NHK videos for Day 12 are here: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I & Part II.
Makuuchi Action
Tomokaze (7-5) defeated Hidenoumi (1-9-2). Hidenoumi resisted Tomokaze’s nodowa and charged forward but Tomokaze slapped him down. Gunbai Hidenoumi? Mono-ii. Asanosuke just pointed the wrong way. Hatakikomi.
Midorifuji (8-4) defeated Shishi (4-8). Shishi physically dominated Midorifuji, holding him at arm’s length and then slapping him down. Gunbai Shishi. Mono-ii? Judges ruled there was a hair-pull on the slapdown. Hansoku.
Takanosho (8-4) defeated Kotoeiho (4-8). Jesus. Takanosho obliterated Kotoeiho at the tachiai and steamrolled through Kotoeiho’s face, standing him up, driving him back and forcing Kotoeiho to flop backwards roughly on his butt. Brutal. I did not know Takanosho was capable of such destruction. Oshitaoshi.
Fujinokawa (7-5) defeated Tokihayate (5-7). Fujinokawa got a solid hold of Tokihayate’s belt and while Tokiyahate tried to fumble around for a hold of Fujinokawa, Fujinokawa pivoted and pulled Tokihayate down with a powerful uwatenage.
Atamifuji (9-3) defeated Mitakeumi (8-4). Mitakeumi hit Atamifuji hard at the tachiai but Atamifuji charged forward and shoved Mitakeumi from the ring, unphased by Mitakeumi’s shift in direction. Tsukidashi.
Chiyoshoma (1-11) defeated Kayo (2-10). Kayo almost slapped Chiyoshoma down at the tachiai. However, Chiyoshoma kept his balance and pursued Kayo, reached back and got a solid right-hand grip of Kayo’s belt, and then threw him down. Uwatenage.
Churanoumi (7-5) defeated Sadanoumi (2-10). Churanoumi hit Sadanoumi head on at the tachiai but shifted to his right and hit Sadanoumi from the side, shoving him out of the ring. Okuridashi.
Asakoryu (4-8) defeated Tobizaru (3-9). Asakoryu tried to get his right arm inside but he couldn’t reach deep enough to get at Tobizaru’s belt. Finding no success there, Asakoryu released with his right but bore down and trapped Tobizaru’s right arm with his left shoulder. Pulling with the arm bar hold, Asakoryu dragged Tobizaru from the ring. Tobizaru was slow to get up. Kotenage.
Shodai (7-5) defeated Takerufuji (5-7). Takerufuji hit Shodai hard but he was too far forward. Shodai shifted to his right and slapped Takerufuji down. Tsukiotoshi.
Gonoyama (7-5) defeated Roga (7-5). Gonoyama charged forward and forced Roga out. Yorikiri.
Halftime
Ura (8-4) defeated Meisei (3-9). Meisei did his best Kayo impression, retreating from Ura and trying to slap him down, once, twice…and then he slipped on the third try, helped by Ura’s own slapdown. Ura clinched his first kachi-koshi after a streak of four make-koshi. Hatakikomi.
Hakuoho (7-5) defeated Onokatsu (5-7). Hakuoho buried his head in Onokatsu’s chest and plowed through as Onokatsu tried a slapdown. Oshidashi.
Abi (7-5) defeated Oho (4-8). With his back to the bales, Abi shoved Oho to the left and pounced as Oho showed his back. Once behind, Abi shoved Oho out with ease. Okuridashi.
Aonishiki (10-2) defeated Tamawashi (8-4). I love how most wrestlers have these amazingly bright colored towels while Tamawashi seems to have swiped an old, drab white bath towel from a Holiday Inn back in 2003. After a flurry of tsuppari, Aonishiki got low and forced himself inside. Aonishiki got his left hand inside and pulled Tamawashi down with a shitatenage.
