Fujinishiki Akira held the rank of komusubi on 10 different occasions, but could never reach the rank of sekiwake.
Komusubi (小結, komusubi) literally means "the little knot", the knot referring to the match-up between two wrestlers. It is the fourth highest rank in sumo wrestling and is the lowest of the so-called titleholder ranks, or san'yaku.
It is also the lowest rank where achieving a kachi-koshi (winning record in a tournament) is no longer sufficient to guarantee promotion to a higher rank. Promotion to the next highest rank, sekiwake, depends on either a space being available, which is quite common, or having at least 11 wins in the previous tournament if no normal sekiwake slot is available. This general requirement can be seen by the promotion of Tochiozan to a third sekiwake slot for March 2014 with 11 wins when the other two sekiwake had winning records, while Tochinoshin was not promoted with 10 wins for November 2015 in a similar situation.
For many purposes this and the sekiwake rank are treated together as the junior san'yaku ranks, as opposed to ozeki and yokozuna, where extremely stringent promotion criteria exist. Records of number of tournaments ranked in junior san'yaku are often referred to in sumo publications because these two ranks are so difficult to retain.
For wrestlers reaching this rank the benefits are a salary increase and also appearing to flank the chairman of the Sumo Association during the speeches he makes on opening and closing days of the official tournaments, held six times a year. He may also be called on to represent the wrestlers on behalf of the Sumo Association at other events, especially if the number of ozeki and yokozuna are low. If this is the highest rank a wrestler reaches, even if it is only for one tournament, he will always be referred to as "former komusubi (ring name)" after his retirement, which is an indicator of a fairly successful sumo career.
At any time there must be a minimum of two wrestlers ranked as komusubi. If circumstances require this can rise to three or four, for example if both komusubi have winning records and an upper maegashira produces such a good score that he cannot reasonably be denied a promotion. However, this is relatively rare. The minimum of two requirement means that a certain amount of luck can lead to wrestlers achieving this rank on occasion, if the performance of other wrestlers leaves no obvious candidates to fill the rank.
Komusubi is widely regarded as a difficult rank to maintain, as wrestlers at this rank are likely to face all the ozeki and yokozuna in the first week of a tournament, with a yokozuna normally scheduled for the opening day. Komusubi face mainly maegashira in the second week, but often wrestlers new to the rank are so demoralised by this point that they lose these matches too. Few men making their komusubi debut return a kachi-koshi or winning record in the ensuing tournament.
Before World War II, when there were fewer tournaments per year and more weight was placed on the performance at each tournament, there were several instances of komusubi immediately advancing to ozeki after nearly winning a tournament, but there have been no instances of this since then.
Wrestlers With Most Komusubi Appearances in History[]
Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler.
| Name | Total | First | Last | Highest rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miyagino | 23 | October 1818 | January 1834 | Sekiwake |
| 2 | Takamiyama | 19 | November 1969 | January 1979 | Sekiwake |
| 3 | Akinoshima | 15 | November 1988 | September 2000 | Sekiwake |
| 4 | Dewanishiki | 14 | May 1950 | May 1962 | Sekiwake |
| Tochiozan | 14 | May 2009 | September 2017 | Sekiwake | |
| 6 | Amatsukaze | 13 | March 1765 | March 1778 | Sekiwake |
| Kotonishiki | 13 | September 1990 | January 1999 | Sekiwake | |
| Tosanoumi | 13 | January 1996 | September 2003 | Sekiwake | |
| Wakabayama | 13 | January 1925 | May 1933 | Sekiwake | |
| 10 | Dewanohana | 12 | November 1979 | September 1987 | Sekiwake |
| Kisenosato | 12 | July 2006 | September 2010 | Yokozuna | |
| Omatoi | 12 | April 1869 | January 1877 | Sekiwake |