The Sumo Association provides Special Prizes to select top division wrestlers: Outstanding Performance, Fighting Spirit, and Technique Prizes. For many, it’s awarded outright on senshuraku as an award for their performance over the week. For others, the possibility of winning a prize is announced with conditions based on performance on senshuraku.
Atamifuji was awarded a Fighting Spirit prize, unconditionally. He was also given a chance at an Outstanding Performance Prize if he won the yusho with 12 wins. Yoshinofuji likewise has a conditional Outstanding Performance Prize, given a win today. Kirishima, Abi, and Oshoumi must win today to pick up Fighting Spirit Prizes.
Wakanosho won his bout against the up-and-coming Fujiryoga. He used forceful tsuppari to drive Fujiryoga to the edge. Fujiryoga tried to move laterally to his right but Wakanosho pursued quickly and hit him with a powerful shoulder blast. Despite the loss, Fujiryoga likely won enough to make his Makuuchi division debut in Osaka. Okuridashi.
Your NHK videos of the action are here.
Makuuchi Action
Asahakuryu (8-7) defeated Sadanoumi (9-6). Henka! Asahakuryu shifted to his left at the tachiai catching Sadanoumi off-guard. Sadanoumi was about three days late to react so Asahakuryu drove him over the bales. Asahakuryu is kachi-koshi in his top division debut and preserves his position. Yorikiri.
Kotoeiho (8-7) defeated Ryuden (6-9). Kotoeiho overpowered Ryuden and quickly forced him over the edge with a left-hand inside grip. Yorikiri.
Mitakeumi (7-8) defeated Midorifuji (6-9). MIdorifuji locked in on Mitakeumi’s left shoulder and tried to get another katasukashi win but Mitakeumi moved forward well and shoved him over the bales. Oshidashi.
Tobizaru (7-8) defeated Chiyoshoma (6-9). Henka! Tobizaru jumped right and wrapped up Chiyoshoma from behind. Chiyoshoma tried to stay in and hopped around but Tobizaru forced him out. Yorikiri.
Kotoshoho (9-6) defeated Hatsuyama (2-13). Hatsuyama pulled and got his left hand uwate grip. However, Kotoshoho immediately thrust him to the side with a powerful shove. Tsukiotoshi.
Roga (7-8) defeated Tomokaze (4-11). Tomokaze hit Roga with a nodowa and forced him to the edge. Roga grabbed his belt with the left hand and shifted to his left, throwing him down. Uwatenage.
Asakoryu (9-6) defeated Gonoyama (7-8). Henka! Asakoryu pivoted and tried to slap Gonoyama down. Gonoyama did well to stay upright but couldn’t launch a counter attack. Asakoryu shoved him out. However, Asakoryu visibly winced and grabbed his left pec after the win. I hope he didn’t just pull a Kisenosato. Oshidashi.
Shodai (7-8) defeated Asanoyama (9-6). Asanoyama forced Shodai to the edge but Shodai got his arm under Asanoyama’s left shoulder, shifted to his right and pulled Asanoyama down on one knee. Katasukashi.
Fujinokawa (10-5) defeated Tokihayate (8-7). Fujinokawa got his left hand inside under Tokihayate’s shoulder and his right arm up around Tokihayate’s head, twisted and hauled him down in the middle of the ring. Sukuinage.
Atamifuji (12-3) defeated Oshoumi (10-5). Atamifuji plowed into Oshoumi and drove him to the edge. Oshoumi must be injured because he held his right leg aloft at the bales rather than using it to dig in. That meant it was very easy for Atamifuji to press forward and force Oshoumi out. Ankle? Knee? Both were taped. Oshoumi missed out on his first special prize. We will see about Atamifuji. One thing’s for sure, no big Chaos playoff. Shucks. Yorikiri.
Daieisho (7-8) defeated Shishi (9-6). Shishi henka? I didn’t think that would be possible. Shishi shifted right but Daieisho adjusted and attacked Shishi with his patented tsuppari thrusts, driving him back and over the bales. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Wakatakakage (9-6) defeated Hiradoumi (9-6). Wakatakakage got his right hand in high and tried to get his left-hand grip to help him charge forward. Hiradoumi blocked him so Wakatakakage pivoted to his right and pulled, twisting Hiradoumi down by his right shoulder. Katasukashi.
Ura (4-11) defeated Tamawashi (5-10). Tamawashi wrapped up Ura and drove forward…at least I thought Tamawashi wrapped up Ura. Suddenly Ura escaped Tamawashi’s grasp, slipped out to his right, and flung Tamawashi into the crowd. It’s hard to believe Ura only had four wins this basho but here we are. Hikiotoshi.
Yoshinofuji (8-7) defeated Oshoma (7-8). This was a Darwin bout with extra spice. The added possibility of a special prize gave this bout the extra flavor. Yoshinofuji got his left hand inside grip and when he got his right hand outside grip to accompany it, he pulled up and charged forward, driving Oshoma to the edge. He then shoved Oshoma over the edge to finish him off. Oshidashi.
