Japan has officially named its first homegrown sumo champion in 19 years, ending a long dry spell in one of the country’s ancient national sports.

Kisenosato, 30, was promoted to the highest rank of yokozuna on Wednesday, reports the Japanese Kyodo News Agency. He’s the 72nd sumo wrestler to have gained the prestigious title, and the first Japan-born wrestler to ascend to sumo’s top rank since Wakanohana in 1998. Kisenosato achieved the title after winning the Emperor’s Cup on Sunday following a 15-day tournament.

For Kisenosato, winning the title was the culmination of a lengthy journey — 73 tournaments to be exact, the longest for any sumo wrestler who became yokozuna since 1926.

“I accept with all humility,” he told reporters. “I will devote myself to the role and try not to disgrace the title of yokozuna.”

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Read More: The Changing Face of Sumo Wrestling

Sumo is a sport that has been central to Japanese tradition dating back around 1,500-years, but in modern times it has been beset by a series of scandals and has long been grappling with falling numbers and a lack of local champion fighters. Beginning with a raft of top wrestlers from the Pacific Islands and Hawaii in the 1990s, overseas contenders have come to dominate the sport. Fighters from Mongolia, which has a deep wrestling tradition of its own, have recently reigned supreme in the Japanese sport, with all three of the current yokozunas hailing from the country.

[Kyodo]

Contact us at editors@time.com.</s>After decades of scandals and humiliation at the hands of Mongolian wrestlers, sumo finally has Japanese grand champion again.

Kisenosato, a 30-year-old, 385-pound wrestler, was promoted Wednesday to the rank of yokozuna, the first time a Japanese competitor has been elevated to the highest tier in sumo in 19 years.

“The position of yokozuna is proof of much hard work and he’ll need to continue to work hard and protect the position like hell,” Nobuyoshi Hakkaku, chairman of the Japan Sumo Association, told reporters when announcing the promotion.

Japan’s national sport has been in decline in recent years, partly the result of a generational shift toward sports like baseball, partly because of the health issues associated with the heft needed to wrestle, and partly because of the increasing dominance of foreigners.

All three of the current yokozuna, whose ranks Kisenosato now joins, come from Mongolia. Competitors from Brazil, Russia, China and even Hawaii have also been doing well in past years.

So Kisenosato electrified Japan at the weekend when he won the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, recording 14 wins and only one loss.

Usually, a wrestler is promoted to yokozuna after winning two tournaments, but the Yokozuna Deliberation Council Monday recommended that Kisenosato be elevated to the top rank after only one victory.

The Japan Sumo Association concurred Wednesday, making Kisenosato the first Japanese wrestler to be promoted to grand champion since Wakanohana in 1998.

“Kisenosato to end long drought of Japan-born yokozuna,” a headline in the Asahi newspaper declared. “Hopes are rising that this new Japanese yokozuna will reinvigorate the world of sumo,” a writer said in the Nikkei Asian Review.

Kisenosato had something of a reputation for fragility, failing to come through high-pressure matches on many occasions. But at the tournament on Sunday, something felt different, he said.

“I was not excessively tense and was able to fight while keeping my calm,” he told Japanese reporters. “In addition to my own power, I felt that some different power was working.”

Indeed, Kisenosato has set another record: It took him 89 rounds of tournaments to become yokozuna, the slowest record in modern sumo history. And his victory Sunday came only after two Mongolian yokozuna pulled out of the tournament.

Some worry that Kisenosato has been promoted too quickly or that rules were bent to allow him to reach grand champion status.

“I like Kisenosato. Of course I want to see a Japanese yokozuna! And I believe his stable results in the past six tournaments were wonderful,” Ebizo, a renowned and outspoken kabuki actor, wrote on his blog this week. “But he became yokozuna with only one tournament win. I wonder if this could be an attempt to produce a Japanese yokozuna after such a long time.”</s>After 19 years in which the top rank of Japan's national sport has been dominated by foreigners — most recently Mongolians — the Japan Sumo Association on Wednesday promoted one of their own to the sport's highest rank.

A 30-year-old named Kisenosato was made the sport's 72nd yokozuna, or grand champion. And the nation is rejoicing.

Kisenosato, who was born Yutaka Hagiwara in a prefecture just north of Tokyo, accepted the promotion dressed in a traditional black kimono.

"I will devote myself further not to disgrace the name of yokozuna," he said.

Sumo wrestling was invented in Japan, and involves very large and lightly clad men competing to see who can force the other to step outside the ring or touch the ground with something other than the soles of his feet.

PHOTO: You'd Cry Too! Babies and Sumos Face Off in Crying Contest

Kisenosato's promotion came after he won his first sumo tournament, on Sunday. It took him 73 tournaments to achieve the honor, making his ascent one of the most glacial in the postwar era.

He is the first native Japanese promoted to the rank of yokozuna since 1998. In the interim, the title has been held by an American Samoan, Musashimaru Koyo, who later became a naturalized Japanese citizen, and four Mongolians.

