Yūshō ( 優勝 , victory, championship) is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo .
54-436: It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions . The prize money for a top makuuchi division championship is currently 10 million yen , while for the lowest jonokuchi division the prize is 100,000 yen. A runner-up is referred to as a jun-yūshō. Perhaps surprisingly, considering that most of
108-530: A Hawaiian apprentice Koryu had impersonated him on the telephone. Despite the denial, the damage had been done. The media furore hampered his preparations for the forthcoming tournament which resulted in a mediocre 9–6 record. Konishiki never came close to promotion again. Konishiki retained his ōzeki ranking for 39 tournaments over more than six years, but he eventually lost it in November 1993 after two consecutive losing records. He continued to compete in
162-578: A four way playoff in March 1997 and a unique five way playoff in November 1996. In such cases lots are drawn to decide who fights first, and the first wrestler to win two consecutive bouts takes the yūshō . A playoff is the only occasion in which wrestlers from the same stable (or heya ) and relatives can meet in tournament competition. The wrestlers who have taken part in the most top division playoffs are Takanohana II with ten (won five, lost five) and Hakuhō with ten (won six, lost four). Chiyonofuji has
216-569: A peak weight of 287 kg (633 lb) he was also at the time the heaviest wrestler ever in sumo , earning him the nicknames "Meat Bomb" and, most famously, "The Dump Truck". Playing truant from school one day, Yasokichi, already 170kg at the age of 18, was spotted on the beach in Hawaii by a sumo talent scout and was offered the chance to go to Japan to train. He entered sumo in July 1982, recruited by another Hawaiian-born wrestler, Takamiyama of
270-412: A playoff system ( kettei-sen ) has been in place to determine the winner of the yūshō if two or more wrestlers finish with an identical score. Until then, the yūshō would go to whoever was the higher in rank, as it was presumed they had faced better quality opposition, but this caused controversy in 1928, when ōzeki Hitachiiwa was chosen over maegashira Misugiiso [ ja ] despite
324-558: A record in the last three tournaments of 38 wins and 7 losses. He was denied promotion to yokozuna , normally awarded to those with two consecutive tournament wins or an equivalent achievement. Konishiki had three non-consecutive wins. The chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee , Hideo Ueda, announced, "We wanted to make doubly sure that Konishiki is worthy to be a grand champion. Therefore, we decided to wait for another tournament." Another member of
378-404: A spectacular comeback in November 1989, taking his first tournament championship with a 14–1 record. He was the first foreigner to win a top division title since Takamiyama in 1972. In March 1990 he took part in a three-way playoff for the title but he was outshone by Asahifuji , who earned promotion to yokozuna in July. In May 1991 Konishiki won 14 consecutive bouts but was beaten in a playoff on
432-409: A stool collapsing underneath him, and had to sit out the next tournament. In May 1986, he suffered another injury, this time in competition, during a bout with Futahaguro . Konishiki came back strongly from this setback and three consecutive double figure scores in 1987 earned him promotion to ōzeki . Many people expected Konishiki to quickly make his push for yokozuna promotion. His stablemaster,
486-405: A tournament day and may be announced from the dohyō the day prior by a senior gyōji . Although there is no fixed method, for the first half of a tournament the top makuuchi division will generally see its higher-ranked wrestlers ( san'yaku ) paired against its lower-ranked wrestlers ( maegashira ), with the rest of the maegashira fighting among ranks closer in strength. The schedule for
540-595: A trophy. The wrestler is given replicas of all the trophies to keep. In July 2010, and again in May 2011, neither the Emperor's Cup nor any other prizes were handed out, because of controversies over illegal betting and match-fixing respectively. However, in both cases the yūshō were still official and counted on the wrestlers' records. An unbeaten 15-0 score is known as zenshō-yūshō and is fairly rare; most yūshō winning scores are either 14-1 or 13-2. The wrestler who has won
594-502: A wrestler misses will be regarded as losses when drawing up the next tournament's rankings. If a withdrawal results in an odd number of wrestlers in one division, the schedule is filled in by pairing a lower-ranked wrestler against a higher-ranked wrestler from the next-lowest division. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan is owned by the Japan Sumo Association and is therefore the only venue set up for sumo all year round. Preparing