Ichiyamamoto (4-11) defeated Kinbozan (4-11). After a flurry of tsuppari, Ichiyamamoto locked up Kinbozan with a left-hand uwate and drove him back and over the edge. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Wakamotoharu (8-7) defeated Onokatsu (7-8) Wakamotoharu grabbed Onokatsu with a right hand uwate pivoted and pulled Onokatsu forward. Wakamotoharu will keep his sanyaku position, after all. Uwatehineri.
Takanosho (5-10) defeated Oho (4-11). With his feet embued with the power of the tawara as he braced against the edge, Takanosho shoved Oho to the left and over the edge. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (9-6) defeated Takayasu (8-7). Churanoumi slapped at Takayasu’s left shoulder, thrusting him forward and off-kilter. He then got in behind Papa Bear and drove him out of the ring from behind. Okuridashi.
Kore-Yori-Sanyaku
Kirishima (11-4) defeated Abi (10-5). Abi wrapped up Kirishima’s left shoulder and tried to haul him back quickly over the bales. Kirishima resisted by driving into Abi. Kirishima got a strong belt grip and forced Abi over the edge. Abi’s tsuppari cannon was notably absent from the bout. Kirishima picks up a special prize to accompany the arrows and his kensho. Abi is denied. Yorikiri.
Aonishiki (12-3) defeated Kotohachinana (8-7) So, all of the drama of the past fortnight brought us here. Atamifuji has done his part. It’s on Aonishiki to do his. Kotozakura pulled. He dug his chin into the back of Aonishiki’s neck and tried to force him down. He grabbed Aonishiki’s belt and tried to pull him up. Aonishiki kept his composure and with his right hand firmly gripping Kotozakura’s belt, he pressed forward and forced Kotozakura over the edge. Good, old-fashioned, yorikiri.
Hoshoryu (10-5) defeated Onosato (10-5). Hoshoryu quickly established a migi-yotsu hold. Onosato’s ottsuke was unable to dislodge Hoshoryu’s grasp. Hoshoryu stayed low and charged forward, driving Onosato to the edge. Onosato could not escape and Hoshoryu forced him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Playoff
Aonishiki defeated Atamifuji. Aonishiki locked on quickly with his right hand inside. Atamifuji wrapped his left arm around Aonishiki’s and pulled up. With his right hand he tried to sneak it inside to envelope Aonishiki but Aonishiki’s ottsuke held him at bay…for now. Atamifuji used his power and leverage to pull up on Aonishiki and force him to the edge but he couldn’t quite get him over. Aonishiki used that right hand grip to stabilize himself against Atamifuji’s pulls, as much as he used it as a steering wheel to try to drive into Atamifuji. The two men worked to a brief stalemate at the edge…but Atamifuji kept edging closer to that migi-sashi. If he could just get that right hand inside to accompany his left, he might be able to drive Aonishiki over the bales. And he was nearly there….just a little bit more…Aonishiki realized he was losing the grip so he suddenly let go with his left hand, brought his left hand up around Atamifuji’s head, and pulled Atamifuji down. Wow. Kubinage.
Wrap-up
What a basho. We didn’t get the 5-man mega playoff but we got two great yusho runs from Aonishiki and from Atamifuji. We got great bouts and the Playoff was a sweet Bing cherry on this Sumo Sundae. In the end, Aonishiki continues to rack up the accolades. He’s the ninth wrestler to win a yusho in his debut as Ozeki, the first since Hakuho some 20 years ago. He picked up 12 wins to add to a stunning string of double-digit tallies since his debut in the top division. Now, he is on a Yokozuna “rope run” (綱取り). If he wins in Osaka, we’ll need a new Ozeki.
That’s not all, though. Both Yokozuna showed up, they completed the 15-day tour of duty, they both featured in the yusho race for a little bit and they both picked up double-digit wins. That’s certainly enough for an “Achieved Results” on the bi-monthly performance review in a normal basho. Given their injuries we should bump them up to “Exceeded Expectations,” which I would say applies to the entire tournament.
So, that’s it. The Yokozuna can kick up their heels and rest until March and we do this again, right, Andy? No? No. There’s no jungyo but there are several events on the calendar. We’ve got Terunofuji’s retirement sumo next weekend. After that, we’ve got the NHK charity sumo on February 7th and the Annual one-day tournament on Saturday the 8th. At the same time, the Hakuho Cup is scheduled for the same weekend. It will include girls and adults this year. Regular readers will know we’ll also have the official announcement of Juryo promotions later this week.
See you soon!
Discover more from Tachiai (立合い)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Here is what happened afterwards with previous two rikishi who won back-to-back yushos as Sekiwake and Ozeki.
https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=4&form1_rank=s&form1_y=on&form2_rank=o&form2_y=on
Too early to talk of a rope run ????
No. Not too early at all. The only reason not to would be worry about jinxing such a run.
You’ve got Oshoma fighting twice
Yikes. I really committed to that error. 3x. Thank you for pointing it out.
Oshoma, Oshoumi, Potayto, Potahto.
That playoff made me nervous – looking how Aonishiki been slowly driven back – I thought for a sec that he’s done. But then he managed to bounce from the tawara and pull a kubinage – his secret (not really) weapon against Isegahama power boys.
