Yokozuna Hoshoryu Pulls out of Nagoya Tournament; Tourney Was 1st Time in 5 Yrs to Feature 2 Yokozuna

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:30 JST, July 17, 2025

The first sumo tournament featuring two yokozuna in five years lost one of its featured wrestlers after just five days.

Yokozuna Hoshoryu submitted his notice of withdrawal from the ongoing Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament to the Japan Sumo Association on Thursday, a day after suffering a third consecutive loss through the first four days.

It marks the second time Hoshoryu has pulled out midway through a tournament in three tourneys since earning promotion to the sport’s highest rank.

His fifth-day opponent in Nagoya, No. 2 maegashira Oho, earned a victory by default.

His three losses were all to maegashira-ranked wrestlers, giving each a “kinboshi,” a special award for a victory over a yokozuna.

The promotion of Onosato for this tournament put two yokozuna on the ranking list for the first time since the Nagoya tourney in July 2020, which was actually held in Tokyo amid the COVID-19 pandemic.