Mochikyukin
Encyclopedia
Mochikyūkin is a system of payment for sumo
wrestlers that supplements the basic salary that sekitori
earn.
This bonus is calculated using a fairly complex formula. When a wrestler enters professional sumo, he is credited with 3 yen. Every time he achieves kachikoshi (more wins than losses) in a tournament, this value increases by 0.5 yen (or 50 sen) for each additional win over the number of losses (e.g. 1.5 yen for a 9-6 record). No deduction is made for a makekoshi record.
There are minimum values of mochikyūkin that are paid to wrestlers of different rank (jūryō, makuuchi
, ōzeki and yokozuna), should they not be eligible for a greater amount already. If a wrestler is subsequently demoted the difference between the value prior to promotion and the minimum value will be deducted from the mochikyūkin account. The minimum values for the respective levels are 40 yen for jūryō, 60 yen for makuuchi, 100 yen for ōzeki and 150 yen for yokozuna.
There are two ways to obtain a big jump in the mochikyūkin. Winning the makuuchi yūshō (championship) gives a bonus of 30 yen, which increases to 50 yen if the championship was won with a "perfect" (15-0) record. A maegashira will receive a 10 yen bonus if he can defeat a yokozuna during a tournament. Such a win is called a kinboshi
(lit. gold star).
The value of the mochikyūkin account is multiplied by 4000 to give the bonus, which is paid six times a year (once for each tournament) to the sekitori wrestlers.
This means that a kinboshi victory will be worth 240,000 yen per annum additional income for the remainder of the wrestler's career. Although he never won the makuuchi championship, former sekiwake Akinoshima won 16 kinboshi during his career, which gave him a mochikyūkin account that was larger than those of many ōzeki.
With its strong bias towards large kachikoshi scores and top division championships, the highest mochikyūkin accounts are credited to the strongest yokozuna. Mochikyūkin accounts of over 1000 yen (corresponding to an additional income of 24 million yen per year) have been achieved by the very strongest Yokozuna such as Taihō
and Chiyonofuji.
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestlers that supplements the basic salary that sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
earn.
This bonus is calculated using a fairly complex formula. When a wrestler enters professional sumo, he is credited with 3 yen. Every time he achieves kachikoshi (more wins than losses) in a tournament, this value increases by 0.5 yen (or 50 sen) for each additional win over the number of losses (e.g. 1.5 yen for a 9-6 record). No deduction is made for a makekoshi record.
There are minimum values of mochikyūkin that are paid to wrestlers of different rank (jūryō, makuuchi
Makuuchi
or is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
, ōzeki and yokozuna), should they not be eligible for a greater amount already. If a wrestler is subsequently demoted the difference between the value prior to promotion and the minimum value will be deducted from the mochikyūkin account. The minimum values for the respective levels are 40 yen for jūryō, 60 yen for makuuchi, 100 yen for ōzeki and 150 yen for yokozuna.
There are two ways to obtain a big jump in the mochikyūkin. Winning the makuuchi yūshō (championship) gives a bonus of 30 yen, which increases to 50 yen if the championship was won with a "perfect" (15-0) record. A maegashira will receive a 10 yen bonus if he can defeat a yokozuna during a tournament. Such a win is called a kinboshi
Kinboshi
Kinboshi is a notation used in professional sumo wrestling to record a lower-ranked wrestler's victory over a yokozuna....
(lit. gold star).
The value of the mochikyūkin account is multiplied by 4000 to give the bonus, which is paid six times a year (once for each tournament) to the sekitori wrestlers.
This means that a kinboshi victory will be worth 240,000 yen per annum additional income for the remainder of the wrestler's career. Although he never won the makuuchi championship, former sekiwake Akinoshima won 16 kinboshi during his career, which gave him a mochikyūkin account that was larger than those of many ōzeki.
With its strong bias towards large kachikoshi scores and top division championships, the highest mochikyūkin accounts are credited to the strongest yokozuna. Mochikyūkin accounts of over 1000 yen (corresponding to an additional income of 24 million yen per year) have been achieved by the very strongest Yokozuna such as Taihō
Taiho Koki
Taihō Kōki is the 48th Yokozuna in the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. He is generally regarded as the greatest sumo wrestler of the post-war period. He became a yokozuna in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time, and he won a record 32 tournaments between 1960 and 1971...
and Chiyonofuji.