Once again, the Dohyo Matsuri will be streamed live on the Sumo Association’s YouTube channel at 8pm Eastern. For those new to the sport, this is the consecration ceremony, based on Japan’s Shinto roots. The kami are beckoned to the dohyo to watch after the action on the dohyo. Let’s hope there will be a safe tournament!
Action will begin on Sunday morning, Japan time with the Jonokuchi bouts. The Top Division action will start later in the afternoon, around 4pm until 6. The schedule of the first two days of sekitori bouts has been published.
In Sanyaku, we will have Komusubi Takanosho open things up against Hiradoumi, Wakamotoharu will fight Sekiwake Oho and Shin-Sekiwake will face Kirishima. Ozeki Kotozakura will mount the dohyo and fight Wakatakakage in a big test of the Ozeki’s fitness. Then Hoshoryu will fight Hakuoho before Onosato caps off the day against Takayasu.
＜大相撲九州場所＞
— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) November 7, 2025
初日の取組が決まりました。#sumo #相撲 #九州場所 #十一月場所 pic.twitter.com/IRR6DIFe4h
Other bouts that will draw a bit of interest will be Ura versus Tamawashi, Yoshinofuji (ex-Kusano) will fight his first bout with the new shikona against Oshoma. Shodai will fight Atamifuji and Abi will take on Ichiyamamoto. A few months ago we were looking at Daieisho as an Ozeki candidate but he will fight Shishi tomorrow as he hopes to turn things around.
Be prepared to see Endo (Kitajin) and Takarafuji (Kiriyama) in new navy blue jackets. They will likely have security duties and we might see them assemble at the close of the day to help usher folks out of the arena. Sunday Morning at 1am, NHK Premium will have its Dosukoi program on Shitatenage and then Makuuchi action begins at 2am Eastern. Again, that’s a subscription service through NHK Premium. In the US and Canada it’s available with JME. For free, at 3:10am NHK World will stream action live via its website. That usually catches the second half of action, which will include the Sanyaku. The NHK Preview Show is available here.
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I’m hoping this basho can hold up compared to September. Probably asking too much. The Yokozuna playoff was on par with the epic World Series that just ended. Who knows, the Kami No Ozumo are unpredictable.
That’s a big call – I don’t think I’d go that far. I was recently looking at an epic match between Meinoumi and Takanohana. Something like that as a yusho playoff might be on par – or perhaps even Hakuho beating Kakuryu while tearing his bicep. Let’s hope we get to the level of this year’s World Series this basho, though!
If both Yokozuna finish, it’s a win in my book.
If U should be interested in the details, these are the three queries:
https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=9&show_total=on&sum_wins=60&sum_range=9&show_sum=off&form1_year=%3E1956&form1_ms=on&form1_debutd=on&sort_by=sum_total
https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=6&n_basho=1&show_total=on&sum_wins=0&sum_range=4&show_sum=on&form1_year=%3E1957&form1_j=on&form1_debutd=on&sort_by=sum_wins
https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=6&n_basho=3&show_total=on&sum_wins=0&sum_range=4&show_sum=on&form1_year=%3E1957&form1_m=on&form1_debutd=on&form2_m=on&form3_m=on&sort_basho=4&sort_by=sum_wins
Don’t know how these links got here. They belong to my posting from below, where I point out that Onosato, Aonishiki and even (former) Kusano are recordmen in sumo history.
I’ve seen a couple of references to how good the London crowd was, cheering and quiet at the right times – not just as polite praise, but specifically in contrast to recent audience behavior at the honbasho. What’s been going on at the matches in Japan?
I’m not sure. I haven’t heard or noticed anything out of the ordinary. Interesting.
“Recent tournaments in Japan have been marred by hecklers breaking the concentration of wrestlers preparing to battle, but there has been no such problem thus far during the five-day exhibition meet in the British capital.”
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251018/p2g/00m/0sp/026000c
And the NHK Preview show alluded to it too.
I was surprised, not what I associate with Sumo.
Interesting. I guess I have just been used to a fair bit of enthusiastic shouting from randos in the crowd. There always seems to be some guy yelling something that gets the attention of the wrestlers. The one that sticks out in my mind was probably this one guy from a tournament I attended who shouted “Ga-ga-ga-ga-Gagamaru!!!!” I’ll try to pay more attention to it.
(Sorry if this is a duplicate reply. I’ll leave out the link this time.)
From The Mainichi:
“Recent tournaments in Japan have been marred by hecklers breaking the concentration of wrestlers preparing to battle, but there has been no such problem thus far during the five-day exhibition meet in the British capital.
