Welcome back everyone! Chiyomomo here, back again with the next installment in my Top 100 Rikishi Countdown series. Today, we’ll be exploring the next 10 in our countdown, but before I begin, I just want to thank you all for the positive words/feedback on my first post. A lot of time went into putting this project together and it meant a lot to see it so well-received; I can’t wait to release the full dataset for others to explore!

90. Takamisugi (Komusubi, 1981-1995, 509 points in 71 basho)

We start today’s list with a rikishi who’s notable for a number of reasons. First, he’s one of only 3 rikishi in the top 100 who never made it to Sekiwake. Second, he holds the record for most Makuuchi basho without earning a sansho (in fact, he only reached double digits twice in nearly 12 years’ worth of basho in Makuuchi). Third, he’s been embroiled in controversy as an oyakata, most recently when he was demoted as result of the Takagenji debacle. And yet, he’s earned his spot on this list for his notable longevity and consistency. Despite his low ceiling, Takamisugi still managed a positive kachi koshi rate over the course of his career (51%) and was competitive into his mid-30s in a time when that wasn’t nearly as common as it is today. Now, he’s continued to leave a mark on the sport by coaching Takakeisho to an Ozeki promotion and two yusho.

89. Fukunohana (Sekiwake, 1965-1975, 519 points in 61 basho)

In contrast with Takamisugi, Fukunohana demonstrated throughout his career that he was capable of putting up big scores, hitting double digits on 9 occasions and 3 times finishing runner-up in a tournament. On two of those occasions, Fukunohana went into the final day with a shot at the Cup, only to drop his final match and miss out on a yusho. Despite the heartbreak, his efforts were always rewarded, and he managed to rack up 7 sansho over the course of his career. Unfortunately, he was plagued with consistency issues, only recording a kachi koshi in 43% of his basho and never staying in the san’yaku ranks for longer than two basho at a time.

88. Dewanohana (Sekiwake, 1977-1988, 524 points in 62 basho)

A couple years after Fukunohana retired, the Dewanoumi heya would replace him with another Makuuchi mainstay in Dewanohana. In contrast with his predecessor’s inability to make it stick in the san’yaku ranks, Dewanohana enjoyed a healthy run at Sekiwake in 1982, at one point falling just a few wins short of completing an Ozeki run. Throughout his career, he developed a penchant for collecting special prizes; his 10 total sansho ranks in the top 30 in the modern era. He spent his last few years in Makuuchi bouncing to and from Komusubi, including a stretch where he alternated between K and M for 9 consecutive basho!

87. Masuiyama (Ozeki, 1970-1981, 525 points in 59 basho)

At last, we meet our first Ozeki! Don’t give Masuiyama too hard a time, though, as some modern Ozeki didn’t even do enough to warrant inclusion in this list (both Maenoyama II and Daiju were well below-average Ozeki, and neither stuck around long enough or won enough accolades to accumulate points; Shodai and Asanoyama still need some more time). Weighing in at a mere 255 pounds, Masuiyama faced steep obstacles at each stage of his career. He spent 1970-72 bouncing between Juryo and Makuuchi, before finally breaking into the top division for good and working his way up to Komusubi in 1973. Over the next few years, he continued to grind until he could cement himself in the san’yaku ranks, with performances ranging from a 12-3 jun-yusho to disastrous 5-10 efforts at Komusubi. Finally, in late 1979, he strung together enough wins in the san’yaku to warrant promotion to Ozeki, his run culminating in the second jun-yusho of his career. Unfortunately, Masuiyama would suffer an injury as a shin-Ozeki, and he was never the same rikishi, only hitting double digits once in 7 basho at the rank before his intai. Nevertheless, his story of grit and continual improvement is inspiring. For some rikishi, reaching Ozeki is the absolute pinnacle for their respective skillset/build/talent, and Masuiyama worked tirelessly to climb that summit. Statistically, he may be one of the weakest Ozeki in the Modern Era, but stats don’t tell the whole story here.

86. Aoiyama* (Sekiwake, 2011-Present, 528 points in 62 basho)

Say hello to the first European on our list (he won’t be the only one included in this installment)! Hailing from Elhovo, Bulgaria, Aoiyama made quite the splash when he debuted with an impressive 11-4 record in November 2011! Just 3 basho later, he put together yet another 11-4, a sign of what was to come throughout his career: stretches of mediocrity punctuated by sudden bursts of top-level sumo. Case in point: the Bulgarian spent 15 consecutive tournaments from 2015-2017 without a single double-digit basho, before exploding for a 13-2 jun-yusho performance that saw him fall one win short of the Emperor’s Cup. Late in his career, it seems as though Big Dan has adapted this into a long-term strategy, saving up energy for one big double-digit basho a year, which gets him high enough on the banzuke that he can afford to let off the gas. There’s no telling how much longer he’ll be able to sustain this, but his imposing size and the occasional reminders of his raw power have ensured that he will not soon be forgotten.

