oyakata

O1Y4A1K5A1T1A1

noun

A retired rikishi who has reached a certain standing and either becomes a shisho or helps train in others' heya.

OriginJapanese 親方 →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounoyakata (plural oyakata)
  1. governmentA retired rikishi who has reached a certain standing and either becomes a shisho or helps train in others' heya.

    For a foreigner like Jesse, becoming an oyakata to pave the way to open a heya had its obstacles.

    1992, Philbert Ono, “A Visit to Azumazeki-beya (Part 1)”, in Eye-Ai, Tokyo: Riverfield, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4

Origin

  1. Japanese親方
  2. Japanese親方
  3. Englishoyakata

Borrowed from Japanese 親方 (“elder”).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

oyakata. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oyakata

MLA

“oyakata.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oyakata. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oyakata,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oyakata.

Source: oyakata on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.