Yokozuna / Grand Champion
横綱
The highest and only lifetime rank in professional sumo, awarded solely to wrestlers with exceptional results and exemplary conduct.
Quick Facts
Definition
Yokozuna is the pinnacle of the professional sumo hierarchy, and unlike lower ranks, once awarded it can never be lost through demotion; a wrestler may only retire voluntarily or be pressured to do so after a prolonged slump. Promotion is decided by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council within the Japan Sumo Association, based not only on sporting results (typically two consecutive tournament championships at the ōzeki rank) but also on hinkaku, the dignity and character deemed worthy of the highest rank. A yokozuna holds the exclusive right to perform a special version of the dohyō-iri ring-entering ritual while wearing a suspended rope (shimenawa) around his waist, symbolizing his purity and connection to Shinto tradition. This ritual exists in two styles, Shiranui and Unryū, differing in the arm gesture used at its climax. Because the standards are extremely strict, only a handful of yokozuna are active at any given time, and the rank has occasionally remained vacant for years.
Related Terms
An elevated clay ring 4.55 m in diameter on which sumo bouts are fought, its boundary marked by half-buried straw bales called tawara.
Shikiri / Pre-Bout Ritual仕切りA repeated ritual of crouching and staring down the opponent by which sumo wrestlers build psychological pressure before the actual clash (tachiai).
Tachiai / Initial Charge立合いThe moment both sumo wrestlers explode from their crouch into first contact simultaneously, a moment that often decides the rhythm and outcome of the entire bout.