Sumo is Japan’s national sport, steeped in hundreds of years of history and tradition. But Japanese wrestlers no longer dominate sumo.

       So there was a sigh of relief in local sumo circles when Onosato Daiki of Japan was named on Wednesday as yokozuna, or grand champion, the highest title in the sport. He is the first Japanese yokozuna in eight years and only the second in 27 years, at least temporarily breaking Mongolian dominance of the elite levels of the sport.

       Yokozuna are selected by a council of elders after great achievement in the ring. There have been 75 since the 1600s, although the process was only formalized in the early 20th century. Once named a yokozuna, a wrestler can never be demoted.

       Traditionally, winning two consecutive top-division tournaments is enough to earn the yokozuna title; Onosato, as he is known, earned such titles in March in Osaka and on Sunday in Tokyo. He achieved the title after just 13 top-level tournaments, the quickest ascension since the current system came into effect in the 1950s.

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       “This is a very much unknown territory for me,” Onosato said at a news conference, as translated by Japan Today. “I want to maintain my style, be Onosato, and I will work hard to become a unique and unparalleled yokozuna.”

       There is currently one other yokozuna, Hoshoryu, a Mongolian who earned that title in January in Tokyo. In the May tournament where Onosato won his second consecutive top-division title, Hoshoryu was second, with a 12-3 record to Onosato’s 14-1.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.