Sumo wrestlers are called rikishi, and on the September 2026 ranking sheet there are exactly 593 of them. Only 70 are paid. This directory names every one of those 70 by rank, stable and birthplace, links each to his official profile, and then goes back through the wrestlers who made the sport’s history — the 75 yokozuna, the Hawaiians who broke it open, and the one wrestler who came from Africa.
📖 What you’ll learn
- How many sumo wrestlers there are right now, division by division
- All 42 top-division wrestlers by name, rank, stable and birthplace
- All 28 juryo wrestlers — the rest of the 70 who draw a salary
- Where sumo’s foreign-born wrestlers come from, counted on the current sheet
- The Hawaiian, European and African wrestlers who changed the sport
- All 75 yokozuna, and how to look up any wrestler yourself
What Are Sumo Wrestlers Called? Rikishi, Explained
A sumo wrestler is called a rikishi, written with the characters for “strength” and “gentleman”.
It is the word the Japan Sumo Association uses in its own English pages, and the word you will hear at a tournament.
Two other words follow it around. Sekitori means a wrestler ranked in one of the two salaried divisions — the 70 men in this directory. Sumotori is the everyday, slightly looser word a Japanese speaker is more likely to use in conversation. All three describe the same job.
Wrestlers do not compete under their own names. Each is given a shikona, a ring name, usually built by his stablemaster from a syllable of the stable’s own tradition. It can change mid-career, and it rarely resembles the passport name: the Ukrainian ozeki who fights as Aonishiki is registered with the Association as Yavhusishyn Danylo.
One more thing separates sumo from most sports. There is no transfer market and no free agency: a wrestler does not move between stables the way a footballer moves between clubs. Movement happens only when the stable itself changes — if it closes, or if the coach who recruited him leaves to open his own house — and then the Association decides where its wrestlers go. What a wrestler’s day actually looks like inside that stable is a longer story, and we tell it in our guide to what a rikishi’s life is really like.
How Many Sumo Wrestlers Are There? 593 on the September 2026 Banzuke
There are 593 ranked sumo wrestlers for the September 2026 tournament, spread across six divisions, and 70 of them are paid.
That number is not a round figure or an estimate. It is a count of every name printed on the banzuke, the ranking sheet the Association rebuilds after each tournament and released on August 31, 2026 for the tournament running September 13–27.
| Division | Wrestlers | Ranked slots | Salaried? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makuuchi (top division) | 42 | 21 pairs, plus the sanyaku ranks | Yes |
| Juryo | 28 | 14 pairs | Yes |
| Makushita | 120 | 60 pairs | No |
| Sandanme | 160 | 80 pairs | No |
| Jonidan | 200 | 100 pairs | No |
| Jonokuchi | 43 | 22 pairs | No |
| Total | 593 | — | 70 of 593 |
Read down the table and the shape of the sport appears. The two salaried divisions hold 70 men. The four unsalaried divisions below them hold 523, who receive a tournament allowance and their keep at the stable, and nothing else. Almost nine wrestlers in ten are working without a wage.
The slot counts are not tidy either. Makushita, sandanme and jonidan are laid out in fixed pairs — east and west at each rank — but jonokuchi has 43 wrestlers in 22 pairs, because one slot on the sheet is empty. Makuuchi has the same gap twice: there is no second west ozeki and no west maegashira 17. How those slots are decided is covered in our guide to the banzuke and how it is built.
Q. How often does the list of sumo wrestlers change?
A. Six times a year. The sheet is rebuilt after every tournament and published 13 days before the next one starts, so any roster you find is describing one particular tournament. Retirements and new recruits move the total as well as the order — which is why a list more than two months old is out of date, not merely rearranged.
The Current Makuuchi Roster: All 42 Top-Division Wrestlers
The top division for the September 2026 tournament holds 42 wrestlers: two yokozuna, three ozeki, two sekiwake, two komusubi and 33 maegashira.
