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Makuuchi (幕内), ormakunouchi (幕の内), is the top division ofthe six divisions of professionalsumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (rikishi), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the only division that is featured onNHK's standard live coverage of sumo tournaments. The lower divisions are shown on their satellite coverage, with only themakuuchi broadcast having bilingual English commentary.
Makuuchi literally means "inside the curtain", a reference to the early period of professional sumo, when there was a curtained-off area reserved for the top ranked wrestlers, to sit before appearing for their bouts.
Wrestlers are considered forpromotion or demotion in rank before each grand tournament according to their performance in the one previous. Generally, a greater number of wins than losses (kachi-koshi) results in a promotion, and the reverse (make-koshi) results in demotion. There are stricter criteria for promotion to the top two ranks, which are also privileged when considered for demotion.
At the top fixed positions of the division are the "titleholder" orsan'yaku ranks ofyokozuna,ōzeki,sekiwake andkomusubi. There are typically 8–12san'yaku wrestlers, with the remainder, calledmaegashira, ranked in numerical order from 1 downwards.
San'yaku (三役) literally means "the three ranks", even though it actually comprises four ranks. The discrepancy arose because theyokozuna was traditionally regarded as anōzeki with a special license to wear a particular rope around his waist and perform a distinctive ring-entry ceremony. In modern usesan'yaku has a somewhat flexible definition. This is largely because the top two ranks ofyokozuna andōzeki have distinctive differences from the lower two ranks and from each other. Therefore, a reference tosan'yaku can sometimes mean only the bottom three ranks, or in other cases onlysekiwake andkomusubi.
There must be at least onesekiwake andkomusubi on each side of thebanzuke, normally two total, but there may be more. Although there is usually ayokozuna there is no requirement for one, and it has sometimes happened that no activeyokozuna or noōzeki were listed in the ranks. If there is more than oneyokozuna but only oneōzeki, the lower rank will be filled out by designating one of theyokozuna asyokozuna-ōzeki. There is no recorded instance of there being fewer than twoyokozuna andōzeki in total.
There are a number of privileges and responsibilities associated with thesan'yaku ranks. Any wrestler who reaches one of them is entitled to purchase one of the membership shares in theJapan Sumo Association, regardless of the total number of tournaments they have spent in the topmakuuchi division. They may be called on to represent all sumo wrestlers on certain occasions. For example, when the president of the Sumo Association makes a formal speech on the opening and closing days of a tournament, he is flanked by all thesan'yaku wrestlers in theirmawashi. Similarly they may be called to assist in welcoming a VIP, such as theEmperor, to the arena.
Thesan'yaku can be split into two groups: The senioryokozuna andōzeki, and juniorsekiwake andkomusubi.
The former group have special promotion criteria and higher salaries, and have additional perks such as a higher number of junior wrestlers to assist them, an entitlement to park in the Sumo Association compound and voting rights in the election for Association directors. Senioryokozuna andōzeki also have added responsibilities. They are expected to represent wrestler views to the Association, assist in advertising events and meet event sponsors.
The latter group,sekiwake andkomusubi, have lesser responsibilities and are still eligible for one of the three special prizes, orsanshō that are awarded for exceptional performance at the end of each tournament.
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Yokozuna (横綱,IPA:[jo̞ko̞d͡zɯᵝna]) is the highest rank insumo. The name literally means "horizontal rope" and comes from the most visible symbol of their rank, the rope (綱,tsuna) worn around the waist.[1] The rope is similar to theshimenawa used to mark off sacred areas inShinto, and like theshimenawa it serves to purify and mark off its content.[1] The rope, which may weigh up to 20 kilograms (44 lb), is not used during the matches themselves, but is worn during theyokozuna'sdohyō-iri ring entrance ceremony.
As of January 2025, a total of 74 sumo wrestlers have earned the rank ofyokozuna; considering that formal record-keeping only began withTanikaze Kajinosuke andOnogawa Kisaburo in 1789, this roughly averages out to one every three years.
