Generational Shift in Sumo: Exploring Generation Z’s Dramatic Winning and Development

Hi how are you? Today’s topic is the generation Z‘s era has come in the sumo world.

Although it is still spring according to the calendar, it is already so hot every day that it feels like we have skipped spring and entered summer.

In the midst of all this, I would like to share my thoughts about the summer sumo tournament that I have been enjoying all bouts for 15 days until yesterday.

The reason for this is that many of the highest-ranking wrestlers in sumo society, in other words the strongest wrestlers, were forced to withdraw due to injuries or illness.

That left sumo fans feeling a sense of dissatisfaction and something lonely & missing for the sumo-loving spectators from the very first day, but the results were completely different when the tournament ended.

This was due to the leaps and bounds made by young wrestlers from generation Z that people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The sumo tournaments are held six times a year, spanning 15 days each: the January; First Grand Sumo Tournament (Tokyo), the March; Spring Grand Sumo Tournament (Osaka), the May; Summer Grand Sumo Tournament (Tokyo), the July Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, the September; Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament (Tokyo), and the November Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament (Fukuoka).

A couple of days ago, on May 26th, Sunday, the May Summer Grand Sumo Tournament reached its final day, where Komusubi Oonosato (23) achieved his first victory with a record of 12 wins and 3 losses.

Oonosato receives the Emperor’s Cup at Kokugikan(National Sumo Hall)

His remarkable feat lies in becoming the fastest in history to win a top division championship, achieving victory in his first appearance in the sumo ring (makuuchi) and grasping the Emperor’s Cup within a mere seven tournaments, showcasing his exceptional talent.

New komusubi Oonosato grabs 1st title at fastest pace after debut

New komusubi Oonosato clinched his first championship on May 26, setting a record for achieving the feat so quickly after making his professional debut.

“I am glad because I did not imagine winning a championship a year after my professional debut in May last year,” Oonosato said during a post-tournament interview.

He captured the Emperor’s Cup in his seventh tournament, the fastest since the championship system was established in 1909.

He rewrote the record for the fastest pace of 10 tournaments that rank-and-filer Takerufuji set in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament only in two-month ago, March.

He also became the first wrestler in 67 years to win a tournament immediately after promotion to komusubi.

Oonosato, a native of Ishikawa Prefecture where a great earthquake hit on 2024 New Year’s Day claiming as many lives as 263 and the number of evacuees is 3,320, entered the top makuuchi division in the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in January.

He was promoted to komusubi–the fourth-highest rank after yokozuna, ozeki and sekiwake–after racking up 11 wins in both of the past two tournaments.

Oonosato, who is 192 centimeters(6ft 3in) tall and weighs 181 kilograms(399 Ib), defeated yokozuna Terunofuji, as well as ozeki Kotozakura and Kirishima, in the latest tournament.

“When I made my debut last May, I couldn’t imagine winning the makuuchi division in a year’s time. Since January, winning the Emperor’s Cup became a target and not just a dream, and I’m happy to have achieved that goal.”

The new champion received his first Outstanding Performance Prize and his second straight Technique Prize. He became the first wrestler since 1999 to earn one of three “sansho” prizes in each of his first three makuuchi tournaments.

The previous record for the least-experienced grand tournament champion was set in March by Takerufuji, who triumphed in his 10th pro tournament.

Red-hot rookie Takerufuji off to historic start in Osaka tournament

Another remarkable wrestler displaying his prowess is Takerufuji (25), who won his first championship in the March Grand Sumo Tournament of this year (2024) with a record of 13 wins and 2 losses.

Takerufuji receives the Emperor’s Cup at Edion Arena Osaka

What’s impressive about him is his outstanding performance as a newcomer to the top division, securing 11 consecutive victories from the opening day with his lightning-fast aggressive sumo style, culminating in his first championship victory.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. Football. Bloody hell. But they never gave in. And that’s what won it.”

(namely frontal push out and frontal force out), Takerufuji utilizes a straight-ahead traditional style that is sure to endear him to purists

Newcomer Takerufuji cutting a swath through sumo’s top division has been the undoubted highlight of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament thus far.
In remaining unbeaten over the meet’s first 11 days, Takerufuji equaled all-time great Taiho’s record for the best-ever start to a tournament on the clay by a top-tier rookie.

The Isegahama stable man stands atop the leaderboard as the tournament heads towards its final weekend, and is also in with a great chance of becoming the first makuuchi division debutant to win a championship in 110 years.

Takerufuji (left) wins his bout over Oonosato in Osaka

In Japan’s national sport the vast majority of titles are won by yokozuna, and, whenever grand champions fail to shine, an ozeki normally takes home silverware.

Championships by maegashira-ranked wrestlers meanwhile are far less common, but, as has been seen recently, they can come in bunches when there is a generational change at the top of the sport.

Maenoumi, the sumo commentator, evaluated Oonosato’s and Takarafuji’s performances as marking the opening of a new era.

(left)Takerufuji 　　　 (right)Oonosato

Accelerating Generational Change?

Chairman Yamauchi of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council (emeritus professor of the University of Tokyo) expressed concern at a press conference the following day, stating, “It’s becoming increasingly common for wrestlers below the makuuchi division, even those in the lower ranks, to win championships. Without the rise of top-ranked wrestlers like yokozuna and ozeki, the ranking system could lose its significance.”

As other top-ranked wrestlers reveal their inadequacies/ineptitude, will they continue to decline?

Chairman Yamauchi, upon inspecting the summer tournament at the Kokugikan, expressed his realization of the generational shift on the dohyo (sumo ring), saying, “While I thought the generational shift was progressing quietly, it’s actually proceeding quite drastically.

Especially, during the year-long stagnation of Asanoyama in yotsu-sumo and Takakeisho in oshi-sumo, new wrestlers have emerged at an astonishing pace. Overall, it’s clear that new talents are rising.”

(left)Takakeisho 　　　 (right)Asanoyama

AsanoYama, however, just five years ago (2019) won the same summer tournament and received a gifted cup from the former US President Trump

Top officials who previously eyed Sekiwake Takakeisho (Tokitsukaze) and former Ozeki Komusubi Asanoyama (Takasago) as potential yokozuna candidates have repeatedly withdrawn from tournaments over the past year, including the summer tournament.

Witnessing the rise of young talents like Oonosato, they foresee, “People even younger than Takakeisho and Asanoyama might emerge as the next generation of yokozuna.”

Watch for future battles between old and new sumo wrestlers

In addition to the outstanding performances of Oonosato and Takerufuji this year, young wrestlers continue to strive through rigorous daily training.

Furthermore, in the past year or two, two other wrestlers, Kotozakura and Houshouryu, both considered as potential yokozuna candidates as both of them are already Ozeki, are close to Generation Z, and there are high expectations for their future achievements.

 
 

 
 
Houshouryu from Mongolia

Finally, please look into sumo by browsing “Sumo is a 2,000-year-old history that is the national sport of Japan“　and U.S. President Trump presents the “President’s Cup” to Sumo Tournament winner which would be well-worth visiting, you bet, thanks