<figure id="attachment_457832" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457832" style="width: 1044px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="69a395ca"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/c4cb9b66c4ed22e016dc541996a845d7.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457832" class="wp-caption-text">At the end of the tournament, &#8220;See you again!&#8221; Mr. Hakuho said at the end of the tournament.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The 16th Hakuho Cup was held at the Toyota Arena Tokyo in the Tokyo Bay Area, replacing the Ryogoku Kokugikan.</p>
<p> Until now, the tournament was open to young children, elementary school students, and junior high school boys from around the world, but this year it was opened to elementary and junior high school girls and adults as well, and was held over two days on February 7 and 8.</p>
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<p> Sho Hakuho, 40, a former yokozuna Hakuho, retired from the Sumo Association on June 9 of last year. At the &#8220;69th Yokozuna Hakuho Cheering Party &#8211; Taking the opportunity of turning 40 to brighten the future&#8221; held on June 14, he announced the launch of a new company, &#8220;Hakuho Dayan Sumo &amp; Sports,&#8221; to spread sumo around the world.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> My dream is to make sumo an Olympic sport in the future,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p> he said, describing his vast vision.</p>
<p> First, Hakuho visited the World Sumo Championships held in Bangkok, Thailand, last September to learn about the state of sumo in various countries around the world. He traveled to Spain, Estonia, the Middle East, and even to Asian countries such as South Korea to experience &#8220;sumo today&#8221; with his own eyes. He is now in the process of planning to participate in the &#8220;Hakuho Cup,&#8221; a tournament in which he will compete for the title of &#8220;World Sumo Champion.</p>
<h2> Many wrestlers have participated in the Hakuho Cup.</h2>
<figure id="attachment_457836" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457836" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0fd1aa3f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/003fe7533fdaa257f5335d94a0bceb23.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457836" class="wp-caption-text"> Many sumo officials also watched the tournament. From left to right: Yoshinofuji, Hidetora Hanada, Hakunofuji</figcaption></figure>
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<p> On the first day of the tournament, approximately 1,300 boys from 20 countries, including Japan, Mongolia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Brazil, gathered to compete in nine divisions, including individual and team competitions.</p>
<p> In the toddler division, the eldest son of makunouchi wrestler Waka Takakage, Kairi Ohami, made an appearance. He showed off his throwing techniques, just like his father, as his father and uncle (makushita wrestler Wakatakamoto) looked on.</p>
<p> Also on hand were Otowayama Oyakata (former Yokozuna Tsururyu), Takasago Oyakata (former Sekiwake Asa Akaryu), Yokozuna Toyoshoryu, and others, all keeping a close eye on the &#8220;future Sekitori candidates&#8221; being discovered.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> As the catchphrase of the tournament, &#8220;You are the treasures of the future,&#8221; suggests, &#8220;I believe that children who wrestle are the treasures of the future. There are many rikishi who have participated in the &#8220;Hakuho Cup,&#8221; including Yokozuna Onozato and Ozeki Koto-zakura, among the current Sekitori. I hope that this tournament will connect countries and people, and that the accumulation of such connections will lead to world peace,&#8221; said Hakuho.</span></p>
<p> I hope that this tournament will connect countries and people with each other, and that the accumulation of such connections will lead to world peace,&#8221; said Hakuho.</p>
<p> On the second day, the newly established women&#8217;s division for elementary and junior high school students and the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s &#8220;adult division&#8221; for high school students and above were held.</p>
<p> In principle, women, including female competitors, are not allowed in the Kokugikan ring. Therefore, in February 2012, Mr. Hakuho held a tournament for women only (the Dream Girls Cup Women&#8217;s Sumo Tournament) at the Sumida Futsal Arena in Sumida-ku, Tokyo, which attracted more than 200 women competitors. Hakuho&#8217;s daughters also participated in the tournament, and his third daughter, Mayuha, won second place in the first grade division. In this year&#8217;s tournament, they competed in the third-grade division, but ended up losing in the second round of the preliminary tournament.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Keio and Rikkyo...names of universities that have begun to focus on women&#39;s sumo."></div>
<h2>Nihon University, Ritsumeikan and Keio, Rikkyo &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<figure id="attachment_457837" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457837" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8680bf0b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/b56209e22fd9f95bb95fcf8338df330d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457837" class="wp-caption-text"> The women&#8217;s competition was also hotly contested.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> In the adult women&#8217;s light-weight division, Aimi Fukusato (University of Shizuoka) won the championship ahead of World Sumo Championships winners Rio Hasegawa (Keio University) and Sakura Ishii (Rikkyo University).</p>
