EDITORIAL | Onosato, Now Ozeki, Builds Hope for a Future Yokozuna

Sekiwake Onosato recently won the Autumn Basho (tournament) with 13 wins and two losses.

Moreover, he had come out on top in 34 matches in the last three tournaments and captured two Emperor's Cups. Onosato subsequently earned promotion to ozeki, the second-highest rank in sumo.

He advanced after only nine tournaments from his debut. That makes his promotion to ozeki the fastest on record since the beginning of the Showa era in 1926.

Now he is a wrestler who carries the weight of the sumo world on his shoulders. Hopefully, every time Onosato steps onto the dohyo from the next tournament onwards, it will be with a firm resolve to rise to the exalted rank of yokozuna.

*Onosato delivers his speech on his promotion to ozeki. On the right is the stablemaster, at Nishonoseki stable in Ami-machi, Ibaraki Prefecture (©Sankei by Noriaki Sato)*

From Disaster-torn Ishikawa Prefecture

The 24-year-old sumo phenom is a native of Tsubata, a town in Ishikawa Prefecture. Homes and roads in this region were damaged in the New Year's Day Noto Peninsula Earthquake. More recently, the same Ishikawa area was pummeled by the devastating torrential rains of mid- and late September 2024.

Undoubtedly, the joyous news about the success of a local rikishi has brought some cheer to residents in the disaster zone and given a boost to recovery efforts.

The new ozeki, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, adopted his professional name in imitation of an earlier Onosato. This predecessor was a small grappler but held the rank of ozeki for seven years from the Taisho era (1912-26) into the Showa (1926-89) era.

Onosato's mentor, stablemaster Nishonoseki (former yokozuna Kisenosato), is the one who bestowed his name. Nishinoseki had intended to give it if he discovered a disciple he judged to be capable of leaving his mark on the top ranks of the sumo world.

Building On His Success as a Student

Actually, Onosato had already developed a reputation. While competing in sumo as a student, he held the title of amateur yokozuna for two successive years. Furthermore, he was highly regarded as a "promising youngster" even before entering the world of professional sumo.

Standing 192 centimeters tall and weighing 182 kilos, Onosato is blessed with a terrific physique His style of attack, which features a right thrust followed by a sharp thrust forward from the left, displays devastating power.

Mongolian-born Terunofuji, the only active yokozuna, missed the entire Autumn Basho. In fact, it has been more than two years since he appeared in all 15 days of a tournament for two consecutive tournaments. That is another reason why so many people have high hopes that Onosato can become a Japanese-born yokozuna.

Nonetheless, it is difficult to claim that his technique is all that solid. Since he has not developed skills utilizing the mawashi belt, he often gets toppled at the edge of the dohyo. Hopefully, he will quickly master the sumo technique of pulling the left upper hand to bind his opponent.

Bringing Hope to Sumo Fans

The burning desire of fans to see a "real ozeki" in action partly stems from disillusionment with the current forlorn state of the sumo ranks. That is especially true for the ozeki. There were four ozeki at the time of the Spring Basho in March. However, Kirishima and Takakeisho were subsequently demoted. Then Takakeisho retired during the September tournament.

The other two, Kotozakura and Hoshoryu, were eliminated from championship contention early on during the Autumn Basho. Both were also defeated in matches against Onosato toward the end of the tournament. Sumo has certainly seen better days.

Without a doubt, from the next tournament on, Onosato will realize with a vengeance the full weight of expectations for any wrestler holding one of the highest ranks. He can also expect to be more severely judged. And he shouldn't underestimate the difficulties that await him on the path of professional sumo.

More than anything else, we hope that Onosato will become a strong, beloved wrestler. We especially hope that he will uphold the traditions and dignity of this Japanese national sport.

Onosato, we urge you to continue to work hard so that you may long remain active in the world of sumo.

(Read the editorial in Japanese.)

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun