Could this be the first decade without a dai-yokozuna?
The 2020s have so far been an era of unprecedented parity in sumo, and I’m of two minds about it. In many ways this unpredictability has made the sport a lot of fun—would anyone tune in on Day 1 if we already knew who would be hoisting the Emperor’s Cup on Day 15? Maybe not, but then again, I’m not one of those who reads the end of the book first to find out what happens. I want to be swept along by the ride, and the last several years have been a crazy ride indeed, with surprise champions coming out of the woodwork and yusho races full of twists.
Yet, it is also thrilling to witness greatness, to see athletes strive for perfection and achieve dominance over their competitive peers. Throughout its modern history sumo has been a great sport in this regard. In its modern era (since the institution of the 6-basho calendar in 1958), sumo has produced at least one grand champion every decade who was head and shoulders above the rest, a “dai-yokozuna” who is forever after held up as the face of the sport in his time.
(Side note 1: there were of course dominant champions prior to 1958, but since they wrestled fewer times per year, it’s unfair to compare their records to later greats.)
(Side note 2: the term “dai-yokozuna” is itself highly subjective. There is no statistical benchmark—it’s about vibes, and is typically bestowed upon a dominant yokozuna who embodies a given era in the public perception. For our purposes today, I’m looking to make distinctions by decade, with a threshold of at least 10 yusho (1 per year) within a discrete timeframe.)
Taiho leads the way. The first truly transcendent dai-yokozuna won 30 of his 32 total yusho in the 1960s. His record would stand for 50 years, and his legacy, forever.
Next came Kitanoumi, Mr. “Hatefully Strong.” He would claim 17 of his 24 yusho in the 1970s, besting rival Wajima, who totaled 13 yusho in the same timeframe. Theirs was a fantastic rivalry, perhaps the most evenly matched of any single decade.
The 1980s were owned by “the Wolf,” Chiyonofuji. He claimed 29 of his 31 total yusho in the 80s. His next closest rival was the aforementioned Kitanoumi, who even at the tail end of his career captured 7 more yusho.
The 1990s might be dubbed the “Waka-Taka” era, but it’s the latter man who stands out. Takanohana won 20 of his 22 yusho in this decade, while his chief rival, Akebono, claimed 9.
The 2000s belonged to Mongolia. Asashoryu was nearly invincible at his peak, winning 24 of his 25 yusho in this decade, and who knows what his yusho tally might have been if a certain someone hadn’t come along in the back half to give him some real competition…
Hakuho won 12 yusho in the 2000s, but after Asashoryu’s dismissal in early 2010, sumo became a one-horse race. “The Boss” won 31 of his total 45 yusho in the 2010s, breaking Taiho’s record to cement himself as sumo’s GOAT.
This, at last, brings us to the present. The 2020s started off with promise, as Terunofuji rocketed up the banzuke and laid claim to Hakuho’s vacant throne. And yet, Teru’s injuries held him back from hitting that crucial mark set by his predecessors—10 yusho in a decade (he won 10 total, but only 9 in the 2020s). Coupling that with his frequent absences and relatively short yokozuna tenure means Teru doesn’t quite cut it as this era’s superstar.
Now the question becomes, will anyone? Time is running out. The 2020s are 2/3rds finished, and the candidate closest to the mark, Onosato, will need to first overcome his injuries and then double his yusho count. If you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have called it an inevitability, but his 2026 campaign has been woeful and I now have doubts.
Ozekis Kirishima and Aonishiki, both with 3 yusho, are next in line, but they should focus on simple promotion to the top rank first before thinking about transcending it. Behind them in line are a slew of men with 2 or 1 yusho, but none feel particularly likely. It’s nice to see the wealth (literal and figurative) get spread across the top division, but I would also regard it as a shame if this decade failed to produce a great to add to “the list.”
Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey—greatness inspires, it breathes life into old fans and draws new ones in. It’s just plain cool to watch, and it captures cultural relevance in a way parity will never be able to. For this reason, for the health of the sport, sumo needs its next generational talent to step up.
They better hurry though—there are only 20 basho left in this decade, and it’s not getting any easier to win an Emperor’s Cup.
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Terunofuji is a dai yokozuna, who peaked in the 2020s, therefore the question in my eyes is not whether there will be one dominant grand champion but whether there will be two or even three. If Onosato will find back to his pre-injury level he‘d easily top the ten yusho and with Astonishiki U never know where his boundaries will be.