Grand sumo — honbasho, the six official tournaments — is what these 42 men fight in on the main broadcast each day. Every rank below yokozuna and above maegashira 17 comes in an east and a west pair, and east outranks west at the same number.
Each name in the table opens that wrestler’s own page on the Association’s site, where you will find his photograph, height and weight, stable, debut tournament, highest rank and career record. We do not reproduce the photographs here; they belong to the Association, and its page is the one that stays current.
| Rank | Side | Wrestler | Stable | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yokozuna | East | Onosato | Nishonoseki | Ishikawa |
| Yokozuna | West | Hoshoryu | Tatsunami | Mongolia |
| Ozeki | East | Kirishima | Otowayama | Mongolia |
| Ozeki | West | Kotozakura | Sadogatake | Chiba |
| Ozeki | East | Aonishiki | Ajigawa | Ukraine |
| Sekiwake | East | Atamifuji | Isegahama | Shizuoka |
| Sekiwake | West | Fujinokawa | Isenoumi | Kyoto |
| Komusubi | East | Hakunofuji | Isegahama | Tottori |
| Komusubi | West | Daieisho | Oitekaze | Saitama |
| Maegashira #1 | East | Kotoshoho | Sadogatake | Chiba |
| Maegashira #1 | West | Kotoeiho | Sadogatake | Chiba |
| Maegashira #2 | East | Takayasu | Tagonoura | Ibaraki |
| Maegashira #2 | West | Yoshinofuji | Isegahama | Kumamoto |
| Maegashira #3 | East | Gonoyama | Takekuma | Osaka |
| Maegashira #3 | West | Churanoumi | Kise | Okinawa |
| Maegashira #4 | East | Takanosho | Minatogawa | Chiba |
| Maegashira #4 | West | Fujiryoga | Fujishima | Aichi |
| Maegashira #5 | East | Roga | Futagoyama | Russia |
| Maegashira #5 | West | Oshoma | Naruto | Mongolia |
| Maegashira #6 | East | Asanoyama | Takasago | Toyama |
| Maegashira #6 | West | Ichiyamamoto | Hanaregoma | Hokkaido |
| Maegashira #7 | East | Fujiseiun | Fujishima | Kumamoto |
| Maegashira #7 | West | Nishikifuji | Isegahama | Aomori |
| Maegashira #8 | East | Takerufuji | Isegahama | Aomori |
| Maegashira #8 | West | Hiradoumi | Sakaigawa | Nagasaki |
| Maegashira #9 | East | Ura | Kise | Osaka |
| Maegashira #9 | West | Shishi | Ikazuchi | Ukraine |
| Maegashira #10 | East | Oho | Otake | Tokyo |
| Maegashira #10 | West | Kinbozan | Kise | Kazakhstan |
| Maegashira #11 | East | Wakamotoharu | Arashio | Fukushima |
| Maegashira #11 | West | Shodai | Tokitsukaze | Kumamoto |
| Maegashira #12 | East | Wakatakakage | Arashio | Fukushima |
| Maegashira #12 | West | Asahakuryu | Takasago | Mongolia |
| Maegashira #13 | East | Asakoryu | Takasago | Osaka |
| Maegashira #13 | West | Abi | Shikoroyama | Saitama |
| Maegashira #14 | East | Tobizaru | Oitekaze | Tokyo |
| Maegashira #14 | West | Chiyoshoma | Kokonoe | Mongolia |
| Maegashira #15 | East | Asasuiryu | Takasago | Osaka |
| Maegashira #15 | West | Tokihayate | Tokitsukaze | Miyagi |
| Maegashira #16 | East | Wakanosho | Minatogawa | Tochigi |
| Maegashira #16 | West | Toshinofuji | Isegahama | Mongolia |
| Maegashira #17 | East | Shonannoumi | Takadagawa | Kanagawa |
Two names on that sheet are worth knowing before you watch. Onosato, from Ishikawa, is the 75th yokozuna and holds the east side; he reached the rank in July 2025. Aonishiki, third of the three ozeki, was promoted in January 2026 at 21 — the Association’s own profile records his debut as recently as September 2023, which makes his climb one of the fastest on the current sheet.
