Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet.
In sumo, a mawashi (廻し) is the loincloth that rikishi wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyō-iri.
Takanohana Kōji is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler and coach. He was the 65th man in history to reach sumo's highest rank of yokozuna, and he won 22 tournament championships between 1992 and 2001, the sixth highest total ever. The son of a popular ōzeki ranked wrestler from the 1970s, Takanohana's rise through the ranks alongside his elder brother Wakanohana and his rivalry with the foreign born yokozuna Akebono saw interest in sumo and attendance at tournaments soar during the early 1990s.
A honbasho, or Grand Sumo Tournament in English, is an official professional sumo tournament. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi on the banzuke ranking. The number of honbasho held every year and their length has varied; since 1958 there are six tournaments held over 15 consecutive days in four locations every year. Since 1926 the honbasho are organized by the Japan Sumo Association, after the merger of the Tokyo and Osaka sumo associations.
Hakuhō Shō is a former professional sumo wrestler (rikishi) from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. In May 2007, at age 22, he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo, yokozuna. He is widely considered to be the greatest sumo wrestler of all time.
Asahifuji Seiya is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He joined professional sumo in 1981, reaching the top makuuchi division just two years later. He reached the second highest rank of ōzeki in 1987 and became the 63rd yokozuna in the history of the sport in 1990 at the age of 30. He won four tournaments and was a runner-up on nine other occasions. He retired in 1992 and is now the head coach of Isegahama stable. As a coach he has produced two yokozuna Harumafuji and Terunofuji.
Takatōriki Tadashige is a former sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Kobe, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1983, reaching the top division in 1990. His highest rank was sekiwake. Known for his great fighting spirit, he won 14 tournament prizes, including a record ten Kantō-shō, and earned nine gold stars for defeating yokozuna ranked wrestlers. He wrestled for the highly successful Futagoyama stable. He was twice runner-up in top division tournaments and in March 2000, from the maegashira ranks, he unexpectedly won the yūshō or championship. He retired in 2002 and became the head coach of Ōtake stable, having married the daughter of the previous owner of the heya, the great yokozuna Taihō. However, he was dismissed from the Sumo Association in 2010 for his role in an illegal gambling scandal.
Toyonoshima Daiki is a former professional sumo wrestler from Sukumo, Kōchi, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 2002, reaching the top makuuchi division in September 2004. He was a runner-up in five tournaments, and earned ten special prizes. His highest rank was sekiwake, which he first reached in September 2008 and held for five tournaments in total. Following a suspension in July 2010 he was demoted to the jūryō division, but upon his return to makuuchi in November 2010 he took part in a playoff for the championship. He won four kinboshi or gold stars awarded for yokozuna upsets, three of them earned by defeating Harumafuji from 2013 to 2015. He wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He retired in 2020 and was an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the name of Izutsu-oyakata until his departure from the association in January 2023.
Kakuryū Rikisaburō is a former professional sumo wrestler from Sükhbaatar Province, Mongolia. He was a member of the top makuuchi division from November 2006 until his retirement in March 2021, and was the 71st yokozuna in history.
Tamawashi Ichirō is a Mongolian-Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar. Wrestling for Kataonami stable, his highest rank has been sekiwake. He made his debut in January 2004 and reached the top makuuchi division in September 2008. He has a makushita, a jūryō and two makuuchi division championships. He has seven gold stars for defeating a yokozuna, and four special prizes, all of them coming after he turned 30 years of age. In January 2019, he won his first top-division championship, and his second in September 2022 at the age of 37, making him the oldest winner of the top division since the introduction of the six tournaments a year system in 1958.
Musashimaru Kōyō is an American-born Japanese-naturalized former professional sumo wrestler. He was born in American Samoa, before moving to Hawaii at the age of 10. At 18 he moved to Japan and made his professional sumo debut in 1989, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1991. After reaching the rank of ōzeki in 1994 his progress seemed to stall, but in 1999 he became only the second foreign-born wrestler in history to reach the sport's highest rank of yokozuna. Musashimaru won over 700 top division bouts and took twelve top division tournament championships during his career. His sheer 235 kg (518 lb) bulk combined with 1.92 m of height made him a formidable opponent, and he was remarkably consistent and injury-free for most of his career. An amiable personality, his fan base was helped by a surprising facial resemblance to Japanese warrior hero Saigō Takamori. After becoming a Japanese national in 1996 and retiring in 2003, he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and founded the Musashigawa stable in 2013.
GLOW is an American comedy-drama television series created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch for Netflix. The series revolves around a fictionalization of the characters and gimmicks of the 1980s syndicated women's professional wrestling circuit Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling founded by David McLane.
The following are the events in professional sumo during 2018.
The following are the events in professional sumo during 2019.
Hishofuji Hiroki is a former sumo wrestler from Hyōgo-ku, Kobe, Japan. The highest rank he reached was Juryo 13, which he held for just a single basho. He wrestled for Nakamura stable until it closed down in December 2012, then transferring and finishing his career at Azumazeki stable. He retired in January 2017. He now lives in Los Angeles and participates in sumo exhibitions and amateur tournaments under the name Hiroki, often alongside Ulambayaryn Byambajav and Yamamotoyama.
Hana Kimura was a Japanese joshi puroresu professional wrestler. She worked for native companies in her country such as World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2016 to 2020, and Wrestle-1, in addition to having made appearances for foreign companies such as Ring of Honor, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and some independent promotions in Mexico. Kimura was a second-generation wrestler; her mother Kyoko Kimura is a former professional wrestler.
Takanofuji Sanzō is a former professional sumo wrestler and current mixed martial artist from Sakai, Ibaraki, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 2013 and his highest rank was jūryō 5. He is the twin brother of former makuuchi division wrestler Takagenji, and they are the first twins to both reach the second highest jūryō division. He won one makushita division championship. He was suspended from the September 2019 tournament after an investigation found he had struck an attendant, and was asked to retire by the Japan Sumo Association. After initially refusing to comply, he retired on 11 October 2019.
Hiyori Kon is a Japanese amateur sumo wrestler, who is known for advocating for equal rights for women to compete professionally in Japan. She has been included in the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2019.
Women's sumo is a form of sumo played by women.
Sanctuary is a Japanese sports drama television series created by Kan Eguchi that premiered on Netflix on 4 May 2023. The series consists of eight episodes, all first released in May 2023.
