Kakuryū Rikisaburō

In the March 2012 tournament held in Osaka, Kakuryū defeated Hakuhō for the second time in a row on Day 9, and entered the final day of the tournament one win ahead of the yokozuna at 13–1, his only loss thus far being to Kisenosato on Day 8. However, he was defeated by Gōeidō, and Hakuhō's defeat of Baruto ensured a playoff between the two Mongolians. Hakuhō gained revenge on Kakuryū to claim his 22nd tournament title. Although he missed out on his first championship, Kakuryū received prizes for Outstanding performance and Technique.[13] Kakuryū said that inexperience cost him in his playoff against Hakuhō and that a tournament victory was "too soon for me."[14] Kakuryū's 33 wins over three tournaments was, however, enough to grant him a promotion to ōzeki. The promotion marked the first time there were six active ōzeki simultaneously.[15] It took him 62 tournaments from his professional debut to make ōzeki, which was the tenth slowest in sumo history, and the slowest of the nine foreigners who have made the rank.[16]

Yokozuna Kakuryū Rikisaburō performing a dohyō-iri (2014)

After an unremarkable 2013, in which he scored no better than ten wins in any of the six tournaments, Kakuryū surprised many observers with a 14–1 performance in January 2014, defeating Hakuhō in their regulation match and only losing the title in a playoff against him on the final day. It was the fourth runner-up title of his career.[9] He followed it up with a 14–1 record in March 2014, defeating both Hakuhō and Harumafuji en route to the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament title. It was his first top division yūshō.[2] Having satisfied the minimum requirement of two consecutive championships or "the equivalent", the Yokozuna Deliberation Council unanimously recommended his promotion on 24 March, which was confirmed by the Japan Sumo Association on 26 March.[17] Kakuryū was the first to achieve the rank since Harumafuji in 2012, the fourth Mongolian to do so, the sixth foreign-born yokozuna, and 71st overall. "I am determined to focus all my efforts to train even harder and be certain to give all my strength not to defile the yokozuna name," he remarked.[2] As a yokozuna, he performs the Unryū-gata style.[2]

His first tournament as a yokozuna ended in disappointment as he gave up an early kinboshi to Endō on Day 4 and lost his last three matches to finish on 9–6. He fared better in subsequent tournaments in 2014, scoring at least 11 wins in each, and was in contention for the November 2014 tournament championship before losing to Hakuhō in the final bout. This was his fifth career runner-up performance.

Kakuryū was forced to withdraw on the eve of the March 2015 tournament, after suffering a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder.[18] This was his first absence as a yokozuna and came so late that his opening match had already been drawn up and had to be forfeited. He also sat out the summer Natsu basho in May as the injury had not fully healed, the first time a yokozuna has missed two full tournaments in a row since Musashimaru missed three in 2003.[18] He made a respectable comeback in the July tournament, scoring 12–3 and being in contention for the championship until his defeat to Hakuhō on the final day. With Harumafuji absent and Hakuhō pulling out on the third day, Kakuryū was the only yokozuna for most of the September tournament. He recovered from losses to Yoshikaze on day 2 and Myōgiryū on day 10 to enter the final day on 12–2, one win ahead of the ōzeki Terunofuji. In the final scheduled match of the tournament, he was beaten by Terunofuji but won the ensuing playoff by uwatedashinage to take his second championship and his first since his promotion to yokozuna. After the playoff he commented; "The fact that I have long been away from a title has weighed on me. It was tough... I thought I might lose a title once again, but then I came to think that all I needed to do was to execute my style of sumo... I feel rewarded for continuing to work hard without getting down on myself."[19] Despite his success he received some criticism for using the henka, a side-stepping technique, during the tournament, notably against Kisenosato on the penultimate day.[20] In November he never looked likely to win the tournament but ended with a 9–6 record after beating Hakuhō on the final day.

Kakuryū began 2016 with 10–5 records in January and March, and did slightly better in May with an 11–4 record. He withdrew from the July 2016 tournament in Nagoya after suffering injuries to his lower back and left ankle.[21] He returned in September and recorded ten wins. In the November tournament he won his first ten matches before losing to Kisenosato on day 11. He rebounded to beat Kotoshōgiku and Hakuhō before securing his third yūshō with a win over Gōeidō on day 14.[22] After rounding off his tournament with a win over Harumafuji on the final day he commented "It’s really pleasing, I’ve been struggling with injuries for the past one, two years and physically and mentally things didn’t come together, but I didn’t sulk and it’s great that things turned out like this. I feel I’m finally getting to wrestle my way, relaxed. I’ll not forget how I’m feeling now and keep working."[3]

Kakuryū versus Hakuhō during a ceremonial tournament at Yasukuni Shrine, April 2017

2017 began disappointingly as Kakuryū suffered five defeats in the first ten days, including three kinboshi given up to maegashira ranked wrestlers. Kakuryū withdrew after Day 10 from the tournament with an injury to his right leg.[23] He returned with ten wins in the Osaka tournament in March. He pulled out of the May 2017 tournament after three losses in the first four days, citing a left ankle injury.[24] He also withdrew from the following tournament in July on Day 4, this time with an injury to his right foot.[25] His stablemaster Izutsu said that Kakuryū would not pull out of a tournament upon his return and would have to retire instead – "If he can’t win next time he steps on the dohyo, there will be no option to pull out midway. He would have to take the decision (to retire from the sport) as a man."[25] On September 7, 2017, Izutsu Oyakata confirmed that Kakuryū would miss the Aki tournament as he has yet to recover from his right foot injury.[26] In November he was again forced to withdraw shortly before the tournament, this time owing to a lower back problem in addition to his ankle injury.[27] On December 20, 2017, the Sumo Association announced that he was being docked his salary for January 2018 for failing to act when Mongolian wrestler Takanoiwa was injured by Harumafuji at a restaurant and bar in Tottori in October.[28] Fellow yokozuna Hakuhō was docked a month and a half's pay. The chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council said, "Hakuho and Kakuryu were not able to stop the incident from happening and being taken too far. Their responsibility should not be taken lightly. They should be given a strong warning."[28]

