List of sumo stables


The following is an alphabetical list of or training stables in professional sumo. All belong to one of five groups, called [Glossary of sumo terms|]. Every ichimon is led by the stable for which it is named. They are, by number of stables they contain: Nishonoseki, Dewanoumi, Tokitsukaze and Isegahama, and Takasago . Occasionally there have been independent stables, but the Japan Sumo Association agreed at a director's meeting in July 2018 that all sumo elders must belong to one of the five. The founding dates listed below are for the current incarnation of each stable; in most cases this is not the first stable to exist under a given name, however.
The number of stables peaked at 54, with the opening of Onoe stable in August 2006. In order to limit the over-proliferation of stables, the Japan Sumo Association introduced new rules the following month that greatly raised the qualifications needed by former wrestlers wishing to branch out. Discounting the temporary closure of Kise stable from 2010-2012, over six years no new stables established while eleven folded, bringing the number of stables to 43. The streak of closures ended with the opening of former Musashimaru's Musashigawa stable in April 2013, hence the opening and closing of stables has stabilized. There are 44 stables, all of which are located in the Greater Tokyo Region, especially in Tokyo's Ryogoku district.
The governing body of professional sumo is the Japan Sumo Association. Six tournaments are held every year: three in Tokyo and one each in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Each tournament lasts 15 days during which wrestlers compete in one bout per day. All sumo wrestlers are classified in a ranking hierarchy, which is updated after each tournament based on the wrestlers' performance. Wrestlers with more wins than losses go up while those with negative records are demoted. The top division is and the second division is. The 70 wrestlers ranked within the two top divisions are called. At the pinnacle of sumo hierarchy stands the rank of.

Pronunciation note

Due to a Japanese speech phenomenon known as, when the word for stable,, comes second in a compound word, the "h" in changes to "b" to become. A sumo stable is pronounced in Japanese as "sumo-" and Arashio stable, as an example, is pronounced "Arashio-".

Active stables

There are 46 stables as of May 2024.

Mergers and closures (1994 to present)

Name changes (2003 to present)