Sumo Topics

Aonishiki Promoted to Ozeki; Juryo Promotions Released

Andy Banzuke, Banzuke (番付), Juryo (十両), promotion, Sumo Topics , ,

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

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!

Endo Retires

Andy Endo (遠藤), Retirement, Sumo Topics ,

News out of Oitekaze beya that Endo will retire. Though the Sumo Association has not made the official announcement, multiple media reports are confirming the decision citing sources close to the wrestler, including Nikkan Sports, Mainichi, Chunichi, Sports Hochi. I would still have held out for the official announcement but for the confirmed news that Kitajin-oyakata retired on 10/26. This was significant news because the kabu is owned by Endo and needed to be vacated so Endo could assume the name.

When the Kyushu banzuke was revealed yesterday, former Komusubi Endo had fallen from the sekitori ranks into Makushita. I anticipate the official announcement in a few hours but I will be at another family event so I wanted to get this out there. Frankly, we knew this day was coming several months ago when Endo underwent surgery on both knees. It is the end of an era.

Endo helped lead a resurgence in popularity for the sport after its nadir during the yaocho scandal of 2011. Here, we see Bruce taking a snap at one of the famous cutouts at Kokugikan. Endo was a successful rikishi at Nihon University and earned privileged debut at the rank of Ms10, like Mitakeumi and Onosato.

By virtue of that head start, Endo rose into the top division after only three tournaments, including a yusho in Juryo. He quickly rose to the Maegashira 1 rank in March 2014, his seventh professional tournament. However, injuries piled up and he wouldn’t reach Komusubi until 2018. In all, he claimed seven kinboshi in his career, including two against Hakuho.

Due to his popularity, he featured in TV commercials for sponsors like Nagatanien. He’s got that deep, gavelly voice that the ladies swoon for, amirite? Anyway, you can’t really tell because he never gets that many lines. He was rather notorious for seemingly giving the shortest answers to interview questions.

I am sure that all eight of his Shibaraku-kumadori inspired kesho mawashi will be on display at his retirement ceremony. The kabuki-themed image will likely be familiar for many of you. Unfortunately, the Instagram images that I featured in that article are gone but you may recognize this design It’s a brand of Nagatanien ochazuke toppings; a play on the word for “in a little while”. You can see it on his yukata in this ad and on Bruce’s picture, above. He actually has eight of these, each of a different color.

This takes me back to when I was first starting the blog back in 2014. I was consuming sumo any way I could. Thankfully these Araibira videos are still up. He had been chased from YouTube to Vimeo. (The struggle never ends but at least there is a lot more content out there now, including legit sources from the Sumo Association, the stables themselves, and even a bit from NHK and Abema.)

But, I digress. That year, Endo still had a zambara hair-style because it was too short for a top-knot. Above, we see him against Kotooshu — now Naruto-oyakata. We might think of that bout as Kotooshu handing over his role as the “ladies man” to the heart-throb of the new generation. And another video with a beautiful escape against his rival, Osunaarashi.

Good luck, Endo, in your second career! We are eager to see you churn out another generation of rikishi.

Kyushu 2025 Banzuke Released

Andy Banzuke, Banzuke (番付), Kyushu 2025, Kyushu Basho ,

The Kyushu Banzuke was released. A few days ago, I posted this summary to give a bit more information about this all-important ranking sheet and explain what you see there. Here it is in Japanese, and English from the Sumo Association website.

Leonid’s banzuke prediction worked out pretty well. On my first glance, he got everything right down to Fujinokawa. Wow. I’d be doing burnouts if my banzuke looked like that. I’ll let him break it down in more detail.

Kusano has changed his shikona to Yoshinofuji (義ノ富士). Aonishiki is shin-Sekiwake. Oho returns to the rank. Takanosho returns to Komusubi. Former Ozeki Asanoyama has moved on up to Juryo 4, much closer to a return to the top division. Injured ENDO has fallen from the salaried ranks at Makushita 3 East. ENHO has climbed up to Makushita 17 West.

Oitekaze-beya’s Kaki has jumped up to Sandanme 31 East. Watch this 190cm youngster. He’s won the Jonokuchi and Jonidan titles. American Hikarumusashi, aka Musashigawa’s nephew Daniel, slipped to Sandanme 73 after a tough 2-5 result at Aki. We’ll pay close attention to maezumo as well this tournament as we might get the debut of Isegahama’s big prospect, Battsetseg Ochirsaihan.

