And then there were 27 — little replicas of the Emperor's Cup atop the yokozuna's mantelpiece that is.
In taking his latest championship Sunday at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, sumo's greatest-ever foreign yokozuna moved to within five titles of the all-time record of 32 yusho held by the legendary Taiho, a record he could well equal in the middle of 2014, should he continue in his current form.
At the moment, this possibility now appears more just a matter of time than a "will he, won't he" question. And in reality, there is very little bar career ending injury that could stop the man born Davaajargal Monkhbat.