There are no set criteria for elevating a sumo wrestler from ozeki, the second highest title, to yokozuna. But the Yokozuna Deliberation Council looks at the winner of a tournament, reviews his hinkaku, or dignity and grace, as well as his recent performances, and then make a recommendation to the Sumo Association.

Kienosato promised in a news conference to bring honor to the position.

"I believe yokozuna is a position that is under constant scrutiny and that people will be watching how I carry out my daily life," he said. "In that respect, I feel I need to grow further as a person and strive to become a yokozuna whom people can respect."

A yokozuna cannot be demoted. If he fails to uphold a majority win during a tournament, the only road left is retirement, something of which Kisenosato is well aware.

"Once you become a yokozuna, you cannot lose," he said. "I have to be even stronger and become a wrestler who never loses."</s>Japan's excruciating wait for a homegrown yokozuna, or sumo grand champion, ended Wednesday when 30-year-old Kisenosato was promoted to the ancient sport's highest rank. Sumo wrestler Kisenosato holds up a big sea bream to celebrate his promotion to the top rank of "yokozuna" after meeting with representatives from the Japan Sumo Association in Tokyo on January 25, 2017.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com.</s>Sumo Crown Comes Home With Japan’s 1st Wrestling Title in 19 Years

The sumo wrestler Kisenosato was promoted to “Yokozuna” — the sport’s highest rank — three days after winning the title in Toyko. It was Japan’s first such award in almost two decades.</s>Unlike during tournaments, an occasional smile crept across Kisenosato’s face.

But the 30-year-old mostly maintained his signature stern expression, perhaps anticipating the responsibility about to be bestowed upon him as he ascends to highest rank in the world of sumo.

Kisenosato was told by messengers from the Japan Sumo Association at a Tokyo hotel that he had been unanimously approved as the 72nd yokozuna by the sport’s governing body at its executive committee meeting Wednesday.

“I would like to respectfully accept it. I will devote myself to not disgrace the name of yokozuna,” Kisenosato said.

Speaking to a large crowd of reporters who had assembled for the promotion of the first Japanese-born yokozuna since Wakanohana in 1998 (Hawaiian-born Musashimaru was promoted to yokozuna in 1999 after he became a Japanese citizen), Kisenosato said with a relieved expression that he was “extremely nervous” when he responded to the messengers.

“I came here to express my appreciation for those who have supported me,” said Kisenosato, who captured his first Emperor’s Cup in the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, which wrapped up Sunday, with a 14-1 record. “I am fortunate to have received help from so many people. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this by myself.”

While he was clearly pleased with his promotion, Kisenosato acknowledged that he would have to be more accountable as a yokozuna and get used to greater scrutiny both inside and outside the ring.

“I still have a lot of weaknesses,” said Kisenosato, who posted the most wins of any wrestler in 2016. “But I’ve been chosen (to be yokozuna) and know I’ve got to do my best.

“A yokozuna is considered to be the strongest man. I will certainly be in the spotlight when I’m in the ring and my attitude will be under scrutiny when I’m not in the ring as well. So I would like to grow more as a human, so I will earn respect.”

Kisenosato added that a yokozuna “is not supposed to lose” and has to be able to “compete for the championship at any time.”

Kisenosato’s stable master, Tagonoura, who inherited the stable after his predecessor, Naruto, died in 2011, said that he had witnessed Kisenosato’s hard work up close and was glad it had paid off.

“He was competing under massive pressure,” Tagonoura said of the last year, when Kisenosato had the chance to become yokozuna. “Though a tournament lasts 15 days, he quickly gets back into training after each tournament.”

Kisenosato is the only Japanese-born wrestler of the four current yokozuna (Hakuho, Harumafuji and Kakuryu are Mongolians) — a designation that will carry enormous expectations.

“I am in no position to assess other wrestlers’ sumo, but I’ve always been told that I had to polish my skills to go forward,” Kisenosato said when asked about what areas he thinks he has an edge over the other yokozuna. “I’ve been told that since I entered sumo when I was 15 and I’ve tried to develop that. Whether I was a juryo wrestler or I was ozeki, I’ve come all the way here believing it.”

JSA chief director Hakkaku, who was formerly known as yokozuna Hokutoumi, said that he expected the latest yokozuna to be a salesman for the sport.

“I understand that it’s part of the job of a yokozuna,” said Kisenosato, a native of Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture. “Including at (unofficial) tour tournaments, I am going to do my best to promote sumo.”

Kisenosato’s father, Sadahiko Hagiwara, said that he would like his son to be a role model and be a better person.

“You can’t just wrestle any way you want (as yokozuna) because you are representing sumo and in a sense you are also representing the country of Japan,” he said. “The responsibility is certainly heavier.”

Kisenosato is scheduled to perform a dohyo-iri ring-entering ceremony at Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu shrine on Friday as one of his first duties as yokozuna.</s>Japan has its first home-grown top ranked sumo wrestler in almost two decades after Kisenosato was promoted to the highest rank of "Yokozuna".

The last Japan-born wrestlers to reach the top were brothers – Takanohana and Wakanohana – who made it to yokozuna in 1994 and 1998 respectively.

