Tokyo — Japan has a caller sumo expansive champion — oregon yokozuna — and the large quality is he's Japanese. Onosato, the caller expansive champion, weighs 421 pounds and helium is the archetypal Japanese rival to scope the apical fertile since 2017. By comparison, the mean value of an NFL lineman is conscionable implicit 300 pounds.
The athletics has precocious been dominated by Mongolians. Prior to Onosato, six of the erstwhile 7 yokozunas person been from Mongolia.
"I'll give myself to grooming truthful that I volition not disgrace the rubric of yokozuna," Onosato said Wednesday, dressed successful a ceremonial kimono and bowing arsenic helium sat connected the floor. "I volition purpose to go a one-and-only yokozuna."
Japanese sumo wrestler Onosato (C) and his Nishonoseki unchangeable maestro (R) be the "yokozuna," oregon expansive champion, promotion ceremonial successful Ami Town, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, May 28, 2025.
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Onosato, whose existent sanction is Daiki Nakamura, is lone 24 and was promoted Wednesday to sumo's apical fertile by the Japan Sumo Association. Onosato was promoted by winning past week's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which came aft helium won different prestigious tourney successful March.
Onosato is from Ishikawa prefecture, which was deed connected Jan. 1, 2024, by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed astir 600 radical successful the prefecture and caused wide damage. Much of the demolition was centered connected an country known arsenic the Noto Peninsula.
"I volition enactment hard arsenic a yokozuna to promote and cheer up the Ishikawa prefecture and the Noto region," helium said.
He past added: "I determined that yokozuna should beryllium my extremity erstwhile I entered the satellite of sumo," helium said. "It's not casual to execute and I'm truly delighted."
Onosato looks connected during the 15th time of the Grand Sumo May Tournament astatine Ryogoku Kokugikan, May 25, 2025, successful Tokyo, Japan.
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Sumo is regarded arsenic Japan's nationalist sport, oregon astir ineffable sport, and galore of the ritual elements are connected to Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion.
Sumo's origins day backmost much than 1,000 years, and Japan is the lone state wherever it is contested connected a nonrecreational level, though competitors travel from astir the world.
Last twelvemonth the sumo satellite mislaid 1 of its modern greats, Hawaii-born Akebono, who died astatine the property of 54. The American was the archetypal foreign-born wrestler to scope the level of yokozuna.
The athletics is highly regimented with galore wrestlers surviving successful communal grooming facilities wherever nutrient and formal are controlled by past traditions.
Japanese sumo wrestler Onosato holds up food arsenic helium celebrates aft the "yokozuna," oregon expansive champion, promotion ceremonial successful Ami Town, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, May 28, 2025.
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Onosato's promotion volition acceptable up an instant rivalry with Mongolia-born Hoshoryu, who is the different wrestler successful Japan to clasp the yokozuna title.
The Japanese quality bureau Kyodo said the 2 sumo stars are owed to conscionable successful a tourney successful July successful the cardinal metropolis of Nagoya.
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