October 2025 Sumo News Round-up

Andy Jungyo (巡業), Juryo (十両), Retirement , , ,

“Aki Basho is over and but there are still some note-worthy updates to make.”

That’s how I began this post several weeks ago when I started drafting it. Now it’s nearly Halloween. Time flies and my conceptualized update post needs significant updates. Wrestlers who just got back from London will be packing up and heading to Kyushu. Some are already there in advance doing a bit of PR. The banzuke drops tonight but that’s clearly not the only bit of news from the past few weeks which I need to mention. Leonid mentioned a few of these items in his Kyushu Banzuke Preview post. His full prediction is here. I will be back with the banzuke later but these items needed attention.

Takarabune’s Final Sail

Takarafuji has retired. Since he looks vaguely like my uncle, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for him. Under the storied Isegahama banner, his sumo has always been rather straight-forward yotsu-zumo, fought in an earnest, quiet, and respectful manner. He had never been a big showman on the ring, letting the results speak for themselves. In a video message on the Kyokai’s Twitter account, he thanked his fans for supporting his career over the past sixteen years.

He started his sumo career in 2009 and fought in Juryo rediscovered the sport in 2011, climbing the ranks as I dove back into following the sport. He peaked at the rank of Sekiwake and won kinboshi from Kakuryu, Hakuho, and Kisenosato. Accumulated injuries have certainly taken their toll and he had slipped from Makuuchi into Juryo. Lately he was often overpowered and out maneuvered by his opponents. With a 5-10 record in Tokyo this past September, he was destined to fall out of the paid ranks and into Makushita.

Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed writing about his bouts in a metaphorical sense, as if he were the Takarabune of legend and his bouts were legs of some epic journey. Sadly, that journey has come to an end. Takarafuji will remain with Isegahama as a coach, Kiriyama-oyakata.

Juryo Promotions

Four wrestlers were promoted to Juryo, including two newcomers. Both of the shin-juryo wrestlers have changed their shikona. Welcome Himukamaru (ex-Nagamura) and Fujiryuga (ex-Goshima) to the ranks of the full-timers. Kitanowaka and Wakanosho join them in Juryo.

Check out Justin’s Makushita posts to keep early tabs on some prospects as they rise into the division. It will take a while for guys to make the push through this tough third division. I’m keeping my eye on Noda. He’s been grinding and appears to be getting better. I’m eager to see where he will fall when the new banzuke comes out.

Takakeisho Retirement Ceremony

We had a pair of retirement ceremonies at the start of this break: Takakeisho and Myogiryu. Former Ozeki, Takakeisho, had his haircut first. Whenever we talk about Takakeisho now, the big story is his remarkable physical transformation. I’m looking forward to seeing him grow as a coach and hopefully become a stable master. Enjoy the video highlights of his retirement ceremony.

Myogiryu Retirement Ceremony

Myogiryu had a long, successful career in spite of injury. He joined Sakaigawa-beya and earned a Makushita debut from his university success at Nittaidai but suffered an injury when he earned promotion to Juryo. He fell back into Sandanme but fought back and rose all the way to Sekiwake, claiming six kinboshi over the course of his career — including two off of Hakuho.

London Basho

Our wrestlers went to London for a spectacular five-day tournament. The crew had last been there a few decades ago when Hakkaku was an active Yokozuna fighting as Hokutoumi. Since Covid restrictions are ancient history and sterling is doing quite well against the yen lately, the Sumo Association stands to make a decent haul from its trip and hopefully inspire another generation of sumo fans.

Hoshoryu took the top prize. But in a Grand Sumo stylee, there were special prizes to be had by those who fought well and those who won over the crowd. Hard core sumo lovers are sometimes hard to please with these exhibitions. I mean, let’s face it. The slaps don’t hit as hard in London — or Kanazawa — as they do on shonichi. Nevertheless, there was some great action, summarized in the video above.

It’s probably best that I was not able to attend. I have always wanted to throw a zabuton and would be more likely to do it in London than in Tokyo; I’m not trying to get my butt banned. But I figure London’s prepared for some well-mannered hooliganism. Another possible revenue stream would be to have a booth where punters can throw cushions and have Shodai catch them. I digress. I’m glad the event seems to have done well with the PR and I hope the rumors of a Paris Basho for next year hold true.