The 30-year-old was promoted to the top rank three days after he won his first title at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament with a 14-1 record. "I think it was the support I received that enabled me to come this far. I desperately hung on at the end," Kisenosato said.

He added that he would "concentrate on being true to the title of Yokozuna", while accepting the honour.

Kisenosato, whose real name is Yutaka Hagiwara and who hails from Ibaraki to the north of Tokyo, has been an ozeki - the second-highest rank - since 2012. However, on Wednesday (25 January), he became the first Japanese to gain that coveted rank since 1998.

Before joining wrestling, Kisenosato was a pitcher in his school's baseball club. He made his debut in 2002 and according to Japan's Mainichi newspaper, the 73 tournaments he took to become a yokozuna are the most by any wrestler since 1926.

It was believed that with the promotion of Kisenosato, Japanese fans of the sport would be pleased as they finally get to see a local wrestler back at the top of a sport, which is regarded as a cultural icon, after several years.

In recent years, the sport was dominated by the Mongolians and Hawaiians. It was also hit by a series of scandals involving bullying of junior trainees, and wrestlers gambling on professional baseball games.

The last three wrestlers promoted to Yokozuna were Mongolian – Hakuho, Harumafuji and Kakuryu. Before them came Hawaiian Akebono and Samoan Musashimaru.</s>" A Japanese sumo wrestler has reached the pinnacle of the country's ancient sport for the first time in almost two decades. Kisenosato was promoted to the highest rank of "Yokozuna" on Wednesday, three days after winning his first title at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament with a 14-1 record.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The New Zealand Herald.</s>Sumo has come home as the first Japan-born wrestler for 19 years has been promoted to the rank of yokozuna, the highest in the sport. Following a meeting by the Japan Sumo Association on January 23rd, the 30-year-old, 178kg (392 lbs) Kisenosato was nominated to become the 72nd yokozuna after a string of bout victories and winning a tournament. The appointment was then finalized by the JSA today. In recent years, the top ranks of sumo have been dominated by foreign-born wrestlers from Mongolia, Hawaii and elsewhere. The last Japanese yokozuna was Wakanohana in 1998. “I feel grateful to all the people that have helped me,” said Kisenosato, who was born Yutaka Hagiwara (sumo wrestlers take a new name to compete in the sport). The humble champion paid tribute to his late stable master, Naruto. “If I had not met my former trainer I would not have got to where I have now,” he said. “I have nothing but gratitude.” Sumo is generally considered Japan’s national sport. There are currently three other yokozuna-ranked wrestlers active in sumo — Kakuryu, Harumafuji and Hakuho — all of whom were born in Mongolia. Hakuho is considered by some the greatest sumo wrestler of all time. Prior to Hakuho, the sport was dominated by another Mongolian, Asashoryu. Foreign-born wrestlers won 58 consecutive tournaments from 2006 to 2015, as Nippon.com notes. Kisenosato’s promotion presents a good opportunity for sumo to shed some of the bad taste left by a string of scandals in recent years, including drugs, bullying, match-fixing, and ties to the yakuza. The presence of Japanese wrestlers at the top of the sport would also lead nicely to 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympic Games, though sumo is not part of the official competition lineup. …continue reading</s>A Japanese sumo wrestler has reached the pinnacle of the country's ancient sport for the first time in almost two decades.

Newly promoted Japanese sumo wrestler Kisenosato, center, accompanied by his stable master Tagonoura, right, and the master's wife, Kotomi, holds up a red sea bream during a formal ceremony to notify him of his promotion to the pinnacle of Japan's ancient sport.

Kisenosato was promoted to the highest rank of "Yokozuna" today, three days after winning his first title at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament with a 14-1 record.

"I humbly accept the honor," he said at a ceremony in Tokyo. "I will concentrate on being true to the title of Yokozuna."

Kisenosato, whose real name is Yutaka Hagiwara, is the first Japanese wrestler to earn the coveted rank of "grand champion" since 1998.

Mongolians and Hawaiians have dominated the sport for more than a decade, causing concern among some sumo officials and fans. The last three wrestlers promoted to Yokozuna were Mongolian: Hakuho, Harumafuji and Kakuryu. Before them came Hawaiian Akebono and Samoan Musashimaru.

The sport's popularity has waned in recent years amid a series of scandals involving bullying of junior apprentices, and wrestlers gambling on professional baseball games. The lack of a Japanese at the top, and competition from football and baseball, has also had an impact.

Previously, the last Japanese promoted to Yokozuna was Wakanohana in 1998. His brother, Takanohana, was the last Japanese to compete as a Yokozuna. He retired in 2003.

Wrestlers must normally win two consecutive tournaments to be promoted. Kisenosato only has one title but earned the top rank based on his consistent results in recent tournaments and the New Year title.

As much as his promotion will give the sport a shot in the arm, it comes at an advanced age for a sumo wrestler.

Kisenosato is 30 years old. Mongolian Hakuho, who is 31, was 22 when he became a grand champion. He went on to win a record 37 championships.
In sumo wrestling, Kisenosato Yutaka becomes the 72nd yokozuna. He is the first Japanese national to effect the promotion to the highest rank in 19 years.