I finally realized that Aonishiki won only when he stared getting those maracons, etc.
Banzai shin-Ozeki!
Aonishiki’s bouts are only getting more entertaining as his opponents are figuring out how to go after him, but he digs down and still usually prevails.
Tamawashi wasn’t doing his sumo at all this basho, even when he won. We’ll see in Osaka whether he is back in form or the long butsukari against Father Time is finally wearing him down.
Thanks to Tachiai for another great run of coverage!
Abi is another one who couldn’t use his usual sumo. He’s having to adapt but I doubt he will have anywhere near Tamawashi’s longevity.
Splendid Tournament and a fairly satisfying result. Thank you Andy for your always-entertaining coverage (Henka!).
Thank you!
Thanks to everyone for the always entertaining and informative comments, even if we don’t always agree with one another. Andy and the Tachiai team, thank you for such excellent coverage and advancing my knowledge. I’ve missed most of the visual coverage this basho, being away from home, however you’ve kept me fully informed and I don’t feel I’ve missed out too much! I shall be watching the highlights later on though.
Now for what seems like a long wait until the Haru basho, but it is only 6 weeks.
Thank you!
Looking like a potentially great 3-way rivalry building. Aonishiki beats Hoshoryu, Onosato beats Aonishiki, Hoshoryu has the edge over Onosato.
This feels like jankenpon, but with rikishi.
Wow I still have that goose bumps. When Aonishiki was pushed back, I was afraid his stamina was running low. Atamifuji had plenty of time to rest after his early match.
Atami couldn’t grab AO’s mawashi like the previous match. But this time, he made the arm grab just like his master, Terunofuji. It was so close, but the ozeki was able to make another houdini act.
Congrats Aonishiki, and finish another rope run!
Thank you for shepherding your Tachiai flock through this one, Andy. Combining enjoying your work with DonDon on YouTube and Chris Sumo on Patreon is a perfect Sumo recipe!
Nothing to say about Aonishiki, but knock on wood.
Did not know about Atamifuji’s lisp, which rather suits his image. I’d read that ex-Terunofuji pinned him an endearing nickname, after Atamifuji received sponsorship from a pudding company. It’s “kakukai no pudding”, which means “pudding of the sumo world” in direct translation, but perhaps better as “custard boy”. Well done.
Ura probably did not put too much effort this time, enjoying the safety net of M2. Overall, he seems to be content with going up and down maegashira ranks.
Asakoryu’s injury was apparent during the week, most visibly after his day 11 win against Chiyoshoma. He’s been trying to protect his left arm. Being the tough cookie that he is, hope to see him safe and sound in the next tournament.
Thanks to the Tachiai team and contributors.
Thank you, Andy and Tachiai-ites, for a thorough, exceedingly knowledgeable, witty and (oftentimes) humorous account of this basho. I look forward to reading it every morning.
My take on the two Yokozuna: by the end of the basho they didn’t appear injured! It’s a miracle. (And Hoshoryu looked especially back-to-normal.)
Asanoyama: I was hoping he’d do even better but he’ll still get a nice boost in the ranks.
Takayasu: hmm. So erratic.
Kirishima: I have high hopes for him.
Wakamotoharu: As I do for this chap.
Aonishiki: Wow. Back-to-back yusho. The pressure doesn’t seem to get to him at all. And such methodical (?) sumo. Opponent moves to the side? Aonishiki pivots to match.
Anyway, thank you again, Andy.
On both Tamawashi and Takayasu – I hope they will heal up till March and found even more strength to continue with kachi in 2026. Unfortunately both look not in best shape at the second half of this basho.
Thanks for the coverage as always! What a great basho! Crazy to think after all the worrying about not having any yokozuna this time last year that we could be two months away from having three!!
Can’t wait until March!
Well, almost not having any yokozuna. I guess that was Terunofuji’s last basho. But it was down to the wire for sure.
Wow, that was exciting! My heart was in my mouth when Atamifuji was able to get and maintain that arm bar. He’d already pushed Aonishiki back at the tachiai, and he just kept slowly creeping forward. Even with the belt grip, Aonishiki just couldn’t break Atamifuji’s balance. Then that quick swap to the kubinage which landed really. Just wow!
While I was rooting for Aonishiki, I really feel for Atamifuji. He gave it his all this basho, and this might have been his best shot at a yusho. You could tell he was gutted after getting hit by that kubinage. But maybe the new Isegahama (ex-Terunofuji, who was a Kaiju himself) has managed to unlock a bit of a Kaiju in Atamifuji. I guess we’ll see next tournament!
Shin Kaiju?
Thank you for the daily updates! Definitely an exciting tournament that really looked all up in the air right until the last day. I do enjoy how the top division isn’t so stratified that the races aren’t completely forgone conclusions, anyone from any position could breakout and be in the conversation for the tournament.
I’m pretty sure they won’t but I’m still begging the yokozuna to take off and heal up. If Aonishiki’s going to be on a rope run I’d like to see him earn it through a full strength Hoshoryu and Onosato.