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#1732776517356648-529: Is often called hana-sumo ( lit. flower-sumo) as it is not taken as seriously by the wrestlers. In the Edo period , the locations of sumo tournaments and the rikishi (sumo wrestlers) who competed in them varied. Sumo was particularly popular in the cities of Edo , Kyoto , and Osaka ; with tournaments held twice a year in Edo, and once a year in both Kyoto and Osaka. The tournaments lasted 10 days each. In 1926,
702-540: Is the 30kg sterling silver Emperor's Cup . Since 1947, three special prizes called sanshō may be awarded to wrestlers in the makuuchi division for exceptional performances during a honbasho . With honbasho lasting 15 days, sumo wrestlers ranked in the top two divisions ( makuuchi and jūryō ) wrestle once a day, while those of the lower divisions wrestle seven times total, approximately once every alternate day. The lower division matches begin at 8:30am. As honbasho results determine promotion and relegation on
756-521: Is the host of an NHK children's program called Nihongo de Asobo (にほんごであそぼ) which teaches children traditional and colloquial Japanese . He is known as "Koni-chan" on the show. Although he continued to DJ for his FM Yokohama show Kony Island , he took a hiatus from Japanese celebrity life for a year in 2007, returning to Hawaii to prepare for gastric bypass surgery. Although he did not have high blood pressure or any heart problems, he had not lost much weight since his retirement, and underwent
810-706: The Takasago stable . A promising student at the University High School in Honolulu , he initially wanted to be a lawyer and was also offered a music scholarship to Syracuse University . His father had regular work with the US Navy but had to support eight children. Yasokichi regarded Takamiyama as a local hero and found the opportunity to travel to Japan too good to resist, although his parents were reluctant for him to do so. Due to his potential he
864-421: The banzuke , the first aim for most wrestlers is to achieve kachi-koshi , or a majority of wins, and thus ensure a promotion for the next tournament. A playoff on the final day is used to decide the winner in case of a tie. Unless a playoff is required, two wrestlers will fight each other no more than once in a whole tournament. The bout schedule is set by a committee of toshiyori a day or two in advance of
918-731: The heaviest ever for a sumo wrestler , until surpassed by Ōrora in 2017. Konishiki remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder for a short time under the name of Sanoyama, before branching out as a Japanese entertainer under the name "KONISHIKI" (the capitalization is an effort to reflect the association's requirement to write his name in the Roman alphabet, after prohibition of spelling it out in Japanese characters after his retirement from sumo). In 2000 Shinichi Watanabe , director of Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemy , created an anime series called Dotto! Koni-chan , in which Koni,
972-583: The honbasho are organized by the Japan Sumo Association , after the merger of the Tokyo and Osaka sumo associations. The term honbasho means "main (or real) tournament" and is used to distinguish these tournaments from unofficial tournaments which are held as part of sumo tours, between the six major tournaments. Such display tournaments may have prize money attached but a wrestler's performance has no effect on his ranking. This type of sumo
1026-510: The ukulele . In 2000, he released a hip-hop album called Kms , including songs "Island Girl", "Sumo Stomp", and the old-school classic "Sumo Gangsta". Following the 2011 earthquake, Konishiki was a high-profile fund-raiser for disaster relief in the stricken regions of Japan. He started the Konishiki Kids Foundation to help underprivileged children from Hawaii to experience Japanese culture. In June 2022 he celebrated
1080-778: The 1950s through 1984, tournaments were held at the Kuramae Kokugikan in Tokyo. The sumo tournament held in Nagoya every July is scheduled to move from the older Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (Dolphins Arena) to the new IG Arena starting in 2025, which the Japan Sumo Association will refer to as the Aichi International Arena. The March 2011 tournament was cancelled due to the Japan Sumo Association launching an investigation into allegations of match-fixing involving several sekitori -ranked wrestlers. This
1134-535: The 46th Yokozuna Asashio Tarō III , had predicted Konishiki would reach the top rank by his 25th birthday. However, his increasing weight caused a strain on his knee, exacerbated by previous high-school football injuries, which badly affected his performances. After a string of mediocre 8–7 scores he turned in a disastrous 3–12 in September 1988. His problems continued in 1989 and a 5–10 mark in September left him in danger of demotion from ōzeki once again. He made
