shin-juryo

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.

Yokozuna Hoshoryu

Andy Haru Basho, Hoshoryu, Juryo (十両) , ,

The Banzuke Committee met today, along with an ad hoc meeting of the Association’s Board of Directors to approve Hoshoryu as the 74th Yokozuna. After his Championship run, the Shimpan Department recommended his promotion which was seconded by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.

This all happened today because the Banzuke Committee are drawing up the ranking sheet for Haru Basho, which will begin March 9 in Osaka. Hoshoryu will be listed at the top.

Along with the announcement of Hoshoryu’s promotion, we also received official word of promotions to Juryo. These promotions are in line with Leonid’s predictions from the other day.

Wakanosho (Tokiwayama), Kusano (Isegahama), and Otsuji (Takadagawa) earn sekitori status for the first time. I’m a little surprised that there aren’t any new shikona for the latter two, who continue to use their real surnames.

Joining them are Kazekeno (Oshiogawa) and Hitoshi, who return to the division. Hitoshi likely replaces an Oitekaze stablemate, as Daiamami and Daishoho dip back into the part-timers.

Sumo News Update 2024.06.02

Andy Akiseyama, Ishiura (石浦), promotion, Stables (Heya) , ,

Natsu Basho ended last weekend. We have to wait until July for the next tournament. Once we get the Juryo promotions, we’re Gone Till November July, right? Well, the Kyokai’s usual board meeting had a full agenda so we have had a bunch of sumo-related news this week.

Juryo Promotions Announced

We will have three promotions from Makushita to Juryo for Nagoya. Kayo and Nabatame earned their first sekitori promotions and Fujiseiun will return to Juryo for the first time since he fell out of the division in September.

Kayo is one of Nakamura-oyakata’s recruits from Nippon Sports Science University, aka Nittaidai. The university has developed a number of top sumo wrestlers, including sekitori stablemates* Onosato and Shirokuma, as well as up-and-comers like Onokatsu and veterans like Myogiryu. Kayo earned a sandanme tsukedashi but has spent much of the last two years in Makushita. A spot in the massive playoff at Aki last year seems to have lit a spark under him and he has been on the radar for promotion to Juryo since.

Nabatame started his sumo career after high school, just before the pandemic hit. He was definitely one of our highlighted up-and-comers during those quiet tournaments. I have quietly been following his rise since he featured in one of the early maezumo cohorts that I followed during the pandemic. (How many of you remember Taiyo and his maezumo henka? One of the PowerBall goals of Tachiai is to have the resources to cover each division and better profiles of the younguns in maezumo, along with deeper features about the fascinating cultural tangents I find myself learning about.) But I would bring back that maezumo coverage in a heartbeat. Nice to re-read those articles and catch myself back up on his entry to the sport. Nabatame has since been grinding it out in Makushita, slowly but steadily climbing to the top of the division. We are happy to see that he has finally earned his promotion to sekitori.

Fujiseiun returns to the Juryo ranks after an injury forced him to drop after just a single tournament fighting in Juryo (his second tournament was kyujo). It is always hard to see these up-and-comers hit major obstacles. He had hit the scene and steamrolled through the lower divisions in 2021, winning his first 21 bouts and claiming two of the three yusho, only losing the Jonidan yusho in a playoff to his peer, Osanai. So it is great to see that he will don his kesho mawashi yet again.

While we are talking about these banzuke placements for July, I should also note here that two Makushita tsukedashi were approved by the Kyokai. Ishizaki Ryoma (23) and Kawabuchi Kazuma (22) will begin their professional sumo careers this summer. Ishizaki will join his older brother, Asakoryu, at Takasago-beya having claimed third place at last year’s National Sumo Championships. Kawabuchi claimed the adult division yusho at a separate athletic tournament last year and he joins Kise-beya.

Nakamura Beya Opens

The little asterisk there in Kayo’s promotion report had to do with his sekitori stablemates because they are not his stablemates any longer. Mid-week, Kayo celebrated his promotion to Juryo with photo-ops and press conferences joined by Kisenosato. However, during this week’s board meeting the Kyokai approved Nakamura’s independence bid, setting June 1 for when Nakamura would split away from Nishonoseki. So, by the end of the week Kayo was moving into new digs at his new heya with his new master — without Onosato and Shirokuma.

I believe the new stable is at the location vacated by Michinoku-beya, just on the other side of the tracks from Kokugikan in Ryokoku. Nakamura-oyakata (ex-Yoshikaze) is now a stable master in his own right. There is a great new website, nakamurabeya.jp, with details of the occupants: eight wrestlers, the Yobidashi Rokuro, and hairdresser Tokokasumi. There is also a great little personalized note from Yoshikaze about each of them.

Mini-Jungyo Sumo Events

I will get to the retirement events in a moment but I thought June was going to be pretty chill, event-wise. The Kyokai has decided to participate in two more promotional events in June.

The first will be a PR event for the Kyusho Basho next Sunday, June 9 in Fukuoka. Four top-division wrestlers will be there. Top billing goes to Hiradoumi (his rise has been quite something). Ura, Shodai, and Sadanoumi will also be there. Shodai and Sadanoumi are both from Kumamoto.