Kakuryū made his comeback at the January 2018 tournament. After winning his first ten bouts, he then lost four in a row, but won on the last day to finish in third place with an 11–4 record.[29] He was the only yokozuna to complete the tournament after Hakuhō and Kisenosato withdrew with injuries.[30] Having felt pain in his left ankle towards the end of the tournament, he underwent surgery in early February to remove loose cartilage.[31] In the March 2018 Tournament, Kakuryū was once again the only yokozuna to compete. He won 11 straight days, before suffering defeat in his match against Tochinoshin. Kakuryū then won his next two matches, and ensured his tournament championship in his win against Gōeidō on day 14. On day 15 Kakuryū faced Takayasu, the initial ruling was that Kakuryū had won, however a judge's conference was called to review the ruling since it had been close. They decided to have a rematch since Kakuryū's heel had gone out at the same time that the top of Takayasu's foot touched the ring. In the rematch, Takayasu won. Kakuryū finished the tournament with a 13–2 record, this was his fourth championship. In the May 2018 tournament Kakuryū won consecutive championships for the first time, losing only to maegashira Shōhōzan and finishing one win ahead of Tochinoshin with a 14–1 record.[32] However he pulled out of the following tournament in July through injury on Day 6.[33] In September he appeared to be in excellent form and won his first ten bouts but after losing to Tochinoshin on day 11,[34] he failed to win again and ended with a 10–5 record. He did little training in the run-up to the November 2018 tournament, affected by the right ankle injury that he first suffered in July 2017.[35] He confirmed on November 8 that he would be withdrawing from the tournament.[36] The same injury resulted in him pulling out of the January 2019 tournament on Day 6 with a 2–3 record.[37] After 10-5 and 11-4 records in the March and May tournaments, Kakuryū won his sixth career top division championship in the July tournament with a 14–1 record. Kakuryū clinched the yūshō with a final-day win over fellow yokozuna Hakuhō.[38]

In the September 2019 tournament he won his first four matches but lost three in a row to maegashira Asanoyama, Daieishō and Tomokaze and withdrew on Day 8 because of a left knee injury.[39] He moved to the Michinoku stable after the tournament, following the death of his stablemaster Izutsu Oyakata, the former Sakahoko.[40] He withdrew on the morning of the opening day of the Kyushu tournament in November after suffering a back injury in training.[41] He pulled out on Day 5 of the January 2020 tournament with a record of one win against three losses, the third straight tournament he failed to complete.[42]

Kakuryū was designated as yokozuna-ōzeki on the March 2020 banzuke after just one other wrestler remained at the ōzeki rank. It was the first time in 38 years that the yokozuna-ōzeki designation was used.[43] He was a runner-up for the eighth time in this tournament with a 12–3 record.[9]

Kakuryū pulled out of the July 2020 tournament on Day 2 with an elbow injury after injuring himself in his opening match, a defeat to Endō.[44] He was absent from the following September tournament as well and his stablemaster said, "We've reached a stage where the question of retirement cannot be avoided.[45] He announced that he would miss the November tournament due to his long-standing lower back injury.[46] This was his sixth withdrawal in his last seven tournaments. Following the November 2020 basho, Kakuryū - along with fellow yokozuna Hakuhō - were issued warnings by the Sumo Association's Yokozuna Deliberation Council due to lack of participation in recent sumo tournaments.[47] This is the middle of three notices that the council can issue between a letter of encouragement and a recommendation for retirement.[48] It is the first time in history that warning notices have been issued.[47]

Despite having previously been warned, Kakuryū withdrew from the January 2021 tournament due to lower back issues. According to his stablemaster Michinoku, Kakuryū said he would be putting his career on the line at the next tournament, and said he would be working to regain his fitness so that he could resume training as early as possible.[49] Having withdrawn from four straight tournaments, Kakuryū initially told reporters that he would compete in March,[50] but withdrew the following week because of a muscle strain in his left leg. His stablemaster said that he was not planning to retire.[51]

Facing a potential of further condemnation by the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee, Kakuryū submitted his resignation to the Japan Sumo Association on March 24, 2021. He retired with six Emperor's Cups and a makuuchi record of 645 wins and 394 losses. He will retain his shikona (wrestler name) upon becoming a sumo elder, which he is entitled as a former yokozuna to do for a period of five years pending his acquisition of full elder stock.[4][52] Kakuryū spoke to reporters of feeling relieved and freed by his decision to retire.[53]

Kakuryū's danpatsu-shiki (retirement ceremony) was held on 3 June 2023 at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. Kakuryū performed his final yokozuna dohyō-iri, or ring entering ceremony, with former ōzeki Shōdai and newly-promoted ōzeki Kirishima serving as the tsuyuharai (dew sweeper) and tachimochi (sword bearer), respectively. Some 380 people took turns in cutting Kakuryū's ōichōmage, including all three of the other yokozuna from Mongolia: Asashōryū, Harumafuji and Hakuhō.[54]