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#17327765173561188-451: The best record of a honbasho . The term yūshō emerged to indicate a wrestler who had finished with a perfect record, but has since come to denote the tournament champion regardless of his record. Each division has a championship prize for the wrestler with the most wins. The winner of the top makuuchi division's honbasho receives a plethora of trophies and prizes from various organizations, regions and countries, but most notable
1242-408: The border of a winning and losing record to win and achieve a kachi-koshi ; wrestlers with top records will also face each other to increase the possibility of a decisive bout. Matchmaking in the second-highest jūryō division works somewhat similarly to the top division, although there are no san'yaku . In the third-highest makushita division and below, wrestlers are matched against those with
1296-486: The committee, Noboru Kojima, said in an interview in the April issue of Bungei Shunjū that Konishiki did not possess hinkaku ( 品格 ), a word derived from hin , meaning "grace, elegance and refinement". His remarks were given the headline, "We Don’t Need a Foreign Yokozuna" in the magazine. A controversy arose when The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Konishiki in an interview had alleged racial discrimination
1350-401: The fact that one of his wins had come by default. There was similar criticism when new maegashira Chiyonoyama was denied a championship in November 1945, despite winning all his matches. Playoffs with more than two wrestlers involved are fairly common in lower divisions, but have only happened a handful of times in the top division. A three way playoff occurred three times in the 1990s, with
1404-405: The final day by Asahifuji. By late 1991 Konishiki was a strong yokozuna candidate. He had overcome his injuries and showed much more consistency. Yokozuna Chiyonofuji and Ōnokuni had both recently retired, and Asahifuji and Hokutoumi were struggling with illness and injury. Konishiki took advantage by winning two championships (his 2nd and 3rd overall) in November 1991 and March 1992, with
1458-483: The first award for performances in 1889, giving it to any wrestler who finished a tournament undefeated. Other newspapers quickly followed with their own awards. However, these prizes went unclaimed if no rikishi finished undefeated. Wanting a way to decide a definite winner each tournament, by 1900 daily newspapers such as the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun had begun bestowing awards on the wrestler with
1512-585: The highest percentage of victories, with a perfect 6-0 playoff record. Honbasho A honbasho ( Japanese : 本場所 ) , or Grand Sumo Tournament in English, is an official professional sumo tournament. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi (sumo wrestlers) 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
1566-458: The interest in tournaments today revolves around who will win the yūshō , the concept of a prize for a wrestler's individual performance is a relatively recent one. Legendary wrestlers such as Tanikaze and Raiden are credited today with winning many championships, but they are all unofficial and are really nothing more than a "best tournament record." The individual yūshō idea evolved gradually, from wrestlers simply picking up cash thrown into
1620-501: The man with the most wins. In January 1900, the system recognised today began to take shape when the Osaka Mainichi Shinbun newspaper announced it would give a prize of a keshō-mawashi decorative apron for either an undefeated record or for the fewest losses, and in the event of a tie, the wrestler who had defeated the most high-ranking opponents would win the prize. Thus the principle of an individual champion
1674-534: The most top division yūshō is Hakuhō with 45, followed by Taihō with 32, and Chiyonofuji with 31. Futabayama won 12 yūshō in an era when only two tournaments were held each year. The first foreign wrestler to win the makuuchi division yūshō was the Hawaiian born Takamiyama Daigorō in June 1972. There were no others until Konishiki Yasokichi won his first championship in November 1989. However, due to
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1728-436: The newly formed Japan Sumo Association increased the number of honbasho held each year from two to four. In 1928, they introduced rules such as marking uncontested bouts as forfeitures ( fusenshō ) to help guarantee tournaments end with a clear winner. A playoff structure was implemented in 1947 to decide a champion in the case of tied records. In 1949, the length of the tournaments was extended from 10 days to 15. In 1958,
