This is a list of records held by wrestlers of professional sumo. Only performances in official tournaments or honbasho are included here. Since 1958 six honbasho have been held every year, giving wrestlers from the modern era more opportunities to accumulate championships and wins. Before this, tournaments were held less frequently; sometimes only once or twice per year. Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler. The tables are up to date as of the end of the March 2020 tournament.
+Raiden is said to have had the bestrecord in 28 tournaments between 1790 and 1810, Tanikaze 21 between 1772 and 1793, and Kashiwado 16 between 1812 and 1822. Tachiyama won two unofficial championships and nine official, giving him a total of 11.
Most undefeated championships
+ Tournaments have been consistently fifteen days long since May 1949. Before that date there were a number of different lengths, including ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen days. The records of Tachiyama, Tochigiyama and Tsunenohana also include some draws, holds and rest days.
The list includes yokozuna and ōzeki, but excludes so-called kanban or "guest ōzeki" and wrestlers for which insufficient data is available.
Name
Win-Loss
Years
rate
1
Raiden
254–10
1790–1811
96.2%
2
Umegatani I
116–6
1874–1885
95.1%
3
Tanikaze
258–14
1769–1794
94.9%
4
Jinmaku
87–5
1858–1867
94.6%
5
Onogawa
144–13
1781–1797
91.7%
Modern era
In 1927, Tokyo sumo merged with Osaka sumo and most of the sumo systems were changed, so any pre-1927 records are disregarded. The list excludes active wrestlers. Among active wrestlers, at the end of the March 2020 tournament, Hakuhō had 1066 wins against 195 losses, giving a ratio of 84.5%.
The March 2011 and May 2020 tournaments were cancelled and are not included in these totals.
Most tournaments ranked in the top division
Most tournaments ranked at ''yokozuna''
Name
Total
First
Last
1
Hakuhō
76
July 2007
n/a
2
Kitanoumi
63
July 1974
January 1985
3
Chiyonofuji
59
September 1981
May 1991
4
Taihō
58
November 1961
May 1971
5
Takanohana II
49
January 1995
January 2003
6
Akebono
48
March 1993
January 2001
7
Kashiwado
47
November 1961
July 1969
7
Wajima
47
July 1973
March 1981
9
Asashōryū
42
March 2003
January 2010
10
Kakuryū
36
May 2014
n/a
Most tournaments ranked at ''ōzeki''
Name
Total
First
Last
Ended by
1
Chiyotaikai
65
March 1999
November 2009
Demotion
1
Kaiō
65
September 2000
July 2011
Retirement
3
Takanohana I
50
November 1972
January 1981
Retirement
4
Kotoōshū
47
January 2006
November 2013
Demotion
5
Hokuten'yū
44
July 1983
September 1990
Retirement
6
Konishiki
39
July 1987
November 1993
Demotion
7
Takanonami
37
March 1994
May 2000
Demotion
8
Asashio
36
May 1983
March 1989
Retirement
9
Yutakayama
34
March 1963
September 1968
Retirement
10
Gōeidō
33
September 2014
January 2020
Retirement
Most tournaments ranked in junior ''san'yaku'' (''komusubi'' and ''sekiwake'' ranks)
Name
Total
First
Last
Highest rank
1
Kotonishiki
34
September 1990
September 1999
Sekiwake
2
Kaiō
32
May 1994
July 2000
Ōzeki
3
Musōyama
31
March 1994
September 2000
Ōzeki
4
Hasegawa
30
November 1965
September 1974
Sekiwake
4
Kotomitsuki
30
January 2001
July 2007
Ōzeki
6
Akinoshima
27
November 1988
September 2000
Sekiwake
6
Takamiyama
27
November 1969
September 1982
Sekiwake
8
Takatōriki
26
May 1991
May 2000
Sekiwake
8
Wakanosato
26
November 2000
September 2005
Sekiwake
10
Tochiōzan
25
May 2009
September 2017
Sekiwake
Progress to top division
The table for the fastest progress shows wrestlers with the fewest tournaments from their professional debut to their top division debut since the six tournaments a year system was introduced in 1958. It excludes makushita tsukedashi and sandanme tsukedashi entrants who made their debut in the third makushita division and the fourth sandanme division.
Fastest progress to top division
Slowest progress to top division
Name
Tournaments
Pro Debut
Top division debut
Highest rank
1
Hoshiiwato
115
May 1970
July 1989
Maegashira 14
2
Kyokunankai
105
March 1993
September 2010
Maegashira 16
3
Yoshiazuma
93
January 1996
September 2011
Maegashira 12
4
Kotokasuga
91
March 1993
May 2008
Maegashira 7
5
Kototsubaki
89
March 1976
January 1991
Maegashira 3
6
Toyozakura
88
March 1989
November 2003
Maegashira 5
7
Takanomine
87
September 1974
March 1989
Maegashira 12
8
Kitazakura
86
March 1987
July 2001
Maegashira 9
9=
Daimanazuru
85
May 1992
July 2006
Maegashira 16
9=
Kitaharima
85
March 2002
July 2016
Maegashira 15
Most special prizes
Special prizes or sanshō were first awarded in 1947. They can only be given to wrestlers ranked at sekiwake or below. For the current list of active special prize winners, see here.