There are two competing legends regarding the origin of theyokozuna rank. According to one, a 9th-century wrestler named Hajikami tied ashimenawa around his waist as a handicap and dared anyone to touch it, creating sumo as it is now known in the process. According to the other, legendary wrestlerAkashi Shiganosuke tied theshimenawa around his waist in 1630 as a sign of respect when visiting the Emperor, and was posthumously awarded the title for the first time. There is little supporting evidence for either theory—in fact, it is not even certain that Akashi actually existed—but it is known that by November 1789,yokozuna starting from the fourthyokozuna,Tanikaze Kajinosuke, and the fifthyokozuna,Onogawa Kisaburō, were depicted inukiyo-e prints as wearing theshimenawa. These two wrestlers were both awardedyokozuna licences by the prominent Yoshida family.[2]
Before theMeiji Era, the titleyokozuna was conferred onōzeki who performed sumo in front of theshōgun. This privilege was more often determined by a wrestler's patron having sufficient influence rather than purely on the ability and dignity of the wrestler. Thus, there are a number of early wrestlers who were, by modern standards,yokozuna in name only. In these early days,yokozuna was also not regarded as a separate rank in the listings, but as anōzeki with special dispensation to perform his own ring entering ceremony.
At first, the Yoshida family and a rival family, Gojo, fought for the right to award a wrestler ayokozuna licence. The Yoshida family won this dispute, because the 15thyokozunaUmegatani Tōtarō I, one of the strongest wrestlers, expressed his wish that he be awarded a licence by the Yoshida family in February 1884, and Gojo licences are no longer recognized officially.
In May 1890, the nameyokozuna was written on thebanzuke for the first time due to the 16thyokozunaNishinoumi Kajirō I's insistence that hisyokozuna status be recorded. In February 1909, during the reigns of the 19thyokozuna,Hitachiyama Taniemon, and the 20th,Umegatani Tōtarō II, it was officially recognized as the highest rank. Since the establishment of theYokozuna Deliberation Council (横綱審議委員会,Yokozuna-shingi-iinkai) on 21 April 1950, wrestlers have been promoted toyokozuna by theJapan Sumo Association. The firstyokozuna promoted by the Sumo Association was the 41styokozunaChiyonoyama Masanobu.
In modern sumo, the qualifications that anōzeki must satisfy to be promoted are that he has enough power, skill and dignity/grace (品格hinkaku) to qualify. There are no absolute criteria, nor is there a set quota: there have been periods with no wrestlers atyokozuna rank, and there have been periods with as many as four simultaneously.
The power and skill aspects are usually considered with reference to recent tournament performance. Thede facto standard is to win two consecutive championships asōzeki or an equivalent performance. In the case where the "equivalent performance" criterion is used, the wrestler's record over the previous three tournaments is taken into account with an expectation of at least one tournament victory and one runner-up performance, with none of the three records falling below twelve wins. Thus, a consistent high level of performance is required. Winning two tournaments with a poor performance between them is not usually sufficient. Also, achieving runner-up performance in three consecutive tournaments is not sufficient: an example is OzekiKisenosato in 2013 and 2016. The rules are not set in stone; hence, in reaching their conclusion the Yokozuna Deliberation Council and Sumo Association can interpret the criteria more leniently or strictly and also take into account other factors, such as total number of tournament victories, the quality of the wins, and whether the losses show any serious vulnerabilities.
The issue ofhinkaku (dignity and grace) is more contentious, as it is essentially a subjective issue. For example, Hawaiian-bornōzekiKonishiki, in particular, was felt by many to be unfairly kept fromyokozuna status due to his non-Japanese origin, and many Sumo Association members even openly said that foreigners (gaijin) could never achieve thehinkaku needed to be ayokozuna. In the case of Konishiki, other issues such as his weight were also cited.[3] The debate concerning foreigners having the dignity to be ayokozuna was finally laid to rest on 27 January 1993, when Hawaiian-bornōzekiAkebono was formally promoted toyokozuna after only eight months as anōzeki. Since then, the issue of whether foreigners have the necessary dignity has become irrelevant as seven of the ten wrestlers to achieve sumo's ultimate rank following Akebono in 1993 were not born in Japan:Musashimaru in the United States andAsashōryū,Hakuhō,Harumafuji,Kakuryū,Terunofuji, andHōshōryū all in Mongolia.