1782-467: The number of honbasho held each year increased again, this time to six. Before the 19th century, a wrestler's record at a tournament was of little consequence, and promotion through the banzuke ranks was more closely tied to popularity. In 1884, the Yomiuri Shimbun began publishing rudimentary summaries of honbasho results in their newspaper. The newspaper Jiji Shinpō began offering
1836-540: The operation in February 2008. He announced on his website that the operation went smoothly and that he had since lost 70 kg (150 lb). He returned to Japan in May 2008. After sumo, he began to turn his talents to music, most notably with his collaboration with Rimi Natsukawa as well as L-Burna on the song "Livin Like Kings". He often sings and raps in a mixture of English and Japanese . He can also play
1890-489: The opponent's mawashi and rely on his huge weight advantage to wear them out. By 1992 he was winning virtually all his matches by yori-kiri (force out), and his lack of ability to change tack once he had been sidestepped was one of the concerns raised by the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee when he was up for promotion. His peak weight of 285 kilograms (628 lb) recorded in March 1996 was
1944-574: The other venues for their respective honbasho begins a week in advance. 2020's July and November tournaments and the March 2021 tournament were all held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo to avoid unnecessary travel during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan . The current Ryōgoku Kokugikan was opened in 1985. Prior to that an arena of the same name hosted honbasho in Tokyo from 1909 to 1946. From
1998-448: The privileged sekitori ranks in just eight tournaments, a remarkably rapid rise. In July 1984, he made his debut in the top makuuchi division, and in the following tournament in September he defeated two yokozuna , Chiyonofuji and Takanosato , and was runner-up with a 12–3 record. He was promoted to komusubi for the first time in May 1985 and sekiwake in July 1985. However, he suffered an injury to his coccyx , caused by
2052-551: The protagonist, is a fat child who strongly resembles Konishiki. In January 2004, he married his girlfriend of two years, former medical worker Chie Iijima. He had previously married former model Sumika Shioda in 1992. They divorced amicably in December 2000. In 2006, he played in the film Check It Out, Yo Chekeraccho!! and also made a short appearance in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift . He
2106-479: The ring by spectators after winning exciting matches (common in the Edo period ), to wrestlers being given trophies and prizes from private sponsors for performances over an entire tournament (beginning in the Meiji period ). Trophies were at first given only for undefeated records, but since draws, no decisions and absences were all possible outcomes, several wrestlers could be eligible and it did not necessarily go to
2160-426: The same record almost without exception, with ranks kept as close as possible. Outside playoff bouts, neither wrestlers from the same heya (stable) nor wrestlers related by blood are scheduled to fight each other in any division. If a wrestler has withdrawn due to injury or retirement from a scheduled bout, his opponent wins by default ( fusenshō ). A loss by default is known as fusenpai . Any remaining bouts that
2214-399: The second jūryō division and announced his retirement after 15 years in sumo. In addition to his chronic knee problems, he had been suffering from gout and a stomach ulcer. He said that in spite of his setbacks "I'm glad that I've continued with sumo, because I've learned a lot from sumo, and I've also learned the Japanese language and life style." He had spent 81 consecutive tournaments in
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2268-544: The second half of the tournament will have mainly san'yaku fighting each other, with the remainder of the ranks determined by their win–loss records up to that point. One consideration is to minimize the necessity for a tie-breaking bout, particularly if a contender for the championship is lower-ranked and has thus far faced only other lower-ranked wrestlers. In the last day, wrestlers with 7-7 records are scheduled to face each other if possible, to avoid any possibility of match-fixing where wrestlers will allow another wrestler on
2322-454: The top division as a maegashira for another four years. Now weighing over 600 pounds (270 kg), his knee injury and mobility issues meant he was susceptible to belt throws and slap downs by lighter and more agile opponents. Even though he enjoyed less success, he became progressively more popular with Japanese fans due to his continuous fighting spirit, distinctive bulk and warm, amiable personality. In November 1997, he faced demotion to
