From apostles to angry men, groups of 12 have long held particular significance in human culture.

Whether on the silver screen ("The Dirty Dozen") or the silver celestial body (the Apollo astronauts who stood on the moon), few other denominations capture the imagination in quite the same way.

Sumo, as a result of Terunofuji’s recent retirement, now also has its own elite group of 12.

That’s the number of active rikishi who have lifted the Emperor’s Cup on the final day of a tournament.

Put another way — just under 2% of the roughly 620 men that are currently participants in Japan’s national sport know what it’s like to experience success at the highest level.

It’s an eclectic group containing a mixture of rising stars, a couple of one-hit wonders (plus a two-hit wonder) and numerous “could have been a contender” type stories.

Onosato’s most recent championship puts him joint top of the list with three titles. That’s a shared honor that appears to be little more than a milestone along the young ozeki’s ascent to the top of the sport.

Among all the current rikishi with championship experience, Onosato appears to have the brightest future, and it’d be a surprise if he doesn’t soon reach the rank of yokozuna and eventually end his career with double-digit Emperor’s Cup wins.

The only other active wrestler with three titles to his name appears to be heading in the other direction.

Former ozeki Mitakeumi followed up a career-worst 2-13 effort in January with a 6-9 outing in March that should drop him to sumo’s second tier when the new rankings are announced.

The 32-year-old hasn’t had a winning record in any tournament since May 2024, and it has been three years since his last basho with double-digit wins — which occurred in a debut outing at sumo’s second highest rank.

That Mitakeumi is joint top of the current championship total leaderboard surprised many fans this week when a graphic showing the full list circulated on sumo sites and social channels.

The Dewanoumi stable man fought only 51 times as an ozeki in a stay at the rank that lasted just six months.

The irony is that if Mitakeumi’s third championship had not followed a strong outing at sekiwake, there is a possibility that he wouldn’t have been promoted and would therefore be the only non-yokozuna or non-ozeki in sumo history with three titles to his name, and likely far better known to newer fans.

In joint second place with two championships apiece is a trio of Mongolian born wrestlers.

Hoshoryu and Kirishima need no introduction to those who follow the sport in the 2020s.

The first is sumo’s only extant yokozuna and an exciting young wrestler that — Onosato apart — appears to have a future brighter than anyone else in the sport.

Hoshoryu’s failure to make it to the end of his first tournament at sumo’s highest rank brought the inevitable chorus of told-you-sos from those who felt his promotion was premature.

A lot of that criticism however seems rooted in unreasonable expectations for yokozuna created by a succession of all-time greats at the rank in recent times.

Few yokozuna can expect to come close to the numbers put up by men such as Asashoryu and Hakuho, and even the less impressive (by comparison) totals of Harumafuji and Terunofuji put them up among the best wrestlers ever to have strapped on a mawashi.

If Hoshoryu is on an upward trajectory, a fellow countryman from the same generation could be in danger of slipping into Mitakeumi type territory.

It’s not all that long since Kirishima appeared on track to achieve what Hoshoryu later did, but injuries and inconsistent form dropped him from the rank of ozeki.

While there have been bright moments over the past six months, there have also been failures to capitalize on the opportunities those bright moments engendered, making it hard to have confidence in Kirishima getting back to former heights.

In a perfect example of how expectation affects perception, Kirishima, despite going further than Tamawashi — the third Mongolian with two championships — doesn’t get the same kind of plaudits.

The 40-year-old veteran needed 11 years to reach the sanyaku ranks, and in two decades in sumo has yet to put together a back-to-back double-digit winning record at komusubi or sekiwake.

In fact, since first reaching makuuchi in 2008, Tamawashi has only had consecutive 10 or better outings in the top division on one occasion and that came nine years ago.

But the fact that he has survived in such a tough sport for so long and won trophies at an advanced age more than cancels out his relative lack of progress among fans, and Tamawashi is regularly treated as much more of a success story than Kirishima.

Seven of the 12 active men with Emperor’s Cups to their name have lifted the giant silver trophy just once.

For Asanoyama and Shodai, that was a feat that will likely not be repeated. Both former ozeki saw their career derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. In Shodai’s case it was the disease itself, with the Kumamoto native never looking quite the same after contracting COVID-19.

For Asanoyama, it was the breaking of Sumo Association COVID-19 protocols and subsequent attempt to cover up the infractions. Visits to clubs and lying to those investigating the case earned a yearlong suspension.

While the former ozeki did manage to climb back from the fourth tier upon reinstatement, the wear and tear that takes a toll on veteran wrestlers became a factor with a succession of injuries culminating in another long absence.

Three of the remaining one-time champions (Daieisho, Wakatakakage and Abi) could conceivably go all the way again at some stage, but each passing basho makes it less likely.

The remaining two (Takerufuji and Kotozakura) are still young and talented enough to make further success more likely than not — even if there are reasons for concern in both cases.

The big question of course is whether another rikishi will make the list before any of the current occupants retire.

Oho or, perhaps, Aonishiki seem the best shots to make it a baker’s dozen.