This is a list of
wrestlers
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...
who have won the sumo second division ''
jūryō
Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...
''
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
since 1909, when the current championship system was established. These
official tournaments are held exclusively in Japan.
The wrestler who has won the most ''jūryō'' championships is
Masurao
is a Japanese former sumo wrestler, born in Itoda, Fukuoka Prefecture. Making his professional debut in 1979, he reached the top division in 1985. His highest rank was ''sekiwake'' and he won five special prizes in his top division career. ...
, with five.
Wakanami
Wakanami Jun (born Jun Tomiyama, 1 March 1941 – 17 April 2007) was a sumo wrestler from Iwai, Ibaraki, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi.'' He won a top division tournament championship in March 1968. He was also a sumo coach.
Career
He ...
,
Tagaryū and
Terunofuji
, lead=yes), is a Mongolian-born naturalised-Japanese professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for the Isegahama stable, he entered professional sumo in January 2011 and took the second division ''jūryō'' championship in his debut as a ''sekitori ...
are the only wrestlers to have won a ''jūryō'' championship ''after'' winning a top division or ''
makuuchi
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. 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 o ...
'' title. The only wrestlers to win the ''jūryō'' championship but never earn promotion to the top division are
Genbuyama (1927),
Sagahikari (1957),
Tochiizumi (1983),
Hidenohana
Hidenohana Yukihide (born 10 February 1965 as Yukihide Kikushima) is a former sumo wrestler from Nirasaki, Yamanashi, Japan.
One of the few professional sumo wrestlers from Yamanashi Prefecture, he was recruited by ''yokozuna'' Wajima of t ...
(1988),
Daigaku (1991),
Hakuyozan (2021) and
Tochimusashi (2022).
1958 to present
The first table below lists the champions since the six tournament system instituted in 1958. The championship is determined by the wrestler with the highest win–loss score after fifteen bouts, held at a rate of one per day over the duration of the 15-day tournament. In the event of a tie a play-off is held between the wrestlers concerned.
Names in bold mark an undefeated victory (a ''
zenshō-yūshō
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
...
''). Figures in brackets mark the number of championships earned up to that tournament for wrestlers who won the championship more than once.
''*Adachi would later become
Zaonishiki''
''*Ama would later become
Harumafuji''
''*Arakiyama would later become
Niigiyama''
''*Azumanada would later become
Misugiiso''
''*Daiki would later become
Hokutofuji
is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokorozawa, Saitama. His debut in '' maezumō'' was in March 2015, and his first ''makuuchi'' division ''honbasho'' was the Kyūshū tournament in November 2016. His highest rank has been ''komusub ...
''
''*Daikikō would later become
Terunoumi''
''*Hanada I would later become
Tochinoumi
was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He was the sport's 49th '' yokozuna'', earning promotion in 1964. He was somewhat overshadowed by his ''yokozuna'' contemporaries Taihō and Kashiwado, but he was a noted technician and ear ...
''
''*Hanada II would later become
Takanohana I
Takanohana Kenshi 貴ノ花 健士 (born Hanada Mitsuru; February 19, 1950 – May 30, 2005) was a sumo wrestler from Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was ''Makuuchi#Ōzeki, ōzeki'', which he held for fifty tournaments. As an active ''ri ...
''
''*Hoshi would later become
Hokutoumi
is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 61st ''yokozuna'' and won eight top division championships. He wrestled for Kokonoe stable, as did Chiyonofuji, and the two were the first ''yokozuna'' stablemat ...
''
''*Ishide would later become
Shunketsu''
''*Kawasaki would later become
Taiga
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...
''
''*Kirinji I would later become
Daikirin
Daikirin Takayoshi (大麒麟 將能) (20 June 1942 – 4 August 2010), born Masakatsu Tsutsumi, was a sumo wrestler from Saga Prefecture, Japan. He began his professional career in 1958 and reached his highest rank of '' ōzeki'' twelve years l ...
''
''*Kitao would later become
Futahaguro''
''*Kōtetsuyama II would later become
Itai
Itai (''ee-tai'') is a Hebrew biblical name, and also a Shona name. The name can also be written: Itai, Itahy, Ittai, Ittay, Etay, Eitay, Itay, Ytai, Etai, Itaj, Ithai, or Eatai.
Hebrew name
Itai ( he, איתי) is a Biblical name that appears ...
