Sumo time is upon us. First thing’s first, though. We have three sekitori kyujo: Daieisho, Endo, and Nabatame. As Herouth noted, this will kill off one of the early stories, Daieisho’s Ozeki Run. Nabatame will join Endo undergoing knee surgery. Maybe there was a two-for-one deal going on. Endo will be in rehab and I will update you with a timeline when I find updates*, Nabatame aggrevated his knee injury while training last month and is looking to return by…Haru 2026.
Looks like Daieisho's Ozeki run is toast: high probability of him going kyujo over a calf injury. Endo is also expected to go kyujo, as he is about to undergo a knee surgery. buff.ly/fbJo5tE
— ヘルット (@sumofollower.bsky.social) July 10, 2025 at 12:55 PM
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Last night the Sumo Association performed the dohyo consecration ceremony (dohyo matsuri) in the new stadium for the first time. It was not open to the public, however. But as has been customary the past several years, it was streamed on YouTube, as linked below. Let’s hope for a safe, injury-free tournament this month. That would be an even bigger blessing than the brand new air conditioning.
Top story of this tournament for the folks who got tickets will likely be the new venue and the air conditioning. Nagoya in July is a scorcher, from first-hand experience. The new stadium is by the old one, right next to Nagoya Castle. But having a new building with climate control will be such a nice change for the fans, and the wrestlers and staff, too! However, for those of us watching at home, the big story is Onosato and his debut tournament as Yokozuna. We’re looking forward to that Dohyo-iri! Being able to watch two will be quite the treat. Let’s hope it stays this way for many tournaments to come.
Onosato will have his first fight against Oshoma and Hoshoryu will face Takayasu in the musubi-no-ichiban. I expect fireworks from these two this tournament. The pressure is on to perform. Speaking of pressure to perform, Kotozakura will be our lone Ozeki this tournament and likely through Aki, at least. And he will start his tournament against Aonishiki. I swear, this fight card has highlight bouts up-and-down it.
So, Onosato will be Yokozuna-Ozeki this tournament and West Yokozuna will probably hold that weird title for a while. Daieisho would have needed a spectacular showing here in Nagoya but Kirishima and Wakatakakage will likely need the kind of performance that would require yusho and possibly divine intervention. At least they did very well in May and can keep their promotion hopes alive with solid results here. But Kirishima will start his campaign against Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage will face Oho.
Even this Onokatsu versus Abi fight is an interesting matchup, their second meeting with Onokatsu beating Abi back in Kyushu. Hakuoho will fight Kinbozan and really needs to figure out a way to make up for Kinbozan’s size advantage. Hakuoho’s usual juggernaut attack might need some subtle shifting and lateral movement. Preceding that, it’s Tamawashi versus Hiradoumi (banger), Meisei versus Takerufuji (banger) and Gonoyama versus Tobizaru….well, that could be a bit of a dud or be a highlight, we’ll see.
Bottom line, it’s time to grab a cold beer or sake or whiskey — or all three — kick back, and watch some sumo. I will be covering the first five days of action but then I will need to step away for a few days as I will be in Paris, testing how VPNs work in the land of good food and even better wine. My JME.tv subscription will not help me there. But I should be back in time for Day Eleven as the yusho race heats up. If anyone knows of sumo-themed cafes or bars in France, let me know. Maybe some Chirac-cup devotees exist in some dark corner of Stains? I should just look for the folks hiding under their napkins, right?
One thing is for sure. I will eat my share of macaron. I promise you that.
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If Wakatakakage does as good this time as he did last, they will probably promote him. He will have his 33 wins over 3 starting at M1. If he picks up one more win than he did last time, it is a sure bet.
Kirishima will need a better than last time result and not just a small one. 14+ wins and the Yusho probably. That 8-7 two tournaments ago is really hurting him here. But if he can equal his performance last time he will be in good position for the next tournament.
I’m not as confident about Wakatakakage’s chances. When the “Ozeki run” starts in the Maegashira ranks, we really only have two recent examples: Tochinoshin and Terunofuji. Both had yusho to go along with jun-yusho. I will be surprised if WTK gets promoted with a 12 win basho, alone. 12 wins will probably be in the hunt but I do think he will need the cup to earn promotion.
In this century there was only Kotomitsuki with an ozeki run starting in maegashira and resulting in 34 wins. He wasn’t promoted.
And there was Terunofuji with 33 wins including a jun yusho and even a yusho in the decisive basho. He was promoted.
Therefore I wouldn’t bet on the promotion for Wakatakakage without the yusho (or at least an equivalent).
It’s a testament to how wonderful the blog is that I am bitterly disappointed that there won’t be coverage on days 6-10! Bon voyage en France, monsieur!
Thank you! :)
Just an FYI: JME works fine over a VPN. One of my hotels in Japan in January didn’t have a functional TV in the room so I was able to watch the live action on my laptop while connected to my VPN the days I was staying in that particular location, so you should be ok watching that way.
And for Aonishiki fans, NHK world has a nice documentary they started airing today about him that was filmed over the last couple of months.
Can‘t find that documentary on NHK World. Do U know its title or the time of its airing?
Thanks in advance.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3025221/
Blue Whirlwind: A Ukrainian sumo wrestler
Blue Whirlwind: A Ukrainian sumo wrestler.
Looks like it was only on the schedule for today, so it probably will be available on demand in a couple of days based on how NHK World usually handles the schedule vs on demand programs.
My Shonichi Sugar Bout: Sadanoumi vs. Ichiyamamoto.
Sadanoumi is so cool! Spent January in Juryo, now at Maegashira 8. That Natsu Fighting Spirit Prize under the armpit :)
That will be an interesting bout, contrast of styles. Sadanoumi seems to know how to get inside. I wonder if Ichiyamamoto’s finger is ready for a yotsu grapple.
Amen to that – Sadanoumi the Great!!
There’s no way Endo is coming back in September after ACL surgery. WTK is younger and missed 3 entire tournaments, which was ahead of schedule for the recovery timeline (and I think he had the surgery closer to the previous basho). I’ll be surprised if we see Endo before next year, and we may not see him on the dohyo again.
Yeah, I found another source that said he would be in the hospital for two months. ACL, MCL, meniscus + arthritis to boot. That seems much more likely and rational. https://topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp/article/dailysports/sports/20250712077?fm=latestnews&redirect=1
Back in my athlete days, I had ACL, meniscus and a ton of arthritis and with three days of PT per week plus near-religious adherence to my home workouts, it was still 12-13 months before I was full speed.
My other knee was ACL only with no cartilage damage (extremely rare) and that took ten months.
Given what you said about the damage and that he’s a professional athlete, I would call ten months an absolute minimum, so May 2026 is to me a best case scenario.
Intai would not surprise me given thats he’s 34. If I had to bet, thats how I would go.
Exciting time. Sorry to see Daeisho miss a basho .. he leaves nothing on the dohyo ., WTK will have to prove himself vs a higher caliber of competition .. hope he shows he still has his prior slippery moves on the bales .. Aonishiki will get tested fast whether he can hold/gain rank .. a lot young hungry wrestlers will be happy to take his place .,