Wakamotoharu (3-9) defeated Kinbozan (4-8). Kinbozan henka. Wakamotoharu resisted the slapdown and wrapped Kinbozan up with the right arm. As Kinbozan seemed to try to go for a headlock, Wakamotoharu slipped around back and then drove Kinbozan out from behind. Okuridashi.
Sanyaku
Hiradoumi (6-6) defeated Oshoma(2-10). Hiradoumi got his right hand inside early but Oshoma used his ottsuke to block Hiradoumi’s left hand. But he could not block Hiradoumi forever. Once Hiradoumi got that left hand inside to join the right, he drove Oshoma back to the edge. Oshoma dug in at the bales but Hiradoumi could taste victory and crushed Oshoma over the bales. Yoritaoshi.
Kotoshoho (10-2) defeated Takayasu (8-4). Well-timed sidestep from Kotoshoho. After a brief exchange of thrusts at the tachiai, Kotoshoho slipped left – precisely when Takayasu chose to charge forward. Olé! Takayasu went charging off the dohyo and halfway down the hanamichi. The look on Kotoshoho’s face when he got away with it was hilarious, like he was stifling a laugh. “Holy shit; That worked!” Hatakikomi.
Wakatakakage (8-4) defeated Kusano (9-3). For all of Kusano’s early success this tournament he was rewarded with a prime-time bout today against Sekiwake, Wakatakakage. He gave it his all but Wakatakakage just overpowered him and drove Kusano completely off the dohyo. Admirable effort. Yoritaoshi.
Kotozakura (7-5) defeated Kirishima (8-4). Kirishima got his right hand inside. During a good lean fest, Kirishima tried several times to pull up and drive Kotozakura out. Kotozakura had his right hand inside and eventually switched his left hand grip to the inside giving him a fearsome morozashi. This turned the tables completely and Kotozakura rushed Kirishima off the dohyo. Yorikiri.
Onosato defeated Ichiyamamoto. Ichiyamamoto rushed forward but Onosato withdrew quicker and slapped Ichiyamamoto down. Ichiyamamoto fell to the clay as Onosato leapt into the crowd. Gunbai Ichiyamamoto. Mono-ii. Did Ichiyamamoto force Onosato out or did he fall first? The judges conference took a long time. Video review showed Ichiyamamoto’s right thigh coming down as Onosato’s foot left the tawara. “We can’t give the Yokozuna this cowardly win. Hinkaku is at stake. We order a rematch.” On the rematch, Onosato pulled AGAIN. This time, though, Ichiyamamoto charged forward in a more controlled manner but when he forced Onosato to the edge, he picked up his right hip to give a little extra shove. That was a huge mistake as it allowed Onosato to get behind him. Onosato blasted his way forward while Ichiyamamoto tried to regroup. Ichiyamamoto got himself righted at the bales but Onosato was too powerful and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Wrap-up
What a disappointing bout to end the day. Who likes to see their Yokozuna adopt Kayo’s fighting strategy? Slam it in reverse and hope it ends well. Ugh. Well, the torikumi for tomorrow is not out yet. I’ll try to post this evening with a preview of the bouts. They will probably be up soon.
At the end of Day 12 we have Aonishiki and Kotoshoho at the top of the leaderboard with 10 wins and two losses. Onosato, Ichiyamamoto, Atamifuji and Kusano are just behind with three losses, each. Aonishiki versus Kotoshoho tomorrow, perhaps? Or Kotoshoho versus Onosato and Aonishiki versus Ichiyamamoto?
Surely tomorrow will have a better musubi-no-ichiban but this yusho race is rather wacky and unpredictable. And I thought we were going to have this grand period of tranquil dominance by Onosato. I guess not quite yet.
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Thanks for this, Andy – turns out that Onosato is rather fallible after those first few days of supremacy! I felt for Ichiyamamoto but I am glad Aonishiki is on top with less competition.
