Makuuchi (幕内) or makunouchi (幕の内), is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (rikishi), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
The Japan Sumo Association is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Rikishi, gyōji (referees), tokoyama (hairdressers), and yobidashi (ushers/handymen), are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run entirely by toshiyori (elders). The organization has its headquarters in Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo.
Teila Tuli, also known as Taylor Wily is an American actor and former sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is from Laie, Hawaii and is of Samoan descent. He is commonly known for his recurring role as Kamekona Tupuola on Hawaii Five-0.
Izutsu stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tokitsukaze group of stables.
Hasegawa Katsutoshi is a former sumo wrestler from Kurisawa, Hokkaido, Japan. He began his professional career in 1960, reaching the top division in 1965. He won eight special prizes for his achievements in tournaments and earned nine gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He won a tournament championship or yūshō in 1972 and was a runner-up in two other tournaments. His highest rank was sekiwake. He retired in 1976 and became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association, working as a coach at Sadogatake stable until his retirement in 2009.
Sadogatake stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki group of stables. In its modern form it dates from September 1955, when it was set up by former komusubi Kotonishiki Noboru. Former yokozuna Kotozakura took over the running of the stable in 1974 following Kotonishiki's death. The stable is located in Matsudo, Chiba prefecture. Over the next thirty years the stable produced a string of top division wrestlers. Kotozakura stood down in November 2005, handing the stable over to his son-in-law, former sekiwake Kotonowaka.
Ōnomatsu stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables. It was founded in its modern form on 1 October 1994 by Masurao Hiroo, who branched off from the now defunct Oshiogawa stable. His first wrestler to reach the top makuuchi division was Katayama in 2005. The now retired Wakakōyū reached komusubi in 2012, as did Ōnoshō in 2017. The stable's most successful foreign recruit has been the Russian former maegashira Amūru, who retired in 2018.
Kataonami stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Nishonoseki ichimon or group of stables. It was founded in 1961 by former sekiwake Tamanoumi Daitarō, who branched off from Nishonoseki stable. Former sekiwake Tamanofuji took over the running of the stable upon Tamanoumi's death in 1987. In February 2010 he passed control over to another former sekiwake, Tamakasuga, remaining in the stable under the elder name Tateyama. As of January 2019 it had three wrestlers.
Hayateumi Hidehito is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is now a Liberal Democratic Party politician.
Dewanoumi stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. It has a long, prestigious history. Its current head coach is former maegashira Oginohana. As of January 2018 it had 14 wrestlers.
Kasugano stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Dewanoumi ichimon or group of stables. As of January 2019 it had 20 wrestlers. It has been led by former sekiwake Tochinowaka Kiyotaka since 2003. It was one of the most successful stables in 2013, with six sekitori wrestlers, including the Georgian Tochinoshin and the now retired Japanese born Tochinowaka Michihiro, who used the current head coach's old ring name.
Tatsunami stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers. Formerly the head of the Tatsunami ichimon or group of stables. As of January 2019 it had 17 wrestlers, with two of them in the jūryō division. Previously situated in sumo's heartland of Ryōgoku nearby the Kokugikan stadium, it is now located in Ibaraki Prefecture and alongside Shikihide stable is one of the furthest from Ryōgoku.
Tamawashi Ichirō is a professional sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He made his debut in January 2004 and reached the top makuuchi division in September 2008. His highest rank has been sekiwake. He has a makushita, a jūryō and a makuuchi division championship. He has two gold stars for defeating a yokozuna, and three special prizes. He wrestles for Kataonami stable. He has not missed a bout in his career to date and has the longest streak of consecutive matches among active wrestlers. In January 2019, he won his first top-division championship at the age of 34.
Hōō Tomomichi, born Tomomichi Kabetani, was a sumo wrestler from Gamagori, Aichi, Japan. He made his professional debut in September 1971, and reached the top division in July 1979. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is the only sekiwake since the six tournaments a year schedule began in 1958 to never win a sansho or special prize. He was one of the few wrestlers to face both Takanohana Kenshi and his son Takanohana Koji, having fought the latter in the makushita division towards the end of his career. He left the sumo world upon retirement in May 1990. He died of heart disease in 2013.
Fukunohana Koichi is a former sumo wrestler from Kōshi, Kumamoto, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 1958 and reached the top division in September 1965. His highest rank was sekiwake. He retired in November 1975.
Kōtetsuyama Toyoya, born Kōnoshin Suga, was a sumo wrestler from Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1957, and reached the top division in September 1963. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is one of the rare examples of a wrestler whose only tournament in the sanyaku ranks was at sekiwake, rather than komusubi. He retired in January 1975. He branched out from Asahiyama stable and established the Onaruto stable in October 1975. He produced the top division wrestler Itai and jūryō Ishinriki. He was married to a ballet instructor. Onaruto stable closed in December 1994 and he left the Japan Sumo Association. He died in somewhat mysterious circumstances in 1996, a month before claims he made about match fixing in sumo were published in a book called Yaocho. The co-writer of the book died within hours of Onaruto, in the same hospital. Police found no evidence of foul play, but Onaruto's wrestler Itai later said his boss had links to a major yakuza crime syndicate.
Wakachichibu Komei was a sumo wrestler from Chichibu, Saitama, Japan. He made his professional debut in May 1954 and reached the top division in September 1958. His highest rank was sekiwake. Upon retirement from active competition he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association, under the name Tokiwayama. He reached the Sumo Association's mandatory retirement age in March 2004.
Ichinojō Takashi is a sumo wrestler from Arkhangai, Mongolia. He is notable as being the second foreign-born wrestler, and the first of non-Japanese descent allowed to debut at an elevated rank in the third makushita division due to his amateur sumo success. In only his third professional tournament he took the second division jūryō championship. In his fifth professional tournament, his first in the top makuuchi division, he was the runner-up and promoted all the way to sekiwake, his highest rank to date. He is the heaviest man in the top division as of March 2019.
