The day after his victory at the New Year’s tournament in Tokyo, sumo wrestler Tomokatsu Hoshoryu had to overcome the next challenge: he had to get up earlier than his tired bones would have liked. “If there hadn’t been a press conference, I would still be sleeping,” he told reporters at the home of his competition stable, Tatsunami, after laboriously raising his massive body and dressing it in a light-colored kimono. Duty is duty, but in the end the 25-year-old was happy to follow it. His success ultimately brought him more than just prize money and the Emperor’s Cup. But also the promotion to yokozuna, a sumo professional of the highest rank. In the long history of Japan’s national sport, Hoshoryu is only the 74th wrestler to receive this honor.
Sumo is more than just a sport in Japan. It is a culture from the ceremonial repertoire of the Shinto religion that the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) protects against major changes. Training methods and costumes have basically been the same for 300 years. The best wrestlers look like representatives of another era with their silk loincloths and traditional hairstyles. But the new Yokozuna Hoshoryu in particular shows that time has left its mark on the original Japanese martial arts.
Sumo is booming in Japan. The stadiums are full, the media reports a lot. But there is a youth problem. In 2024, the JSA reported that only 27 young athletes took part in the annual screening for the professional stables; In 1992 there were 160. Without foreigners there would be even fewer talents. Among the last six yokozuna there was only one native of Japan, all the others came from Mongolia.
He comes from a Mongolian wrestling family
Just like Hoshoryu. His actual name is Sugarragchaagiin Byambasuren, he comes from Ulan Bator and grew up in a wrestling family. Bökh, a Mongolian variant of wrestling, is part of the national cultural heritage and has proven to be a good preparation for sumo. The 68th yokozuna Akinori Asashoryu, Hoshoryu’s uncle, was a Bökh wrestler as a youth. Hoshoryu too. A sumo coach who was in Mongolia scouting for talent discovered him. Hoshoryu went to Japan, he impressed in youth tournaments, became a professional after high school and worked his way up with his athletic style. Hoshoryu weighs 148 kilos and is 1.88 meters tall – that’s rather light for a sumo professional.
And now the yokozuna Shingi Iinkai, the expert panel for examining yokozuna candidates, has unanimously recommended that the JSA elect Hoshoryu as the new sumo grandmaster. Also out of embarrassment because the selection is too small? It looks a bit like this. The criteria for promotion are not clearly defined. Two tournament wins in a row are considered guidance. At the November tournament in Fukuoka, Hoshoryu was second. Before that, he had only won one tournament in the first sumo league, in Nagoya in 2023. And even with his success in Tokyo, he didn’t always fight convincingly.
But the position of Grand Master was vacant. There was a spectacular announcement at the New Year’s tournament: The 73rd yokozuna Haruo Terunofuji, also a native of Mongolia, announced his retirement at the age of 33. The reason: his 176 kilo body could no longer take part. Terunofuji has knee problems and diabetes – the latter can be the side effect of a sumo career because the professionals eat a lot for their fighting weight.
No grandmaster – that hasn’t happened in sumo since 1993. This circumstance may have played a role in Hoshoryu’s promotion. The wrestler couldn’t care less. “I guess I’m not dreaming,” Hoshoryu said at the press conference about his success, before retreating to nurse his weary bones.
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