Before heading out on holidays, there is a bit of news to bring to you sumo fans. The banzuke committee meets after each tournament and has drawn up the ranking sheet for Hatsu 2026. Most of it will remain secret until two weeks before action kicks off. However, these promotions are formally announced ahead of time so the heya and wrestlers can get acclimated to their new status and duties.
Aonishiki Promoted to Ozeki
＜新大関！安青錦＞
— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) November 26, 2025
大関昇進伝達式。
鯛を手にする安青錦。#sumo #相撲 #新大関 #安青錦 #安治川部屋 pic.twitter.com/e3WHAS2zfD
As expected Ajigawa-beya’s Ukrainian phenom, Aonishiki, was promoted to Ozeki after his dramatic and triumphant Play-off yusho in Kyushu. The Sumo Association played it a bit coy heading into the tournament, dismissing promotion chances and saying that his September result would be the official start of his Ozeki run and they did not intend to include his 11-win result from Maegashira 1.
However, his late yusho march flipped the script and forced the Association’s hand. He did not just meet the unofficial 33-win benchmark, he plowed through it with a Playoff victory over a Yokozuna to boot. To be honest, I had hoped he would face Onosato again in the playoff but it was not to be with Onosato’s unfortunate injury and late scratch from senshuraku action. As it was, he beat Hoshoryu again with a wild takedown.
In the video below, Asakayama and Oshima oyakata came by to represent the Sumo Association for the promotion ceremony.
Aonishiki’s promotion will create a bit of balance on the banzuke, evening out the sanyaku ranks and eliminating the need for a Yokozuna-Ozeki. As I noted in my banzuke post from a few weeks ago, two Ozeki are required for a hon-basho and lately Hoshoryu has been carrying the distinction of being Yokozuna and Ozeki on the West Side. Since we won’t be seeing that for a while, to see what that looks like on the ranking sheet, check out that Anatomy of a Banzuke post. This will also eliminate that Maegashira 18 East position. So, we’ll have four full sanyaku ranks to start 2026 (Reiwa 8).
Juryo Promotions
Leonid has been following the progress of Makushita tsukedashi wrestlers since the most recent policy changes. Check the post below for his most recent update. Gone are the days of Makushita 10 debuts, like Endo. Now, those wrestlers with sufficient success in the amateur ranks can be skipped only as high as Makushita 60 when they debut.
One such wrestler, Kazuma, has earned his Juryo promotion by virtue of his Makushita Yusho, alongside Kyokukaiyu and Dewanoryu. It is worth noting that Kazuma defeated Enho on his way to the yusho. For his part, Enho finished 5-2 and will move up in the division, closer to the promotable range.
Kyokukaiyu will return to the ranks of sekitori after a one basho absence. Justin wrote a profile on him when he was initially promoted into Makushita. His 6-9 record in September forced him to be demoted but he has quickly been repromoted after a 5-2 in Kyushu. Dewanoryu of Oshima-beya has earned his promotion after spending much of the last five years grinding his way through the third division.
Congratulations to all of the promotees! Update your banzuke guesses accordingly!
The winter Jungyo tour will begin this coming weekend and will wind its way around southern Japan for much of the month of December. I hope to bring a few posts of the tour as well as the New Year celebrations. There is much mochi-pounding action ahead!
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Aonishiki did win with a wild takedown in the playoff, but it was similar to how he beat Hoshoryu in the September basho. He does have a freestyle wrestling and judo background, and it shows at times like that.
As expected a 4-3 from Ms5 wasn’t enough for Seihakuho to get promotion. I guess he’ll succeed next time. There are two certain demotions from juryo, but will Hakuyozan be the third or injured Mita? I sure do hope that they will keep the small youngster.
Depending on how severe the ACL injury was, Mita might not be ready to fight in January, and possibly for a while longer, which could weigh into the decision to drop him instead of someone who will actually fight. We’ll find out in a couple of weeks.
Talking about injuries, are there any news concerning Onosato‘s?
Did he fight instead of it in Fukuoka? And if so, for how many days?
Would be a pity if his sensational run was stopped by that shoulder.
Supposedly he hurt it on day 13, and fought one more day. Hopefully they’ll take it seriously, ex-Kisenosato knows all too well that such injuries can be career-ending.
That famous day 13 when he was supposedly won against Aonishiki!
Maybe he was less „dead“ but certainly he’s been hurt more than his foe.
I had wondered if he hurt it against Aonishiki. That would help explain Kotozakura’s success.
Yup. They said it was at the tachiai, not the fall at the end…
Onosato siempre ataca los tachi ai metiendo el hombro, es normal que se acabe resintiendo
As someone cancelled my sneering at a spanish text, I guess Tachiai sees itself as multilingual; also werde ich meine Kommentare zukünftig deutsch schreiben!
That was me. I have a soft spot for learning languages. (I was a Latin American Studies Major in college.) Feel free to write in German. My responses will be delayed…and likely word sausage, as they say.
Guessed so. But am not amused about the cancellation without a word. Bad style, as U had my e-mail address.
And by the way, I still think it’s lazy or even arrogant not to adapt to a blog’s language.
Aonishiki will fight his 14th basho in January (not counting mae zumo). Until today Kotooshu has been the fastest to reach the ozeki rank from the bottom of the banzuke. It took him five (!) tournaments more than the Ukrainian.
Medetashi medetashi Aonishiki!
Congratulations to Aonishiki! I really hope this talented, young man goes far!
Glad to see he got the promotion and made my “he’ll get promoted if he gets a yusho” prediction come true.
Looking forward to seeing how he does in January.
It’s just wild he has never had less than 11 wins as a sekitori.
He began his sekitori career with a 10-5, but that doesn’t change anything; it is wild.
Aonishiki’s wins/losses ratio of 3.47 is even better than Onosato’s (3.15), twice as good as Hoshoryu’s (1.72) and Kotozakura’s (1.5); Hakuho‘s is 4.81 but only if absences are not counted as losses.
(One has to consider that as Aonishiki has only 13 basho under his mawashi, so the lower division results are weighted more than with the others, but his makuuchi ratio of 3.09 isn’t much less impressive.)
Oops, that was Onosato‘s makuuchi ratio, Aonishiki‘s being „only“ 2.95; sorry.
Ozeki omedeto, Aonishiki! ✌️
Translation here of some recent reflections by Hakuho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akhj8e9FKiw