More importantly, Wakaikari has changed his shikona to Fujinokawa Seigo as he makes his top division debut. As an aside, ex-Fujinokawa Yuji (also from Isenoumi-beya) just passed away earlier this month from cancer. Note that he had been winner of the great belt buckle in his university/amazumo days. He had a short career in Isenoumi-beya. At the time, Isenoumi beya was headed by another former Fujinokawa (Takeo), who was stable master for Oikari — Wakaikari’s dad. So I am not sure if Wakaikari’s change is a nod to one or both men. I will dig into it more. While I figure it out, enjoy these clips of Fujinokawa Takeo, ex-Sekiwake, ex-Isenoumi Oyakata. *I added their first names to help keep track of who’s who.*
Kusano and Kotoeiho join him as Shin’nyumaku and Mitakeumi and Hidenoumi return to Makuuchi. Tamashoho, Tochitaikai, Shonannoumi, Nishikigi, and Ryuden have all gone punting on the barge to Juryo. Juryo to Makuuchi placement calculus is beyond me. I will let Leonid cover the rest of the division particulars. Review his take here.
Asanoyama is on the top rung of the Makushita ladder while Enho dangles at Ms16 East. According to the SumoDB it’s been nearly 50 years since a wrestler has been promoted to Juryo from as deep in the division as Enho is, and obviously that took a yusho. A more realistic path to Enho’s promotion would not see him make sekitori until early 2026 if he can put together a consistent string of solid kachi-koshi. I think he should be happy with 4-3 and ecstatic with 5-2. There are a lot of vets and some great prospects in the top of Makushita nowadays. I will be paying close attention to the kyujo list this tournament.
I am particularly eager to watch Atamifuji this tournament. He’s had a string of lackluster performances and there has been a lot of drama in the Isegahama stable at the same time. They are in a new location and Terunofuji is stablemaster now. Hakuho might be enjoying some beers in Asashoryu’s yurt while he tries to organize his new sumo venture. But I wonder if this will lighten the mood around the heya. Atamifuji is also rather far down the banzuke and he will be slated to fight guys that he should beat.
Regardless, I am just happy sumo is right around the corner. Aren’t you all?
We have a solo Makushita tsukedashi entrant for the Nagoya tournament. Beyond that, there were only two other newcomers. So, I am taking this opportunity to catch up on a few returnees to Makshita that I missed as newcomers in recent tourneys. Student Yokozuna Buckchuluun, who joined Kasugano-stable and has a Makushita Tsukedashi qualification, appears to be on the six-month period to get the work visa – and so will likely start late this year.
Last tournament was a bit surprising – in that Gyōtoku was the best performing of the tsukedashi. All of them managed to get winning records – but I expected a bit more from both Hanaoka and Urayama.
As expected, Murayama and Daishinkai were ranked over his current level of ability, each recording 2-5 records on their debut. Gōseizan and Ikarigata both also slightly disappointed with losing records of 3-4 – but they will be able to bounce back and achieve higher things. All of them may be appearing in Sandanme next time (although there is a chance Ikarigata could remain in Makushita).
Ryūshō (竜翔)
Stable: Oitezake Age: 22 Height (cm/feet-inches): 187 / 6’1” Weight (kg/lbs): 125 / 275 Home prefecture: Kumamoto High School: Buntoku High University: Nihon University (Nichidai) Career Record and notes: 0-0-0 Debut: Nagoya 2025 (Makushita 60 Tsukedashi)
Possibility to reach sekitori: Very Likely
Ryūshō is the brother of former Onoe-beya’s Juryo wrestler Ryūko (竜虎) and the nephew of Onoe Oyakata. As Onoe is family, and has connections with Nihon University, it is somewhat of a surprise to see Ryūshō join Oitekaze stable. Ryūshō’s family connections to sumo include his grandfather, who was chairman of the Kyushu Sumo Federation and his cousin, Terutaka, in Onoe stable. Like his older brother, Ryūshō tarted sumo at a young age. He was also a teammate (and same year) as last basho’s entrant, Hanaoka.
Ryūshō earned the Makushita Tsukedashi qualification by finishing in the top 8 at last year’s student championships. He seems to have followed Kawazoe and Hanaoka – all of them coming from Tsuroshiro Junior High to Buntoku, and then to Nichidai. In fact, they all had amateur success together – with Ryūshō winning individual lightweight division championships starting in middle school. Let’s see if he cannot mimic their successes in Grand Sumo.
