Photo by Michihiro Taguchi — shot ringside.
Wakamotoharu is a former sekiwake sumo wrestler from Fukushima Prefecture, fighting out of the Arashio stable and best known as the middle of the three Onami brothers, alongside younger brother Wakatakakage. He took 43 tournaments to climb from the bottom division to the salaried ranks, then reached the top makuuchi division in January 2022 and a titled rank twelve months after that. He spent twelve tournaments in the titled ranks. He was East maegashira 8 at Nagoya 2026, his third losing record in a row. This guide explains his slow rise, his belt-fighting style, and where he stands today.
Key takeaways
- Wakamotoharu is the second son of the three Onami brothers: Wakatakamoto is the eldest and Wakatakakage the youngest, and all three joined the Arashio stable.
- He comes from a sumo family: his father wrestled as the makushita man Wakashinobu, and his maternal grandfather was the komusubi Wakabayama of the Tokitsukaze stable.
- His climb from the jonokuchi division to new juryo took 43 tournaments, seven years and one month, and he took the name Wakamotoharu from the May 2017 tournament at age 25.
- He reached the top makuuchi division in January 2022 at maegashira 15, became the 2022 newcomer of the year, and rose to new sekiwake for the May 2023 tournament.
- He fights left-hand-inside, hidari-yotsu, and finishes with the force-out, with a listed weight of 143 kg.
Where he stands now
Wakamotoharu is 32, stands 187 cm and weighs 143 kg, and fights for Arashio stable. On the Nagoya 2026 ranking sheet he was East maegashira 8, and he went 6–9. His career record is 496 wins, 405 losses and 28 days out over 88 tournaments; in the top division, 224–193 with three days out over 28. His highest rank remains sekiwake.
Once he arrived in the top division he climbed fast. He entered it in January 2022 and was a komusubi twelve months later — six tournaments, which Michihiro Taguchi’s July 2026 survey of every wrestler on the Nagoya sheet puts joint third, behind only Onosato’s two and Aonishiki’s three, and level with the former ozeki Mitakeumi and Shodai among others. That is the same figure the Association’s own tournament sheets give for the gap between his top-division debut and his first tournament in the titled ranks.
He then spent twelve tournaments in the titled ranks — seven at sekiwake and five at komusubi, by our count from the Association sheets — and won the Technique Prize in May 2023 and the Outstanding Performance Prize in January 2024. He has not been back since March 2026.
| Tournament | Rank | Record |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | West maegashira 4 | 9–6 |
| November 2025 | West maegashira 2 | 8–7 |
| January 2026 | West komusubi | 8–7 |
| March 2026 | East komusubi | 3–12 |
| May 2026 | East maegashira 5 | 5–10 |
| July 2026 | East maegashira 8 | 6–9 |
Three losing fortnights in a row, the first of them at 3–12, is the worst run of his top-division career. He held the rank of komusubi in January 2026 and was eight ranks lower by July.
The banner car, May 2026
The best-known photograph of Wakamotoharu from 2026 is not of him wrestling. When his younger brother Wakatakakage won the May tournament, Wakamotoharu rode in the championship parade as his banner carrier — the role a stablemate takes in the open car, holding the flag while the champion sits beside him. Taguchi’s photograph of the parade, captioned with the older brother’s name, ran in his review of the tournament on May 26, 2026.
It is a fair summary of where the two brothers stand. The younger one reached the titled ranks first, in July 2021, and has both of the family’s championships. What belongs to Wakamotoharu is the climb: 43 tournaments from the bottom division to a salary, and then six more to a titled rank.
Career and rise
Wakamotoharu was born into a sumo household in Fukushima Prefecture. His father wrestled as Wakashinobu, a makushita man at the Tatsutagawa stable of former yokozuna Kagamisato, and his maternal grandfather was Wakabayama of the Tokitsukaze stable, the stable of former yokozuna Futabayama. Wakabayama won an Outstanding Performance Prize in 1951 and reached komusubi.
He had been at a local high-school sumo club when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake struck. He was staying at the Arashio stable, where his elder brother had already entered, and he joined the stable without waiting to graduate from high school. He first took the ring in maezumo under the name Aronami, was soon renamed Goshi, and won the jonokuchi championship.
The rise that followed was slow. His climb from jonokuchi to new juryo took 43 tournaments, seven years and one month, and he adopted the ring name Wakamotoharu from the May 2017 tournament at age 25. Promotion to juryo made him a sekitori, a salaried wrestler. He reached the top makuuchi division for the first time in January 2022, ranked maegashira 15, and posted a 9-6 record there.
That season turned him into a contender. In September 2022 he recorded his first double-digit win total, 10-5 at maegashira 6, then repeated 10-5 at maegashira 4 in November, and he was named the 2022 newcomer of the year. He became a new komusubi in January 2023 with a 9-6 record, went 11-4 at komusubi in March 2023, and earned promotion to new sekiwake for the May 2023 tournament.
Style and techniques
Wakamotoharu is a belt fighter. He takes a left-hand-inside grip, fighting hidari-yotsu, and finishes with yori-kiri, the force-out, driving his opponent straight back and over the straw. His listed weight is 143 kg. For readers new to the sport, our guide to kimarite, the winning techniques, explains how a force-out is scored.
