Mochikyūkin

is a system of payment for sumo wrestlers that supplements the basic salary that '' sekitori'' earn.

This bonus is calculated using a fairly complex formula. When a wrestler enters professional sumo, he is credited with 3 yen. Every time he achieves '' kachi-koshi'' (more wins than losses) in a tournament, this value increases by 0.5 yen (or 50 ''sen'') for each additional win over the number of losses (e.g. 1.5 yen for a 9-6 record). No deduction is made for a '' make-koshi'' record.

There are minimum values of ''mochikyūkin'' that are paid to wrestlers of different rank (''jūryō'', '' makuuchi'', '' ōzeki'' and '' yokozuna''), should they not be eligible for a greater amount already. If a wrestler is subsequently demoted, any amount awarded through these minimums in excess of that earned via the wrestler's win-loss record will be deducted again from the ''mochikyūkin'' account. The minimum values for the respective levels are 40 yen for ''jūryō'', 60 yen for ''makuuchi'', 100 yen for ''ōzeki'' and 150 yen for ''yokozuna''.

There are two ways to obtain a big jump in the ''mochikyūkin''. Winning the ''makuuchi yūshō'' (championship) gives a bonus of 30 yen, which increases to 50 yen if the championship was won with a "perfect" (15-0) record. A '' maegashira'' will receive a 10 yen bonus if he can defeat a '' yokozuna'' during a tournament. Such a win is called a '' kinboshi'' (lit. gold star).

The value of the ''mochikyūkin'' account is multiplied by a predefined number to give the actual distributed monetary bonus, which is paid six times a year (once for each tournament) to the ''sekitori'' wrestlers; the current multiplier, since the year 1998, is 4000.

This means that, as an example, a ''kinboshi'' victory will be worth ¥240,000 per annum additional income for the remainder of the wrestler's career. Although he never won the makuuchi championship, former '' sekiwake'' Akinoshima won 16 ''kinboshi'' during his career, which gave him a ''mochikyūkin'' account that was larger than those of many ''ōzeki''.

With its strong bias towards large ''kachi-koshi'' scores and top division championships, the highest ''mochikyūkin'' accounts are credited to the strongest ''yokozuna''. ''Mochikyūkin'' accounts of over 1000 yen (corresponding to an additional income of 24 million yen per year) have been achieved by the very strongest ''yokozuna'' such as Taihō, Chiyonofuji and Hakuhō.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mochikyukin
Sumo terminology