noun
return to san'yaku rank
Sumo term for a wrestler who was previously ranked in the san'yaku (the three ranks below yokozuna: ōzeki, sekiwake, komusubi) and has regained that rank after falling below it.
彼は大関から平幕に落ちたが、今場所は返り三役を果たした。
He fell from ōzeki to maegashira, but this tournament he achieved a return to the san'yaku ranks.
返り三役の力士は、かつての地位を取り戻すために懸命に稽古している。
A wrestler returning to san'yaku trains desperately to regain his former status.
General term for a comeback or return to a former position, used outside sumo as well.
Compound of 返り (kaeri, 'returning') + 三役 (san'yaku, 'the three ranks below yokozuna'). The term is specific to sumo.