T-84. Daigo I (Sekiwake, 1958-1967, 529 points in 51 basho, 1x Yusho)

Eagle-eyed readers will notice something different about Daigo I already: he’s the first yusho winner on our list! Making his top-division debut in the first year of the Modern Era, it would take then-Wakamisugi only 10 basho to lift his first and only Emperor’s Cup in May of 1960. And this was no fluke. Wakamisugi fell on Day 1 to Ozeki Wakahaguro but didn’t lose again, racking up 14 wins, the most outstanding of which came against Yokozuna Asashio III. His 14-1 record was just good enough to pip a prime Wakanohana I for the title, who he was fortunate enough not to have to face given that the two were stablemates. Despite his early promise, Wakamisugi was never again able to replicate this success. Though his eventual name change yielded an immediate 12-3 JY and a run of 6 consecutive kachi koshi at Sekiwake, Daigo was never able to finish off an Ozeki run, and eventually dropped out of the top division after just 51 basho.

T-84. Takakeisho* (Ozeki, 2017-Present, 529 points in 32 basho, 2x Yusho)

It seems fitting that I completed this project at a time when Takakeisho and his coach (#90 Takamisugi, see above) are so close in the rankings, as they likely won’t be for too much longer. Given that he’s only been around for a little over 5 years at this point, I won’t bother recounting Keisho’s history in too much detail; rather, I want to focus on where he stacks up at this stage in his career. For as much derision as the modern Ozeki corps receives (some of it rightfully deserved), I believe Takakeisho is woefully underrated. Here are some interesting stats:

• Takakeisho’s Yusho rate (% of basho in which he lifts the Cup): 6%, which is higher than all other modern Ozeki except Mitakeumi
• Takakeisho’s Yusho/Jun-Yusho rate (same as above + basho in which he finished runner-up): 25%, which is higher than every other modern Ozeki (the next highest, Wakashimazu, is only at 20%)
• Takakeisho averages 16.5 ranking points per basho, which is again higher than every other modern Ozeki (Wakashimazu is the only other Ozeki within a point of that)

What’s particularly notable is that all of those statistics include the many basho with which Keisho has sat out with injury; his kyujo-adjusted stats are even crazier! Of course, his injury struggles cannot be disregarded entirely, but the only thing preventing Takakeisho from becoming one of the greatest Ozeki of all time (or potentially even Yokozuna) is his health. His ability to win prolifically and consistently (when healthy) is near-unprecedented among rikishi who didn’t eventually earn the rope; will his body hold up enough to give him a shot at it?

83. Myobudani (Sekiwake, 1959-1969, 533 points in 58 basho)

With my Takakeisho rambling out of the way, let’s let ole Myobudani bring us back down to earth. Nothing against the Miyagino man, he was just never quite Ozeki-caliber. Despite this, he still managed to earn an impressive 4 jun-yusho over the course of his career, two of which resulted from heartbreaking playoff losses (including one to Kashiwado and a tomoe-sen with Kashiwado and Taiho). Though I’m sure he would trade any number of victories for just one of those Cups, it’s no small feat to be one of only 3 non-Yokozeki to earn at least 4 JY over the course of a career; not bad for a rikishi who didn’t even crack 250 lbs!

82. Baruto (Ozeki, 2006-2013, 543 points in 41 basho, 1x Yusho)

Unfortunately, I think it’s ominous to find Baruto here, given what I said about Takakeisho and his injury concerns above. A healthy Baruto was a force the likes of which has scarce been seen on the dohyo, as exemplified by him clearing 11 wins in a full one-third of his complete Makuuchi basho. Over a span of 4 basho from 2009-2010, he went 47-13 to earn promotion to Ozeki; his final basho before promotion was a 14-1 effort that would have been enough for the yusho were it not for a Hakuho zensho. He then put together 13 consecutive kachi koshi to start his Ozeki career, the most impressive of which was his 14-1 yusho in January 2012, in which he defeated 4 of his fellow Ozeki on consecutive days to seal his first and only championship. Unfortunately, he’d only finish 5 more tournaments in his career after that point, eventually retiring after less than 7 years’ worth of basho in the top division and returning to his native Estonia to begin life as a politician. Personally, I think “What if Baruto had stayed healthy?” is one of the greatest what-ifs in 21st-century sumo, but the legacy he did manage to put together in his short time in ozumo is impressive all the same.

81. Fujinishiki (Komusubi, 1959-1968, 547 points in 59 basho, 1x Yusho)

The final rikishi in today’s writeup is Fujinishiki, who our formula identifies as the greatest rikishi in the modern era to never reach Sekiwake. Another one of his claims to fame is the fact that he is one of only 3 Modern Era rikishi to have an Emperor’s Cup without, again, ever earning promotion to Sekiwake (the other two are Wakanami and Tokushoryu, for those keeping score at home). Fujinishiki made waves as soon as he broke into the top division, posting two 12-3 records with 2 accompanying jun-yusho in his first 5 Makuuchi basho. This propelled him up to Komusubi, which ultimately proved to be a barrier he could not overcome (he spent 10 basho at the rank, and even earned 3 kachi koshi, without ever moving higher). Despite this, in 1964 he managed to capture lightning in a bottle while ranked at M9, taking advantage of a Taiho-less field and a weaker schedule than he was accustomed to in racing to a 14-1 record and the ultimate prize. After this, he spent the final few years of his career trying to stave off Father Time, and by the time he retired, he had a negative kachi koshi rate (46%). However, the combination of his longevity, his ability to elevate against the best rikishi (7 career kinboshi), and that magical yusho earn him a special place among all former Komusubi.

That concludes Chapter 2 of our Top 100 Rikishi Countdown; if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to get to them as quick as I can! Tune in next time for #80-71, where we’ll meet a couple more active rikishi and the first Yokozuna on the list. Thanks for reading!