preview

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

[image or embed]

— 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.

Nagoya 2024: Shonichi Preview

Andy Nagoya 2024, Nagoya Basho , ,

Shonichi is here! In just a few hours the familiar sound of hyoshigi will signal the start of action in Nagoya. This is scheduled to be the final tournament in the intimate, spicy-hot Dolphins Arena, built in the 1960s. From next summer they will move a few blocks to the new, larger IG Arena, on the other side of moat in front of Nagoya Castle. The new venue has an advertised capacity of 17,000 so we hope tickets will be cheaper and easier to come by from 2025.

Pivoting to Ngoya 2024, we have two sekitori who are kyujo from Day 1: Chiyoshoma and Takerufuji. Takerufuji is still nursing a ligament injury in his right ankle, suffered during his historic championship run earlier this year. He has fallen to the second rung on the Juryo ladder while Chiyoshoma has just earned a promotion back to Makuuchi. It is quite possible that one or both men will participate later in the tournament. News out of Isegahama states that Takerufuji has not been practicing with sekitori yet, still working with lower-ranked wresters. But he likely only needs one or two wins to secure his own sekitori status for Aki.

Day 1 Bouts

Top Division action will open with bottom-ranked Nishikifuji facing Tokihayate, visiting from Juryo. Kagayaki and Bushozan face off next, followed by Roga versus Endo. Wakatakakage should breeze past Takarafuji as he seeks to rejoin his brother at the top of the division.

Then, Hokutofuji will face Churanoumi and Asanoyama will fight Nishikigi. Hokutofuji and Asanoyama are ranked much lower than their abilities and could clean up down here. The difficult bit is that really seems to be the case for loads of guys. The next three bouts, for example, feature a mix of maegashira mainstays, former champions, and up-and-comers in Ichiyamamoto vs Midorifuji, Shodai vs Tamawashi, and Oshoma vs Kinbozan. I really hope both Shodai and Tamawashi are up to it this basho.

After those heated battles, we’ll have Ryuden vs Sadanoumi, which is a bout most people will sleep on. But on Day 1 these two belt-specialists could give us a real highlight. Next, Kotoshoho and Oho are still trying to find their way. Let’s hope Oho’s way is not stuck in reverse. Takanosho and Shonannoumi follow with Onosho battling crowd-favorite, Ura. The final rank-and-filer match features Tobizaru, who has yet to find an answer for Gonoyama.

Sanyaku

If Kirishima is to get his quest for 10 wins off to a good start, he will have his work cut out for him against fellow former Ozeki, Takayasu. Onosato is also eyeing Ozeki rank, and the Kyokai have put another former Ozeki as the first challenge on that path. Kirishima AND Onosato need wins.

Abi versus Wakamotoharu will be a firecracker bout…while I am eager to see what condition Takakeisho is in for his fight with Meisei. We’ll close out the night with three interesting pairings: Atamifuji vs Hoshoryu, Kotozakura vs Daieisho, and finally Yokozuna Terunofuji will face Hiradoumi in the musubi-no-ichiban.

Frankly, it will all come down to who is in relatively good condition and which wrestlers are still fighting with significant injuries. Shonichi will bring it all into focus. We could very well have a raft of upsets tonight with another free-for-all yusho race.

Lower Division Action

Enho will not begin his comeback tonight. He will be in action on Day 2. We will see Kotomotomura-kun fight his first professional bout against Isegahama’s Miyafuji. From next tournament, Kotomotomura will be fighting under Kotoshogiku’s banner in a newly-opened heya. Up in Makushita we will see both tsukedashi fighters in action. For more background on the men themselves, check out Justin’s introduction. Kawabuchi II will fight against Daishoki, under the shikona Kazuma. Ishizaki II will fight Daihisho. We’ll also be watching the Hakuoho – Kayo bout with rapt attention.

Let’s go, Miyagino Beya! Gambare!