HONG KONG — Sports fans in Japan had been living with a harsh reality for years: Sumo wrestling, a quintessential Japanese pastime that is increasingly dominated by foreign stars, lacked a native-born champion of the highest order.
That changed on Wednesday, when Kisenosato became the first Japanese athlete since 1998 to receive the sumo title of yokozuna, or grand champion. Yokozuna, a rare honor, is the highest of the sport’s 10 ranks.
The promotion, by the Japan Sumo Association, was a top news story in the country on Wednesday. At a train station in Ushiku, Kisenosato’s hometown northeast of Tokyo, banners read, “Celebrate the victory.”
“Many Japanese have been awaiting a Japanese yokozuna,” Koichi Hagiuda, deputy chief cabinet secretary for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said at a news conference in Tokyo. “I hope he will do well so that his dignified character and ability are remembered by history.”
Kisenosato, who weighs about 385 pounds, becomes the fourth active yokozuna in professional sumo wrestling. The other three are Mongolian. The last Japanese yokozuna, Takanohana, retired in 2003 after losing a match.
Kisenosato had long been ranked one notch below yokozuna, and critics had wondered if he had the mental toughness to advance.
