Mochikyukin

Mochikyukin (持ち給金) 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. This value increases by 0.5 yen (or 50 "sen") every time he achieves "kachikoshi" (more wins than losses) in a tournament. No deduction is made for a "makekoshi" record.

There are minimum values of "mochikyukin" that are paid to wrestlers of different rank (Juryo, Makuuchi, Ozeki and Yokozuna). If a wrestler is subsequently demoted the difference between the value prior to promotion and the minimum value will be deducted from the "mochikyukin" account. The minimum value for a Juryo wrestler is 40 yen, for Makuuchi wrestler the minimum is 60 yen, 100 yen for Ozeki and 150 yen for Yokozuna.

There are two ways to obtain a big jump in the "mochikyukin". Winning the Makuuchi "yusho" (or championship) gives a "mochikyukin bonus" of 30 yen, which increases to 50 yen if the championship was won with a "perfect" (15-0) score. 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 "mochikyukin" account is multiplied by 4000 yen to give the bonus, which is paid six times a year (once for each tournament) to the "sekitori" wrestler.

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, the wrestler "Akinoshima" won 16 "kinboshi" during his career [http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/eng/ozumo_meikan/rikishi_joho/rikishi.php?A=7] , which gave him a mochikyukin account that was larger than those of many Ozeki.

With its strong bias towards large "kachikoshi" scores and top division championships, the highest "mochikyukin" accounts are credited to the strongest yokozuna. Mochikyukin 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 Koki and Chiyonofuji.