Like I said, it’s all subjective. I greatly admired Terunofuji and think his comeback story is one of the best in sports history. I’m not convinced he’s a dai-yokozuna though, for a few reasons. 1) he was Yokozuna for less than 4 years. 2) he went kyujo from 13 out of 21 tournaments as Yokozuna. 3) His yusho total is impressive, but not quite top 10 on the all time list. Every other consensus dai-yok in the last 100 years won at least 12 yusho. But that doesn’t take away the fact that Teru was an incredible champion!
Terunofuji‘s problem were of course his injuries. Because of them he fought only 52 bouts against sanyaku rikishi during his reign. He won 77% of them.
These are the percentages of your dai yokozuna:
Hakuho and Taiho 82%, Chiyonofuji 80%, Asashoryu 78%, Kitanoumi 76%, Takanohana 74%.
The not quite dai (yet): Akebono 71%, Harumafuji and Onosato 69%
The other yokozuna of this century: Kakuryu and Hoshoryu 60%, Kisenosato 50%
It seems quite clear to which group Terunofuji belongs in this statistic, which to me seems a good indicator for dominance.
Of the (only) nine basho Terunofuji ended as yokozuna, he won seven.
So, on the dohyo Terunofuji was clearly a dai yokozuna, but he wasn’t there too often…
When I think of Taiho, I think “How incredible must he have been!?”. I think that not because of what % he won (I wouldn’t have known until recently), but because of how many he won. Dominance is mostly a matter of absolute numbers.
I’m with you. Not convinced re Terunofuji. Whenever he happened to grace the dohyo he was a factor. But he sat out too much to be a Dai-Yokozuna in my view. (Of course, I’m not gonna say that to his face!)
The balance between randomness and dominance in sport is interesting. When the competition is too random, it stops to matter and starts to resemble a lottery (https://youtu.be/KcygF0N504E). It is superficial and empty (like Polish football league). When there is dominance, one can admire mastery, technique, have idols, but the struggle component is missing.
I think that Hakuho had more control and better technique than anyone currently in sumo. I would like to see him facing Aonishiki.
I think you hit the nail on the head for why we haven’t been able to call anyone “dai-yokozuna” since Hakuho: injuries. Here’s the list of Yokozuna who have been promoted after Hakuho:
Haramafuji – intai in 2017 due to scandal
Kakuryu – intai in 2021; overshadowed by Hakuho
Kisenosato – intai due to injury; Yokozuna for less than 2 years
Terunofuji – the best argument for Dai-Yokozuna, but we’ve been over his injuries/absences
Hoshoryu – Inconsistent results, currently out with an injury
Onosato – Inconsistent results, still recovering from injury and this might be the best he gets
I’m not sure if we’ve just gotten unlucky for the past 10 years or so with injuries and/or durability problems to Yokozuna or if it’s something deeper for sumo that needs to be addressed. But, it’s definitely alarming to stack everything up like this to review it all. Before he went intai, Hakuho stated that some days he struggled to complete his dohyo-iri because his knees “were screaming in pain”. So, it’s for him it was more about pain tolerance and stubbornness than it was about actual durability. Which may also be true for all rikishi as we watch Aonishiki mount the dohyo with an ankle that might never fully heal.
I’m worried about this as well but I’m not sure what the fix is. Or if there is a fix. We can’t tell guys to lose weight or not hit so hard. The harsh reality of sumo, like so many pro sports, is that they’re young men’s games, because young men have young knees and backs. You get in at 21, peak at 25, and if you’re still around at 30, you’re the exception, not the rule. The whole trick is staving off injury while you make your mark but it comes for them all sooner or later.
Having a dominant Yokozuna brings with it a satisfaction of excellence witnessed … However, the current crop of good young talented rikishi brings a churn of rankings + uncertainty + anticipation of potential to be reached or denied .. i.e. strong competition by lots of talent .. a different kind of treat .. We may look back + say this era is unique in the depth of talent ..
Thank you all for these essential sum-ups! They illustrate the backbones of contemporal sumo for me. And nice bonus information, too. I never had a thought about polish football, it was all ski jumping :)
Polish football for ignorants like me is mainly Lewandowski (plus the goalkeeper of Barca).
But Ski jumping aside there is one great tennis lady from Poland: Iga Swiatek, the former number 1.
“Ronda Rousey” LMAO! Are you mentally challenged?