Jonokuchi (序ノ口 or 序の口) is the lowest division. All wrestlers, apart from those who have had successful amateur careers and are given special dispensation to enter makushita directly, start in this division. In addition to the new wrestlers the division tends to consist of other recent recruits to sumo wrestling as well as some older wrestlers who have fallen to the bottom of the ranks due to injury.
A new wrestler's initial position in the Jonokuchi division is determined by his performance in mae-zumo, a tournament held among new wrestlers at the time of the grand tournament before they are ranked for the first time. The Jonokuchi division varies in size and typically includes between 40 and 90 rikishi, with the high mark being reached for each May tournament as the number of recruits appearing in mae-zumo is generally largest during the preceding March tournament, when the Japanese school year ends. The word jonokuchi is also used as an expression to describe when something has just begun.
Read more about this topic: Professional Sumo Divisions