Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm

Japan Times

30-04-2025

Sumo's banzuke, which lists the rankings of all wrestlers on a large sheet in intricate referee-penned calligraphy, may not be a scroll, but it is put together by elders.
Exactly how those oyakata arrive at their various decisions isn't fully understood by anyone who hasn't been a member of the ranking committee that meets following the conclusion of each tournament.
While the general outline of the banzuke can be guessed with a certain degree of accuracy, there are always a handful of head-scratching promotions and demotions.
May 2025 is no different, with the placement of several rikishi confounding fans and commentators alike.
Perhaps the most baffling is Chiyoshoma with a 6-9 record at maegashira No. 2 in March dropping below Ura who had one win more in the same tournament but from five positions lower down the rankings.
In the modern world, where analytics and technology have massively curtailed the human error rate and quirks of fate, sumo's banzuke is one of a dwindling number of ways that elite professional sport is decided in part by subjectivity.
Of course that inevitably means certain rikishi will be hard done by, and there are without doubt other demotions on the latest banzuke besides that of Chiyoshoma which feel overly harsh.
Essentially it's just a fact of sumo life that certain banzuke decisions simply don't conform to precedent or make mathematical sense. Ergo, some of them can be understood, and some of them cannot.
Over time though it's hard to argue that the decisions made for any one banzuke have career-defining impacts. Wrestlers who are good enough to reach yokozuna, ōzeki, or any other rank will eventually get there — even if it takes a little longer.
So while it's always interesting to try and discern exactly what the thought processes were behind rikishi X falling below rikishi Y, ultimately it's unknowable and of little consequence in the grander scheme of things.
Which, of course, isn't to say that all banzuke positions lack meaning.
In a sport where a one rank jump (from the top of the makushita division to the bottom of juryō) is routinely described as the difference between hell and heaven, there is often a lot at stake.
Takayasu, for example, being promoted to komusubi ahead of the upcoming meet could have implications a few months hence.
If the former ōzeki can put together good back-to-back tournaments in May and July, it's conceivable that he could find himself once again at his old rank.
The oft-stated criterion for ōzeki promotion is 33 wins over three tournaments at either komusubi or sekiwake but that's not an official standard and there is often a lot of variance.
Takayasu's outstanding (if ultimately frustrating) 12-win outing in Osaka that brought him within a playoff of a first Emperor's Cup was at the rank of maegashira No. 4. That's arguably too low a rank to be included for ōzeki promotion consideration, but if it's followed by consecutive strong outings in the sanyaku ranks, then who knows.
Had he been promoted to just maegashira No. 1 for May but did the same in May and July, then the case would be much tougher to argue.
While there wouldn't be much of a difference in difficulty or level of opponent, there is an emotional side to human decision-making and the komusubi rank beside a name carries a greater impact.
The rankings are released online concurrently with the physical banzuke sheets being made available, and, even in the digital age, it's the latter form which many people first peruse.
The nature of those sheets — with east and west sections taking up one half each — means information is presented in a way which can hit differently from seeing it in digital form.
Hoshoryu and Kotozakura head up the east and west halves of the newly released rankings with Onosato — the winner of the March tournament's tucked in behind the yokozuna.
At first glance that's incongruous. The powerful young ōzeki is arguably the best wrestler in the sport right now, and while being below a yokozuna is understandable it feels strange that he doesn't head up the west side of the banzuke.
The explanation is actually a simple one. In sumo, east is considered more prestigious than west, and, as the top ranked ōzeki, Onosato is placed on that side of the banzuke.
Should he emerge victorious again at Tokyo's Kokugikan in May, Onosato is certain to be promoted to yokozuna and will always be the first name on one side of the rankings or the other until he retires – unless someone becomes a third person at sumo's highest rank.
One slightly disappointing decision this time out is Kusano's juryō division title in March not being enough to secure promotion to the top tier.
Fans will have to wait to see the latest Nihon University prospect display his talents in makuuchi.
For context, Kusano is just the second juryō No. 14 wrestler since 1959 to score 14 wins and not be moved up a division. The other man was Asanoyama – when the former ōzeki was in the midst of a redemption-style comeback after a yearlong ban for breaking the Japan Sumo Association's COVID-19 protocols.
Every two months, whether in print or displayed on a screen, sumo's new rankings never fail to stir up debate.
While some decisions can frustrate fans, the uniqueness of how the JSA categorizes its wrestlers on a living document, which has an unbroken history dating back centuries is something that should be appreciated.