Notable results
One bout from July 2022 stands out. On Day 8 of that tournament Wakamotoharu drew yokozuna Terunofuji in the final match of the day. His mawashi knot came loose during the bout, and the gyoji Inosuke called a mawashi-matta, a halt to refasten the belt. A long mono-ii, a conference of the ringside judges, followed, after which the bout resumed from that posture and Terunofuji won by shitatenage, an underarm throw. Wakamotoharu finished that tournament 6-9.
His best single result up to that point was the 11-4 he posted at komusubi in March 2023, the record that carried him up to sekiwake. He won the 2022 newcomer-of-the-year award, and took his first special prize, for technique, in that first tournament as a sekiwake in May 2023. A second followed, for outstanding performance, in January 2024.
The Onami brothers
Wakamotoharu is the middle of three wrestling brothers. The eldest is Wakatakamoto, and the youngest is Wakatakakage, all three of them from the Arashio stable. The youngest brother, Wakatakakage, entered sumo from Toyo University with sandanme tsukedashi status in March 2017, reached the top division faster than Wakamotoharu, and won his first Emperor’s Cup in March 2022 by beating Takayasu in a playoff.
Current status
As of 2026 Wakamotoharu is 32 years old and remains an active makuuchi wrestler, still listed in the rankings alongside his brother Wakatakakage.
Wakamotoharu photographs, shot from ringside
Michihiro Taguchi has been photographing the Onami brothers since they were unsalaried, and the set below reaches back to Wakamotoharu’s jonokuchi days. It runs through to the Outstanding Performance prize he took for the January 2024 tournament.
Wakamotoharu: the official record
| Field | Wakamotoharu |
|---|---|
| Ring name | Wakamotoharu Minato |
| Birth name | Onami Minato |
| Ring names used | Araonami first, then a second ring name, then Wakamotoharu — three in all |
| Stable | Arashio |
| Height and weight | 187.0 cm, 143.0 kg |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake |
| Rank, Nagoya 2026 banzuke | East maegashira 8 |
| Career record | 496 wins, 405 losses, 28 days absent, over 88 tournaments |
| Top-division record | 224 wins, 193 losses, 3 days absent, over 28 tournaments |
| Championships and prizes | 2 makushita titles and 1 jonokuchi title; 1 Outstanding Performance prize, 1 Technique prize, 3 gold stars for beating a yokozuna as a maegashira |
| Most-used winning moves | yorikiri, force out, 38%; oshidashi, push out, 13%; tsukiotoshi, thrust down, 10% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Who are Wakamotoharu’s brothers?
Two, and both wrestle for the same stable, Arashio. Wakamotoharu is the middle brother. Wakatakamoto is the eldest. Wakatakakage, the youngest, entered sumo from Toyo University with sandanme tsukedashi status in March 2017, reached the top division faster than Wakamotoharu did, and won the March 2022 championship by beating Takayasu in a playoff. Their family name is Onami, and they are from Fukushima Prefecture.
Q. How many gold stars does Wakamotoharu have?
Three. A gold star, kinboshi, is awarded to a rank-and-file maegashira who beats a yokozuna, and it carries a pay rise that lasts for the rest of the wrestler’s career.
Who is Wakamotoharu?
Wakamotoharu is a makuuchi sumo wrestler in the Arashio stable and the middle of the three Onami brothers. He reached the top division in January 2022 and rose to sekiwake for the May 2023 tournament.
Where is Wakamotoharu from?
He is from Fukushima Prefecture. He had been at a local high-school sumo club and joined the Arashio stable after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, without waiting to graduate.
What rank is Wakamotoharu?
He was promoted to new sekiwake for the May 2023 tournament, after debuting at komusubi in January 2023. Sekiwake and komusubi are the two lowest of the titled san’yaku ranks, sitting just below ozeki and yokozuna.
Are Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage brothers?
Yes. They are two of the three Onami brothers. Wakamotoharu is the second son and Wakatakakage the youngest, and both wrestle for the Arashio stable. Wakatakakage won the March 2022 championship.
What is Wakamotoharu’s fighting style?
He is a belt fighter. He takes a left-handed inside grip, fighting hidari-yotsu, and wins with yori-kiri, the force-out, driving opponents back and out of the ring. His listed weight is 143 kg.
How long did Wakamotoharu take to reach the salaried ranks?
His climb from the jonokuchi division to new juryo took 43 tournaments, seven years and one month. He took the name Wakamotoharu from the May 2017 tournament, at age 25.
Reporting note: this article draws on Michihiro Taguchi’s ringside reporting and original statistical work published in Dohyo no Mokugekisha — his account of the rise through the upper ranks (May 10, 2023), his survey of how long each wrestler on the Nagoya 2026 sheet took to reach a titled rank (July 7, 2026) and his review of the May 2026 tournament (May 26, 2026). Rank, age, measurements, stable, career totals and per-tournament results were rechecked against the Japan Sumo Association’s wrestler profiles and tournament sheets on August 6, 2026. Figures described as our count are arithmetic on those published sheets, not the Association’s own totals.
Updated August 6, 2026.
Read next: sekiwake and komusubi explained · Wakatakakage, his younger brother · how a winning record moves you up the banzuke · all ten ranks, in order
