Yūshō

A Yūshō (優勝) is a tournament championship in sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual honbasho or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most number of bouts. Yūshō are awarded in all six professional sumo divisions. The prize money for a top makuuchi division championship is currently 10 million yen, while for the lowest jonokuchi division the prize is 100,000 yen.

Perhaps surprisingly, considering that most of the interest in tournaments today revolves around who will win the yūshō, the concept of a prize for a wrestler's individual performance is a relatively recent one. Legendary wrestlers such as Tanikaze and Raiden are credited today with winning many championships, but they are all unofficial and are really nothing more than a "best tournament record."

The individual yūshō idea evolved gradually, from wrestlers simply picking up cash thrown into the ring by spectators after winning exciting matches (common in the Edo period), to wrestlers being given trophies and prizes from private sponsors for performances over an entire tournament (beginning in the Meiji period). Trophies were at first given only for undefeated records, but since draws, no decisions and absences were all possible outcomes, several wrestlers could be eligible and it did not necessarily go to the man with the most wins.

In January 1900, the system recognised today began to take shape when the Osaka Mainichi Shinbun newspaper announced it would give a prize of a keshō-mawashi decorative apron for either an undefeated record or for the fewest losses, and in the event of a tie, the wrestler who had defeated the most high ranking opponents would win the prize. Thus the principle of an individual champion was established. Takamiyama Torinosuke's victory in June 1909 was the first to be officially declared a yūshō, and the system was formally recognised by the Japan Sumo Association in 1926 when the Tokyo and Osaka organisations merged.

From June 1909 to October 1931 and from January 1940 to July 1947, there was also a group competition called Touzai-sei (東西制). The wrestlers were divided into two teams, East and West, and it was the team with the better overall score that was awarded a prize.

In addition to their prize money, top division yūshō winners receive the Emperor's cup (天皇賜杯), first donated by Hirohito, an avid sumo fan, in 1925 as the Prince Regent's cup (摂政宮賜杯). It was changed to current name upon Hirohito's accession to the emperor's throne in December 1926. There is also a banner with the names of past winners. Both are presented by the chairman of the Sumo Association. There are also a large number of prizes and trophies given by prefectural and foreign governments, as well as businesses. For several years the French President Jacques Chirac, a noted sumo fan, donated a trophy. The wrestler is given replicas of all the trophies to keep.

An unbeaten 15-0 score is known as zensho-yusho and is fairly rare; most yūshō winning scores are either 14-1 or 13-2. The wrestler who has won the most top division yūshō is Taihō with 32, closely followed by Chiyonofuji with 31. Futabayama won 12 yūshō in an era when only two tournaments were held each year.

Playoffs
Since 1947 a playoff system (kettei-sen) has been in place to determine the winner of the yūshō if two or more wrestlers finish with an identical score. Until then, the yūshō would go to whoever was the higher in rank, as it was presumed they had faced better quality opposition, but this caused controversy in 1928, when ōzeki Hitachiiwa was chosen over Misugiiso despite the fact that one of his wins had come by default. There was similar criticism when new maegashira Chiyonoyama was denied a championship in November 1945, despite winning all his matches. Playoffs with more than two wrestlers involved are fairly common in lower divisions, but have only happened a handful of times in the top division. A three way playoff occurred three times in the 1990s, with a four way playoff in March 1997 and a unique five way playoff in November 1996. In such cases lots are drawn to decide who fights first, and the first wrestler to win two consecutive bouts takes the yūshō. A playoff is the only occasion in which wrestlers from the same stable or heya can meet in tournament competition. The wrestler who has taken part in the most top division playoffs is Takanohana with ten (won five, lost five). Chiyonofuji has the most victories, with six (he was never defeated in a playoff).