Kotozakura 琴櫻

👤 Who Is Kotozakura?

Kotozakura Masakatsu (琴櫻, born Kamatani Masakatsu on November 19, 1997) is an ōzeki for Sadogatake stable and one of the most fascinating figures in modern sumo — not only for what he does in the ring, but for the extraordinary name he carries. A big, powerful wrestler at roughly 189 cm and 179 kg from Matsudo, Chiba, he is sumo royalty in the truest sense.

👑 Three Generations of Sumo

Kotozakura was born into a three-generation sumo dynasty. His maternal grandfather was the 53rd yokozuna, Kotozakura — a fearsome grand champion of the 1970s who later ran Sadogatake stable. His father is the former sekiwake Kotonowaka, who now leads that same stable as its master. Kotozakura grew up inside the heya, the family business quite literally being sumo itself.

Few wrestlers in history have carried that kind of expectation. To be the grandson of a yokozuna and the son of your own stablemaster is to live your entire career under a spotlight — measured against a legend at every step.

His grandfather made those expectations plain from the very beginning. He is said to have declared "He'll be a sumo wrestler!" at his grandson's birth, and began coaching the boy personally from the age of four. The standards were unforgiving: when young Kotozakura once brought home a silver medal from a children's tournament, the old yokozuna told him bluntly that silver meant he had lost to someone — only gold would do. The boy reportedly took to hiding any medal that wasn't first place.

🎖 Taking the Name: The Second Kotozakura

His ring name tells the story of that inheritance. He first wrestled under his father's fighting name, Kotonowaka, carrying it from the salaried ranks all the way to his promotion to ōzeki. Then, from May 2024, he took the greatest name in his family: Kotozakura — the very name of his grandfather, the 53rd yokozuna.

In sumo, inheriting such a name is a solemn honor and an enormous burden. It is a public promise to be worthy of a legend. He became, in effect, the second Kotozakura — and set out to write his own chapter of the family story.

He first took the name in the tournament after his ōzeki promotion, having worn his father's name Kotonowaka for one final basho as a tribute — and in doing so he revived a storied yokozuna name that had been dormant for half a century.

👹 The Game Face

Away from the ring, Kotozakura is famously mild — soft-spoken, easy-going, with a gentle, almost boyish smile that has made him a favorite on Japanese variety shows. But in the seconds before a bout, something extraordinary happens. His face tightens and darkens into a fearsome, wild-eyed scowl that fans affectionately call his oni no gyōsō — a "demon's expression."

The contrast is the whole appeal. The sweet, smiling giant of the interview couch becomes, at the instant of combat, a snarling warrior — and that dramatic transformation has become one of the most beloved and endlessly-shared quirks in modern sumo, clipped and passed around social media every single tournament. It is the visible flick of the switch from gentle soul to relentless competitor, and Japanese fans adore him for it.

🏆 The Breakthrough: A Playoff for the Cup

For all the pedigree, a championship is never guaranteed — and Kotozakura had to earn his. It came at the November 2024 Kyushu tournament, where he finished 14–1 and then defeated yokozuna Hoshoryu in a title-deciding playoff to lift his first Emperor's Cup. After a lifetime of expectation, the grandson had delivered — winning the sport's biggest prize under the name his grandfather made famous.

Like any wrestler, he has also known the other side of the pressure: the tournaments that slip away, the weight of the ōzeki rank he must defend. But that mix of privilege and pressure is exactly what makes his story so human.

🥋 Fighting Style

Kotozakura is a big, forward-driving wrestler who uses his size and strength to push and force opponents out, backed by solid fundamentals learned in one of sumo's most storied stables. His steadiness has earned him six special prizes, most of them for Fighting Spirit. Learn more about the techniques he relies on in our guide to sumo techniques.

🍖 Off the Dohyō

For all the ferocity he summons in the ring, Kotozakura's private life is endearingly ordinary. Asked about his hobbies, he has cheerfully replied that his very favorite is sleeping — seven or eight hours a night, plus a nap or two. His other great love is yakiniku (Japanese barbecue), which he was reportedly eating out five times a week with the stable's junior wrestlers until his coach gently nudged him toward some vegetables. He also bowls, with a personal best of 215. And he describes his path to sumo not as a burning ambition but as a kind of destiny — becoming a wrestler, he has said, felt less like something he chose and more like something he was always going to be.

📊 Career Stats

Career figures via sumo-api / Japan Sumo Association records. Biographical details compiled from Japanese-language sources including Japanese Wikipedia, Number (Bunshun), an·an, ABEMA Times, Sadogatake stable and Japanese sports press. Verified July 2026.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

🔗 Keep Exploring

• 🔴 Live Sumo Scores — follow today's bouts and the championship race.
• Hoshoryu — the yokozuna he beat for his first title.
• Most Championships in History · Greatest Wrestlers Ever
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