Kashiwado carved out place despite presence of legend
There have been a few rikishi in the history of sumo whose careers have been akin to supermassive black holes — so overwhelmingly dominant that nothing can escape their presence. It can sometimes seem as if the achievements of virtually everyone who competed in the ...
Hakuho pulls out of New Year meet with fever after losing two straight bouts
Hakuho, winner of the Kyushu basho in November and one of two yokozuna on the banzuke for the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, withdrew from the first meet of the year on Wednesday. The 34-year-old began his quest for a record-extending 44th career championship on ...
Hakuho's many accomplishments make him the greatest of all time
Sumo has been around in various forms for over 2,000 years. Even what we can call the modern form of the sport has existed since the 1600s. It's hardly surprising when dealing with a timeframe of centuries or millennia that the number of all-time-great rikishi is ...
Yokozuna Hakuho, a record 42-time sumo grand champion, has acquired Japanese citizenship after relinquishing his Mongolian nationality, an official government publication showed Tuesday. Although Japanese nationality is not required to compete in sumo, citizenship is necessary if a wrestler wishes to progress to become a ...
Kakuryu wakes up a winner after lifting Emperor's Cup in Nagoya
Yokozuna Kakuryu said he woke up to a blissful Monday morning, after winning his sixth top-division title at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. "I woke up feeling really great. I was more focused than usual," Kakuryu said of his impressive 14-1 performance at Dolphins Arena, ...
Retirement ceremonies often full of emotion
It's no secret that difficulty in procuring tickets is one of the main hurdles preventing overseas visitors from being able to watch sumo in person. In recent years, third-party agents, some catering almost exclusively to foreign tourists, have provided fans with an alternative means of ...
Predicting next yokozuna a formidable task
When veteran sumo journalists get together and the conversation turns, as it inevitability does, to up-and-coming wrestlers, talk is rarely of who will be the next yokozuna. Most writers or commentators are only willing to hypothesize rikishi with the ability to reach sanyaku (the three ...
Ex-yokozuna Futahaguro died in February at age 55, wife announces
Former yokozuna Futahaguro, who quit sumo after a series of personal issues, died on Feb. 10 at the age of 55, his wife, Yoshie, revealed Friday. Futahaguro, whose real name was Koji Kitao, died of the chronic kidney disease he has been battling since 2013. A ...
Sumo lacks marquee rivalries of recent times
The upcoming Spring Grand Sumo Tournament seems to have everything going for it. The basho kicks off with a wealth of storylines. One is a tale of vengeance as Takakeisho seeks to correct the record on his controversial non-promotion to sumo's second-highest rank. Others involve veterans like ...
Yokozuna Hakuho emerged in pole position for his push for a 42nd career championship when the rankings for March's Spring Grand Sumo Tournament were published Monday. For the first time in exactly five years, wrestlers will enter the raised ring with just two yokozuna at ...
Despite injuries, Kisenosato embodied rikishi ideals
Kisenosato's retirement, while both inevitable and expected, casts a pall over the ongoing tournament. The veteran yokozuna has been one of sumo's most popular wrestlers over the past decade and a half. Initially a bright young talent whose rapid rise was catnip to a Japanese public ...
Hiroshi Wajima, lone yokozuna with college degree, dies at 70
Former yokozuna Wajima, who won elite makuuchi division tournaments 14 times in the 1970s and 1980s, and was known for his left-arm throwing technique, has died at age 70, his family said Tuesday. Wajima died in his Tokyo home on Monday. In recent years he ...