Fujiizumi (富士泉)
Stable: Nishikido Age: 21 Height (cm/feet-inches): 184 / 6’0” Weight (kg/lbs): 153 / 337 Home prefecture: Yamagata High School: — University: — Career Record and notes: 44-19-28 (and 13 tournaments banzuke-gai) (.698) Debut: 2021 Hatsu
Possibility to reach sekitori: Unlikely – but would be a great story.
Fujiizumi is a very interesting story, as I wrote off his sumo career many years ago. He initially seemed an interesting prospect for Nishikido stable – recruited at the age of 15 and with a decent amateur sumo record already. However, he then disappeared from the banzuke for over two years (13 basho, from Nagoya 2022 to Nagoya 2024) due to injury. I had just assumed he ran away and Nishikido had not turned in his retirement papers.
Fujiizumi started sumo in 5th Grade at Misaka Nishi Elementary school. He was an immediate success, placing in the top 16 of the Hakuho Cup that year and in the next year (6th grade) he was top 16 in the Wanpaku tournament. In his second year of junior high, he transferred schools to be able to participate in training at Nishikdo stable. He rose to Sandanme in only five tournaments and at the age of 17, but was absent in his Sandanme debut. This absence continued until he fell off the official rankings and sort of disappeared from view.
It was a big surprise to see him return to mae-zumo in Nagoya last year – his first appearance in the ring in three years! He defeated Gōseizan (see Natsu basho shin-makushita) in his opening match. His record has been great since his return (no make-koshi in the past year), and a 6-1 record from Sandanme 39 East, that will now propel him into Makushita.
So, what happened to him? A lower back hernia and an injury to his right knee resulted in his absences. To rehabilitate, he left the stable and went back home – devoting himself to medical treatment and recovery. Since he was going to be banzuke-gai (and could not drop any lower), he took the time to get fully healed. His absence was noticed by keen sumo watchers, who just assumed he had retired. During this time, he kept in regular contact with his Oyakata (every 1-2 days) and indicated his intention to return. He kept his mage and kept his image of a sumo tori this entire time. He finally came back to the stable, started basic exercises and worked his way to bouts against Mitoryū. Finally, he made his appearance in the ring after over 1,000 days. He is still 20 years old and ready to resume his life as a rikishi.
Furuta (古田)
Stable: Nishonoseki Age: 24 Height (cm/feet-inches): 178 / 5’10” Weight (kg/lbs): 102 / 224 Home prefecture: Hiroshima High School: Takehara High School University: Nippon Sports Science Univserity (Nittaidai) Career Record and notes: 25-10 (.714) Debut: Nagoya 2024 Possibility to reach sekitori: Unlikely
Furuta is a small sized graduate from Nippon Sports Science University (Nittaidai), who has come to Nishonoseki along with his NSSU teammates Shirokuma and Ōnosato. He is a late addition, joining sometime after his teammates – as he was not going to go pro at first.
He began sumo at a young age and was appearing already in national championships while at Takehara Junior High. He continued to Takehara High, with decent performances in high school sumo tournaments. He was 3rd place at the National High School Selection Tournament (80kg weight class) and won the Hiroshima Prefectural Championship.
This led him to be recruited by NSSU – and he competed in many under 85kg events, often finishing towards the top of the individual competitions (recently 3rd place in the All-Japan lightweight competition – which meant he missed the World Championships – and 3rd in the East Japan Corporate Championships (under 110kg). After graduating, he did not immediately go pro – and worked at an assistant coach at NSSU while participating in corporate sumo events. He was finally convinced to go pro by his former NSSU teammates and Nishonoseki Oyakata.
He says Ōnosato is a good classmate, but also an inspiration (goal). He thought that Nishonoseki stable would be the best fit (both for its environment and vigor). His teammates include Ōnosato, Ōunokatsu, Kyokukaiyū, and Ishizaki (younger). He wants to catch up to and overtake these teammates as soon as possible. He quickly worked his way up the banzuke, despite a somewhat disappointing 4-3 record in his debut. He followed it by rampaging through Jonidan with two 6-1 records and spent only two tournaments in Sandanme.
What follows is a brief catch-up on two missed recent shin-makushita, who are due to return to the division in Nagoya.
