuna tournament.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Who is Onosato?
Onosato is a yokozuna who wrestles for Nishonoseki stable. He arrived as a college champion from Niigata and rose to sumo’s highest rank in a record 13 tournaments.
Q. What stable does Onosato belong to?
Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture, run by the former yokozuna Kisenosato. He debuted at makushita 10 tsukedashi thanks to his amateur record.
Q. How old is Onosato?
He reached new makuuchi at 23, won his first championship at 23, made new ozeki at 24, and was promoted to yokozuna at 24, turning 25 at the July 2025 tournament.
Q. When did Onosato become a yokozuna?
He was promoted for the May 2025 basho, the second college-trained wrestler after Wajima, in a record-fast 13 tournaments from his debut and nine after entering makuuchi.
Q. How many championships has Onosato won?
Four by the time he became a yokozuna. His first came as a new komusubi at the May 2024 basho, his seventh tournament as a professional and the fastest debut-to-first-yusho on record.
Q. Where is Onosato from?
He attended junior high and high school in Niigata, then went on to Nippon Sport Science University, where he won the Student Yokozuna and Amateur Yokozuna titles.
Photos by Michihiro Taguchi, shot ringside.
