rikishi 力士
A professional sumo wrestler.
What rikishi means
A rikishi is a professional sumo wrestler. Every one belongs to a stable, where he trains, and the lower-division wrestlers live there too. They're ranked across six divisions, and the November 2026 banzuke listed 593 of them. In the ring each one fights under a ring name, his shikona.
Related words
- sekitori関取
- A wrestler in the top two divisions, makuuchi and jūryō, who's paid a salary.
- heya部屋
- A stable: the house where wrestlers train, and where the juniors live.
- shikona四股名
- A wrestler's ring name. It can change many times over a career.
- banzuke番付
- The official ranking list, published before each tournament.