Japan's national sport wrestles with a generational change

As one legend departs, another star is rising. In a new era, sumo is grappling with its future.

- Gearoid Reidy

Like a wrestler entering the ring, sumo is straddling the brink of a new era.

Japan's national sport seems more popular than ever. Attendance has bounced back from the Covid-19 pandemic; all 90 days of bouts in 2024 were sold out. The Japan Sumo Association, which oversees the sport, is enjoying record revenues. This autumn, it will hold a tournament in London's Royal Albert Hall, the first outside Japan in 20 years.

And after decades of dominance by foreign wrestlers, the country again has a home-grown grand champion. In May, Onosato became just the second Japanese this century to be named to the highest rank of yokozuna—and at the age of just 25, he could be the face of sumo for years to come.

Yet it has also been shaken by news that Hakuho, its greatest-ever wrestler, is stepping away from the sport. Having retired in 2021, he became a stablemaster, but after one of his students was found to have assaulted subordinates, he was demoted and his team put on ice. Now he's aiming to promote sumo from "outside the game".

The timing of these events is coincidental. But it could mark a generational shift in a sport that is fundamentally intertwined with Japanese identity.