Hakuho 白鵬 翔 — 第69代横綱

Hakuho (白鵬 翔, born Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal on March 11, 1985, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) is the 69th Yokozuna of professional sumo and, by the numbers, the most successful wrestler in the sport's recorded history. He holds the records for top-division championships, top-division wins, career wins and perfect 15–0 tournaments.

He won 45 top-division championships (yusho), 13 more than the previous record of 32 held by Taiho. He won 1,093 bouts in the top Makuuchi division (1,187 across his whole career), both all-time records. His 63-bout winning streak in 2010 broke Chiyonofuji's post-war record of 53. Only Futabayama's 69 straight wins (1936–1939) is longer. He also won 16 perfect 15–0 tournaments, twice Taiho's previous record of 8.

See how Hakuho's 45 titles compare with every other legend in our ranking of the most sumo championships in history, or find him among all 75 grand champions in our complete yokozuna list.

Hakuho made his debut in March 2001 and wrestled until 2021. He was promoted to Yokozuna in May 2007 and debuted at the rank in July 2007. He held it for 14 years, the whole of the 2010s, until his retirement in September 2021. He then stayed in the Japan Sumo Association as a coach (oyakata) and ran Miyagino stable from 2022. He left the association in June 2025.

Olympic blood: his father's legacy

Hakuho's father, Jigjidiin Mönkhbat, was a Mongolian wrestler who won the silver medal in men's freestyle middleweight (87 kg) wrestling at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. It was the first Olympic medal ever won by Mongolia. He also held Darkhan Avarga, the top title in traditional Mongolian wrestling. He died in 2018.

Wrestling is one of Mongolia's "Three Manly Games," along with archery and horse racing, and Hakuho grew up in a family with deep roots in the sport.

The journey to Japan

In October 2000, aged 15, Hakuho travelled to Japan at the invitation of the pioneering Mongolian wrestler Kyokushuzan. He weighed only 62 kg (137 lb), and no stable was prepared to take him. Kyokushuzan asked the head of Miyagino stable to step in, and Hakuho was accepted into Miyagino Stable (宮城野部屋) on 24 December 2000, the last day of his two-month stay in Japan.

Stable life is strict, hierarchical and physically punishing, especially for a teenager learning a new language. Hakuho rose steadily through the lower divisions and reached the salaried jūryō ranks less than three years after his debut.

Debut and rapid ascent (2001–2004)

Hakuho made his professional debut in the March 2001 tournament (maezumo) and first appeared on the banzuke in the jonokuchi division in May 2001. He was promoted to jūryō for January 2004. After a 13–2 record there, he made his top-division (Makuuchi) debut in May 2004 and went 12–3. He earned the only kinboshi of his career by beating Yokozuna Asashoryu in November 2004.

First championship and ozeki promotion (2006)

Hakuho first reached sekiwake in March 2005. Strong results at sekiwake in January and March 2006 earned him promotion to Ozeki. In his very first tournament at that rank, May 2006, he won his first top-division championship with a 14–1 record, taking the title in a playoff.

Yokozuna promotion (2007)

Hakuho won back-to-back championships as an ozeki in March 2007 (13–2, in a playoff) and May 2007 (a perfect 15–0). That earned him promotion to 69th Yokozuna, aged 22, and he debuted at the rank in the July 2007 tournament. He was the second Mongolian-born yokozuna, after Asashoryu (68th).

Establishing supremacy (2008–2014)

Hakuho and Asashoryu were the only two yokozuna from 2007 until Asashoryu retired in February 2010. After that, Hakuho was the sport's sole yokozuna until Harumafuji was promoted in 2012. He won 86 bouts in 2009, breaking Asashoryu's single-year record of 84, then won 86 again in 2010. Between March 2010 and May 2011 he won seven championships in a row, equalling Asashoryu's record. The March 2011 tournament was cancelled because of a match-fixing scandal.

Breaking Taiho's record (2014–2015)

Hakuho equalled Taiho's record of 32 championships in November 2014. He broke it in January 2015 by winning his 33rd title with a perfect 15–0 record. Taiho's 32nd and last title had come in 1971, so the record had stood for more than four decades.

Later career and retirement (2016–2021)

Injuries increasingly kept Hakuho out in his later years, but he kept winning when he was fit. He took his 41st title in September 2018 and his 42nd in March 2019, both with 15–0 records. His approach also drew criticism. In January 2018 the Yokozuna Deliberation Council criticized his use of harite (slaps) and kachiage (forearm blows) at the opening charge. Both moves are legal but are widely seen as beneath a yokozuna's dignity. In 2020 the council formally warned him over his repeated absences.

After right-knee surgery, Hakuho returned in July 2021 and won his 45th and final championship with a perfect 15–0 record at the Nagoya tournament. It was his 16th zensho yusho. He never competed again, and the Japan Sumo Association confirmed his retirement at the end of September 2021.

Win/loss figures are from bout-by-bout data on sumo-api.com, cross-checked against the Japan Sumo Association profile and Wikipedia. Playoff bouts are excluded from the win/loss totals, as is standard.

Hakuho didn't just edge past earlier records; in several categories he set new ones by a wide margin.

45 tournament championships — all-time record

Taiho's 32 titles were long seen as sumo's untouchable benchmark. Hakuho beat that total by 13, which is 41% more. He won his final championship at age 36, after knee surgery. His titles span 2006 to 2021, and he won at least one in every one of those 16 calendar years.

