is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūshō'' are awarded in all six

professional sumo divisions 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. F ...

. The prize money for a top '' makuuchi'' division championship is currently 10 million yen, while for the lowest '' jonokuchi'' division the prize is 100,000 yen. A runner-up is referred to as a ''jun-yūshō.'' Perhaps surprisingly, considering that most of the interest in tournaments today revolves around who will win the ''yūshō'', the concept of a prize for a wrestler's individual performance is a relatively recent one. Legendary wrestlers such as Tanikaze and Raiden are credited today with winning many championships, but they are all unofficial and are really nothing more than a "best tournament record." The individual ''yūshō'' idea evolved gradually, from wrestlers simply picking up cash thrown into the ring by spectators after winning exciting matches (common in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

), to wrestlers being given trophies and prizes from private sponsors for performances over an entire tournament (beginning in the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

). Trophies were at first given only for undefeated records, but since draws, no decisions and absences were all possible outcomes, several wrestlers could be eligible and it did not necessarily go to the man with the most wins. In January 1900, the system recognised today began to take shape when the

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Mainichi Shinbun 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'' (pr ...

'' newspaper announced it would give a prize of a ''

keshō-mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a ...

'' decorative apron for either an undefeated record or for the fewest losses, and in the event of a tie, the wrestler who had defeated the most high-ranking opponents would win the prize. Thus the principle of an individual champion was established. Takamiyama Torinosuke's victory in June 1909 was the first to be declared a ''yūshō'', and the system was formally recognised by the Japan Sumo Association in 1926 when the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and

organisations merged. From June 1909 to October 1931 and from January 1940 to July 1947, there was also a group competition called . The wrestlers were divided into two teams, East and West, and it was the team with the better overall score that was awarded a prize. Though as noted, all six divisions award a championship, the top division championship receives by far the most attention. Consequently, in addition to their prize money, top division ''yūshō'' winners receive the . It was first donated by

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

, an avid sumo fan, in 1925 as the . It was changed to its current name upon Hirohito's accession to the emperor's throne in December 1926. There is also a banner with the names of past winners. Both are presented by the chairman of the Sumo Association. There are also many prizes and trophies given by prefectural and foreign governments, as well as businesses. For several years the French President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a Politics of France, French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to ...

, a noted sumo fan, donated a trophy. The wrestler is given replicas of all the trophies to keep. In July 2010, and again in May 2011, neither the Emperor's Cup nor any other prizes were handed out, because of controversies over illegal betting and match-fixing respectively. However, in both cases the ''yūshō'' were still official and counted on the wrestlers' records. An unbeaten 15-0 score is known as ''zenshō-yūshō'' and is fairly rare; most ''yūshō'' winning scores are either 14-1 or 13-2. The wrestler who has won the most top division ''yūshō'' is Hakuhō with 45, followed by Taihō with 32, and

Chiyonofuji , born , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler and the 58th ''yokozuna'' of the sport. Following his retirement as a wrestler, he was the stable master of Kokonoe stable until the time of his death. Chiyonofuji was considered one of the gre ...

with 31. Futabayama won 12 ''yūshō'' in an era when only two tournaments were held each year. The first foreign wrestler to win the ''makuuchi'' division ''yūshō'' was the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an born Takamiyama Daigorō in June 1972. There were no others until Konishiki Yasokichi won his first championship in November 1989. However, due to the unprecedented dominance of foreign wrestlers in recent years, led by the

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

n ''yokozuna'' Asashōryū and Hakuhō, there were no Japanese-born winners between Tochiazuma Daisuke in January 2006 and Kotoshōgiku in January 2016. This drought of Japanese Yusho winners was broken by Kisenosato, who won in January 2017, securing his Yokozuna promotion, and again in March of the same year. The past few years have also brought multiple other Japanese champions.

Playoffs

*''Any playoffs are indicated on individual wrestler articles' tournament records as one P for every other playoff challenger the wrestler faced in that tournament. Since 1947 a playoff system (''kettei-sen'') has been in place to determine the winner of the ''yūshō'' if two or more wrestlers finish with an identical score. Until then, the ''yūshō'' would go to whoever was the higher in rank, as it was presumed they had faced better quality opposition, but this caused controversy in 1928, when '' ōzeki'' Hitachiiwa was chosen over '' maegashira''

Misugiiso Misugiiso Takuya (born 11 May 1956 as Hidenori Kamisawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1971, and reached the top division in November 1977. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 2. ...

despite the fact that one of his wins had come by default. There was similar criticism when new ''maegashira'' Chiyonoyama was denied a championship in November 1945, despite winning all his matches. Playoffs with more than two wrestlers involved are fairly common in lower divisions, but have only happened a handful of times in the top division. A three way playoff occurred three times in the 1990s, with a four way playoff in March 1997 and a unique five way playoff in November 1996. In such cases lots are drawn to decide who fights first, and the first wrestler to win two consecutive bouts takes the ''yūshō''. A playoff is the only occasion in which wrestlers from the same stable (or '' heya'') and relatives can meet in tournament competition. The wrestlers who have taken part in the most top division playoffs are Takanohana II with ten (won five, lost five) and Hakuhō with ten (won six, lost four).

has the highest percentage of victories, with a perfect 6-0 playoff record.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yusho Sumo terminology Sport in Japan

Playoffs

See also

References