After the dedication ring at Meiji Shrine, he went to an exclusive club…New Yokozuna Onozato “has a dominant presence even in the nightlife district” Photo

Busy but “at ease

It is late May in Ginza, Tokyo, a little past 9 p.m. on a Friday night. A luxury minivan pulled up in front of a building decorated with the neon lights of an upscale club. A sumo wrestler in a yukata (Japanese summer kimono) with a topknot tied at the top of his head alighted from the sliding rear door. He was the 75th yokozuna, Onosato (24). The pressure emanating from his huge body (192 cm, 191 kg) is quite overwhelming. Even in the crowded Ginza area, he stands out from the crowd. However, Daianosato was unfazed by the reaction of those around her, and entered the building with a leisurely gait.

Six hours before his descent to Ginza, Oh-nosato performed his first Unryu-style ring-entering ceremony at Meiji Shrine (Shibuya Ward, Tokyo). Due to rainy weather, the event was held inside the shrine building, which was closed to general visitors, but the imposing and powerful figure was greeted with shouts of encouragement from visitors watching on the grounds. Japan’s best! and “Japan’s best!

After the ring-entering ceremony, Ohnosato was invited to a number of banquets in the evening. The day after his visit to Ginza, he entered the sumo ring at the Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumida-ku, Tokyo) for the retirement of Oguruma no Mikata (former makuuchi wrestler Kotoemitsu), and then went to a high-class teppanyaki restaurant in Akasaka (Minato-ku, Tokyo) for the evening. At this well-established restaurant, which has been visited by Michael Jackson in the past, he enjoyed teppanyaki cuisine with a group of men who appeared to be his supporters.

Two hours later, after 9:00 p.m., Ohnosato and his group emerged from the restaurant after finishing their meal. The sudden appearance of the sumo wrestler dressed in a kimono, the people on the street stop in their tracks, unable to hide their surprise. When they realized that the rikishi was Oh-no-sato, they were even more surprised and shouted with joy. But Oh-no-sato seemed to be at peace with himself. He bowed politely to the men in attendance, got into a waiting minivan, and drove away.

My son has his own identity.”

Every day, Ohnosato is busy with his promotion to yokozuna and entertaining guests. There is concern that he will be fatigued before the next tournament, but according to his father, Tomoyuki Nakamura (49), “There is no need to worry at all.

When you become yokozuna, you have to deal with a lot of people. I am not worried. My son has his own identity. I believe that he will follow his own path without being swayed by those around him. I hope that he will become a yokozuna who is not only strong, but also has dignity. I want him to be a role model for children. I know it’s a bit presumptuous to compare them, but I want him to become a yokozuna with great humanity, respected and liked by all, like Shohei Otani.

The championship battle between Onozato and Toyoshoryu (26) is expected to be centered on these two yokozuna, and they are sure to be the driving force behind sumo’s popularity in Japan. I look forward to watching the “one and only” sumo that Onosato described in his speech at the yokozuna promotion ceremony.

He has become yokozuna in two years, which is a great achievement. He has high potential, and I feel he has the potential to become even stronger. I think he can be a yokozuna for the next 10 years, and I think he will lead the Kakukai in the future.

The Nagoya tournament in July, which will be held as the opening ceremony of the newly built IG Arena, is expected to bring a “Onosato whirlwind” to the world of sumo.

From the June 20, 2025 issue of FRIDAY