Ieshima (家島)
Stable: Yamahibiki Age: 20 Height (cm/feet-inches): 176 / 5’9” Weight (kg/lbs): 151 / 332 Home prefecture: Hyōgō High School: Takamatsu Agricultural High School University: — Career Record and notes: 111-92-7 (.547) Debut: Haru 2020 Highest rank: Makushita 54
Possibility to reach sekitori: Very unlikely
Ieshima started sumo at Kamehama Dojo in Himeji during the 4th Grade. He appeared three straight years in the Wanpaku Tournament, reaching the top 16 in his 6th Grade appearance. He participated in many tournaments over his junior high school years. He finished in the top 16 at the National Prefectural Junior High School Championship. He was recruited, along with his older brother (Ienoshima) by Yamahibiki Oyakata. Having joined sumo at the age of 15, those were the limits of his amateur accomplishments.
Since joining Grand Sumo, Ieshima steadily has increased his place on the banzuke. He started with a 6-1 record in Jonidan and made his Sandanme debut after only 8 basho (one of which was a heya-COVID related forced absence). He has had 6-1 records three times in his career – most recently in Aki 2024 that propelled him from Sandanme 40 into Makushita (debut in Kyushu 2024). He has had two appearances in Makushita since then (both losing records). Fingesr crossed that the third time is the charm for that first ever Makushita kachi-koshi.
He should be ranked ahead of his older brother (Ienoshima is a year older) for the Nagoya basho.
Yōkōmaru (陽孔丸)
Stable: Musashigawa Age: 25 Height (cm/feet-inches): 178 / 5’10” Weight (kg/lbs): 142 / 313 Home country: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Home prefecture: Okayama High School: University: — Career Record and notes: 130-119-3 Debut: Haru 2019 Highest rank: Makushita 45 Possibility to reach sekitori: Very unlikely
Yōkōmaru, with his jūdō background, rose quickly up the banzuke after his debut. He was in Sandanme within a year and compiled three separate 6-1 records from Aki 2019 to Nagoya 2020. However, he appeared to hit a ceiling in mid-Sandanme and stalled there for almost 4 years straight (except for one drop to Jonidan). A 6-1 record from Sandanme 25 in Kyushu 2024 propelled him to make his Makushita debut for Hatsu 2025. His two tournaments in division 3 were a bust – compiling 2-5 records each time. Perhaps, like Ieshima, the third time will be the charm.
Yōkōmaru started with jūdō as a junior at Asahi Higashi Junior High School and continued into Takamatsu Agricultural high school, where he joined the wrestling team. He already had his eye on sumo and figured the experience in these two sports would contribute to achieving his goal. He was a successful high school wrestler, excelling in numerous competitions, including runner-up at the 125kg weight class Greco-Roman National Athletic Meet. He aims to “do his home prefecture, Okayama, proud”. He was recruited by Musashigawa Oyakata over a period of years – first meeting him 4 years before entering the sumo world. This is what he claims ignited his interest in sumo. He is the family’s oldest son and has three sisters, enjoys fishing, and likes kaisendon (various raw seafood over rice). He aims to be the first sekitori from Okayama since Kotokuni in 2009 (so over 16 years).
With the June 30 release of the banzuke approaching, it’s time for the Crystal Ball to weigh in. Scroll to the end if you just want to see the guess, and let me know what you think in the comments.
The named ranks
Onosato’s record-setting promotion to sumo’s highest rank has been confirmed, so we will have two Yokozuna on the banzuke for the first time since Aki 2021, when Hakuho retired immediately after Terunofuji’s promotion. We have to go back even further, to Haru 2020, for the last meeting between two Yokozuna (Hakuho and Kakuryu). Even though Onosato (14-1) outperformed the reigning Y1e Hoshoryu (12-3), I’ve opted to keep the latter on the East side, as the newcomer to the rank usually debuts behind the incumbents unless the difference in performance is extreme. Since two Ozeki are required, and we are down to one, Onosato will fill in as a Yokozuna-Ozeki on the banzuke (a role last filled by Terunofuji at Natsu 2023), with Kotozakura filling the sole O1e rank.
We will have three Sekiwake: S1e Daieisho (10-5) and S1w Kirishima (11-4), who both posted double-digit wins at the rank, and S2w Wakatakakage, whose 12 wins at Komusubi are sufficient to force open an extra slot. I’ve opted not to reorder Daiesho and Kirishima despite the one-win difference in performance, and I’ve placed Wakatakakage at S2w to balance out Kotozakura.
