List of sumo record holders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of records held by wrestlers of professional sumo. Only performances in official tournaments or honbasho are included here. Since 1958, six honbasho have been held every year, giving wrestlers from the modern era more opportunities to accumulate championships and wins. Before this, tournaments were held less frequently; sometimes only once or twice per year.
Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler.
The tables are up to date as of the end of the May 2026 tournament.
Most top division championships
Most career championships
+ Raiden is said to have had the best record in 28 tournaments between 1790 and 1810, Tanikaze 21 between 1772 and 1793, and Kashiwado 16 between 1812 and 1822. Tachiyama won two unofficial championships and nine official, giving him a total of 11. |
Most undefeated championships
+ Tournaments have been consistently fifteen days long since May 1949. Before that date there were a number of different lengths, including ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen days. The records of Tachiyama, Tochigiyama and Tsunenohana also include some draws, holds and rest days. |
Most consecutive championships
+ Four of these titles were in perfect tournaments (zenshō-yūshō) and were part of Hakuhō's second-place streak of 63 consecutive wins. |
Most championship playoffs
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Most wins
Most career wins
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Most top division wins
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Most wins in a calendar year
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Most consecutive wins
| Name | Wins[a] | Start | End | Duration | Defeated by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Futabayama | 69 | 7 January 1936 | 3 January 1939 | 2 years, 11 months and 27 days | Akinoumi |
| 2 | Tanikaze | 63 | 1 October 1778 | 6 February 1782 | 3 years, 4 months and 5 days | Onogawa |
| Hakuhō | 63 | 23 January 2010 | 15 November 2010 | 9 months and 19 days | Kisenosato | |
| 4 | Umegatani I | 58 | 1 April 1876 | 8 January 1881 | 4 years, 9 months and 7 days | Wakashima |
| 5 | Tachiyama | 56 | 9 January 1912 | 7 May 1916 | 4 years, 3 months and 28 days | Tochigiyama |
| 6 | Chiyonofuji | 53 | 7 May 1988 | 27 November 1988 | 6 months and 20 days | Ōnokuni |
| 7 | Taihō | 45 | 2 September 1968 | 2 March 1969 | 6 months | Toda |
Most consecutive wins from sumo debut
| Name | Wins[b] | Start | End | Defeated by | Jūryō debut | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jōkōryū[b] | 27 [+2|-1] | July 2011 | January 2012 | Senshō | May 2012 | komusubi |
| 2 | Itai | 26 [+1] | November 1978 | May 1979 | Ōnishiki | September 1979 | komusubi |
| Tochiazuma II | 26 [+3] | January 1995 | September 1995 | Dewaarashi | May 1996 | ōzeki | |
| 4 | Ōshōryū | 24 [+2] | July 2019 | January 2020 | Kotodaigō | yet to earn salary | makushita 2 |
| 5 | Tokitenkū | 22 [+2] | September 2002 | March 2003 | Furuichi | March 2004 | komusubi |
| 6 | Kototenzan | 21 [+1] | January 1986 | July 1986 | retired | never earned salary | makushita 43 |
| Enhō | 21 [+2] | May 2017 | November 2017 | Jōkōryū | March 2018 | maegashira 4 | |
| Hokuseihō | 21 [+0] | July 2020 | March 2021 | Tokihayate | September 2021 | maegashira 6 | |
| Fujiseiun[b] | 21 [+1|-1] | May 2021 | November 2021 | Kamito | May 2023 | maegashira 6 | |
| Asahifuji | 21 [+3] | January 2026 | ongoing | undefeated | yet to earn salary | sandanme 6 |
Best top division win ratios
All timeThe list includes yokozuna and ōzeki (the highest rank before the yokozuna rank was introduced), but excludes so-called kanban or "guest ōzeki" (usually big men drawn from local crowds to promote a tournament who would never appear on the banzuke again) and wrestlers for which insufficient data is available.
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Modern eraIn 1927, the Tokyo Sumo Association merged with the Osaka Sumo Association to form the Japan Sumo Association, and most of the sumo systems were changed, so any pre-1927 records are disregarded. The list excludes active wrestlers.[c] Among active wrestlers, at the end of the March 2026 tournament, Onosato had 146 wins against 53 losses, giving a ratio of 73.4%.
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Most bouts
Losses by default are excluded.
Most career bouts
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Most top division bouts
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Most consecutive bouts
Most consecutive career bouts
* No bouts missed in career/career to date |
Most consecutive top division bouts
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Most tournaments
The March 2011 and May 2020 tournaments were cancelled for all wrestlers and are disregarded in these totals.
Tournaments sat out by individual wrestlers are included, with the exception of "outside the banzuke" status (banzuke-gai).
