AMI, Japan (Kyodo) -- Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament champion Onosato on Monday said something felt "different" about winning the Emperor's Cup for the first time as a yokozuna.

The 25-year-old, promoted to sumo's highest rank in May, captured his fifth top-division title Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena by defeating fellow grand champion Hoshoryu in a thrilling winner-take-all playoff after both finished the regular portion of the 15-day meet with 13-2 records.

Mongolian-born Hoshoryu was the outright leader for much of the tournament but started the final day trailing Onosato by one bout before sending the championship race to a playoff by winning their head-to-head battle in the last scheduled match.

In the first playoff between two yokozuna since September 2009, Onosato thwarted Hoshoryu's attempt to win via overarm throw by executing a crush out maneuver that sent both combatants tumbling from the raised ring.

"This feels different to the championships I won previously," Onosato said during a press conference at his Nishonoseki stable in Ami, Ibaraki Prefecture. "I want to continue stacking up titles."

Onosato became the first Japanese-born yokozuna to win a championship since his stablemaster, the former Kisenosato, in March 2017.

"I had a strong desire to be able to display a championship trophy that I won as a yokozuna," Onosato said.

The Ishikawa Prefecture native is also the first Japanese wrestler to win three championships in a year since former yokozuna Takanohana, one of his role models, in 1997.

"I'm happy to be able to stand alongside him in this way," Onosato said. "I'll work on my craft and do my best to get closer to him."

Already certain to finish with this year's highest win total, Onosato aims to add another trophy at November's Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka.

"I will do my best, feeling my responsibility as the highest-ranked wrestler," he said. "I haven't had great results at meets outside Tokyo, so I will really focus on the Kyushu tournament."

Sumo: Autumn champion Onosato says win as yokozuna