Wakatakakage’s promotion and the demotion of fellow Komusubi Takayasu (6-9) requires filling two Komusubi slots. Given that no one ranked M1-M5 posted a winning record, M6e Oshoma (10-5) is the obvious candidate for K1e. M9e Aonishiki (11-4) has the second-best claim and should make his sanyaku debut at K1w in only his third top-division tournament. Although this seems like an extreme over-promotion, Aonishiki’s rank and record in a vacuum corresponds to M2e, so it’s not a huge leap to Komusubi, and similar promotions have happened in the past when the rank needed to be filled. The alternatives I’ve seen proposed, such as not promoting Wakatakakage or keeping Takayasu at K1w, are really not something that’s ever been done in the past.
The rank-and-file
I won’t go through all the choices I’ve made, just the ones that don’t seem straightforward. I’ve placed Takayasu at M1e, which is a very lenient demotion, but there is precedent, including in cases like this banzuke when M1e went 7-8. Anywhere else, keeping someone in place after a 7-8 record is a perfectly reasonable option, but I don’t think they want to do it at the very top maegashira rank. So I have Wakamotoharu sliding over to M1w, followed by half-rank demotions for Oho and Abi. One could push the M8 duo of Onokatsu and Kinbozan, both 10-5, higher than M3, but they are getting their full 5-rank promotions, and their position outside the joi should mean they lose any tiebreakers.
Then we come to one of the tricky choices. M3e Tamawashi, M3w Hiradoumi, and M4e Takerufuji all finished 6-9 and will be placed on the banzuke in that order. All were in the joi. So where do we slot in M7e Hakuoho (8-7), whose rank and record place him in a virtual tie with Tamawashi? Anywhere from 4e (before the trio) to 5w (after them) would be defensible. I’ve gone back and forth on this—all historical precedent suggests Hakuoho should be ranked first, but the banzuke committee has shown a strong recent tendency to favor higher rank. I feel like I have to go with the evidence though, and opt for Hakuoho at M4e; if this is wrong, it will be an interesting data point for future banzuke.
The next problem spot is the ordering of M13w Sadanoumi (10-5), M2w Gonoyama (4-11) and M4w Ichiyamamoto (5-10). Sadanoumi ought to be one rank ahead by rank and record, but this hasn’t been enough recently to overcome preference in favor of the joi rikishi. And for those, I’d normally favor rank, but last banzuke’s placement of Ichiyamamoto ahead of Chiyoshoma is making me rethink this. So my guess has Ichiyamamoto-Gonoyama-Sadanoumi, but nothing would surprise me here, though I see little reason for Sadanoumi to be ranked between the other two. The M11-M12 ranks, where I’ve gone with Chiyoshoma–Tokihayate–Asakoryu–Midorifuji, could again see almost any ordering of this quartet.
And then we have to decide who is coming up from Juryo and where to place them. Despite his extremely impressive performance, I went with a conservative M14e placement for two-time Juryo champion J1w Kusano (13-2). In recent years, only a handful of wrestlers coming up from the second division have been ranked higher, so I don’t see the banzuke committee pushing him ahead of Shodai or Churanoumi. Then it gets tricky. As I mentioned in my banzuke preview post, I see J5w Wakaikari (12-3), J2e Hidenoumi (9-6), J1e Mitakeumi (8-7) and J7w Kotoeiho (11-4) joining Kusano on the way up, with M11w Shishi (4-11) just surviving in Makuuchi, though it would not be a shock if M16w Nishikigi (6-9) survived at the expense of Kotoeiho. The guys being promoted should be ranked in the order above, so it’s just a question of where to intersperse incumbents M14e Kotoshoho (6-4-5), M16e Kayo (7-8), and the above-mentioned Shishi. My choices here were heavily influenced by what happened on the last banzuke, where M10w Shonannoumi (4-11) ended up ahead of J2e Kayo 9-6, M10e Nishikigi (3-12) was placed ahead of J1e Tamashoho (8-7), and M16e Asakoryu (6-9) stayed ahead of J3w Tochitaikai (9-6). If the banzuke committee stays consistent (ha!), this should place Kotoshoho ahead of Hidenoumi and Shishi ahead of Mitakeumi (Kayo is locked into M16e).