1,093 Makuuchi wins — all-time record

Hakuho won 1,093 bouts in the top division against 199 losses, across 103 tournaments. That is a win rate of 84.6%, not counting the 253 bout-days he missed through injury. He passed the old top-division record late in his career, reaching 1,000 top-division wins in September 2018.

63 consecutive wins — post-war record, 2nd all-time (2010)

From Day 14 of the January 2010 tournament to Day 1 of the November 2010 tournament, Hakuho won 63 bouts in a row. Kisenosato stopped the streak on Day 2 in Kyushu. The run broke Chiyonofuji's post-war record of 53 (1988) and equalled the 63 credited to the 18th-century yokozuna Tanikaze. Only Futabayama (双葉山), with 69 straight wins from January 1936 to January 1939, has gone longer.

16 perfect 15-0 tournaments — all-time record

A zensho yusho, winning all 15 bouts of a tournament, is one of sumo's rarest achievements. Hakuho did it 16 times, twice as often as the previous record-holder, Taiho (8). Together those 16 tournaments add up to 240 wins and no losses.

86 wins in a single year (2009 and 2010)

With six 15-day tournaments a year, the most a wrestler can win in a year is 90 bouts. Hakuho went 86–4 in 2009, breaking Asashoryu's record of 84 set in 2005, and repeated the 86–4 in 2010.

Every Hakuho top-division championship, with his regular-season record and rank at the time. Playoff bouts are not included in the records.

Championships and top-division record by year

Data: bout-by-bout records from sumo-api.com, cross-checked against Hakuho's Japan Sumo Association profile. Absences are not counted as losses.

Belt wrestling mastery (yotsu-zumo)

Hakuho was mainly a yotsu-zumo (belt-wrestling) specialist. His favoured grip was migi-yotsu (右四つ): right hand inside under the opponent's arm, left hand on the outside of the belt (uwate). Once he had that grip, his height, reach and balance made him extremely hard to beat. His most common winning technique was yorikiri (force-out), which accounted for roughly 28% of his wins.

His other signature technique was uwatenage, the overarm throw, using that left-hand outside grip. His throws were known for their control rather than desperation.

Technique and tachiai

Hakuho is widely admired for combining a sharp tachiai (opening charge), excellent balance and the ability to adjust mid-bout. He could win on the belt or by pushing, and he often managed to win even when denied his favourite grip.

Psychological edge

Hakuho's long run of dominance gave him a strong psychological edge over rivals. Many bouts were effectively decided at the tachiai, before an opponent could settle into his own sumo.

Controversial tactics

In his later career Hakuho used tactics that drew public and official criticism. The best-known are harite (an open-hand slap) and kachiage (a forearm blow) at the tachiai. Both are legal, but they are generally considered beneath a yokozuna's dignity. The Yokozuna Deliberation Council criticized them in January 2018. He was also criticized for occasionally using henka (sidestepping the opening charge).

Hakuho's defenders argued that adapting his tactics as injuries mounted was pragmatic, and that his results spoke for themselves. The debate reflects a broader tension in sumo between winning and the cultural expectations placed on its highest rank.

Versatility with oshi attacks

Although known for belt wrestling, Hakuho could also push and thrust effectively (oshi-zumo). That second threat stopped opponents from simply defending against his grip.

Redefining the standard of greatness

Every wrestler in sumo is now measured against Hakuho's records. Taiho's 32 yusho stood for more than four decades, and Hakuho finished 13 titles beyond it.

Before Hakuho, Taiho's 32 yusho was seen as effectively unreachable. After his 45, the most successful active yokozuna, with single-digit title counts, are a long way from that mark.

Impact on Mongolian sumo

Hakuho is the most prominent figure in the wave of Mongolian-born wrestlers who transformed professional sumo. Asashoryu (68th), Hakuho (69th), Harumafuji (70th), Kakuryu (71st), Terunofuji (73rd) and Hoshoryu (74th) have all reached yokozuna, as our full yokozuna list shows. Since 2010 he has also run the Hakuho Cup, an international youth sumo tournament for elementary and junior-high school children from Japan and abroad.

International popularization of sumo

Hakuho's peak years coincided with sumo's growing international audience through NHK World and online video. For many fans who found the sport after 2007, Hakuho is the defining image of sumo at its best.

Cultural figure in Japan

Though born in Mongolia, Hakuho spent his whole adult life in Japanese sumo. He became fluent in Japanese and became a Japanese citizen in 2019. He remains one of the most recognisable athletes in the country.

Stable master of Miyagino (2022–2024)

On retiring in September 2021, Hakuho stayed in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder (oyakata), which his 2019 Japanese citizenship made possible. He first coached under the elder name Magaki. On July 28, 2022 he took over the Miyagino name and became head of Miyagino Stable (宮城野部屋), the stable he had wrestled for throughout his career. His formal retirement ceremony followed at Ryōgoku Kokugikan on January 28, 2023.

The 2024 Hokuseiho case

In February 2024 the association found that Hakuho's wrestler Hokuseiho had repeatedly assaulted stablemates, and Hokuseiho retired. Hakuho was demoted to the lowest elder rank and had his salary cut for three months, for failing to properly handle an earlier incident he had been aware of. From April 2024, all of Miyagino stable's wrestlers and coaches, including Hakuho, were transferred to Isegahama stable.

Leaving the Japan Sumo Association (2025)

The association accepted Hakuho's resignation on June 9, 2025. At a press conference that day, he said he wanted to develop sumo from an outside perspective.