The Juryo Roster: The Other 28 Salaried Wrestlers
Juryo holds the other 28 salaried wrestlers, ranked in 14 east–west pairs immediately below makuuchi.
Juryo is where a career becomes a profession. A wrestler promoted into it starts drawing a monthly salary, gets an attendant, and appears on the same broadcast as the top division. A wrestler demoted out of it loses all of that in one tournament. Several names below have been in makuuchi before and are working their way back.
| Rank | Side | Wrestler | Stable | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juryo #1 | East | Dewanoryu | Dewanoumi | Mongolia |
| Juryo #1 | West | Kyokukaiyu | Oshima | Mongolia |
| Juryo #2 | East | Daiseizan | Arashio | China |
| Juryo #2 | West | Kazuma | Kise | Osaka |
| Juryo #3 | East | Tamawashi | Kataonami | Mongolia |
| Juryo #3 | West | Onokatsu | Onomatsu | Mongolia |
| Juryo #4 | East | Kazekeno | Oshiogawa | Ehime |
| Juryo #4 | West | Mitakeumi | Dewanoumi | Nagano |
| Juryo #5 | East | Sadanoumi | Sakaigawa | Kumamoto |
| Juryo #5 | West | Arashifuji | Isegahama | Fukuoka |
| Juryo #6 | East | Kitanowaka | Hakkaku | Yamagata |
| Juryo #6 | West | Shirokuma | Nishonoseki | Fukushima |
| Juryo #7 | East | Midorifuji | Isegahama | Shizuoka |
| Juryo #7 | West | Tomokaze | Nakamura | Kanagawa |
| Juryo #8 | East | Ryuden | Takadagawa | Yamanashi |
| Juryo #8 | West | Hatsuyama | Tamanoi | Tokyo |
| Juryo #9 | East | Enho | Isegahama | Ishikawa |
| Juryo #9 | West | Tohakuryu | Tamanoi | Tokyo |
| Juryo #10 | East | Nabatame | Futagoyama | Tochigi |
| Juryo #10 | West | Tanji | Arashio | Fukushima |
| Juryo #11 | East | Kagayaki | Takadagawa | Ishikawa |
| Juryo #11 | West | Hitoshi | Oitekaze | Tokyo |
| Juryo #12 | East | Tamashoho | Kataonami | Mongolia |
| Juryo #12 | West | Kayo | Nakamura | Okinawa |
| Juryo #13 | East | Meisei | Tatsunami | Kagoshima |
| Juryo #13 | West | Tokifudo | Tokitsukaze | Shizuoka |
| Juryo #14 | East | Tochitaikai | Kasugano | Saitama |
| Juryo #14 | West | Nishikigi | Isenoumi | Iwate |
Sumo Wrestlers From Outside Japan
Of the 593 wrestlers on the September 2026 sheet, 31 were born outside Japan — 5.2 per cent — and they come from eight countries.
The distribution is lopsided in two directions. Mongolia accounts for 23 of the 31; the other seven countries contribute one or two each. And the foreign-born share rises sharply with rank: 10 of the 42 wrestlers in makuuchi were born abroad, or 23.8 per cent, against 5.2 per cent across the whole sheet.
One caution about counting. The Association’s records list a wrestler’s birthplace — a prefecture or a country — and nothing else. They do not record ethnicity, ancestry or nationality after naturalisation. Any figure you see for sumo wrestlers of a particular background is therefore someone’s reading of biographies, not a number the sport itself publishes. The counts on this page are birthplace counts, taken straight from the ranking data.
Hawaii and the American Era
Four wrestlers born in Hawaii carried sumo’s first foreign era, from 1968 to 2003, and two of them became yokozuna.
