Huge, late developing news from the infirmary is that Onosato is kyujo. He was wincing in pain after yesterday’s loss. Sounds like a dislocated shoulder. That hands Hoshoryu the default victory. Aonishiki has to win his bout to earn the right to contest the yusho against Hoshoryu. Sometimes the sumo kami are as cruel as the golf gods.
Just to add insult to injury, early Makuuchi bout coverage was pre-empted by coverage of the Keio/Waseda rugby game where my Keio boys got absolutely thrashed. When I was an English teacher in Hiyoshi, some of my students played rugby for Keio HS. Some of their kids might have played in today’s game.
Entering today’s action, the Association announced the Special Prize winners. Aonishiki and Yoshinofuji were awarded Technique prizes. Other Special Prizes came with conditions. Kirishima and Ichiyamamoto could each win Fighting Spirit prizes if they win today. Kirishima will face Ura and Ichiyamamoto will face Wakamotoharu. Aonishiki was also given a chance to win an Outstanding Performance Prize if he wins the yusho.
Fujiryoga defeated Hatsuyama to win the Juryo yusho in his debut. Asanoyama won his bout against Kitanowaka to finish 12-3. Leonid will have a better idea of who earned promotion as well as who has to be demoted. There seem to be a lot of demotion candidates and promotion candidates, without enough folks to take their places.
NHK videos of senshuraku action are here. This includes the first six bouts which we missed in the Live coverage.
Makuuchi Action
Asakoryu (8-7) defeated Kotoeiho (9-6). Uwatenage.
Oshoumi (7-8) defeated Fujiseiun (8-7). Okuridashi.
Shishi (6-9) defeated Meisei (1-5-9). Oshitaoshi.
Chiyoshoma (10-5) defeated Kotoshoho (7-8). Uwatenage.
Daieisho (10-5) defeated Tokihayate (9-6). Oshidashi.
Nishikifuji defeated Tobizaru (6-9) Oshidashi.
Tomokaze (7-8) defeated Midorifuji (6-9). Tomokaze slapped Midorifuji down. Hatakikomi.
Kinbozan (6-8) defeated Sadanoumi (4-10). Sadanoumi pulled on Kinbozan’s right arm but Kinbozan spun and slapped Sadanoumi down. Hatakikomi.
Gonoyama (9-6) defeated Abi (5-10). Gonoyama assaulted Abi with tsuppari. Gonoyama thrust hard into Abi’s right shoulder, turning Abi around. Abi was just able to get righted but had no way to counter as Gonoyama shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (8-7) defeated Ryuden (7-8). Darwin bout. Churanoumi earned his kachi-koshi by getting a good belt grip and twisting Ryuden down. Shitatehineri.
Onokatsu (7-8) defeated Shonannoumi (3-12). Onokatsu was able to overpower Shonannoumi along the edge and walked him out. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji (8-7) defeated Mitakeumi (7-8). Our second, and last Darwin bout of the evening. Mitakeumi tried a pull but Atamifuji didn’t fall for it. Atamifuji drove Mitakeumi back and over the bales. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Tamawashi (7-8) defeated Fujinokawa (9-6). Tamawashi’s tsuppari was to powerful for Fujinokawa and Tamawashi thrust him out. Fujinokawa spent most of the bout running away. With the win, Tamawashi passed Takanohana for the 10th most makuuchi victories, at 702. Oshidashi.
Oshoma (4-11) defeated Hiradoumi (4-11). Hiradoumi got a migi-sashi and drove forward. However, Oshoma slapped him down as he leapt into the air. Gunbai Oshoma. Mono-ii. After a review, Hiradoumi’s body was determined to have touched first, confirming the gyoji’s call. I’m not going to say anything about Aonishiki/Onosato here. I’ll let dead bodies lie. Tsukiotoshi.
Ichiyamamoto (11-4) defeated Wakamotoharu (8-7). Ichiyamamoto came out swinging for Wakamotoharu’s throat. He thrust Wakamotoharu’s left shoulder as Wakamotoharu tried to throw a slap, forcing Wakamotoharu to stumble forward and off the dohyo. Ichiyamamoto won his second Fighting Spirit prize. Okuritaoshi.
