Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Sumo Wrestling's Newest Ozeki - Tochinoshin!

I first want to congratulate Yokozuna Kakuryu for his 5th Yusho (tournament win).  He was dominate over the 15 days and easily handled both Hakuho and Tochinoshin.  Here are Kakuryu's two latest cards in the 2018 BBM Rikishi set.



We also have sumo's newest Ozeki.  Sekiwake Tochinoshin was notified this weekend that he would be listed as an Ozeki on the banzuke.  According to Sumo Reference, Tochinoshin is sumo's 257th Ozeki with 56 of those Ozeki going on to become Yokozuna.  Congrats to Tochinoshin.  Here are two of Tochinoshin's cards from the 2018 BBM Rikishi Set as well.

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5 comments:

  1. FujiMay 29, 2018 at 10:36 PM

    What exactly is an Ozeki? Is it a specific level? And is Yokozuna the champion?

    By the way... I received the huge box you sent my way last week. Looking forward to busting it open this weekend. Thanks in advance!

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  2. SumoMenkoManMay 30, 2018 at 3:25 AM

    Hey Fuji, glad the box arrived....some random stuff I picked up while back here temporarily in the United States.

    Here is the rank structure of the top division for sumo, with the highest rank being Yokozuna:

    Yokozuna
    Ozeki
    Sekiwake
    Komusubi
    Maegashira

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    Replies
    1. FujiMay 30, 2018 at 5:42 AM

      Is there only one Yokozuna, one Ozeki, etc. at a time? And once you make Yokozuna, are you one for life? Or can you be demoted back down to Ozeki?

      Thanks in advance for the sumo lessons.

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    2. SumoMenkoManMay 30, 2018 at 2:05 PM

      Hey Fuji. Thanks for the additional questions. I forget sometimes some of the readers might not be familiar with the rank system. There is no limit to the number of wrestlers in the Yokozuna rank. There have been between 0 and 5 Yokozuna at one time. And once you make Yokozuna, you will never be demoted, but if you have poor perfomanaces you will be asked to retire. Ozeki is the same with an unlimited number of Ozeki. However, after two losing records at Ozeki, you will be demoted to Sekiwake. If you can get at least 10 wins in the tournament after being demoted, you can gain the Ozeki rank back. The Sekiwake and Komusubi ranks have at least two in each rank...sometimes three or four if certain rikishi are doing well. The total number of wrestlers in the top division (Maegashira, Kimusubi, Sekiwake, Ozeki, and Yokozuna) is capped at 40. So if there are more at the top ranks, they eliminate some of the Maegashira ranks.

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    3. FujiJune 3, 2018 at 6:45 AM

      Great information. Thank you for taking the time to break things down for me.

      Delete

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