This is a list of all sumo wrestlers who have reached the sport's second highest rank of ozeki. 52 sumo wrestlers have reached the second highest in the sport, the rank of ozeki, but have failed to rise to the top rank since the modern era of sumo began in 1927 with the merger of the Tokyo and Osaka organizations.
By 2023, over 250 wrestlers have been promoted to the rank of ozeki throughout the entire history of the sport. Wrestlers who went on to be promoted to yokozuna are tabulated in the list of yokozuna.
The number of top division yusho (championships) won by each ōzeki is also listed. There is no requirement to win a championship before promotion, but a wrestler must usually have won around 33 bouts over three consecutive tournaments. Since 1927, the longest-serving ozeki of modern times have been Kaio and Chiyotaikai who each held the rank for 65 tournaments. With five wins, Kaio also holds the record for yusho won in the modern era by a wrestler to never reach the rank of yokozuna.
List[]
| Name | Top Division Championships | Hometown | Promoted | End of Rank | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoo Umagoro | 0 | Chiba District, Chiba | 1897 | 1900 | Demotion |
| Komagatake Kuniriki | 0 | Toda District, Miyagi | 1907 | 1914 | Death |
| Tsushimanada Yakichi | 0 | Tsushima Island | 1919 | 1920 | Demotion |
| Tachihikari Denemon | 0 | Mikasa, Hokkaido | 1923 | 1927 | Demotion |
| Onosato Mansuke | 0 | Minamitsugaru District, Aomori | 1925 | 1932 | Retirement |
| Noshirogata Kinsaku | 1 | Yamamoto, Akita | 1927 | 1933 | Demotion* |
| Hitachiiwa Eitaro | 1 | Chuo, Tokyo | 1927 | 1931 | Retirement |
| Toyokuni Fukuma | 2 | Oita, Oita | 1927 | 1930 | Retirement |
| Shimizugawa Motokichi | 3 | Goshogawara, Aomori | 1932 | 1937 | Retirement |
| Kagamiiwa Zenshiro | 0 | Towada, Aomori | 1937 | 1939 | Retirement |
| Itsutsushima Narao | 0 | Minami-Matsuura District, Nagasaki | 1941 | 1942 | Demotion |
| Nayoroiwa Shizuo | 0 | Nayoro, Hokkaido | 1943 | 1948 | Demotion* |
| Saganohana Katsumi | 1 | Saga, Saga | 1944 | 1951 | Demotion |
| Shionoumi Unemon | 0 | Himeji, Hyogo | 1947 | 1951 | Retirement* |
| Masuiyama Daishiro I | 2 | Himeji, Hyogo | 1949 | 1950 | Retirement |
| Mitsuneyama Keiji | 1 | Arakawa, Tokyo | 1953 | 1955 | Demotion |
| Ouchiyama Heikichi | 0 | Hitachinaka, Ibaraki | 1955 | 1957 | Demotion |
| Matsunobori Shigeo | 0 | Matsudo, Chiba | 1956 | 1959 | Demotion |
| Kotogahama Sadao | 0 | Kan'onji, Kagawa | 1958 | 1962 | Retirement |
| Wakahaguro Tomoaki | 1 | Yokohama, Kanagawa | 1959 | 1962 | Demotion |
| Kitabayama Hidetoshi | 1 | Muroran, Hokkaido | 1961 | 1966 | Retirement |
| Tochihikari Masayuki | 0 | Ushibuka, Komamoto | 1962 | 1966 | Retirement |
| Yutakayama Katsuo | 0 | Shibata, Niigata | 1963 | 1968 | Retirement |
| Kiyokuni Katsuo | 1 | Ogachi, Akita | 1969 | 1974 | Retirement |
| Maenoyama Taro | 0 | Moriguchi, Osaka | 1970 | 1972 | Demotion |
| Daikirin Takayoshi | 0 | Saga, Saga | 1970 | 1974 | Retirement |
| Takanohana Kenshi | 2 | Hirosaki, Aomori | 1972 | 1981 | Retirement |
| Daiju Hisateru | 0 | Setana, Hokkaido | 1973 | 1974 | Demotion |
| Kaiketsu Masateru | 2 | Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi | 1975 | 1977 | Demotion* |
| Asahikuni Masuo | 0 | Aibetsu, Hokkaido | 1976 | 1979 | Retirement |
| Masuiyama Daishiro II | 0 | Himeji, Hyogo | 1980 | 1981 | Retirement |
| Kotokaze Koki | 2 | Tsu, Mie | 1981 | 1985 | Demotion |
| Wakashimazu Mutsuo | 2 | Nakatane, Kagoshima | 1983 | 1987 | Retirement |
| Asashio Taro IV | 1 | Muroto, Kochi | 1983 | 1989 | Retirement |
| Hokutenyu Katsuhiko | 2 | Muroran, Hokkaido | 1983 | 1990 | Retirement |
| Konishiki Yasokichi | 3 | Honolulu, United States | 1987 | 1994 | Demotion |
| Kirishima Kazuhiro | 1 | Makizono, Kagoshima | 1990 | 1993 | Demotion |
| Takanonami Sadahiro | 2 | Misawa, Aomori | 1994 | 2000 | Demotion* |
| Chiyotaikai Ryuji | 3 | Chitose, Hokkaido | 1999 | 2010 | Demotion |
| Dejima Takeharu | 1 | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | 1999 | 2001 | Demotion |
| Musoyama Masashi | 1 | Mito, Ibaraki | 2000 | 2004 | Retirement* |
| Miyabiyama Tetsushi | 0 | Mito, Ibaraki | 2000 | 2001 | Demotion |
| Kaio Hiroyuki | 5 | Nogata, Fukuoka | 2000 | 2011 | Retirement |
| Tochiazuma Daisuke | 3 | Adachi, Tokyo | 2002 | 2007 | Retirement* |
| Kotooshu Katsunori | 1 | Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria | 2006 | 2014 | Demotion |
| Kotomitsuki Keiji | 1 | Okazashi, Aichi | 2007 | 2010 | Dismissal |
| Baruto Kaito | 1 | Väike-Maarja, Estonia | 2010 | 2013 | Demotion |
| Kotoshogiku Kazuhiro | 1 | Yanagawa, Fukuoka | 2011 | 2017 | Demotion |
| Goeido Gotaro | 1 | Neyagawa, Osaka | 2014 | 2020 | Retirement |
| Takayasu Akira | 0 | Tsuchirua, Ibaraki | 2017 | 2019 | Demotion |
| Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi | 1 | Mtskheta, Georgia | 2018 | 2019 | Demotion* |
| Takakeisho Takanobu | 4 | Ashiya, Hyogo | 2019 | 2024 | Demotion* |
| Asanoyama Hiroki | 1 | Toyama, Toyama | 2020 | 2021 | Demotion |
| Shodai Naoya | 1 | Uto, Kumamoto | 2020 | 2022 | Demotion |
| Mitakeumi Hisashi | 3 | Agematsu, Nagano | 2022 | 2022 | Demotion |
| Kirishima Tetsuo | 2 | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | 2023 | 2024 | Demotion |
| Kotozakura Masakatsu | 1 | Matsudo, Chiba | 2024 | active | n/a |
| Onosato Daiki | 2 | Tsubata, Ishikawa | 2024 | active | n/a |
* Wrestler held the rank on more than one occasion