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 opportunities to accumulate championships and wins. Before this, tournaments were held less frequently; sometimes only once or twice per year.
Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler. The tables are up to date as of the end of the March 2024 tournament.
Most top division championships
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Most career championships
+ Raiden is said to have had the best record in 28 tournaments between 1790 and 1810, Tanikaze 21 between 1772 and 1793, and Kashiwado 16 between 1812 and 1822. Tachiyama won two unofficial championships and nine official, giving him a total of 11.
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Most undefeated championships
+ Tournaments have been consistently fifteen days long since May 1949. Before that date there were a number of different lengths, including ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen days. The records of Tachiyama, Tochigiyama and Tsunenohana also include some draws, holds and rest days.
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Most consecutive championships
+ Four of these titles were in perfect tournaments (zenshō-yūshō) and were part of Hakuhō's second-place streak of 63 consecutive wins.
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Most championship playoffs
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Most wins
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Most career wins
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Most top division wins
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Most wins in a calendar year (90 bouts)
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Most consecutive wins
| Name | WinsTemplate:Efn | Start | End | Duration | Defeated by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Futabayama | 69 | 7 January 1936 | 3 January 1939 | Script error: No such module "age". | Akinoumi |
| 2 | Tanikaze | 63 | 1 October 1778 | 6 February 1782 | Script error: No such module "age". | Onogawa |
| Hakuhō | 63 | 23 January 2010 | 15 November 2010 | Script error: No such module "age". | Kisenosato | |
| 4 | Umegatani I | 58 | 1 April 1876 | 8 January 1881 | Script error: No such module "age". | Wakashima |
| 5 | Tachiyama | 56 | 9 January 1912 | 7 May 1916 | Script error: No such module "age". | Tochigiyama |
| 6 | Chiyonofuji | 53 | 7 May 1988 | 27 November 1988 | Script error: No such module "age". | Ōnokuni |
| 7 | Taihō | 45 | 2 September 1968 | 2 March 1969 | Script error: No such module "age". | Toda |
Most consecutive wins from entry into sumo
| Name | WinsTemplate:Efn | Start | End | Duration | Defeated by | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jōkōryū | 27 | 11 July 2011 | 20 January 2012 | Script error: No such module "age". | Senshō | Komusubi |
| 2 | Itai | 26 | 12 November 1978 | 16 May 1979 | Script error: No such module "age". | Ōnishiki | Komusubi |
| Tochiazuma II | 26 | 15 January 1995 | 12 September 1995 | Script error: No such module "age". | Dewaarashi | Ōzeki | |
| 4 | Ōshōryū | 24 | 8 July 2019 | 18 January 2020 | Script error: No such module "age". | Kotodaigō | Makushita 7 |
| 5 | Tokitenkū | 22 | 8 September 2002 | 11 March 2003 | Script error: No such module "age". | Furuichi | Komusubi |
| 6 | Kototenzan | 21 | 12 January 1986 | 20 July 1986 | Script error: No such module "age". | retired | Makushita 43 |
| Enhō | 21 | 15 May 2017 | 13 November 2017 | Script error: No such module "age". | Jōkōryū | Maegashira 4 | |
| Hokuseihō | 21 | 19 July 2020 | 15 March 2021 | Script error: No such module "age". | Tokisakae | Maegashira 6 | |
| Fujiseiun | 21 | 10 May 2021 | 15 November 2021 | Script error: No such module "age". | Kamito | Juryo 6 | |
| 10 | Akiseyama | 20 | 10 March 2008 | 25 July 2008 | Script error: No such module "age". | Surugatsukasa | Maegashira 12 |
| Tsurugishō | 20 | 9 March 2014 | 25 July 2014 | Script error: No such module "age". | Hienriki | Maegashira 6 | |
| Aonishiki | 20 | 12 November 2023 | 22 March 2024 | Script error: No such module "age". | Nagamura | Maegashira 1 |
Best top division win ratios
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All timeThe list includes yokozuna and ōzeki (the highest rank before the yokozuna rank was introduced), but excludes so-called kanban or "guest ōzeki" (usually big men drawn from local crowds to promote a tournament who would never appear on the banzuke again) and wrestlers for which insufficient data is available.
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Modern eraIn 1927, the Tokyo Sumo Association merged with the Osaka Sumo Association to form the Japan Sumo Association, and most of the sumo systems were changed, so any pre-1927 records are disregarded. The list excludes active wrestlers.Template:Efn
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Most bouts
Losses by default are excluded.
