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Haru 2026: Preview

Andy Haru 2026, Haru Basho ,

The yobidashi finished building the dohyo and it has been consecrated. The Osaka tournament is set to begin! There are a few items to note as we head into the opening day of the sumo tournament in Osaka.

First up, Shiden has retired. The timing seemed rather abrupt. At the end of last year, he had fallen into Makushita after his kyujo-shortened Kyushu tournament. He only managed one win in January so he fell deeper into the division when this most recent banzuke came out. The end of this past week was the time when they’re putting together the torikumi for the start of Osaka, so I imagine he was staring at either lengthy kyujo or push ahead with another poor performance and decided to hang up his mawashi. Tweets from fans expressed surprise at the timing but also thanks and wished him well in his second career.

I mentioned the bout list, or torikumi (取り組み), with the news above about Shiden. The list was released by the Sumo Association and we have a number of exciting matchups to look forward to on Sunday.

We take a brief stop by the infirmary. Midorifuji will be kyujo. Midorifuji’s kyujo is due to a heart condition which I hope will be treated and will allow him to come back. Fujiryoga will be welcomed to the top division with the open arms of Kinbozan’s fierce tsuppari. Fujiseiun doesn’t get any lighter treatment. He will take on former Ozeki, Asanoyama. “Here, Fujiseiun, lemme give you a hug.” Oof. Kotoeiho will open things up against Ryuden.

As we hop up the list, we see Ura paired against Shodai. That should be entertaining. Up in sanyaku, Papa Bear will face Churanoumi, Kirishima will fight Fujinokawa and Kotozakura will fight Yoshinofuji. Aonishiki’s rope run starts against Wakamotoharu. Must win. Onosato will fight Wakatakakage and Hoshoryu will close Day One action against Atamifuji.

We also note that Hakunofuji is scheduled to face Oshoma. This brings us to our third bit of “big news” — the news which I have been holding back on due to lack of detail in public. As Josh mentioned in his post, there was reportedly a violent encounter between Isegahama-oyakata (ex-Terunofuji) and Hakunofuji at a fan event. Because the incident is still under investigation and there are few details and many questions about those few details which have surfaced, I have decided to wait to report until we have those details. Well, we now have some items to report.

Hakunofuji will participate in Haru Basho. Isegahama-oyakata will be kyujo. The Sumo Association held a board meeting and determined that Isegahama will not work this tournament but will still act as coach. With the investigation still pending, he is effectively on leave. So we won’t see him in a blue jacket ushering fans out of the stadium or taking tickets or any sort of the activities oyakata perform at tournaments.

I’m sure your minds have questions and sadly, I have no answers, only my own questions and speculation. There are still several questions which I was hoping to be able to answer…but I can’t. If Hakunofuji is participating, is he practicing? Where is he practicing if Terunofuji is still coaching at the heya? If they’re together, that’s going to be awkward and not bode well for performance.

This drama won’t merely impact Hakunofuji, either. Nishikifuji witnessed the event and was summoned with Terunofuji and Hakunofuji to provide statements. Surely Nishikifuji’s going to want to get his head in the game, but who knows how effective that will be. Meanwhile, guys from Atamifuji on down to newly promoted Toshinofuji will try to soldier on.

Anyway, I won’t report on what I don’t know so don’t expect much coming out of me on this topic for the next fortnight. After the tournament, the board will get together and decide any outcomes and hand down any punishment. Till then, the show must go on!

Kyushu Day One Preview

Andy Kyushu 2025, Kyushu Basho , , ,

Once again, the Dohyo Matsuri will be streamed live on the Sumo Association’s YouTube channel at 8pm Eastern. For those new to the sport, this is the consecration ceremony, based on Japan’s Shinto roots. The kami are beckoned to the dohyo to watch after the action on the dohyo. Let’s hope there will be a safe tournament!

Action will begin on Sunday morning, Japan time with the Jonokuchi bouts. The Top Division action will start later in the afternoon, around 4pm until 6. The schedule of the first two days of sekitori bouts has been published.

In Sanyaku, we will have Komusubi Takanosho open things up against Hiradoumi, Wakamotoharu will fight Sekiwake Oho and Shin-Sekiwake will face Kirishima. Ozeki Kotozakura will mount the dohyo and fight Wakatakakage in a big test of the Ozeki’s fitness. Then Hoshoryu will fight Hakuoho before Onosato caps off the day against Takayasu.

Other bouts that will draw a bit of interest will be Ura versus Tamawashi, Yoshinofuji (ex-Kusano) will fight his first bout with the new shikona against Oshoma. Shodai will fight Atamifuji and Abi will take on Ichiyamamoto. A few months ago we were looking at Daieisho as an Ozeki candidate but he will fight Shishi tomorrow as he hopes to turn things around.

Be prepared to see Endo (Kitajin) and Takarafuji (Kiriyama) in new navy blue jackets. They will likely have security duties and we might see them assemble at the close of the day to help usher folks out of the arena. Sunday Morning at 1am, NHK Premium will have its Dosukoi program on Shitatenage and then Makuuchi action begins at 2am Eastern. Again, that’s a subscription service through NHK Premium. In the US and Canada it’s available with JME. For free, at 3:10am NHK World will stream action live via its website. That usually catches the second half of action, which will include the Sanyaku. The NHK Preview Show is available here.