Other wrestlers have also been held back. For example,Chiyonoyama in the 1950s was not immediately promoted due to his relative youth despite winning consecutive tournaments, although he later achieved the top rank.[4] On the other hand,Futahaguro was given the title ofyokozuna in 1986, despite immaturity being cited in opposition to his promotion.[5] After being promoted, he was involved in several misbehaviors that embarrassed the Sumo Association such as hitting one of histsukebito (manservant or personal assistant) over a trivial matter in a scandal that had six of his seventsukebito decide to leave him.[6] The promotion again proved to be a fiasco when it was later revealed that he had a heated argument with his stable boss, Tatsunami, and stormed out of theheya, allegedly striking Tatsunami's wife on the way. Futahaguro eventually retired after only one and a half years at the top rank and became the onlyyokozuna in sumo history ever to retire without having won at least one top division championship.
Elevation toyokozuna rank is a multi-stage process. After a tournament, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, a body of lay people (that is, not former sumo wrestlers) who are appointed by theJapan Sumo Association to provide an independent quality control onyokozuna promotion, meet and discuss the performance of the top-ranked wrestlers. Usually, at the instigation of the Japan Sumo Association, they can make a recommendation that a particularōzeki-ranked wrestler has the necessary attributes to be promoted. Their recommendation is then passed to the Judging division and then the Board of Directors of the Sumo Association who make the final decision.
If a wrestler is deemed to have met the criteria, then he will be visited in his training stable by a member of the Sumo Association Board of Directors who will formally give him the news. In the following days, atsuna or ceremonial rope will then be made in his stable, and he will practice the ring entrance ceremony with advice from a previous or currentyokozuna. Finally, he will have his inaugural ceremonial ring entry ceremony held atMeiji Shrine in Tokyo, which is usually completed within a couple of weeks of the tournament end.
As opposed to all other sumo ranks, ayokozuna cannot be demoted, but in exchange for this privilege, expectations are set very high foryokozuna where they are expected to win or at least be a serious contender for championships on a regular basis. Ayokozuna is expected to retire if he can no longer compete at the peak of the sport, or in some cases (such asFutahaguro,Asashōryū, orHarumafuji) is deemed to have not upheld the dignity of the rank. Expectations are so high that, even in the course of one tournament, ayokozuna who early on appears to be headed for a losing tournament will feel the pressure to retire. It is common and expected for ayokozuna to withdraw from a tournament with a real or imagined injury to avoid amake-koshi (a losing record) and the expectation to retire. These expectations are a large part of the reason that the promotion criteria foryokozuna are so strict in the first place.
In extremely rare instances the Yokozuna Deliberation Council can, with over two-thirds of the members in favor, issue notices toyokozuna whose performance as well as poise and character are contrary to what is expected of the rank.[7] These notices are, in increasing level of severity:
Notices have been issued three times since the council's inception in 1950:
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The formal establishment of the rank from Tanikaze's time appears to have in part come from a desire to let the very best have a separate ring entry ceremony (dohyō-iri) from the remaining top division wrestlers. Thedohyō-iri is a ceremonial presentation of all the top-division wrestlers that is held before the competitive bouts of the day. The normal ceremony for top-division wrestlers is to be introduced and form a circle around the wrestling ring (dohyō) wearing specially decorated heavy silk "aprons", calledkeshō-mawashi. A brief symbolic "dance" is carried out before filing off to change into their fightingmawashi and prepare for their bouts.