Kirishima (11-4) defeated Ura (8-7). Ura’s pull attempt ceded position but allowed him to brace along the edge. Kirishima pursued and tried to shove him out. Ura slipped right to escape but stumbled and rolled out. Kirishima won his third Fighting Spirit prize. Oshitaoshi.
Wakatakakage (7-8) defeated Roga (8-7). Hazu-oshi start with both guys thrusting into each other. Wakatakakage backed to the right and tried to slap Roga down. Roga caught his footing and tried to re-engage but WTK was in hot-pursuit and shoved Roga out. Oshidashi.
Hakuoho (6-9) defeated Shodai (4-11). Hakuoho hit Shodai hard at the tachiai, rocking Shodai back. Hakuoho pressed quickly and forced Shodai out. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Hoshoryu (12-3) default win over Onosato (11-4). If there’s an absence in the final scheduled bout, they shuffle it a few bouts early so the action doesn’t end with a fusen. This meant neither Yokozuna were present for the kore-yori-sanyaku which is a cool ceremony before the final three bouts on senshuraku.
Takayasu (8-7) defeated Yoshinofuji (9-6). The bout started with a brawl, tsuppari flying. Yoshinofuji tried to settle into a grapple with a left-hand inside grip. Takayasu’s left-hand grip seemed more secure and he drove forward as Yoshinofuji tried to pull. Takayasu threw Yoshinofuji off the dohyo. Takayasu won the arrows and saves a spot in sanyaku. He might even move up to Sekiwake? Oshitaoshi.
Oho (7-8) defeated Takanosho (5-10). Oho used good tsuppari and footwork to earn position at the center of the ring and force Takanosho to the edge. Takanosho tried a pull and wanted to escape to his left but Oho shoved him out. Oho got the bow strings. Oshidashi.
A consequence of shifting the musubi-no-ichiban was that Kotozakura/Aonishiki suddenly was musubi-no-ichiban and had a ton of kensho. The yobidashi would walk around the ring, step down, and grab another set of banners to display. I don’t know why but the guy with the One Cup Ozeki banner always seems to be a couple of steps slower than everyone else. Anyway, the winner will get a bigger pay day than they were expecting. Will that make Kotozakura fight harder for the win?
Aonishiki (12-3) defeated Kotozakura (8-7). Solid tachiai and the two men settled into a grapple. Kotozakura had a left-hand uwate while Aonishiki had his right-hand inside. Kotohachinana’s right knee was within range of Aonishiki’s left hand so Aonishiki swept the knee and forced the Ozeki forward. (Hat tip to jbipes for the brilliant nickname.) What a way to force a playoff. Uchimuso!
Playoff
Aonishiki defeated Hoshoryu! Aonishiki did it again! Aonishiki Yusho!!!! Hoshoryu pulled after trading tsuppari. Aonishiki sprung forward and wrapped up Hoshoryu from behind, dragging him to the deck. What the hell was that?
Wrap-up
Well, Aonishiki broke his string of 11-wins by picking up #12 against Kotozakura. He claimed an Outstanding Performance Prize for the mantle, next to the yusho. This will be absolutely heart-breaking for Hoshoryu. He missed out on his first yusho as Yokozuna and gets beaten again by the Sekiwake.
And even better, Aonishiki has earned promotion to Ozeki. We’ll bring more of the official announcement when it comes before Thanksgiving, hopefully grab some tai from the butcher to celebrate…or at least some taiyaki from the freezer.
Time to revisit an old post about the Japanese phrase, “aikuchi ga warui” and “aikuchi ga ii.” Aonishiki certainly has Hoshoryu’s number, so we should say, “aikuchi ga ii” when we talk about Aonishiki’s record against Hoshoryu. He does very well facing Hoshoryu, doesn’t he?
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I see I wasn’t the only one who was surprised that the Shimpan realized they could raise their hands, but also made specific decisions about bodies flying through the air, Andy.
