Banzuke

The banzuke is the official ranking list of professional sumo wrestlers, issued by the Japan Sumo Association before each honbasho, the six annual official tournaments. It orders competitors by division and rank, and marks each wrestler with an East or West designation within their division. The top division is makuuchi, followed by jūryō, makushita, sandanme, jonidan, and jonokuchi. Within makuuchi, the highest ranks are yokozuna (East and West when two exist) and ozeki (East/West), then sekiwake and komusubi, and the maegashira ranks numbered from 1 upward. Jūryō likewise uses East/West positions, while the lower divisions are listed by numeric ranks (e.g., makushita 1, makushita 2, etc.).

Promotion and demotion come from performance in the previous tournament. A wrestler who achieves a kachi-koshi (more wins than losses) in a tournament generally moves up, while a make-koshi often leads to relegation. The exact shifts depend on the overall result mix and the banzuke rules applied by the Japan Sumo Association. The banzuke serves both as a public record and as the basis for early match pairings in the next tournament.

History and etymology: The term banzuke (番付) means a ranking list. The practice dates to the Edo period, and modern banzuke are prepared by a dedicated committee within the JSA and published widely, including in newspapers and online.