<p> In the heavyweight division, Nana Abe (Kanazawa Gakuin University Senior High School) won the championship, defeating working professional Airi Kuno (Tachihi Women&#8217;s Sumo Club). After graduating from high school, Abe plans to join the Tachihi Women&#8217;s Sumo Club, but as women&#8217;s sumo has become more popular, the path to university and adult sumo clubs has also expanded.</p>
<p> Until now, female wrestlers were able to practice at local sumo dojos when they were in elementary and junior high school, but as they progressed to high school and college, there were few environments that accepted women&#8217;s sumo. The main universities for girls were Nihon University and Ritsumeikan University, but now, in addition to Keio University and Rikkyo University, Kanazawa Gakuin University and Asahi University are also trying to focus their efforts on women&#8217;s sumo.</p>
<p> In the men&#8217;s heavyweight division, Shinnosuke Iga (Nihon University) won the adult division, defeating this year&#8217;s amateur yokozuna, Teru Samejima (Nihon University), and others.</p>
<figure id="attachment_457838" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457838" style="width: 1044px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6bcd7465"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/cbb99144a356a60efcb44c92f5651803.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457838" class="wp-caption-text"> Female athletes from various countries</figcaption></figure>
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<p> On the second day of the tournament, there were also three other female athletes who had just finished competing in the &#8220;Japan Grand Sumo Tournament&#8221; held on the same day at the Kokugikan: Iga and Samejima&#8217;s senior, Makuuchi wrestler Yoshinofuji; Hakunofushi, a &#8220;Hakuho&#8217;s treasured son&#8221;; and Hidetora Hanada, a junior member of the Japan University of Physical Education Sumo Club who is now being discussed to join sumo after challenging for the American title. Hidetora Hanada was also present. Hakuho smiled broadly at the visit of his former favorite disciple.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There were a lot of really good matches today, and I&#8217;m glad that I was able to meet the expectations of the girls who wanted to participate in the Hakuho Cup,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p> It was a stormy day in Tokyo, with snow falling on the ground.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It is snowing today. Snow and rain will solidify the ground. It&#8217;s a good omen. I was looking at it with a feeling of, &#8216;The way forward has been decided.</span></p>
<p> For the time being, Hakuho is moving forward step by step toward his big dream: &#8220;For the time being, I aim to have sumo adopted as a sport in the Summer Olympics to be held in 2036.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Photo of the powerful Hakuho Cup"></div>
<figure id="attachment_457839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457839" style="width: 1044px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="698a9788"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/b1a3798ba6c57bdaad4be49b5eb67f96.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457839" class="wp-caption-text">Nana Abe, the winner of the tournament</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_457840" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457840" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="52fffcc7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/b6b3bcc2f719eab3d63db21e06ea1c5d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457840" class="wp-caption-text"> A powerful match</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_457841" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457841" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5d166e2c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/6a9c2d09df63cecd395b7109f37ee1be.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457841" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Hakuho with the Polish team</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_457844" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457844" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d11923d8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/ac7ef0d32e3e8a585257ef1cbfa02d30.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457844" class="wp-caption-text"> Shinnosuke Iga, winner of the heavyweight division</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_457842" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457842" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ba96a946"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/800064382d5c74c9610a138809c4c00a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457842" class="wp-caption-text"> The audience cheering enthusiastically.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_457843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457843" style="width: 1566px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6cf4a619"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/c2be1a1885b28efbec9cf79c1ddefe6f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-457843" class="wp-caption-text"> Panoramic view of the &#8220;Hakuho Cup&#8221; venue</figcaption></figure>
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 Hazuki Takeda (non-fiction writer)

 Yanagawa go!

 Former yokozuna Hakuho held the Hakuho Cup over two days on February 7 and 8. Many players of both men and women of all nationalities gathered for the event. Unfortunately, it snowed on the day of the event. We asked Mr. Hakuho about his dream through the "Hakuho Cup," as he spoke during the snowy event.

Aiming for adoption at the 2036 Summer Olympics&#8221;&#8230;Former yokozuna Hakuho &#8220;Sumo tournament for both men and women&#8221; Dream spoken of for holding snowfall.

Aiming for adoption at the 2036 Summer Olympics”…Former yokozuna Hakuho “Sumo tournament for both men and women” Dream spoken of for holding snowfall.

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