Every Yokozuna Japan Forced Into Retirement

Every yokozuna forced into retirement had reached the top of sumo, and Japan still showed each of them the door. This video goes rank by rank through the grand champions who left under pressure, whether from scandal, injury or a council that ran out of patience. We start with Maedayama, the yokozuna who skipped a tournament and was then seen at a baseball game, and Futahaguro, expelled after a clash with his stablemaster. From there come the Mongolian yokozuna who defined a generation: Asashoryu’s retirement after an alleged nightclub assault, and Harumafuji’s exit after the Takanoiwa incident turned into a national sumo scandal. We also look at the quieter endings, including the Kisenosato and Kakuryu retirements, how Hakuho resigns his rank after years of friction, and the Terunofuji retirement, to see how the Japan Sumo Association and the Yokozuna Deliberation Council judge yokozuna hinkaku. This is sumo history told through its hardest decisions, and it explains why one rank carries so much weight. On SumoSpirit, every sumo grand champion on the list of yokozuna is treated as a full story, not a headline. If you want to know who decides when a yokozuna’s career is over, like this video and subscribe to SumoSpirit for the next sumo documentary.