Onosato has truly been marketed to sumo’s biggest 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 predominant 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 at the moment 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 acknowledged. “It was the only thing that came to mind.”
Onosato, whose delivery title is Daiki Nakamura, received within the specialist rankings in May 2023 after an embellished beginner occupation atToyo University He began within the third-tier makushita division and quickly scaled the rankings with no solitary shedding 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 every day and the simplest 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 end 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 12 months as a result of 1987, when Hokutoumi and Onokuni each arrived.
“Winning two straight tournaments as an ōzeki is an impressive feat,” acknowledged Tadamori Oshima, chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, acknowledged onSunday “Above all, he remained composed and consistent under pressure.”
The promo finishes a period of deficiency for Japanese- birthed yokozuna. Before Kisenosato in 2017, Japan had truly gone nearly 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 have 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,” acknowledged 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 effectively 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 1000’s 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 acknowledged.
He is at the moment the third yokozuna from Ishikawa, complying with Wajima andHaguroyama With the sporting exercise planning for a world exhibit at London’s Royal Albert Hall in October, his promo comes with a time when JSA is on the lookout for 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 no solitary shedding doc within the main division. What follows is not only 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 acknowledged. “But I want to continue being myself: to wrestle my way, stay focused, and become a unique and unparalleled yokozuna.”
