A look back at the sport of sumo's highest rank - the Yokozuna.

Although the meaning of the title has changed significantly through the history of the sport, the rank of Yokozuna has existed since the 1700s. Originally simply an indicator of how influential a wrestler's patron was, the title has officially been recognized on the banzuke (a document published before each official tournament detailing the wrestlers rankings) since 1890.

In March of this year, Kakuryū Rikisaburō became the 71st wrestler to hold the title. Using data from Wikipedia's list of Yokozuna, we can look back on over 200 years of history of the sport leading up to his appointment.

It is interesting to not that, up until the early ninties, Yokozuna was held by exclusively Japanese wrestlers. However, in recent years, Hawaiian and Mongolian wrestlers have begun to dominate the sport.

The view can be switched from a comparison of careers by age to an overview of the history of the title using the toggle below.