maegashira 1) Wrestlers with most komusubi appearances in history Names in bold indicate a still active wrestler. MaegashiraMaegashira''' (前頭) is the lowest of five ranks in the top makuuchi division. All the makuuchi wrestlers who are not ranked in san'yaku are ranked as maegashira, numbered from one at the top downwards. In each rank there are two wrestlers, the higher ranked is designated as "east" and the lower as "west", so No. 1 east is treated as a higher rank than No. 1 west, and so on. The number of wrestlers in makuuchi is fixed (at 42 since 2004) but the number in san'yaku is not. Thus the number of maegashira ranks can vary, but is typically between 15 and 17. (This gives a makuuchi division split of around 10 san'yaku and 32 maegashira). Movement within the maegashira ranks can be minor or extreme, depending on a wrestler's score in the previous 15-bout tournament. For example, a maegashira 2 who has an 8–7 record might only be promoted one level to maegashira 1 for the next tournament. Conversely, a maegashira 14 who wins the division championship could be promoted as high as komusubi. Indeed, this happened in March 2000 when Takatōriki of the Futagoyama stable won the championship with a 13–2 record.Maegashira ranked five or below are likely to only fight amongst themselves (unless their winning record in the middle of a tournament prompts their scheduling with higher-ranked wrestlers) while those ranked maegashira four or above are likely to have several matches against san'yaku wrestlers, including ōzeki and yokozuna. Wrestlers at maegashira 1 and 2 will usually face everybody in the san'yaku (with the exception that you cannot face someone from your own stable), and these are therefore considered very difficult ranks to maintain. If a lower-ranked maegashira has a score which puts them in contention for the title in the second week of the tournament, it is not uncommon for them to be matched against higher-ranked opponents later in the basho; for instance, in January 2020, the lowest-ranked wrestler in the tournament, maegashira 17 Tokushōryū, was in contention for the title having only faced opponents in the lower half of the banzuke and was matched against ōzekiTakakeisho, the highest-ranked rikishi participating in the tournament, on the final day, clinching the basho with his victory. When a maegashira defeats a yokozuna, it is called a gold star or kinboshi and