Promotions/demotions

[Kashunowaka 300]

What are the guidelines for promotion/demotion in makushita and below, i.e. what does a 4-3 or a 2-5 record etc. equate to in banzuke positions?

[Asashosakari 20,223]

What are the guidelines for promotion/demotion in makushita and below, i.e. what does a 4-3 or a 2-5 record etc. equate to in banzuke positions?

What I've observed, as rough averages:

lower Makushita:

4-3 / 3-4: +/- 7 to 12 ranks

5-2 / 2-5: +/- 20 ranks

6-1 / 1-6: +/- 30 ranks

7-0: to near the top of Makushita, from wherever you were ranked before

0-7: -40 ranks

Upper Makushita (around Ms30 and above) has smaller promotions for any KK (getting ever-smaller the higher you go, e.g. only 2 ranks with a 4-3 sometimes), and slightly smaller demotions for the little MK's of 3-4 and 2-5, due to it being so crowded up there with the Juryo ceiling.

The demotion for 1-6 is only smaller than some 25 to 30 ranks if you're up pretty high (Ms15 or so...small reward for getting up there in the first place, I guess), and the demotion for 0-7 is pretty much constant at -40. (Just ask Sentoryu who dropped from Ms1e to Ms41e...)

Generally speaking, in upper Makushita, you'll fall harder with a MK than you'll climb with the equivalent KK, which is in a way a complete reversal of the Maegashira elevator. (Sigh...) No wonder so many rikishi claim their Juryo debut as an equally memorable event as (or even more memorable than) their Makuuchi or Sanyaku debuts.

A 7-0 from Ms15 or higher will of course earn you direct promotion to Juryo.

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Sandanme:

4-3 / 3-4: +/- 10 to 15 ranks

5-2 / 2-5: +/- 25 ranks

6-1 / 1-6: +/- 50 ranks, maybe a bit smaller than +50 if you're in high Sandanme already

7-0: up to +100 ranks, basically to an almost-equivalent rank in Makushita (e.g. Sd20 -> Ms25)

0-7: -100 ranks

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Jonidan:

4-3 / 3-4: +/- 20 ranks

5-2 / 2-5: +/- 40 ranks

6-1 / 1-6: +/- 80 ranks

7-0 / 0-7: +/- 100 ranks

The 7-0 promotion might be even bigger if you're at the very end of Jonidan (basically, you'll at least get promoted to the end of Sandanme, even if that's a promotion of 120 ranks) , and similarly you'll get demoted less for 1-6 and 0-7 if you're already near the end of Jonidan, simply because there don't exist another 80 ranks behind you in Jonokuchi.

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Jonokuchi:

Nothing really to say here...basically every KK from any rank will get you promoted to Jonidan, though sometimes even a small MK might yield a promotion if you're high enough in Jonokuchi and there are enough people on the way down with bigger MK's. If you're far enough near the end of Jonokuchi, even a big MK might still get you promoted (e.g. Dewanooka who went 1-6 at Jk36e in May and was promoted to Jk25e).

The promotions for bigger KK in Jonokuchi (i.e. 6-1 and 7-0) should be more or less the same as for rikishi already in Jonidan, although I've never closely looked into it, as the flexible size of Jonidan makes it pretty difficult to calculate the promotion steps accurately.

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Actual promotions/demotions will vary depending on the banzuke situation, of course, but I've found these numbers to be good guidelines for the lower divisions, at least as far as the last couple of years are concerned. (i.e. these numbers seem to work well for the Kyokai with the current number of about 700 rikishi total.)

Edited July 20, 2003 by Asashosakari

[Kashunowaka 300]

Thank you very much, Asashosakari-zeki! (Sigh...)

[Kotoseiya Yuichi 3]

Very good summary! Thank you! :-)

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

I have to say thanks as well, Asashosakari-zeki. (Applauding...)

[Zentoryu 154]

Nothing really to say here...basically every KK from any rank will get you promoted to Jonidan, though sometimes even a small MK might yield a promotion if you're high enough in Jonokuchi and there are enough people on the way down with bigger MK's. If you're far enough near the end of Jonokuchi, even a big MK might still get you promoted (e.g. Dewanooka who went 1-6 at Jk36e in May and was promoted to Jk25e).

KK's usually get a Jonokuchi promoted to Jonidan about 99.9% of the time. But there are rare occasions when a 4-3 Jonokuchi doesn't make it out of the division on the following banzuke. This usually happens when there aren't enough shin-deshi to fill out the bottom of the Jonokuchi banzuke.

The promotions of MK rikishi in this division often depend not only on big MK's coming down, but on the number of shin-deshi having their first basho. The more shin-deshi, the more likely an MK Jonokuchi is to get a bump up the banzuke. Back in May there were so many newcomers that the Kyokai actually promoted a bunch of Jonokuchi veterans to Jonidan, this inspite of the fact that a number of them had gotten MK in the previous tournament.