2376-475: The top division, and won 649 bouts there. Early in his career, under the instruction of his first stablemaster, Konishiki was primarily an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques such as oshi-dashi and tsuki-dashi that would win the bout as quickly as possible. Following his knee problems in 1988 and 1989, his balance suffered and as his weight continued to increase he began to change his style, preferring to bide his time by grabbing
2430-596: The unprecedented dominance of foreign wrestlers in recent years, led by the Mongolian yokozuna Asashōryū and Hakuhō, there were no Japanese-born winners between Tochiazuma Daisuke in January 2006 and Kotoshōgiku in January 2016. This drought of Japanese Yusho winners was broken by Kisenosato, who won in January 2017, securing his Yokozuna promotion, and again in March of the same year. The past few years have also brought multiple other Japanese champions. Since 1947
2484-462: The wrestlers during the tournament were found to be infected with COVID-19, the rest of the tournament would have been cancelled. The May tournament that year was cancelled as the pandemic continued in Japan. Konishiki Yasokichi Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), better known by his stage name, Konishiki Yasokichi ( 小錦八十吉 , Konishiki Yasokichi ) , is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. He
2538-482: Was conducted without spectators due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and surrounding areas. It was the first time since World War II that a basho had been closed to the general public. The move followed a request from the Japanese Government that major public events be cancelled, postponed or scaled down in order to control the spread of the virus. The Sumo Association added that if any of
2592-561: Was changed to its current name upon Hirohito's accession to the emperor's throne in December 1926. There is also a banner with the names of past winners. Both are presented by the chairman of the Sumo Association. There are also many prizes and trophies given by prefectural and foreign governments, as well as businesses. For several years the French President Jacques Chirac , a noted sumo fan, donated
2646-434: Was established. Takamiyama Torinosuke 's victory in June 1909 was the first to be declared a yūshō , and the system was formally recognised by the Japan Sumo Association in 1926 when the Tokyo and Osaka organisations merged. From June 1909 to October 1931 and from January 1940 to July 1947, there was also a group competition called Tōzai-sei ( 東西制 ) . The wrestlers were divided into two teams, East and West, and it
2700-403: Was given the name Konishiki, after the 17th Yokozuna, Konishiki Yasokichi I (see List of yokozuna ) who came from the same training stable at the end of the 19th Century, during the Meiji period in Japan, and Konishiki Yasokichi II , a komusubi in the beginning of the 20th century. Yasokichi was the sixth "Konishiki" in history, though he was the third to reach the top division. He rose to
2754-490: Was the first cancellation of a honbasho since 1946, when the May tournament was not held because of renovations to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan following damage sustained in World War II . The May 2011 tournament went ahead but was described by the Sumo Association as a "Technical Examination Tournament" rather than a full-fledged honbasho , with free admission and no prize money or trophies awarded. The March 2020 tournament
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#17327765173562808-430: Was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach ōzeki , the second-highest possible rank in the sport. During his career he won the top division championship on three occasions and came very close to becoming the first foreign-born grand champion, or yokozuna , prompting a social debate in Japan as to whether a foreigner could have the necessary cultural understanding to be deemed acceptable in sumo's ultimate rank. At
2862-458: Was the reason for his being denied promotion. The New York Times subsequently quoted Konishiki as saying, "If I were Japanese, I would be yokozuna already." The Japan Sumo Association demanded an apology. Konishiki held a press conference during which he made his apology and tearfully denied making the remarks. He insisted that The Nihon Keizai Shimbun had misinterpreted his remark, and that he had not spoken to The New York Times, and instead
2916-527: Was the team with the better overall score that was awarded a prize. Though as noted, all six divisions award a championship, the top division championship receives by far the most attention. Consequently, in addition to their prize money, top division yūshō winners receive the Emperor's Cup ( 天皇賜杯 , Tennō shihai ) . It was first donated by Hirohito , an avid sumo fan, in 1925 as the Prince Regent's cup ( 摂政宮賜杯 , Sesshō-no-miya shihai ) . It
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