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Most career bouts
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Most top division bouts
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Most consecutive bouts
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Most consecutive career bouts
* No bouts missed in career/career to date |
Most consecutive top division bouts
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Most tournaments
The March 2011 and May 2020 tournaments were cancelled and are not included in these totals.
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Most tournaments ranked in the top division
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Most tournaments ranked at yokozuna
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Most tournaments ranked at ōzeki
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Most tournaments ranked in junior san'yaku (komusubi and sekiwake ranks)
Most career tournamentsAs of May 2025 tournament. Tournaments in banzuke-gai (out of banzuke) status are not included
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Progress to top division
The table for the fastest progress shows wrestlers with the fewest tournaments from their professional debut to their top division debut since the six tournaments a year system was introduced in 1958. It excludes makushita tsukedashi and sandanme tsukedashi entrants who made their debut in the third makushita division and the fourth sandanme division.
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Fastest progress to top division
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Slowest progress to top division
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Most special prizes
Special prizes or sanshō were first awarded in 1947. They can only be given to wrestlers ranked at sekiwake or below. For the current list of active special prize winners, see here.
| Name | Total | Outstanding Performance |
Fighting Spirit |
Technique | Years | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akinoshima | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 1988–1999 | Sekiwake |
| 2 | Kotonishiki | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 1990–1998 | Sekiwake |
| 3 | Kaiō | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1994–2000 | Ōzeki |
| 4 | Tsurugamine | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 1956–1966 | Sekiwake |
| Asashio | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1979–1983 | Ōzeki | |
| Takatōriki | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1990–2000 | Sekiwake | |
| 7 | Musōyama | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1994–2000 | Ōzeki |
| Tosanoumi | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1995–2003 | Sekiwake | |
| Kotomitsuki | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2000–2007 | Ōzeki | |
| Takayasu | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2013–2025 | Ōzeki |
Most gold stars
Gold stars or kinboshi are awarded to maegashira ranked wrestlers who defeat a yokozuna. For a list of current kinboshi earners, see here.
| Name | Total | Years | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akinoshima | 16 | 1988–1999 | Sekiwake |
| 2 | Takamiyama | 12 | 1968–1978 | Sekiwake |
| Tochinonada | 12 | 1998–2008 | Sekiwake | |
| 4 | Tosanoumi | 11 | 1995–2003 | Sekiwake |
| 5 | Kitanonada | 10 | 1954–1961 | Sekiwake |
| Annenyama | 10 | 1955–1961 | Sekiwake | |
| Tsurugamine | 10 | 1955–1961 | Sekiwake | |
| Dewanishiki | 10 | 1949–1963 | Sekiwake | |
| Ōzutsu | 10 | 1979–1986 | Sekiwake | |
| 10 | Mitsuneyama | 9 | 1944–1957 | Ōzeki |
| Tamanoumi | 9 | 1953–1958 | Sekiwake | |
| Hasegawa | 9 | 1965–1974 | Sekiwake | |
| Fujizakura | 9 | 1973–1981 | Sekiwake | |
| Takatōriki | 9 | 1990–1998 | Sekiwake | |
| Ichinojō | 9 | 2014–2022 | Sekiwake |
Youngest Yokozuna at Time of Promotion
Yokozuna by their age at the time of promotion, showing both years and months for added detail.
| Rank | Yokozuna | Date of Promotion | Age at Promotion (Years, Months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kitanoumi | July 20, 1974 | 21 years, 2 months |
| 2 | Taihō | September 27, 1961 | 21 years, 4 months |
| 3 | Hakuhō | May 30, 2007 | 22 years, 2 months |
| 4 | Asashōryū | January 30, 2003 | 22 years, 4 months |
| 5 | Takanohana II | December 1994 | 22 years, 4 months |
| 6 | Futahaguro | July 1986 | 22 years, 10 months |
| 7 | Kashiwado | November 1961 | 23 years, 0 months |
| 8 | Terukuni | June 1942 | 23 years, 6 months |
| 9 | Akebono | January 27, 1993 | 23 years, 8 months |
| 10 | Ōnokuni | September 1987 | 24 years, 11 months |
| Onosato | May 2025 | 24 years, 11 months |
See also
- List of active gold star earners
- List of active special prize winners
- Glossary of sumo terms
- List of active sumo wrestlers
- List of past sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament top division champions
- List of sumo tournament second division champions
- List of sumo stables
- List of years in sumo
- List of yokozuna
Notes
References
- Japan Sumo Association
- Sumo Reference
- The Sumo Colosseum
- Grand Sumo, Lora Sharnoff, Weatherhill, 1993. Template:ISBN