Onosato has truly been marketed to sumo’s best rating of yokozuna, the Japan Sumo Association launched on Wednesday, ending a speedy surge to the highest of Japan’s nationwide sporting exercise in the record span of 13 tournaments.
The 24-year-old, that considers 421lb (191kg) and stands 6ft 4in (1.92 m) excessive, finally ends up being the seventy fifth yokozuna in sumo’s centuries-spanning background and the very first Japan- birthed wrestler to carry the title as a result of Kisenosato in 2017. His promo comes merely days after securing the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo’s Ry ōgoku Sumo Hall with a 14-1 doc, securing his 2nd straight champion and 4th normal.
Onosato’s promo was made major after a consentaneous referral from the JSA’s consultatory council on Monday and accepted by the board of trustees at an distinctive convention onWednesday He is presently the quickest wrestler to get to yokozuna within the modern-day six-tournament schedule interval, which dates to 1958. The doc climb overshadows the previous mark of 21 basho set by Wajima, an extra Ishikawa indigenous, in 1973.
“I am truly happy,” Onosato knowledgeable press reporters on Wednesday after getting the selection from JSA brokers at his Nishonoseki regular inIbaraki Prefecture “Now, things will become more important than ever. I want to stay focused and continue to work hard.”
He included: “I will devote myself to training so as not to disgrace the rank of yokozuna. I want to be the one and only grand champion.”
The expression “one and only” resembled his statements final September when he was marketed to ōzeki, sumo’s second-highest rating. “I didn’t originally plan to say it again, but it just felt right,” he said. “It was the only thing that came to mind.”
Onosato, whose beginning title is Daiki Nakamura, acquired within the specialist rankings in May 2023 after an embellished newbie career atToyo University He began within the third-tier makushita division and quickly scaled the rankings with out a solitary dropping doc, attending to ōzeki in his ninth occasion and previous to arriving in his thirteenth.
He safeguarded his latest title on day 13 of the Summer occasion– the place rivals battle day by day and the best doc after 15 days wins– by beating fellow ōzeki Kotozakura to spice up to 13-0. His simply loss started the final day to Hoshoryu, the Mongolian- birthed yokozuna that was marketed in January.
Hoshoryu ended up 12-3 and the result has simply elevated expectancy for an inceptive competitors in between each. They are readied to tackle as yokozuna for the very first time on the Nagoya occasion in July– sumo’s grand competitions are held each 2 months all year long within the odd-numbered months– the very first time 2 grand champs will definitely cowl the banzuke rating guidelines as a result of 2021. It makes the very first time that 2 rikishi have truly made promo to yokozuna in the exact same fiscal yr as a result of 1987, when Hokutoumi and Onokuni each arrived.
“Winning two straight tournaments as an ōzeki is an impressive feat,” said Tadamori Oshima, chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, said onSunday “Above all, he remained composed and consistent under pressure.”
The promo finishes a length of deficiency for Japanese- birthed yokozuna. Before Kisenosato in 2017, Japan had truly gone just about 20 years with out an indigenous wrestler on high rating, as Mongolian wrestlers managed the sporting exercise. Six of the final 7 yokozuna previous to Onosato had been birthed in Mongolia, consisting of the record-shattering Hakuho, Harumafuji and Asashoryu.
“I hope he leads by example and lifts the entire world of sumo,” said Nishonoseki, Onosato’s stablemaster, that accomplished asKisenosato “He’s still developing. He’s been building his body properly since entering the stable, making steady efforts. Training does not lie.”
Onosato’s surge has truly been generally hailed each for its symbolic relevance and his calmness, made up design. A technological and properly balanced wrestler, he has truly been applauded for his maturation within the ring and his fixed character off it. His promo has truly moreover given satisfaction in his dwelling prefecture of Ishikawa, which was devastated by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day in 2025. More than 600 people handed away in a disaster that displaced hundreds and the Noto Peninsula space stays to revive. “I will work hard as a yokozuna to encourage and cheer up the Ishikawa prefecture and the Noto region,” he said.
He is presently the third yokozuna from Ishikawa, complying with Wajima andHaguroyama With the sporting exercise planning for a worldwide exhibit at London’s Royal Albert Hall in October, his promo comes with a time when JSA is in search of to increase its worldwide account whereas reconnecting with followers in your house.
At 24, Onosato is the youngest yokozuna as a result of Takanohana’s promo in 1994 and believed to be the very first to get to the rating with out a solitary dropping doc within the main division. What follows isn’t just the stress of safeguarding the rating, but the duty that accompanies it each inside and outdoors the dohyo.
“This is unknown territory for me,” Onosato said. “But I want to continue being myself: to wrestle my way, stay focused, and become a unique and unparalleled yokozuna.”