Contemporary reporting records that Takamiyama — Jesse Kuhaulua, from Maui — became the first foreign-born wrestler to reach the top division in 1968, and in January 1972 the first to win a top-division championship. Konishiki, born in Honolulu, is recorded as the first foreign-born wrestler promoted to ozeki, in 1987.
The two who went furthest are in the Association’s own records. Akebono, listed as born on Oahu, held the rank of yokozuna from March 1993 to January 2001 — the first foreign-born wrestler to do so — and won 11 championships. Musashimaru, whom the Association also lists as Oahu, held it from July 1999 to November 2003 and won 12. Neither has been matched by an American-born wrestler since: the only wrestler from the United States on the current sheet is Hikarumusashi, ranked in jonidan.
Europe and Central Asia
Three European wrestlers have reached ozeki, and four wrestlers born in Europe or Central Asia are in the top division today.
Contemporary reporting records the sequence: Kotooshu of Bulgaria became the first European ozeki in 2006 and the first European to win a top-division championship in May 2008; Baruto of Estonia was promoted to ozeki in 2010 and took the title in January 2012; Tochinoshin of Georgia became the first Georgian ozeki in 2018.
The current sheet carries the next wave. Aonishiki of Ukraine is ozeki. Roga of Russia and Shishi of Ukraine are both ranked in the maegashira ranks, as is Kinbozan of Kazakhstan. Below them, the September 2026 banzuke also lists one wrestler born in the United Kingdom, Eisei, in jonokuchi — the lowest division on the sheet.
Africa: One Wrestler, and None on the Current Sheet
No wrestler born in Africa appears on the September 2026 banzuke. One reached the top division: Osunaarashi, from Egypt.
Contemporary reporting records that Osunaarashi was the first professional sumo wrestler from the African continent, that he was promoted to the top division for the November 2013 tournament, that his highest rank was maegashira 1, and that he retired in March 2018.
The eight countries of birth on the September 2026 banzuke are Mongolia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, the United States, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. None of them is in Africa. We have counted the current sheet only, so treat that as a fact about this tournament rather than about every tournament since 2018.
That also settles a question the official record cannot answer in the form it is usually asked. Searches for Black sumo wrestlers are looking for a count the Association does not keep: it publishes where a wrestler was born, not his ethnicity or ancestry. What the record does show is that one wrestler born in Africa reached the top division, and that no African-born wrestler is ranked today.
Q. Can foreigners be sumo wrestlers?
A. Yes. On the September 2026 sheet 31 of the 593 ranked wrestlers were born outside Japan, in eight countries, and three of them — one yokozuna and two ozeki — hold sumo’s highest ranks. How anyone joins the sport, foreign-born or not, is covered in our guide to what a rikishi's life is really like.
Q. Are there any Black sumo wrestlers?
A. The official record cannot answer that as a count. The Association lists where each wrestler was born and nothing about ethnicity or ancestry. What it does show: one wrestler born in Africa, Osunaarashi of Egypt, reached the top division, and no African-born wrestler appears on the September 2026 sheet.
The 75 Yokozuna: Sumo’s Historic Wrestlers
Sumo has had 75 yokozuna in its recorded history, from Akashi in the Edo period to Onosato, promoted in July 2025.
Yokozuna is the only rank a wrestler cannot be demoted from. The list below is the modern end of the Association’s own roll — the twelve most recent, with the years they held the rank and the championships they won.