We’ll find out how the rankings actually shake out a week from now.
Thanks to Herouth, we have more details of the Sumo Association’s Board meeting and there are several items of particular interest. Some of the details below are different than what I had presumed in my earlier post, so I wanted to make sure they were known.
The Kyokai Planned for the “Care Period” to end after Kyushu
Terunofuji was NOT going to be Hakuho’s “supervisor”
On Isegahama’s retirement, Miyagino would be transferred to Asakayama (ex-Kaio)
Welfare of Hakuho’s recruits is a prime concern — they may not remain, long term, at Isegahama but could be transfered to other stable’s given interest from both the coach and pupil
Isegahama will acquire the Miyagino kabu, terms undisclosed
Terunofuji will acquire the Isegahama kabu, terms undisclosed
The link to Herouth’s Google Doc is in the embedded post below.
Nikkan Sports published the text of the extraordinary board meeting of July 2nd.
Here is a translation (in a Google Document)
buff.ly/NqUDsWX
The six items I noted above are significant. It is possible that the Sumo Association had no intention to ever let Hakuho manage his own stable and they could be blowing smoke up the old keister. But I doubt it and I think they were genuine about the proposed timeline for reopening after Kyushu. It seems more likely that Hakuho planned this exit. He would be in Mongolia for the dedication of his father’s statue at the time of the announcement and that was likely a trip planned well in advance — long before Yokozuna Onosato became a possibility, much less a reality.
If there was a plan to release Miyagino from “care” at the end of this year, he would be on his own and he only needed to hold out for six more months. He would not be under the care of Terunofuji but Kaio. It’s just possible that he loves sumo but hates putting up with spoiled brats and personalities and politics and feigned injuries AND especially REAL injuries. Creating a safe space, devoid of toxic relationships, full of healthy minds and bodies must be friggin’ difficult. I mean, it drove Shikihide to inpatient care.
Kaio is not a young, green stablemaster, as Terunofuji would be. He’s the greatest Ozeki to have never reached the rank of Yokozuna. While he has not produced a great number of sekitori, as Isegahama had, he is a member of the Board and has the affable Kaisei as a coach. When it comes to absorbing another group of guys, a prime consideration would have to be capacity. Maybe Asakayama has the capacity to take in a sekitori, possibly two (Enho?), on short notice. If I remember correctly, Asakayama is close to Isegahama, a short stroll from Kinshicho.
However, it was Hakuho’s decision to leave. We have seen that Hakuho also has dreams of starting a new professional sumo league. More power to him. I’m excited to see what shape that will take and am eager to cover it. One thing I will guarantee, though, the pro wrestlers will not be living together in a dorm, hosted by Hakuho and his wife. Hakuho, his wife, and the families of other managers will not be responsible for the wrestlers’ activities off the dohyo. And Hakuho’s professional league might even have spots for a female division, to allow for his daughters to participate, if they so desire.
Taking on responsibility for the care of other grown men (and teens) is no small thing. And for the stablemaster, that’s probably the biggest priority — yes, more than teaching. You have to feed these guys. Constantly. You have to pay the bills to keep the lights on and the tubs filled with hot water. You don’t just strap on a mawashi and teach new throws. Maybe the realism sank in after the Hokuseiho debacle. And maybe he and his wife did not look forward to going through that again and decided this was the way out.
With Hakuho’s departure, the Miyagino kabu will shift to Asahifuji on June 9 when Isegahama transfers to Terunofuji. The new Miyagino (Asahifuji) will become sanyo, under Terunofuji’s Isegahama-beya, on July 6th. So, Terunofuji will officially be leading the stable this coming Monday morning.
Some rather large questions remain. Going forward, I am not going to concern myself with motivation and whether the Sumo Association wanted him out more than he wanted to escape. There are good rationales either way. But, there are other questions that I am concerned about. What of Ishiura? Will he remain in Isegahama? Will other coaches step up and place interest in Hakuoho, Enho, and others under the former Miyagino banner? Will Enho travel to Nagoya in July? Does Enho want to remain in the sumo world if Hakuho has left?
I look forward to covering developments with Hakuho’s new sumo venture. But Grand Sumo will survive in his absence and I look forward to the action in July. Two Yokozuna, going head-to-head on senshuraku. It’s been ages since we’ve had an opportunity to see that.