Ayokozuna, however, is introduced after the lower-ranked wrestlers and is flanked by two other top-division wrestler "assistants". The "dewsweeper" ortsuyuharai precedes theyokozuna, while the "sword bearer" ortachimochi follows him into the arena. The sword is a Japanesekatana and symbolises thesamurai status of theyokozuna. Thetachimochi will always be the more highly ranked of the assisting wrestlers. As indicated above, during the ceremony theyokozuna will wear histsuna around his waist.[1] The ceremonial aprons of all three form a matching set.
Once in the ring, theyokozuna takes centre stage and performs a much more complexritual dance. The dance can take one of two forms, one of which theyokozuna usually chooses when he is first promoted. In addition to the slightly different routine, the choice of theyokozuna's ritual can also be determined by the knot used to tie the rope around his waist: the "Unryū" style has only one loop at the back, while the "Shiranui" style has two. The styles are named after 10thyokozunaUnryū Kyūkichi and 11thyokozunaShiranui Kōemon of theEdo period, although there is no historical proof that they actually carried out the dances that have been attributed to them. Indeed, some scholars[who?] believe that earlier historians have confused the ring-entering rituals of these twoyokozuna.
When a formeryokozuna reaches the age of 60, he usually performs a special ring-entering ceremony known askanreki dohyō-iri, wearing a redtsuna, in celebration of his longevity. This ceremony first took place with the formeryokozunaTachiyama in 1937.
Theōzeki(大関), or champion rank, is immediately belowyokozuna in the ranking system. Until theyokozuna rank was introduced,ōzeki was the highest rank attainable. Technically, there must always be a minimum of twoōzeki on thebanzuke, one on the east side and one on the west. If there are fewer than two regularōzeki in practice, then one or moreyokozuna will be designated "yokozuna-ōzeki". This was seen for five tournaments from May 1981 to January 1982, when threeyokozuna (Wakanohana,Chiyonofuji andKitanoumi) fulfilled this role at various times.[12] The designation would not be used again until the March 2020banzuke, when onlyTakakeishō held theōzeki rank andKakuryū was designatedyokozuna-ōzeki.[13] In the first three tournaments of 2023, Takakeishō again was the onlyōzeki and theyokozuna-ōzeki designation was given toTerunofuji.[14][15] There is no limit to the number ofōzeki. In 2012, there were sixōzeki in the May, July, and September tournaments.
The promotion of a wrestler toōzeki is a multi-tournament process. A wrestler at the rank ofsekiwake will be considered for promotion if he has achieved a total of at least 33 wins over the three most recenttournaments, including ten or more wins in the tournament just completed. Promotion is discretionary and there are no hard-and-fast rules, though a three-tournament record of 33 wins is considered a near-guarantee. Other factors toward promotion will include tangibles such aswinning a tournament or defeatingyokozuna, as well as the wrestler's overall consistency, prowess, and quality of sumo—for example, a record ofillegal maneuvers or reliance on certaindodging techniques would count against the dignity expected of anōzeki.
Promotions are recommended by the Judging Division to the board of directors of theJapan Sumo Association. If it is a first promotion to the rank, a member of the Board of Directors will formally visit the wrestler'sstable to inform the newōzeki of his promotion. Theōzeki will usually make a speech on this occasion, promising to do his best to uphold the dignity of the rank.
During theEdo period, wrestlers often made their debuts asōzeki based on size alone, though their real competitiveness had not been tested. The system was called "guest ōzeki" (看板大関 (kanban ōzeki)). Most of these vanished from thebanzuke soon after, but a few wrestlers, notablyTanikaze Kajinosuke, remained as real wrestlers.
Like the othersan'yaku ranks, but unlike ayokozuna, anōzeki may berelegated. For anōzeki, relegation is a two-step procedure. First, theōzeki must have a losing record in a tournament (7-8 or worse), known as amake-koshi. At this point, theōzeki is calledkadoban. If he makes a winning record (8-7 or better) in the next tournament (which is calledkachi-koshi), he is restored to regularōzeki status. If, on the other hand, he suffers another losing record in the next tournament whilekadoban, he is relegated tosekiwake in the following tournament. (No matter how badly he does, he will not fall lower thansekiwake.)