''
''*Mitsuruyama would later become
Shishihō''
''*Nagahama would later become
Yutakayama II''
''*Obori would later become
Ōnishiki''
''*Satō would later become
Takakeishō''
''*Takanohama would later become
Toyonoumi
Shinji Hamada (22 September 1965 – 20 November 2021), better known as Toyonoumi Shinji, was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Buzen, Fukuoka. He made his professional debut in March 1981 and reached the top division in November 1988. He was know ...
''
''*Tamanonada would later become
Tamanoshima
Tamanoshima Arata (born September 15, 1977, as Arata Okabe) is a former sumo wrestler from Izumizaki, Fukushima, Izumizaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Fukushima, Japan. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1998, reaching the to ...
''
''*Taniarashi would later become
Yamaguchi''
''*Togashi would later become
Kashiwado''
''*Uchida would later become
Yutakayama I''
''*Wakahanada would later become
Wakanohana III
is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. As an active wrestler he was known as , and his rise through the ranks alongside his younger brother Takanohana Kōji saw a boom in sumo's popularity in the early 1990s. He is the elder son of t ...
''
1909 to 1957
The following tables list the champions before the introduction of the current tournament system. The system was less regularized between years, with a different number of tournaments held at different times and in different venues, and often with a changing number of bouts fought in each tournament.
†''tournament held in September''
''*Ayazakura would later become the
Shōwa era
The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the Taishō era.
The pre-1945 and post-war Shōwa periods are almos ...
Ayagawa Gorōji
was a Japanese sumo wrestler, who is formally recognised as the second ''yokozuna''.
Ayagawa came from Tochigi prefecture and was promoted to '' ōzeki'' in 1717. According to tradition, he was the strongest wrestler in the Genbun era. He was ...
''
''*Genjiyama would later become
Nishinoumi''
''*Hakkuniyama would later become
Kashiwado''
''*Imaoshima would later become
Tatekabuto''
''*Iwahira would later become
Wakabayama
was a sumo wrestler from Yame, Fukuoka, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He earned four gold stars for defeating yokozuna. After his retirement from active competition in 1961 he became an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the nam ...
''
''*Iwakiyama would later become
Kiyomigata''
''*Kakureizan would later become
Tsurugamine
Tsurugamine Akio (26 April 1929 – 29 May 2006), real name Akio Fukuzono, was a sumo wrestler from Aira, Kagoshima, Japan. His highest rank was ''sekiwake.'' He was twice runner-up in a tournament and won 14 special prizes, including a record ...
''
''*Kanenohana would later become
Otohira''
''*Mayaoroshi would later become
Shitenryū''
''*Ononishiki would later become
Kakogawa''
''*Uranohama would later become
Urakaze''
''*Yonekawa would later become
Asashio III''
†''these tournaments were actually held the following month
''*A
yūshō
is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo.
It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Y� ...
system giving the wrestler with the best tournament record a prize was introduced by the
Mainichi
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by
In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (prev ...
newspaper in the second half of 1909, and this was officially integrated by the
JSA in 1926. All tournaments predating the second tournament of 1909 did not recognize or award a championship.''
See also
*
*
List of active sumo wrestlers
The following is an alphabetical list of all active professional sumo wrestlers in the top ''makuuchi'' division, and all those currently in lower divisions who have a Wikipedia article. Please refer to professional sumo divisions for more informa ...
*
List of past sumo wrestlers
This is a list of prominent past wrestlers (either retired or deceased) in the sport of professional sumo. They are listed in order of the year and tournament month that they made their professional debuts. The information listed below was gleaned ...
*
List of sumo tournament top division champions
This is a list of wrestlers who have won the top division (''makuuchi'') championship in professional sumo since 1909, when the current championship system was established. These official tournaments are held exclusively in Japan.
1958 to prese ...
*
List of sumo record holders
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 opportu ...
*
List of sumo stables
The following is an alphabetical list of '' heya'' or training stables in professional sumo. All belong to one of five groups, called ''ichimon''. These groups, led by the stable by which each group is named, are in order of size: Dewanoumi ''ich ...
*
List of years in sumo
*
List of yokozuna
This is a list of all sumo wrestlers who have reached the sport's highest rank of '' yokozuna''. It was not recorded on the ''banzuke'' until 1890 and was not officially recognised as sumo's highest rank until 1909. Until then, ''yokozuna'' was me ...
References
{{reflist
Sumo tournament winners
Second division champions