Secondly, the Kyokai will also participate in a Sports Expo at the Dolphins Arena in Nagoya on June 16. Next year, the Arena is slated to be replaced by a new IG Arena. (Oh, God, please tell me there’s air conditioning.) In celebration of the new, refrigerated digs the Kyokai will host a crossover event with the Dolphins basketball team. Aside from the hoopsters, Onosato, Tobizaru, Midorifuji, Atamifuji, and Abi will participate.

So, if you are in Fukuoka or Nagoya this month, you have a chance to pop by and meet some of your favorite sumo wrestlers — or even Shodai.

Ishiura Danpatsushiki

On Saturday, June 1, the Kokugikan hosted Ishiura’s retirement and name change event, since he carries on as a coach, Magaki-oyakata, in the Association. Hakuoho made waves by singing the jinku (traditional folk singing) portion and Enho closed things with the bow-twirling ceremony.

Takerufuji, mounted the dohyo and faced off against Meisei in one of the exhibition bouts. Usually these exhibition events are not big news makers on the dohyo but the fact that Takerufuji was healthy enough to participate in the feature bouts is a good sign for July.

Given the closure of Miyagino-beya, Hakuho was robbed of the privilege of taking the final cut of Ishiura’s topknot but he did get to use the scissors and take a snip. Isegahama-oyakata got the honor of taking the final cut.

Akiseyama Danpatsushiki

And on Sunday, June 2, the Kokugikan opened its doors again for Akiseyama’s retirement ceremony. The Kise-beya affair celebrated the big man’s career and shared stories of his camaraderie with fellow wrestlers. In particular they shared a story involving Goeido.

Though Goeido entered the sumo world a few years earlier than Akiseyama, the former Ozeki was actually Akiseyama’s junior schoolmate while they attended Saitama Sakae high school. Goeido went straight into a sumo career while Akiseyama attended Nihon Daigaku. Goeido had given Akiseyama some encouragement when Akiseyama had been thinking of retirement. Akiseyama took the encouragement to heart and earned another promotion to Juryo.

Looking Ahead

I will keep an eye on the sumo news, as always, but I anticipate my next post will be next weekend after Chiyonokuni’s retirement ceremony and the Fukuoka PR event.

Hoshoryu Promoted to Ozeki and Five Juryo Promotions

Andy Hoshoryu, promotion , ,

Hoshoryu Ozeki

It’s official! The Nihon Sumo Kyokai has promoted Hoshoryu to the rank of Ozeki for the upcoming September tournament, to be held in Tokyo. The unanimous decision was made during an extraordinary board meeting held to consider his promotion during the Aki-basho ranking conference. It’s the first time since Kotoshogiku & Kisenosato that two Ozeki have been promoted in consecutive tournaments.

For any sumo fans who have been living under a rock for the last two days, Hoshoryu won the Nagoya tournament in a playoff against Hokutofuji, finishing with 12 wins and 3 losses. This capped off an Ozeki run which also included 10-wins in March, 11 wins in May. He was not alone as both Daieisho and Wakamotoharu were also seeking Ozeki promotion in what would have been an unprecedented triple promotion. But only Hoshoryu secured enough wins in Nagoya. Both Daieisho and Wakamotoharu finished at 9-6, putting their current runs on life support and needing truly exceptional performances in September to hit the 33-win benchmark.

Hoshoryu will join Kirishima and Takakeisho at the second highest rank for the upcoming tournament, though both of the incumbents are kadoban and recovering from injuries. Yokozuna Terunofuji joined Takakeisho as kyujo after back-to-back losses, yielding kinboshi to Nishikigi and Tobizaru. The Yokozuna and both kadoban Ozeki will be under pressure to perform well in September, setting up what should be a Thunderdome of high-stakes clashes during the final weekend. Mark your calendars and if you will be in Tokyo, plan to get your tickets.

Juryo Promotions

The Aki Ranking conference did not stop at Ozeki, obviously. They set the entire banzuke for the Aki tournament but the only news that will come out before August 27 are Hoshoryu’s promotion and the Juryo promotions. As predicted by Leonid, a total of five wrestlers were promoted from Makushita to Juryo.

Tokihayate returns to Juryo after his yusho and is joined with a flood of big names. Nishonoseki-beya celebrates both a dual promotion with Onosato and Takahashi. Miyagino’s Tenshoho (Mukainakano) joins them as shin-Juryo along with the newly renamed, Asakoryu (Ishizaki) from Takasago. If you have any opinions on the new shikona, put them in the comments. Asakoryu is an interesting color choice. I was thinking English tea brown but Wikipedia says it’s red, which I guess it kind of is.

While we are certain of these promotions, the demotions were not announced. But with five promotions, that means there were five demotions. This means the likely demotions are Fujiseiun, Tsushimanada, Hidenoumi, Yuma, and Chiyonoumi. Regular readers ears might perk up hearing of Hidenoumi’s likely demotion while Shiden, his former tsukebito, achieved kachi-koshi from Juryo 13. Un-com-for-ta-ble…