If he wins ten or more bouts in this tournament, he is restored toōzeki for the following tournament. However, if he fails to win ten or more bouts, he is treated just like any other wrestler in any further attempts at being promoted back toōzeki. This system has been in place since the Nagoya Tournament of 1969. Since that time, six wrestlers have managed an immediate return toōzeki:Mienoumi,Takanonami,Musōyama,Tochiazuma (who managed it on two occasions),Tochinoshin andTakakeishō.
Mitakeumi is the only wrestler to be demoted fromōzeki after three consecutive losing records instead of two. He entered the July 2022basho atkadoban status, but withdrew in the middle of the tournament after a stablemate tested positive forCOVID-19. Under the Sumo Association's COVID protocols at the time, Mitakeumi'sōzeki rank andkadoban status were extended to the following tournament in September,[16] where he sustained another losing record and was subsequently demoted.
In addition to a salary increase, there are a number of perks associated with reachingōzeki rank:
Sekiwake (関脇,sekiwake) is the third-highest rank in professionalsumo wrestling, and is one of thesan'yaku ranks. The term is believed to derive from guarding theōzeki (大関 or 関) at his side (脇).
It represents the highest rank a wrestler can achieve by continuously making akachi-koshi (a winning record in the tournament) in tournaments. Promotion tosekiwake depends on either a space being available, which is quite common, or having a record in the previous tournament that is very convincing. Typically 11–4 or better as akomusubi is sufficient for promotion tosekiwake even with no normal space available; lower ranks need progressively more wins. There are special promotion criteria, typically a minimum of 33 wins over three tournaments, for advancement fromsekiwake toōzeki; merely recording consecutive winning records while at thesekiwake rank is not enough to advance. In the 1980s,Sakahoko stayed atsekiwake for nine consecutive tournaments without even getting close toōzeki consideration, andGoeidō was stuck at the rank for fourteen consecutive tournaments, a modern-day record, between May 2012 and July 2014, before being promoted toōzeki in September 2014.
Unlike the higher ranks ofōzeki andyokozuna, a wrestler will nearly always lose the rank immediately after having amake-koshi tournament (a losing record during a tournament). Very occasionally, however, a luckysekiwake might keep his rank even with a 7–8 record if there are no obvious candidates to replace him, as when thekomusubi and the uppermaegashira have also had losing records. This has happened five times since the six-tournaments-a-year era began in 1958, most recently with Gōeidō in July 2013. In each case, the wrestler was merely moved from thesekiwake East rank to the less prestigious West side.
For many purposes,sekiwake and thekomusubi rank are treated together as the juniorsan'yaku ranks, as opposed toōzeki andyokozuna. For example, records of number of tournaments ranked in juniorsan'yaku are often referred to in sumo publications.
For wrestlers reaching this rank, the benefits are similar to that for akomusubi. The salary is higher than for amaegashira and also the wrestler is usually called to appear to flank the chairman of theSumo Association during the speeches he makes on opening and closing days of the 15-day tournaments that are held six times a year. He may also be called on to represent the wrestlers on behalf of the Sumo Association at other events, especially if the number ofōzeki andyokozuna is low. If this is the highest rank a wrestler reaches, even if it is only for one tournament, he will always be referred to as "former sekiwake (ring name)" after his retirement, an indicator of a successful sumo career, even if not achieving the exceptional standards of the two highest ranks.
At any time, there must be a minimum of two wrestlers ranked atsekiwake. If circumstances require, this can rise typically to three or four. The minimum of two requirement means that a certain amount of luck can lead to wrestlers achieving this rank on occasion, if the performance of other wrestlers leaves no obvious candidates to fill the rank. This luck factor is less common than it is forkomusubi promotions.
Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler.
| Name | Total | First | Last | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tamagaki | 25 | October 1797 | November 1811 | Ōzeki |
| 2 | Kotomitsuki | 22 | January 2001 | July 2007 | Ōzeki |
| 3 | Hasegawa | 21 | January 1969 | January 1974 | Sekiwake |
| Kaiō | 21 | January 1995 | July 2000 | Ōzeki | |
| Kotonishiki | 21 | November 1990 | January 1997 | Sekiwake | |
| 6 | Musōyama | 20 | March 1994 | March 2000 | Ōzeki |
| 7 | Mitakeumi | 19 | November 2016 | November 2022 | Ōzeki |
| 8 | Tochiazuma | 17 | September 1997 | November 2001 | Ōzeki |
| Wakanosato | 17 | January 2001 | September 2005 | Sekiwake | |
| 9 | Nayoroiwa | 15 | May 1938 | March 1953 | Ōzeki |
| Takatōriki | 15 | July 1991 | November 1998 | Sekiwake | |
| Gōeidō | 15 | May 2009 | July 2014 | Ōzeki |
Komusubi (小結,komusubi) literally means "the little knot", the knot referring to the match-up between two wrestlers. It is the fourth highest rank insumo wrestling and is the lowest of the so-called titleholder ranks, orsan'yaku.
Atkomusubi, achieving akachi-koshi (winning record in a tournament) is not sufficient to guarantee promotion to a higher rank. Promotion to the next highest rank,sekiwake, depends on either a space being available, which is quite common, or having at least 11 wins in the previous tournament if no normalsekiwake slot is available. This general requirement can be seen by the promotion ofTochiōzan to a thirdsekiwake slot for March 2014 with 11 wins when the other twosekiwake had winning records, whileTochinoshin was not promoted with 10 wins for November 2015 in a similar situation.
For many purposes, this and thesekiwake rank are treated together as the juniorsan'yaku ranks, as opposed toōzeki andyokozuna, where extremely stringent promotion criteria exist. Records of number of tournaments ranked in juniorsan'yaku are often referred to in sumo publications because these two ranks are so difficult to retain.
For wrestlers reaching this rank, the benefits are a salary increase and also appearing to flank the chairman of theSumo Association during the speeches he makes on opening and closing days of the official tournaments, held six times a year. He may also be called on to represent the wrestlers on behalf of the Sumo Association at other events, especially if the number ofōzeki andyokozuna are low. If this is the highest rank a wrestler reaches, even if it is only for one tournament, he will always be referred to as "formerkomusubi (ring name)" after his retirement, which is an indicator of a fairly successful sumo career.
At any time, there must be a minimum of two wrestlers ranked askomusubi. If circumstances require this can rise to three or four, for example if bothkomusubi have winning records and an uppermaegashira produces such a good score that he cannot reasonably be denied a promotion. However, this is relatively rare. The minimum of two requirement means that a certain amount of luck can lead to wrestlers achieving this rank on occasion, if the performance of other wrestlers leaves no obvious candidates to fill the rank.
Komusubi is widely regarded as a difficult rank to maintain, as wrestlers at this rank are likely to face all theōzeki and yokozuna in the first week of a tournament, with ayokozuna normally scheduled for the opening day.Komusubi face mainlymaegashira in the second week, but often wrestlers new to the rank are so demoralised by this point that they lose these matches too. Few men making theirkomusubi debut return akachi-koshi or winning record in the ensuing tournament.
BeforeWorld War II, when there were fewer tournaments per year and more weight was placed on the performance at each tournament, there were several instances ofkomusubi immediately advancing toōzeki after nearly winning a tournament, but there have been no instances of this since then.
Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler.
| Name | Total | First | Last | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miyagino | 23 | October 1818 | January 1834 | Sekiwake |
| 2 | Takamiyama | 19 | November 1969 | January 1979 | Sekiwake |
| 3 | Akinoshima | 15 | November 1988 | September 2000 | Sekiwake |
| 4 | Dewanishiki | 14 | May 1950 | May 1962 | Sekiwake |
| Tochiōzan | 14 | May 2009 | September 2017 | Sekiwake | |
| 6 | Amatsukaze | 13 | March 1765 | March 1778 | Sekiwake |
| Kotonishiki | 13 | September 1990 | January 1999 | Sekiwake | |
| Tosanoumi | 13 | January 1996 | September 2003 | Sekiwake | |
| Wakabayama | 13 | January 1925 | May 1933 | Sekiwake | |
| 10 | Dewanohana | 12 | November 1979 | September 1987 | Sekiwake |
| Kisenosato | 12 | July 2006 | September 2010 | Yokozuna | |
| Ōmatoi | 12 | April 1869 | January 1877 | Sekiwake |
Maegashira (前頭) is the lowest of five ranks in the topmakuuchi division.
All themakuuchi wrestlers who are not ranked insan'yaku are ranked asmaegashira, numbered from one at the top downwards. In each rank there are two wrestlers, the higher ranked is designated as "east" and the lower as "west", so No. 1 east is treated as a higher rank than No. 1 west, and so on.[17]
The number of wrestlers inmakuuchi is fixed (at 42 since 2004) but the number insan'yaku is not. Thus, the number ofmaegashira ranks can vary, but is typically between 15 and 17. (This gives amakuuchi division split of around 10san'yaku and 32maegashira).
Movement within themaegashira ranks can be minor or extreme, depending on a wrestler's score in the previous 15-bout tournament. For example, amaegashira 2 who has an 8–7 record might only be promoted one level tomaegashira 1 for the next tournament. Conversely, amaegashira 14 who wins the division championship could be promoted as high askomusubi. Indeed, this happened in March 2000 whenTakatōriki of theFutagoyama stable won the championship with a 13–2 record.
Maegashira ranked five or below are likely to only fight amongst themselves (unless their winning record in the middle of a tournament prompts their scheduling with higher-ranked wrestlers) while those rankedmaegashira four or above are likely to have several matches againstsan'yaku wrestlers, includingōzeki andyokozuna. Wrestlers atmaegashira 1 and 2 will usually face everybody in thesan'yaku (with the exception that you cannot face someone from your own stable), and these are therefore considered very difficult ranks to maintain. If a lower-rankedmaegashira has a score which puts them in contention for the title in the second week of the tournament, it is not uncommon for them to be matched against higher-ranked opponents later in thebasho; for instance, in January 2020, the lowest-ranked wrestler in the tournament,maegashira 17Tokushōryū, was in contention for the title having only faced opponents in the lower half of thebanzuke and was matched againstōzekiTakakeisho, the highest-rankedrikishi participating in the tournament, on the final day, clinching thebasho with his victory.
When amaegashira defeats ayokozuna, it is called a gold star orkinboshi and he is rewarded monetarily for the victory for the remainder of his career. A bout where a wrestler earns akinboshi defeat of ayokozuna generally causes great excitement at a sumo venue and it is common and expected for audience members to throw their seat cushions into the ring (and onto the wrestlers) after such a bout, though this is technically prohibited.
Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler.
| Total | Wrestler | First | Last | Highest rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | Higonoumi | March 1993 | November 2001 | Maegashira 1 |
| 52 | Asanowaka | March 1994 | May 2004 | Maegashira 1 |
| Sadanoumi | May 2014 | May 2024 | Maegashira 1 | |
| Toyohibiki | July 2007 | May 2017 | Maegashira 2 | |
| 51 | Kotoryū | July 1996 | March 2005 | Maegashira 1 |
| 50 | Tokitsuumi | September 1998 | September 2007 | Maegashira 3 |
| 49 | Kitakachidoki | January 1989 | May 1998 | Maegashira 1 |
| 46 | Minatofuji | July 1993 | July 2001 | Maegashira 2 |
| 44 | Narutoumi | October 1949 | November 1960 | Maegashira 1 |
| 43 | Daiyū | May 1963 | September 1972 | Maegashira 1 |
| Hirosegawa | January 1943 | May 1958 | Maegashira 3 |
