Sumo Wrestling obtains his first major Japanese champion in 7 years while Onosato, 24 years old, reached the higher rank Blogging Sole

Tokyo – Japan has a new big Sumo champion – or Yokozuna – and the big news is Japanese. Onosato, the new big champion, weighs 421 pounds and he is the first Japanese competitor to reach the higher rank since 2017. In comparison, the average weight of an NFL line player exceeds just over 300 pounds.

Sport has recently been dominated by Mongols. Before Onosato, six of the seven previous yokozunas came from Mongolia.

“I’m going to devote myself to training so that I do not dishonor the title of Yokozuna,” Onosato said on Wednesday, dressed in an official kimono and bowing while he was sitting on the ground. “I will aim to become a yokozuna to one and only.”

Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, was only 24 years old and was promoted on Wednesday at the forefront of Sumo by the Japan Sumo Association. Onosato was promoted by winning the Grand Sumo summer tournament last week, which came after winning another prestigious tournament in March.

Onosato is from the prefecture of Ishikawa, which was struck on January 1, 2024, by a devastating earthquake and the tsunami which killed around 600 people in the prefecture and caused generalized damage. A large part of the destruction was centered on an area known as the Noto peninsula.

“I’m going to work hard like a Yokozuna to encourage and encourage the prefecture of Ishikawa and the Noto region,” he said.

He then added: “I determined that Yokozuna should be my goal once I entered the world of Sumo,” he said. “It’s not easy to achieve and I’m really delighted.”

Sumo is considered the national sport of Japan, or the most sacred sport, and many ritual elements are linked to Shinto, the native religion of Japan.

Sumo’s origins go back over 1,000 years, and Japan is the only country where it is contested at a professional level, although competitors come from all over the world.

Last year, the world of Sumo lost one of its great contemporaries, born in Hawaii Akebono, who died at the age of 54. The American was the first wrestler born abroad to reach the level of Yokozuna.

Sport is highly in regiment of many wrestlers living in common training facilities where food and dress are controlled by old traditions.

The promotion of Onosato will set up an instant rivalry with Hoshoryu, born in Mongolia, which is the other wrestler in Japan to hold the title of Yokozuna.

Japanese news agency Kyodo said the two Sumo stars should meet in a tournament in July in the central city of Nagoya.