| # | Yokozuna | Birthplace | Held the rank | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Akebono Taro | Hawaii, USA | March 1993 – January 2001 | 11 |
| 65 | Takanohana Koji | Tokyo | January 1995 – January 2003 | 22 |
| 66 | Wakanohana Masaru | Tokyo | July 1998 – March 2000 | 5 |
| 67 | Musashimaru Koyo | Hawaii, USA | July 1999 – November 2003 | 12 |
| 68 | Asashoryu Akinori | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | March 2003 – January 2010 | 25 |
| 69 | Hakuho Sho | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | July 2007 – September 2021 | 45 |
| 70 | Harumafuji Kohei | Govi-Altai, Mongolia | November 2012 – November 2017 | 9 |
| 71 | Kakuryu Rikisaburo | Sukhbaatar, Mongolia | May 2014 – March 2021 | 6 |
| 72 | Kisenosato Yutaka | Ibaraki | March 2017 – January 2019 | 2 |
| 73 | Terunofuji Haruo | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | September 2021 – January 2025 | 10 |
| 74 | Hoshoryu Tomokatsu | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | March 2025 – | 2 |
| 75 | Onosato Daiki | Ishikawa | July 2025 – | 5 |
Two things stand out on the full list. The most decorated wrestler in the sport’s history is Hakuho, with 45 top-division championships, ahead of Taiho on 32 and Chiyonofuji on 31. And the same list records one yokozuna, Futahaguro, the 60th, with zero — the only man to hold the rank without ever winning a top-division tournament. What the rank actually requires, and why the count of 75 is itself disputed, is covered in our guide to the yokozuna rank.
Q. Can a sumo wrestler change stables?
A. Not by choice. There is no transfer window and no free agency; a wrestler stays with the house that recruited him. Wrestlers do move when the stable itself changes hands or closes, and when that happens the Association decides where they go — which is why a stable name in the table above can change between one tournament and the next.
Look Up Any Sumo Wrestler Yourself
To look up any wrestler, search his ring name on the Japan Sumo Association’s Find Rikishi page — it is free, and it covers all six divisions.
Three pages do almost everything. The Association’s Banzuke Information page carries the current ranking sheet for all six divisions, and it is the only source that updates on the day the new sheet is released. Its Find Rikishi search takes a name or a division and returns the wrestler’s profile: real name, date of birth, height, weight, stable, debut tournament, highest rank and career record. Its Matches & Results pages carry the daily bouts once a tournament is under way.
Two habits will save you time. Search the ring name without macrons — Hoshoryu, not Hōshōryū — because that is how the English pages spell it. And check the date on any roster you find elsewhere: the sheet is rebuilt six times a year, so a list more than two months old is describing a different tournament.
If you want to see these wrestlers in person, our guides to the tournament schedule and buying tickets cover the practical side.
Summary
- 593 wrestlers, 70 salaries. The September 2026 banzuke ranks 593 men across six divisions. Only makuuchi’s 42 and juryo’s 28 are paid; the other 523 wrestle for their keep.
- The top division is 42 names. Two yokozuna, three ozeki, two sekiwake, two komusubi and 33 maegashira, each in an east or west slot, each with an official profile page.
- 31 wrestlers were born abroad, from eight countries. Mongolia supplies 23 of them. The foreign-born share is 5.2 per cent across the sheet but 23.8 per cent in the top division.
- Two Hawaiians reached the top rank. Akebono held it from 1993 to 2001 and Musashimaru from 1999 to 2003 — 11 and 12 championships between them, and the opening of the sport to everyone who followed.
- Africa has produced one top-division wrestler. Osunaarashi of Egypt, from 2013 to 2018. No African-born wrestler is on the current sheet.
If you are looking for a particular wrestler: start with the Association’s Find Rikishi search, spell the ring name without macrons, and confirm the tournament the roster belongs to. If you are looking for the sport: the 42 names above are the ones you will see on the broadcast, and our guides to the banzuke and the 45 stables explain how they got there and who they answer to.
Related guides: What is sumo? · What a wrestler’s life is like · Yokozuna, explained · Sumo rankings and the banzuke · Sumo stables · The Japan Sumo Association · The mawashi
A ranking sheet is a strange thing to call a directory. It is redrawn every two months, it carries no first names, and it gives a wrestler in jonokuchi the same two characters of type as the man who holds the top rank. But it is the only complete list the sport has, and every name on it belongs to someone who walked through the front door of one of 45 houses in Japan and asked to be let in.
