Kinboshi
Kinboshi (金星, lit. 'gold star') is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked (maegashira) wrestler's victory over a yokozuna in a grand sumo tournament (honbasho).
It is believed that the term stems from the usage of the terms shiroboshi (白星, lit. 'white star') to designate a bout victory, and kuroboshi (黒星, lit. 'black star') to designate a bout defeat. Thus a "gold star" designates a special victory.
The word kinboshi first came into popular use in the Taishō era (1912–1926), and the system of monetarily awarding a maegashira who defeated a yokozuna in an official tournament began in January 1930.
A kinboshi victory increases the balance in the maegashira's mochikyūkin account by 10 yen. This balance is converted using a multiplier, presently 4,000, and added to the wrestler's bonus in every subsequent tournament in which he competes as a sekitori. With six tournaments a year, this one victory corresponds to a pay increase of 240,000 yen per annum for the remainder of the wrestler's sekitori career.
The record for most kinboshi earned is held by former sekiwake Akinoshima who won 16 bouts against six different yokozuna when ranked as a maegashira.[1]
Restrictions
[edit]Kinboshi are not awarded to san'yaku ranked wrestlers who defeat a yokozuna, nor is it awarded if the maegashira beats a yokozuna with a default win (or fusenshō). It is also not given if the yokozuna is disqualified for using an illegal move (or hansoku).
Other uses
[edit]Ginboshi (銀星, lit. 'silver star') is also used informally to denote a maegashira victory over an ōzeki. However, there is no monetary bonus for such a win, nor are official ginboshi records kept. The unofficial record holder for silver star victories is Aminishiki at 47, followed by Toyonoshima at 35 and Fujinishiki at 33.[2]
List of kinboshi records
[edit]Tables for both kinboshi earned (by maegashira) and those conceded (by yokozuna) are given below.
The tables are up to date as of the end of the September 2026 tournament.
List of top kinboshi earners
[edit]
Kinboshi earned by active wrestlers[edit]This is a running list of the number of all kinboshi earned by all currently active wrestlers. Dates for a wrestler's professional debut, as well as their first and latest gold star earned are given.[3][4]
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All time most kinboshi earned[edit]This is a list of the most kinboshi earned by historic maegashira recorded since 1930. Dates for a wrestler's professional debut, as well as their first and latest gold star earned are given.[5][6]
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Kinboshi conceded
[edit]
Current lowest kinboshi ratio[edit]This is a running list of lowest kinboshi ratios for the two currently active yokozuna.
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All time lowest kinboshi ratio[edit]This is a list of the five lowest kinboshi ratios by historic yokozuna recorded since 1930.
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List of fastest kinboshi earners
[edit]The following lists show the wrestlers who earned a kinboshi against a yokozuna the fastest since the introduction of the six-tournament-per-year system in 1958. Before this system was introduced, the record for the fastest kinboshi in the history of the sport was held by former sekiwake Toyoshima, who defeated Futabayama on the fifth day of the January 1942 tournament, just 10 tournaments after his professional debut.[7]
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Akinoshima - goo Sumo Archived 2014-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Bout Query – Ginboshi – All-time Leaderboard". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ↑ "Bout Query – Kinboshi – Running List". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ "Kinboshi List". Szumo. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ "Bout Query – Kinboshi – All-time Leaderboard". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ 歴代力士10傑記録 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 27, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
- 1 2 3 "安青錦の12場所目での金星は最速記録 付け出しデビュー含むと５場所の逸ノ城が最速" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2026.