…
“Rank-and-file wrestler Ura, Onosato’s opening-day opponent, remarked that there had been ‘no heckling’ during the competition.
“‘I feel I should point out when things are bad,’ he said, referring to the recent incidents in Japan.”
And the NHK Preview show alluded to it too.
Surprising to me.
No worries about the second post. I’ll leave both up. I approved the other. My comment moderation settings require those comments with links to be approved before they’re available. We’re usually pretty quick about checking and approving if it’s not spam…and it usually isn’t spam.
Got it. Thanks
Thanks for the preview! Very interesting how Shodai will continue after his nice aki basho result. Also there’s some thrill how the new mongolians Otgonbat, Ochirsaikhan and Bukchuluun will do at their ozumo starts. Impressive shapes so far!
Nine basho after their makushita debuts Onosato is first with 90 wins followed by Aonishiki with 84.
After four basho as sekitori, Onosato and Kusano both are on top with 46 wins.
And after four basho in makuuchi Aonishiki is in the lead with 44 wins in front of Onosato with 43.
Here it comes now: these top positions are not among the active rikishi but of all times in sumo (well, since the 6 basho a year era begun, that is). They are the best ever!
Let’s watch them develop further but according to these numbers we have been watching historic sumo times.
Sorry for being heretical, but from another perspective we could say, they had the worst opponents ever :)
The thought came to my mind, too. Somehow I get the feeling that it’s too easy for the two-trick pony Onosato to steamroll the field. But then again his body is exceptional, while Aonishiki is rather on the small side and still has become the fastest ever sekiwake (of those who started from the bottom of the banzuke). His technique is outstanding and he does react very quickly, but still.
We‘ll never know how strong their opponents are. I guess that there are fewer Japanese who are ready to suffer heya life. But maybe that is compensated by wrestlers coming from university and, above all, from abroad?
Yes, they are extraordinary and legends already at their beginning, and I appreciate that very much. But I won‘t join in to some ‚best ever‘ euphoria. For the last two years we had a crumbling sanyaku zone (with one Ozeki left), a kinboshi monsoon (Teru, Hoshoryu, Onosato himself), many persisting injuries (with Takayasu, Kirishima, Chiyoshoma, Mitakeumi…) a Big-Name intai rush (Takakeisho, Onosho, Hokutofuji, Takarafuji…) and an everlasting crater in the middle of the banzuke, filled with underdemotions and overpromotions. This is sad but true – and I hope the bad times are over for now, with all the amazing youngsters!
I think this is the way. Excitement but temper hype with realism.
To fulfill the circle: what’s more realistic than the numbers?
Everything else is speculation.
That said I‘m into speculations myself. One of them: would prime Djokovic, who is the GOAT according to the numbers, stand a chance against prime Björn Borg?
Was the talent pool really deeper in Chiyonofuji’s day? He joined sumo in 1970, and the entire decade that followed was marked by rather low recruitment and a very short banzuke, comparable to today’s. Things only picked up again around the turn to the 1980s when Chiyonofuji was already at the top of the field, and the guys coming out of those later, larger recruiting classes only reached the top division in his last few active years.
Numbers of active rikishi for each year’s January tournament from 1960 to 1991: https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=1&group_by=basho&form1_year=1960-1991&form1_month=1&gsort_by=basho
Tennis and golf are so difficult because different eras didn’t just have a different level of athleticism, the equipment is dramatically different. I’m not a geezer by any means but my first tennis racquet was wood. My first set of golf clubs had wooden woods. Steel shafts. I remember when carbon fiber racquets came out and the weight and the size was totally different. Same with golf. Flexibility in the shafts massive club heads, like when the Big Berthas came out. In sumo, there’s not a huge change in equipment but the field of talent was bigger in Chiyonofuji’s hayday. That said, the athleticism we see nowadays seems to be on a different plane.
Numbers can hide so many facts and skip so many aspects, that I don‘t trust them too much for drawing a picture of reality. But often they are everything we’ve got, so let them gloriously speak for themselves.
Doesn’t seem to be a streamcast icon in NHK anymore. Or, am I missing something? Went to link provided to find the Preview Show. Do not see the square icon allowing one to cast to one’s television.
Are you looking for the NHK World stream (Free in English) or the NHK Premium broadcast? https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2081137/
I‘m also not able to find the videos from NHK, they seem to have changed the link again.
Can U help, please, Andy?
I’ve been looking. They changed things with this NHK One update.
I think I found it, here. Let me know if that works. You have to scroll down a little and click on a little button to see the videos. These NHK One changes have me trying to figure out the new website.
Sorry, Andy, took a nap.
Yes, the link works like a charm.
Thank U very much. I‘m enjoying it enormously.