Last man standing: how Mongolians came to dominate sumo, Japan’s national sport

The emergence of Mongolian wrestlers, with new techniques, skills and philosophy, and a dearth of home-grown talent, has created a new era for the sport

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TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 21: Komusubi Terunofuji prepares for his bout against Shimanoumi on day fourteen of the Grand Sumo November Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan on November 21, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Published: 1:15pm, 18 Dec 2021

It was the final showdown, day 15 of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, in Japan’s Aichi prefecture. After 14 days and 14 wins for each wrestler, the title bout on July 18 was made all the more tense for its involving grand champion yokozuna Hakuho and second-ranked ozeki Terunofuji, who, after the former’s more than a decade of sumo domination, was widely seen as the next ascendant in the ancient Japanese sport.

As the gyoji (referee) assumed position inside the raised clay dohyo (ring), the two giants set their fists on the floor, and at the signal, launched their combined 340kg of muscle and fat into each other. The champion rammed his forearm into Terunofuji’s face, before the challenger manoeuvred his hand inside Hakuho’s loincloth to attempt a throw, but, drawing on his experience of 1,187 wins in 84 tournaments, the veteran unbalanced Terunofuji and with an outside arm grip sent him face first to the ground.

The entire match lasted 20 seconds. Having been defeated in several bouts in the preceding six tournaments while carrying a knee injury, this final victory before retirement served to affirm 36-year-old Hakuho’s place among the greatest of all time.

Soon after Nagoya, 29-year-old Terunofuji – with 422 wins in 63 tournaments – became the 73rd yokozuna in sumo history, a lineage that stretches back to 8th century mythology. More noteworthy, though, is the fact that this new grand champion became the fifth yokozuna born not in the Japanese archipelago, but the vast plateaus of Mongolia. Hakuho had been the fourth.

Grand champion Hakuho (top) defeats ozeki Terunofuji on the final day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on July 18, 2021. Photo: Getty Images

Landlocked Mongolia is a country of just 3.3 million people, but during the Naadam Festival – an annual celebration of the traditional Mongolian sports of bokh wrestling, archery and horse racing – there can be as many as 20,000 wrestlers on any given day. In 2020, there were 683 active, professional sumo wrestlers in all of Japan.