Photo by Michihiro Taguchi — shot ringside.
Onosato is a yokozuna who wrestles for Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture. He took sumo’s highest rank on the July 2025 banzuke, promoted after a record-fast 13 basho from his professional debut and only the second college-trained wrestler ever to make yokozuna after Wajima. He sits at East yokozuna on the September 2026 banzuke, announced on August 31 for the Aki tournament in Tokyo, having held the west side at Nagoya in July. This guide explains his rise from Ishikawa schoolboy to college champion, ozeki, and yokozuna, with his full tournament record at the rank.
Stable: Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture, run by the former yokozuna Kisenosato.
Origin: Born in Tsubata, Ishikawa Prefecture; won the Student Yokozuna and Amateur Yokozuna titles at Nippon Sport Science University.
Rank: Yokozuna since the July 2025 basho, promoted in a record 13 tournaments from his debut.
Titles: Five top-division championships as of July 20, 2026; the first came as a new komusubi at the May 2024 basho.
Build: 192 cm, 189 kg, with a pushing-thrusting (tsuki-oshi) attack and a right-hand-inside yori drive.
Onosato at a glance
| Detail | Onosato |
|---|---|
| Ring name (shikona) | Onosato Daiki |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna — the 75th in sumo history |
| Yokozuna from | The July 2025 basho |
| Born | Tsubata, Kahoku District, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Stable | Nishonoseki, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Stablemaster | The former yokozuna Kisenosato |
| Professional debut | May 2023, at makushita 10 tsukedashi |
| Height and weight | 192 cm, 189 kg |
| Fighting style | Pushing and thrusting (tsuki-oshi), with a right-hand-inside yori drive |
| Top-division championships | 5, as of July 20, 2026 |
| Rank, September 2026 (Aki) banzuke | East yokozuna |
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 189 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.
| Tournament from debut | Rank | Record | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Makushita 10 tsukedashi | 6–1 | Professional debut, May 2023 |
| 2nd | Makushita | 4–3 | A winning record won on the final bout |
| 3rd | Jūryō, bottom of the division | 12–3 | First tournament as a sekitori, September 2023 |
| 4th | Jūryō | 12–3 | Lost a championship playoff to Kotoshoho |
| 5th | Makuuchi | 11–4 | Top-division debut, at 23 |
| 6th | Makuuchi | 11–4 | A second straight double-figure record |
| 7th | Komusubi | 12–3 | First top-division championship, May 2024 |
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 became the 75th yokozuna, taking the rank on the July 2025 banzuke and becoming the second college-trained wrestler ever to reach it 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 when he earned it 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.
Onosato’s tournament record as a yokozuna
Below is every tournament Onosato has fought at the rank, from his first in July 2025 through May 2026, as recorded by the Japan Sumo Association. The run reads in two halves: four tournaments in which he never dropped below ten wins, then two he could not complete. He withdrew four days into the March 2026 basho and sat out the whole of May 2026.
| Basho | Rank | Record | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 — Nagoya | West yokozuna | 11–4 | First tournament at the rank |
| September 2025 — Tokyo | East yokozuna | 13–2 | Championship — his fifth, and his first as a yokozuna |
| November 2025 — Fukuoka | East yokozuna | 11–4 | |
| January 2026 — Tokyo | West yokozuna | 10–5 | |
| March 2026 — Osaka | West yokozuna | 0–4–11 | Withdrew after four days |
| May 2026 — Tokyo | West yokozuna | 0–0–15 | Sat out the full tournament |
| July 2026 — Nagoya | West yokozuna | 9–6 | Back on the dohyo for a full 15 days |
Onosato photographs, shot from ringside
The pictures below are Michihiro Taguchi’s own frames, taken from the ringside seats at the tournaments themselves for Dohyo no Mokugekisha, the Japanese sumo site he has run since 2013. They are not agency or stock images. They run from the May 2024 tournament, where he took his first Emperor’s Cup in his seventh basho, to the yokozuna ring-entering ceremony he performs today.
Onosato: the official record
| Field | Onosato |
|---|---|
| Ring name | Onosato Daiki |
| Birth name | Nakamura Daiki |
| Ring names used | Onosato only — he has never changed it |
| Stable | Nishonoseki |
| Height and weight | 192.0 cm, 189.0 kg |
| Rank, September 2026 (Aki) banzuke | East yokozuna |
| Career record | 189 wins, 69 losses, 26 days absent, over 20 tournaments |
| Top-division record | 155 wins, 59 losses, 26 days absent, over 16 tournaments |
| Championships and prizes | 5 top-division championships; 2 Outstanding Performance prizes, 3 Fighting Spirit prizes, 3 Technique prizes; no gold stars |
| Most-used winning moves | yorikiri, force out, 33%; oshidashi, push out, 16%; oshitaoshi, push down, 14% |
Frequently asked questions
Q. Why did Onosato withdraw?
He has pulled out of two tournaments as a yokozuna — kyujo, in sumo’s own word. He withdrew four days into the March 2026 basho in Osaka at 0–4, and then sat out the whole of May 2026. He returned at Nagoya in July 2026 and wrestled all 15 days, finishing 9–6.
Q. How tall is Onosato, and how heavy?
The Japan Sumo Association lists him at 192.0 cm and 189.0 kg, checked on August 24, 2026. Some English pages still carry a lighter weight for him; the Association’s own profile is the figure to go by.
Q. How does Onosato usually win?
By pushing. The Association’s own breakdown of his last six tournaments puts yorikiri (force out) at 33 per cent of his wins, oshidashi (push out) at 16 per cent and oshitaoshi (push down) at 14 per cent — a forward-moving record with very little throwing in it.
Q. Who is Onosato?
Onosato is the 75th yokozuna and wrestles for Nishonoseki stable. He arrived as a college champion from Ishikawa Prefecture 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 earned yokozuna promotion at 24, turning 25 at the July 2025 tournament.
Q. When did Onosato become a yokozuna?
He took the rank on the July 2025 banzuke, the second college-trained wrestler after Wajima, promoted in a record-fast 13 tournaments from his debut and nine after entering makuuchi.
Q. How many championships has Onosato won?
Five, as of July 20, 2026. Four of them came by the time he became a yokozuna, the first 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 was born in Tsubata in Ishikawa Prefecture. 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.
Q. What is Onosato’s record as a yokozuna?
Through July 2026 he has wrestled seven tournaments as a yokozuna: 11–4, then 13–2 for the championship, then 11–4 and 10–5. He withdrew four days into the March 2026 basho, sat out May 2026 in full, and came back for all 15 days at Nagoya in July 2026, finishing 9–6.