What an amazing day! Congratulations to Aonishiki for a well-deserved yusho! Hoshoryu definitely needs to “go to school” and figure out how to defeat Aonishiki. This is good for both of them. Iron sharpens iron. With Onosato also challenging for Cups, that will get rid of all of the potential discussions around decreasing the worth of Cup wins based on the quality of rikishi on the banzuke.
I was also impressed with Takayasu in his bout and his face after taking his envelopes had a “what might have been” look on it. I am hopeful that he continues to fight with similar fervor.
Gonoyama’s match against Abi today is decent evidence for why Ichiamamoto has been so diligent about improving his skills on the belt. Abi couldn’t get his arms extended fully for his thrusts because Gonoyama got inside his range so quickly. Well done, Gonoyama!
I feel bad for Onosato, but I also want to point out that I heartily approve of him going kyujo on the last day. There will be more chances to win a Cup in the future. The health of the rikishi is the most important thing. I hope that other oyakata take note and start to follow similar standards.
Lastly, when was the last time that every rikishi who had an opportunity to win a special prize actually did it at a basho? It feels like that hasn’t happened in a while, yet here we are! Congratulations to all the winners!
Wow! Just wow! I was really nervous for that Aonishiki-Kotozakura bout, and Koto getting that left hand uwate didn’t help. But, Aonishiki was able to get the win by uchimuso again, which I didn’t think Kotozakura would fall for a second time. And then the playoff bout he continues his form against Hoshoryu for the yusho. Congratulations to Aonishiki for that hard-earned yusho! He deserves it.
It is tough for Hoshoryu to lose this way, but I think he doesn’t have that much to figure out here. I may be wrong, but it feels like his losses have all come after he pulled (probably looking for a belt grip rather than a quick victory), which gave Aonishiki a winning position. Aonishiki may be the only wrestler who can react quickly enough to turn those pulls those small openings into winning positions (I’m pretty sure Kirishima is still wondering how Aonishiki got behind him on a makikae), but I’m sure Hoshoryu will figure out another way to attack. Then their matches will get really interesting, because I fully expect Aonishiki to continue to improve.
Amazing basho! I still can’t believe it, so stoked at where sumo is right now. Unbelievable!
This was so painful to watch that I’m not even going to rub it in for hoshoryu fans.
Aonishiki didn’t just beat onosato (he did and was robbed) but had to beat hoshoryu twice. And the ozeki. More importantly, he had to beat the NSK who did their most to keep him from winning. I’m officially a new fan.
I’m glad onosato dropped out, him winning would have tainted the whole thing.
Hoshoryu, maybe more training and less staring contests next time?
Aonishiki is winning the way I always thought Hoshoryu would do, by employing a wide range of techniques.His uchimuso and okurinage were smooth, elegant and effective. Throughout the basho he employed 9 different kimarite for 13 wins. Hoshoryu used 7 for 12 wins and Onosato used 5 for 11 wins.
thats impressive , rikishi with decades experience cant dream of that accomplishment
Sometimes in combat sports you run into a person who just, flat out, has your number and is a mountain you can’t seem to get past. Happens in boxing, MMA, etc, etc. Hoshoryu has definitely run into that mountain with Aonishiki. Hoshoryu seems completely lost on how to handle Aonishiki and is throwing whatever at the wall each bout only to be smoothly countered every time. It has to be immensely frustrating for someone like Hoshoryu who is so competitive to run into this. But sometimes that’s how things go.
What’s scary about Aonishiki is he’s so talented at such a young age and like Onosato has risen up the ranks so quickly. Barring injuries, it feels like he’s a lock for either a permanent strong stay at Ozeki or Yokozuna. No one can figure out his style of freestyle wrestling, judo and sumo. His lower body and control is just on another level then everyone else. If he get a solid hold on you it’s basically GG immediately. And he showed on this tournament that he has technique off the mawashi as well.
It’s sad we didn’t get the Onosato/Hoshoryu match but it was still a thrilling conclusion to a really fun tournament.
Hoshoryu certainly has some serious thinking to do concerning Aonishiki, but he has 3 losses from him, not 13, so speaking of insurmountable obstacles is perhaps a bit premature…
Actually, it’s 4 losses now.