Nagoya 2025: Le Preview

Andy Nagoya 2025, Nagoya Basho , , , ,

Sumo time is upon us. First thing’s first, though. We have three sekitori kyujo: Daieisho, Endo, and Nabatame. As Herouth noted, this will kill off one of the early stories, Daieisho’s Ozeki Run. Nabatame will join Endo undergoing knee surgery. Maybe there was a two-for-one deal going on. Endo will be in rehab and I will update you with a timeline when I find updates*, Nabatame aggrevated his knee injury while training last month and is looking to return by…Haru 2026.

Looks like Daieisho's Ozeki run is toast: high probability of him going kyujo over a calf injury. Endo is also expected to go kyujo, as he is about to undergo a knee surgery. buff.ly/fbJo5tE

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— ヘルット (@sumofollower.bsky.social) July 10, 2025 at 12:55 PM

Last night the Sumo Association performed the dohyo consecration ceremony (dohyo matsuri) in the new stadium for the first time. It was not open to the public, however. But as has been customary the past several years, it was streamed on YouTube, as linked below. Let’s hope for a safe, injury-free tournament this month. That would be an even bigger blessing than the brand new air conditioning.

Top story of this tournament for the folks who got tickets will likely be the new venue and the air conditioning. Nagoya in July is a scorcher, from first-hand experience. The new stadium is by the old one, right next to Nagoya Castle. But having a new building with climate control will be such a nice change for the fans, and the wrestlers and staff, too! However, for those of us watching at home, the big story is Onosato and his debut tournament as Yokozuna. We’re looking forward to that Dohyo-iri! Being able to watch two will be quite the treat. Let’s hope it stays this way for many tournaments to come.

Onosato will have his first fight against Oshoma and Hoshoryu will face Takayasu in the musubi-no-ichiban. I expect fireworks from these two this tournament. The pressure is on to perform. Speaking of pressure to perform, Kotozakura will be our lone Ozeki this tournament and likely through Aki, at least. And he will start his tournament against Aonishiki. I swear, this fight card has highlight bouts up-and-down it.

So, Onosato will be Yokozuna-Ozeki this tournament and West Yokozuna will probably hold that weird title for a while. Daieisho would have needed a spectacular showing here in Nagoya but Kirishima and Wakatakakage will likely need the kind of performance that would require yusho and possibly divine intervention. At least they did very well in May and can keep their promotion hopes alive with solid results here. But Kirishima will start his campaign against Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage will face Oho.

Even this Onokatsu versus Abi fight is an interesting matchup, their second meeting with Onokatsu beating Abi back in Kyushu. Hakuoho will fight Kinbozan and really needs to figure out a way to make up for Kinbozan’s size advantage. Hakuoho’s usual juggernaut attack might need some subtle shifting and lateral movement. Preceding that, it’s Tamawashi versus Hiradoumi (banger), Meisei versus Takerufuji (banger) and Gonoyama versus Tobizaru….well, that could be a bit of a dud or be a highlight, we’ll see.

Bottom line, it’s time to grab a cold beer or sake or whiskey — or all three — kick back, and watch some sumo. I will be covering the first five days of action but then I will need to step away for a few days as I will be in Paris, testing how VPNs work in the land of good food and even better wine. My JME.tv subscription will not help me there. But I should be back in time for Day Eleven as the yusho race heats up. If anyone knows of sumo-themed cafes or bars in France, let me know. Maybe some Chirac-cup devotees exist in some dark corner of Stains? I should just look for the folks hiding under their napkins, right?

One thing is for sure. I will eat my share of macaron. I promise you that.

Hatsu Basho 2025 Preview

Andy Hatsu 2025, Hatsu Basho

Over on Twitter, I shared some reminder links but it’s important to post them here along with a few more items that have come in. Live sumo coverage is available via the JME.tv streaming service. That service includes four daily repeats of the sumo action from the night before, as well as the NHK’s non-sumo content.

NHK also posts videos of Juryo and Makuuchi action. As you know, my daily coverage will include the direct links to the daily Juryo and Makuuchi pages. The videos are posted pretty quickly after the bouts, so if you do not have a streaming service and the international cable options aren’t available, these videos should help. As international fans use these services I am confident that NHK and the Kyokai will open up more options, like the increasing YouTube options. Maybe one day we’ll get something from Abema, like lower division coverage.

Speaking of YouTube, the Dohyo Matsuri will be streamed live in a couple of hours (embedded above). It is the season of renewal. Our household just completed Osoji, the Japanese version of Spring Cleaning. But in much more exciting news, we have not just a New Year and a new tournament, we have a new tate gyoji, as well as a new American rikishi. From Oshima-beya, we also get news that there is a new heya and moniker for, young yobidashi, Katsuki as he transferred from Ajigawa. (THANK YOU for the update, Asashosakari.) Will we get a couple of new ropes, too? Brad will have something on that tonight

But next, we have the new torikumi, or bout list, for the opening day. Terunofuji will open his fight card against Wakatakakage, making his return to sanyaku. We will see VERY quickly what the Yokozuna’s conditioning level is. Wakatakakage has a title under his shimekomi already and ambition for more. A Yokozuna scalp would make for quite the announcement of, “I’m back!” We will also learn which Takanosho will show up as he fights Kotozakura. Hoshoryu will take on Kirishima and Onosato will fight Priyanka’s man, Tobizaru.

Did I forget anything? Yes, of course I did. But I’ll probably post about it next time. Along with it, I will talk a little more about the debut of Hikarumusashi, Hoshoryu’s cousin Gonbo, and Musashigawa’s other new recruit, Uchiumi. Maezumo action won’t begin until Day 3. We have time. Digest all of this stuff, first, before I forget it.