What is the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling?

Yokozuna is the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling.

Unlike the other top ranks, yokozuna is not normally lost after a run of poor tournament results. Instead, a yokozuna is expected to retire when performance and conduct no longer meet the standard associated with the rank. This permanence gives the title an exceptional status in the ranking system.

A wrestler is generally considered for promotion after demonstrating sustained excellence as an ōzeki, the second-highest rank. The Japan Sumo Association’s Yokozuna Deliberation Council evaluates candidates, with championship-quality performances and dignity being central expectations. Yokozuna also perform special ring-entering ceremonies that lower-ranked wrestlers do not.

The word yokozuna originally referred to the thick white rope worn by the grand champion during the ceremony. A wrestler’s tournament belt is still distinct from that ceremonial rope. Although foreign-born wrestlers have held the rank, promotion depends on sumo performance and the formal Japanese system rather than nationality.