Speaking from experience . Dislocated shoulders tend to have lingering effects + being prone to repeating . . A focus going forward for Onosato will be protecting the shoulder. . Net, the young pristine Yokozuna is no longer pristine . Welcome to sumo .
It is good that Chiyonofuji showed that the problem of dislocated shoulders is fixable and great success can be achieved despite it.
Happy that my boy Oho succeeded in keeping his sanyaku berth. Maybe he has more potential to fulfill but I’ll be happy if he just keeps on being an upper-joi/sanyaku mainstay.
All of the above. Such a great last 6 days of this basho after it looked like Onosato was walking away with it on day 9.
My small sideline story from today:
Tamawashi moving into 10th place all time by bearing someone less than half his age!
And Takayasu similarly looking VERY STONG against the next generation with a little, “not yet, young one” authority against the man trying to take his sanyaku spot.
January is going to be a lot of fun. This sanyaku board is really healthy looking. And the JOI as well.
Andy — thanks for the flowers regarding my (your) new nickname for Kotozakura. He definitely has earned it.
I’ll eat the crow for my BOLD PREDICTION on Takayasu. He pulled it out and will enjoy a bump up to Sekiwake.
The Banzuke for Hatsu is going to be a pain in the rear to figure out other than the Sanyaku. Normal rank changes had me putting half a dozen at M12. Over-promotion and under-demotion will rule the day it seems.
Does Oshoumi survive the cut? A 7-8 record would normally say yes, but with so many deserving promotions from Juryo he may fall victim to Banzuke luck.
With Aonishiki’s definite promotion (IMHO), as earlier noted – the rock, paper, scissors (Aonishiki, Onosato, Hoshoryu respectively) situation will make 2026 a must watch year in Sumo.
Thanks to all for the wonderful coverage and commentary this Basho.
I feel a little exhausted after all the drama of this race. Big congratulations to Aonishiki, there will still be the next tournament for Hoshoryu.
Thank you for posting the updates all tournament!
I’m going to totally take credit for this because I bought an Aonishiki towel on Monday at the venue, yep. Just kidding :)
I got checked into my hotel up north just as the Takayasu bout had ended and was confused as hell when they said it was the last match and it was Kotozakura and Aonishiki. Good showing by Aonishiki, big props to him.
My “he won’t get promoted without a yusho” prediction is moot so yay. My prediction from a few days ago that Oho was going back to Maegashira and that Takayasu would get another skin of his teeth survival ends up being wrong too.
I would guess we will have Takayasu and Kirishima at Sekiwake, and Oho and Wakamotoharu at Komusubi in January.
Good writeups as usual, thanks for giving me a pace to post comments :)
I‘m hoping that Wakamotoharu vs Ichiyamamoto was the bout to decide who would take the last sanyaku slot.
I’m just wondering why there were two Juryo visitors, meaning an extra Makunouchi bout on senshuraku? Maybe a dobeya thing?
According to Iksumo both were exchange bouts; the winners will fight in makuuchi next basho.
Got it. Thanks
Actually, this basho has been very tough for Aonishiki. Everyone(except maybe ozeki) had a plan for Aonishiki’s uchimuso, and Ao had to improvise to every opponent. And successfully.
I think he is still improving his skills, and became an all around player, as someone mentioned his variety of kimarites(oshi, yotz, and whatever in between).
The relation between two yokozunas? The gap between Onosato is closing fast, while the gap between Hosh is becoming insurmountable!
I think Aonishiki’s yokozuna era is coming sooner than you think.
What a crazy tourney! As always Andy, brilliant job at breaking it all down for us. I really enjoyed the varying comments from the all the commentators…but yes, I am definitely a BIG fan of Aonishiki from the very beginning!! I really like this kid and hopefully he will go far in a sport that is known for its brutal, uncompromising nature. I feel in my heart that Onosato and Hoshoryu will continue to be in the hunt for major hardware, so NEVER count them out. I’m looking forward to January Hatsu basho 2026! Let’s GO-OOOO!!