A kachikoshi story

[Jonosuke 28]

Wakanosato 8-7 (over Kakizoe by oshitaoshi)

-----------------------------------------------------

(Finally getting kachikoshi on the Senshuraku)

"My throat was so dry from being so tensed up. But I had the best sumo today."

Along with Wakanosato, a total of nine rikishis with 7 wins and 7 losses record ikishis

today. Ozumo is a simple world of Banzuke. If a rikishi gets a kachikoshi, he will preserve his rank and will drop down if he does not.

And there is one additional thing - money. It has a system of incentive or merit pay whereby if they get a kachikoshi, they can increase their income. For instance, if they get a 8 wins and 7 losses record, they would get one merit point and if they get a 9 wins and 6 losses record, they'd get three points (for three wins above the kachikoshi line).

Yokozuna Asashoryu received 10 Million Yen for winning the Yusho this basho. However he also got other subsidiary prizes totalling 30 Yen plus "6.5 Yen" for winning 13 bouts above the kachikosihi line for a total sum of "36.5 Yen". This amount is multiplied by a factor of 4,000 to make it to 146,000 Yen so along with his regular salary, he'd earn an additional accumulative incentive pay of 2,282,000 Yen extra next basho.

Out of the nine rikishis who had 7 wins and 7 losses record, the six got Kachikoashi and received "0.5 Yen". Unlike Asashoryu, their merit pay will increase is only 2,000 Yen more but for a couple, it is a road back to their dream - for Wakanosato, return to Sanyanku and for Hakuho, it is to a possible Ozeki promotion.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 209]

ut of the nine rikishis who had 7 wins and 7 losses record, the six got Kachikoashi

And interesting it might be that on senshuraku all 4 Naruto-sekitori were at 7-7. Only Takanowaka failed to clinch the much wanted 8th win. Takanotsuru in juryo and Kisenosato+Wakanosato in makuuchi beat their foes.

[Araiguma_Rascal 0]

May I ask:

About how much compensation does a typical mid-level maegashira make in a year (assuming he stays around the middle of makuuchi for a whole year)?

What about sanyaku and yokozuna?

What about the lower ranks?

[Zentoryu 154]

May I ask:

About how much compensation does a typical mid-level maegashira make in a year (assuming he stays around the middle of makuuchi for a whole year)?

What about sanyaku and yokozuna?

What about the lower ranks?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Kotonowaka, who is as typical a mid-level Maegashira as you can get, made about 26,000,000 yen in official pay and bonuses last year (that's nearly $240,000 USD, or 180,000 EUR). Maegashira get about 1,309,000 yen per month in regular salary. Come basho time this is supplemented by the hosho-kin salary bonus system and by any kensho they win, as well as any money they may get on the side from heya sponsers. Koto has also been around for a while, so his bonus level is pretty high. Most Maegashira will make closer to 20,000,000 yen if they stay in the division for the whole year.

A Sanyaku (Komusubi and Sekiwake) makes about 1,693,000 yen per month. They also get the hosho-kin salary bonus at basho time, but they also receive an extra 100,000 yen on top of it. A sanyaku regular, like Wakanosato was last year, will earn around 30,000,000 yen ($280,000 USD) or more over the course of the year.

Ozeki make 2,347,000 yen per month. Your typical Ozeki, like Kaio, makes between 50,000,000 and 75,000,000 yen ($700,000 USD) per year depending on how much kensho they win and if they won a yusho or not.

Yokozuna are the only rikishi with a realistic chance of making more than a million dollars over the course of a year. They usually attract more kensho than any other rikishi and have much larger rank and Hosho-kin salary bonuses. Plus they win most of the Yusho, which are worth an extra 10,000,000 yen alone. Asashoryu made somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000,000 yen ($1,400,000 USD) last year. But he is a special case, most regular Yokozuna will earn somewhat less than that.

As for the lower divisions, Juryo rikishi are the only one who receive a regular salary (around 1,000,000 yen per month) and earn around 10,000,000 yen per year if they survive that long.

Rikishi from Makushita on down only get what is refered to as "basho allowances" which don't amount to much more than a few hundred dollars per tournament. They get a little incentive money for every bout they win and get prize money if they win a lower division yusho, but again it amounts to little more than pocket change.

Edited March 28, 2005 by Zentoryu

[Ryukaze 0]

Relatively speaking, "Peanuts" compared to what big time proffessional athletes get payed here (in the U.S.).

Edited March 28, 2005 by Ryukaze

[sumofan 6]

Relatively speaking, "Peanuts" compared to what big time proffessional athletes get payed here (in the U.S.).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I call those 'professional atheletes' whining prima-donna's who think 5 hours practise per day is slave labor, and who think that 20 million dollar per year is too much.

like the major league baseball strike a few years ago.

sport jocks earning tens of millions of dollars per year, and they still complain that it isn't enough. then they go on strike, not caring about the fans who pay their salary.

[Zentoryu 154]

To add a little persepective here, the Kyokai can't match the revenue streams of sports like MLB, European Soccer, or even domestic Japanese Baseball. Their revenue stream is rather tiny compared to those sports.

They really can't afford to pay their sekitori much more than they do right now. Certainly not if they want to continue making a profit.

[sumofan 6]

and i think they should'nt.

making 150.000 $ a year is not bad at all.

[AsaMoe 0]

making 150.000 $ a year is not bad at all.

150.000$ in Tokio is less than 150.000 in Munich.

BTW, can they keep all the money or do they have to give some to their heya ? If not, how do they finance their operations ?

[Zentoryu 154]

making 150.000 $ a year is not bad at all.

150.000$ in Tokio is less than 150.000 in Munich.

BTW, can they keep all the money or do they have to give some to their heya ? If not, how do they finance their operations ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oyakata get paid a salary and receive operating expenses from the Kyokai (which is another reason why they can't afford to pay the sekitori any more than they do currently).

You can get a more detailed answer to that question in this thread from early last year...

http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2713&hl=

[Yoavoshimaru 0]

To add a little persepective here, the Kyokai can't match the revenue streams of sports like MLB, European Soccer, or even domestic Japanese Baseball. Their revenue stream is rather tiny compared to those sports.

They really can't afford to pay their sekitori much more than they do right now. Certainly not if they want to continue making a profit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a very good point. I would guess that if you look at the percentage (instead of absolute numbers) of NSK revenues spent on rikishi salaries, it'd be much higher than the corresponding number in the organizations mentioned above.

[Araiguma_Rascal 0]

and i think they should'nt.

making 150.000 $ a year is not bad at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But the career of a sumo wrestler is short and could be ended by an injury at any time. Plus, I don't see that sumo skills would prepare you for getting a regular job later on. Those who never make it to sekitori status for a long time may be fairly poor when their body gives out and forces retirement. There's also the issue of the long-term health damage of getting so fat by gorging on chanko. Look at poor Konishiki. (He may have been obese even without sumo I suppose. Perhaps sumo even gave him more exersize than he would have gotten otherwise.)

Edited March 30, 2005 by Araiguma_Rascal

[Gusoyama 104]

To add a little persepective here, the Kyokai can't match the revenue streams of sports like MLB, European Soccer, or even domestic Japanese Baseball. Their revenue stream is rather tiny compared to those sports.

They really can't afford to pay their sekitori much more than they do right now. Certainly not if they want to continue making a profit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a very good point. I would guess that if you look at the percentage (instead of absolute numbers) of NSK revenues spent on rikishi salaries, it'd be much higher than the corresponding number in the organizations mentioned above.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only "major" sport that may be higher is the NHL. Low revenue, high payments to players. The owners actually lost LESS money this year by having no hockey. Sorry for the :-)