One of the more exciting rikishi of 2023 has been Hakuoho, a high school and corporate sumo champion, recruited into professional sumo by Miyagino stablemaster (former yokozuna Hakuho).

In July, the 19-year-old rookie sensation came within a whisker of being the first top-division debutant in 109 years to claim the Emperor’s Cup.

Hakuoho’s performance in Nagoya was one for the ages, and made even more remarkable by the fact that the Tottori native had taken part in his first-ever professional sumo bout just seven months earlier.

With ōzumo tournaments (and accompanying chances for advancement) taking place bimonthly, it normally takes even the most promising of prospects two years or more to work their way up through the sport’s six divisions, and get into position to challenge for its highest honors.

Hakuoho, however, benefited from a system known as tsukedashi, in which accomplished amateurs are rewarded for their successes with advanced starting positions in the professional ranks.

Rather than begin ōzumo life, like most do, at the bottom of the sixth tier, Hakuoho’s status of corporate yokozuna saw him placed near the top of sumo’s third-division makushita ahead of his debut tournament in January.

Fighting under his real name of Tetsuya Ochiai, the teenager went unbeaten and became the first wrestler in modern sumo history to advance to the salaried divisions after just one tournament.

He’ll likely also be the last.

On Sept. 28, the Japan Sumo Association decided to do away with the makushita 10 and 15 tsukedashi starting points that were introduced in 2001, and instead expand the number of tsukedashi slots at the bottom of tiers three and four.

Under the new system, anyone reaching the quarterfinals of the All-Japan Championships, All-Japan Student Championships or National Sports Festival will be eligible to join ōzumo at the lowest rank in makushita.

Those who make it to the last 16 in those tournaments, as well as the top four finishers in two major tournaments for school-age kids, will receive dispensation to start their professional careers at the bottom of the fourth-division sandanme.

The increased number of tsukedashi slots is significant, and ostensibly aimed at getting more promising youngsters into ōzumo and combating a decline in recruitment numbers.

Sumo’s lower divisions are harsh and the prospect of a shortened tenure there, with earlier-than-normal opportunities to shoot for promotion to the salaried ranks, may indeed tempt those who are on the fence into entering the sport.

Life in sandanme or makushita is no picnic, but it’s certainly preferrable to being in the lowest two divisions (jonidan and jonokuchi). It would be a surprise if there weren’t at least a handful of high school or collegiate wrestlers for whom the prospect of avoiding being bossed around by 15-year-olds who outrank them wasn’t attractive enough to sway them into turning pro.

From a recruiting point of view, this latest JSA move is one to be welcomed.

Much of the attention will go on the removal of the higher makushita tsukedashi exemptions — especially with the recent successes of rising stars such as Hakuoho and Onosato — but at the end of the day that decision will have little consequence, apart from impacting certain promotion speed records.

Amateur and collegiate yokozuna that intended to turn pro under the old system are unlikely to choose a completely different life path over having to spend an additional one or two tournaments in the third tier.

From a practical point of view, being showered with all the rewards that sekitori life brings, without having experienced at least six-to-nine months of lower division grind, isn’t all that conducive to creating well-balanced individuals, who are appreciative of what they have.

It may be a cliche, but the notion of management starting out by working on the factory floor or in the warehouse — to better understand the company they are being primed to run — has validity.

Taking a wider view, the new system, while welcome, needs to be just the first step in ensuring sumo remains attractive to new recruits.

Last week’s rule changes are positive, but they are aimed at young adults and kids already involved in sumo on an amateur level.

While that is doubtless the most fertile ground for finding future ōzumo rikishi, fostering conditions that lead to an increase in the number of children participating in sumo should also be a priority.

Such an approach would not only widen and deepen the talent pool, but also create a larger fanbase, and help deepen sumo’s connection with the public at large.

It may require the creation of an entirely new form of the sport.

Rising awareness of the dangers of concussion — and the long-term repercussions of even seemingly minor impacts to the head — is undoubtedly a reason that an increasing number of parents have been steering their children away from contact sports in recent years.

Among alternatives gaining traction are sports such as flag football, the noncontact version of American football that has seen massive growth worldwide over the past decade or so.

Flag football has become so popular among all genders and ages that future inclusion in the Olympics — perhaps as early as 2028 Los Angeles Games — seems a foregone conclusion.

It’s also created a whole new demographic of NFL fans across the globe who buy merchandise, attend games and subscribe to streaming services.

Exactly what form a more inclusive and safer version of sumo could take isn’t clear, but the JSA and other governing bodies would be wise to research ways to create one and continue to lower the barriers of participation in the national sport.