This is a list of foreign-born professional
sumo wrestlers by country and/or ethnicity of origin, along with original name, years active in sumo wrestling, and highest rank attained. Names in bold indicate a still-active wrestler.
There are 186 wrestlers who have listed a foreign country as their place of birth on the banzuke or official ranking sheets.[1][2] The first foreign born wrestler to reach the top makuuchi division was the
Hawaiian born
Takamiyama in January 1968,[3] who was also the first to win a top division tournament championship or yūshō in 1972. He was followed by fellow Hawaiians
Konishiki who was the first foreigner to reach the second highest ōzeki rank in 1987, and American
Akebono who became the first foreign yokozuna, the highest rank, in 1993. In 1992, following the entry of six
Mongolians to
Ōshima stable, there was an unofficial ban (called enryo or "restraint") instigated by the
Japan Sumo Association's head
Dewanoumi on any more foreign recruitment.[4] Speaking at a Western Japan Press Club luncheon in Osaka in 1995, Dewanoumi reportedly said, "There are no official regulations, but stable masters have a tacit agreement not to scout foreigners actively because they have difficulty adapting to Japanese customs."[5] In 1998 this ban was relaxed but there was also the first official restrictions, a cap of forty foreigners in professional sumo as a whole, not counting those who had obtained
Japanese citizenship.[4] In February 2002 this was changed to one foreigner per heya or training stable,[6] although foreigners recruited prior to the rule change were not affected. Despite these restrictions, foreigners began to dominate the highest levels of the sport. By 2013, foreign born wrestlers made up just seven percent of the 613 wrestlers active in professional sumo, yet occupied one third of the 42 spots in the top division.[7] No Japanese-born wrestler won a top division tournament between
Tochiazuma in January 2006 and
Kotoshōgiku in January 2016, with 56 of the 58 tournaments held in that period won by Mongolians.[8]
Several foreign-born sumo wrestlers have become
sumo elders after their retirement as wrestlers.[9]
NOTE: (#) marks active foreign-born wrestler credited with Japanese shushin (hometown), and hence not counting against current one-foreigner-per-heya restriction; (§) marks a retired foreign-born wrestler who became a
sumo elder.
Bulgaria
Aoiyama Kōsuke ‡ – Daniel Ivanov – 2009–active – sekiwake
NOTE: Korea was
ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 to 1945. Japanese-born Koreans are noted above. Rikidōzan was officially recorded with a shusshin (hometown) of
Ōmura, Nagasaki so is not regarded as having been a foreign rikishi by the Sumo Association.
NOTES: (#) marks active foreign-born wrestler credited with Japanese shushin (hometown), and hence not counting against current one-foreigner-per-heya restriction; (‡) marks active foreign-born wrestler naturalized as a Japanese citizen; (§) marks a retired foreign-born wrestler who became a
sumo elder.
NOTE: (#) marks active foreign-born wrestler credited with Japanese shushin (hometown) and hence not counted against current one-foreigner-per-heya restriction.
Russia
Amūru Mitsuhiro – Nikolai Yuryevich Ivanov (Николай Юрьевич Иванов) – Primorsky Krai – 2002–2018 – maegashira 5
Aran Hakutora – Alan Gabaraev – North Ossetia-Alania – 2007–2013 – sekiwake
This is a list of foreign-born professional
sumo wrestlers by country and/or ethnicity of origin, along with original name, years active in sumo wrestling, and highest rank attained. Names in bold indicate a still-active wrestler.
There are 186 wrestlers who have listed a foreign country as their place of birth on the banzuke or official ranking sheets.[1][2] The first foreign born wrestler to reach the top makuuchi division was the
Hawaiian born
Takamiyama in January 1968,[3] who was also the first to win a top division tournament championship or yūshō in 1972. He was followed by fellow Hawaiians
Konishiki who was the first foreigner to reach the second highest ōzeki rank in 1987, and American
Akebono who became the first foreign yokozuna, the highest rank, in 1993. In 1992, following the entry of six
Mongolians to
Ōshima stable, there was an unofficial ban (called enryo or "restraint") instigated by the
Japan Sumo Association's head
Dewanoumi on any more foreign recruitment.[4] Speaking at a Western Japan Press Club luncheon in Osaka in 1995, Dewanoumi reportedly said, "There are no official regulations, but stable masters have a tacit agreement not to scout foreigners actively because they have difficulty adapting to Japanese customs."[5] In 1998 this ban was relaxed but there was also the first official restrictions, a cap of forty foreigners in professional sumo as a whole, not counting those who had obtained
Japanese citizenship.[4] In February 2002 this was changed to one foreigner per heya or training stable,[6] although foreigners recruited prior to the rule change were not affected. Despite these restrictions, foreigners began to dominate the highest levels of the sport. By 2013, foreign born wrestlers made up just seven percent of the 613 wrestlers active in professional sumo, yet occupied one third of the 42 spots in the top division.[7] No Japanese-born wrestler won a top division tournament between
Tochiazuma in January 2006 and
Kotoshōgiku in January 2016, with 56 of the 58 tournaments held in that period won by Mongolians.[8]
Several foreign-born sumo wrestlers have become
sumo elders after their retirement as wrestlers.[9]
NOTE: (#) marks active foreign-born wrestler credited with Japanese shushin (hometown), and hence not counting against current one-foreigner-per-heya restriction; (§) marks a retired foreign-born wrestler who became a
sumo elder.
Bulgaria
Aoiyama Kōsuke ‡ – Daniel Ivanov – 2009–active – sekiwake
NOTE: Korea was
ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 to 1945. Japanese-born Koreans are noted above. Rikidōzan was officially recorded with a shusshin (hometown) of
Ōmura, Nagasaki so is not regarded as having been a foreign rikishi by the Sumo Association.
NOTES: (#) marks active foreign-born wrestler credited with Japanese shushin (hometown), and hence not counting against current one-foreigner-per-heya restriction; (‡) marks active foreign-born wrestler naturalized as a Japanese citizen; (§) marks a retired foreign-born wrestler who became a
sumo elder.
NOTE: (#) marks active foreign-born wrestler credited with Japanese shushin (hometown) and hence not counted against current one-foreigner-per-heya restriction.
Russia
Amūru Mitsuhiro – Nikolai Yuryevich Ivanov (Николай Юрьевич Иванов) – Primorsky Krai – 2002–2018 – maegashira 5
Aran Hakutora – Alan Gabaraev – North Ossetia-Alania – 2007–2013 – sekiwake