Most tournaments ranked in the top division
Most tournaments ranked at yokozuna
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Most tournaments ranked at ōzeki
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Most tournaments ranked at komusubi or sekiwake
Most career tournaments
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Progress to top division
The table for the fastest progress shows wrestlers with the fewest tournaments from their professional debut to their top division debut since the six tournaments a year system was introduced in 1958. It excludes makushita tsukedashi and sandanme tsukedashi entrants who made their debut in the third makushita division and the fourth sandanme division.
Fastest progress to top division
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Slowest progress to top division
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Most special prizes
Special prizes (sanshō) were first awarded in 1947. They are given to wrestlers ranked sekiwake, komusubi or maegashira in acknowledgement of exceptional tournament performance.
| Name | Total | F | O | T | Years | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akinoshima | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 1988–1999 | sekiwake |
| 2 | Kotonishiki | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 1990–1998 | sekiwake |
| 3 | Kaiō | 15 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1994–2000 | ōzeki |
| 4 | Tsurugamine | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 1956–1966 | sekiwake |
| Asashio | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1979–1983 | ōzeki | |
| Takatōriki | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1990–2000 | sekiwake | |
| 7 | Musōyama | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1994–2000 | ōzeki |
| Tosanoumi | 13 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1995–2003 | sekiwake | |
| Kotomitsuki | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2000–2007 | ōzeki | |
| Takayasu | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2013–2025 | ōzeki |
Most gold stars
Gold stars (kinboshi) were first awarded in 1930. They are given to maegashira ranked wrestlers who defeat a yokozuna, excluding wins by default or in a playoff.
| Name | Total | Years | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akinoshima | 16 | 1988–1999 | sekiwake |
| 2 | Takamiyama | 12 | 1968–1978 | sekiwake |
| Tochinonada | 12 | 1998–2008 | sekiwake | |
| 4 | Tosanoumi | 11 | 1995–2003 | sekiwake |
| 5 | Kitanonada | 10 | 1954–1961 | sekiwake |
| Haguroyama | 10 | 1955–1961 | sekiwake | |
| Tsurugamine | 10 | 1955–1961 | sekiwake | |
| Dewanishiki | 10 | 1949–1963 | sekiwake | |
| Ōzutsu | 10 | 1979–1986 | sekiwake | |
| 10 | Mitsuneyama | 9 | 1944–1957 | ōzeki |
| Tamanoumi | 9 | 1953–1958 | sekiwake | |
| Hasegawa | 9 | 1965–1974 | sekiwake | |
| Fujizakura | 9 | 1973–1981 | sekiwake | |
| Takatōriki | 9 | 1990–1998 | sekiwake | |
| Ichinojō | 9 | 2014–2022 | sekiwake |
Youngest yokozuna at time of promotion
| Yokozuna | Birthday | Date of promotion | Age at promotion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kitanoumi | May 16, 1953 | July 24, 1974 | 21 years, 2 months, 8 days |
| 2 | Taihō | May 29, 1940 | September 27, 1961 | 21 years, 3 months, 29 days |
| 3 | Hakuhō | March 11, 1985 | May 30, 2007 | 22 years, 2 months, 19 days |
| 4 | Takanohana II | August 12, 1972 | November 23, 1994 | 22 years, 3 months, 11 days |
| 5 | Asashōryū | September 27, 1980 | January 29, 2003 | 22 years, 4 months, 2 days |
| 6 | Kashiwado | November 29, 1938 | September 27, 1961 | 22 years, 9 months, 29 days |
| 7 | Futahaguro | August 12, 1963 | July 23, 1986 | 22 years, 11 months, 11 days |
| 8 | Terukuni | January 10, 1919 | May 27, 1942 | 23 years, 4 months, 17 days |
| 9 | Akebono | May 8, 1969 | January 27, 1993 | 23 years, 8 months, 19 days |
| 10 | Hokutoumi | June 22, 1963 | May 20, 1987 | 23 years, 10 months, 28 days |
See also
Notes
- The winning streaks of Tanikaze, Umegatani, and Tachiyama were interrupted by draws and rest days. The others listed were all wins only.
- The official statistic does not include playoff or maezumo bouts. Wins or losses in a playoff are denoted as [+1|-1], no playoff participation as [+0]. Jōkōryū lost the jonidan playoff to Watanabe in September 2011. Fujiseiun lost the jonidan playoff to Osanai in July 2021.
- Losses by default are excluded, but wins by default are included; as is standard in sumo records.
References
- Japan Sumo Association
- Sumo Reference
- The Sumo Colosseum
- Grand Sumo, Lora Sharnoff, Weatherhill, 1993. ISBN 0-8348-0283-X