On July 21, an advisory board of the Japan Sumō Association unanimously recommended Terunofuji’s promotion from ōzeki at the highest rank of yokozuna. Terunofuji won the March 2021 Osaka Grand Sumō tournament and, after being promoted to ōzekihe wins the competition in May Then, on the last day of the Nagoya tournament in July, he loses against yokozuna Hakuhō, giving him 14 wins and one loss.

Terunofuji is the first new yokozuna in four years since Kisenosato was promoted in 2017, and the seventy-third in sumō history. Since 1990, eleven wrestlers, including Terunofuji, have been promoted to the rank of yokozuna, 7 of whom were born abroad. Akebono, from Hawaii in the United States, was the first non-Japanese sumō wrestler to become a yokozuna. Following in the footsteps of Asashōryū, Hakuhō, Harumafuji and Kakuryū, Terunofuji is the fifth born Mongol rikishi to earn this rank.

In a display of this cohort’s strength, Hakuhō won the Nagoya tournament with a perfect score of 15–0 to earn a record 45 championship wins in the top division. Taihō ranks second with 32 wins.

Yokozuna Since 1990

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Terunofuji (right) takes on Hakuhō on the final day of the 2021 Nagoya tournament. © Kyōdō News Images.)