Yeah, I initially had hopes that the initial call and the kinboshi would stand but he had gotten too far ahead of his feet. Aonishiki is certainly fighting well but he does have two losses. This is looking more and more like a 12-win or 11-win yusho.
Well, this is either going to be a 13-2 Aonishiki yusho or it is going to be a 12-3 (or maybe even 11-4) yusho by who the f knows. Even though he has had a rough couple of days, Ichiyamamoto has definitely been pretty impressive in how he has adapted his style to incorporate some pretty good yotsu skills instead of all tsuppari all the time.
At least it looks like Kirishima and Wakatakakage should both be able to get 10 wins to keep possible Ozeki promotions in November alive pending September results. I’m not sure how many more basho Kotozakura has in him at Ozeki based on his performances in all of 2025. Though I suppose the “oh no we won’t have enough Ozeki to have a proper banzuke” fears aren’t there anymore since there are two Yokozuna-Ozeki available to keep the banzuke gods happy for a year or two barring catastrophic “toe injuries.”
The longer Onosato is allowed to be on the dohyo scraping wins together however he can the more that Hoshoryu’s kuyjo looks like a legitimate injury. Interesting.
Tough loss for Ichiyamamoto today, for sure. The banzuke committee isn’t messing around about figuring out who’s going to win this thing, are they?
I’m firmly on the side of Hoshoryu’s injury being legitimate. I figure most of these guys are battling some sort of injury to varying degrees. Hakuho’s toe definitely caused him grief late in his career. I am just hopeful Hoshoryu’s rest will put him in good shape for September.
There’s absolutely no question the injury is real: it was in the news before the basho and cost him some training time. Could he have soldiered on if he was doing better and maybe not aggravated it? Maybe. But the idea that it’s a fiction to cover a withdrawal solely due to poor performance is pure conspiratorial nonsense.
Can’t remember where I saw it but the medical certificate looked like the break had become unstable which is dangerous. Real kyujo on medical advice I am sure. I still wince at the thought of Hakuho’s toes. The feet aren’t peripheral to sumo they are your base.
i dont know what you guys saying but i enjoyed todays battles, very nice strong battles, with some unexpected moves why not
Oh, if you mean about my taking exception to Onosato’s tactics today, many readers will be familiar with my personal preference for forward-moving sumo. I am prone to exaggeration and venting, usually for comedic effect. My Onosato hand towel is literally still hanging in my living room.
With the newest changes on the leaderboard things get a little bit too interesting! I think I’m breaking it down for me to only look at the outcome on Senshuraku… (I will never again wish for a ‚hot yusho race‘) ;)
WTK and Kirishima have had good bashos, w/o having a shot at the yusho .. Atamifuji and Hakuoho may have started to deliver on their promise .. Takanosho can be explosive w a vicious nodowa .. or he can look cluelss .. Maybe Takerufuji has a toe problem .. Or just not enough ballast below his mawashi .. He keeps striking the same mid air pose .. just before the face plant .. Kotoshoho has wrestled well + hit the lottery .. Cannot understand why Onosato would abandon freight train sumo for this pull-down ballet .. Aonishiki likely has the inside track .. Amazing .
I still have a big question mark around both Atamifuji and Hakuoho. I mean Kaisei and Takanosho were regulars at the top of the Maegashira ranks, cracking sanyaku, but never made a real push for Ozeki. So I’m not sure about them or Oho at this point. Same with WMH.
Absolutely agree about Kotoshoho and Onosato and Aonishiki.
Was it my imagination or did Aonishiki attempt a soto gake just before he locked up with Tamawashi? The NHK highlights commentator missed it, but I found it fascinating to see in the middle of a highly mobile match. Aonishiki seems to have an endless bag of techniques and his attacks at unexpected times are fascinating to watch.
What i find interesting is that Aonishiki often gets other rikishi to fight his style of sumo .. even Abi for a brief period held a mirror image pose .. then he tried to get aggressive + opened up his mawashi to Aonisihiki ..