Sumo reporting from other publications, filtered against the current banzuke. The writing and the photographs are theirs; every headline leads to them.
Yokozuna Onosato snapped a two-match losing streak on the final day of the Autumn Basho, beating ozeki Aonishiki to secure the title in Tokyo. The post Sumo: Onosato Claims 1st Emperor's Cup Since September 2025 first appeared on Japan Forward .
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato defeated title rival ozeki Aonishiki in an emphatic fashion to capture his first title in a year at the Autumn…
Kitanowaka of Hakkaku-beya won the Juryo yusho. He defeated Kagayaki in regulation to force a play-off. Kayo joined the play-off as he beat Tamawashi. Kitanowaka then defeated Kagayaki and Kayo to claim the title. What works once must work twice. Rinse and repeat, no? The Makushita to Juryo promotion queue will be…
One of the great pleasures of following sumo outside Japan is discovering just how many fans are quietly scattered around the world. Only recently, when having work done on my home, I met two fellow sumo fans in small Calvert County (a exurb of Washington DC). They saw my sumo-themed home izakaya and immediately knew…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato was beaten for the second straight day Saturday while ozeki Aonishiki won to set up a fascinating finale to the…
Day 14 in Tokyo Kagayaki and Kayo lost again, making the yusho race a bigger party. Kagayaki still leads at 11-3 but Tamawashi and Kitanowaka join Kayo in the hunt at 10-4. At the other end, Ikarigata defeated Tochitaikai, earning his kachikoshi and making a case for promotion to Juryo. Plenty of guys are in…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato fell to his second defeat at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday as ozeki Aonishiki and former ozeki…
Day Thirteen in Tokyo. Takanosho kyujo. Hakunofuji will pick up the walkover win. This news is sad but also a relief. Takanosho appeared to be in real pain with that foot/ankle. I hope he’s chilling on the couch with his ankle iced, watching the action on TV. In another sad development, the Sumo Association also…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato kept his two-win lead at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Thursday as ozeki Aonishiki, new sekiwake Fujinokawa…
Day twelve in Tokyo. Kotoshoho kyujo. This is not a surprise and is Fujiryoga will pick up the walk-over win. Kotoshoho certainly got his bell rung yesterday and should probably be out the rest of the tournament. This, being sumo, he’s got at least a day. I’ll report when I see anything about tomorrow. The…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato maintained sole possession of the lead with his 10th win at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday…
Day Eleven in Tokyo. Kagayaki finally lost for the first time this tournament, now 10-1. Hitoshi (8-3) henka’d and drove Kagayaki out, picking up his kachi-koshi. Kayo is the only wrestler at 9-2 in Juryo. Nishikigi looks ready for Makushita. On the flip side, Asahifuji looks ready for Juryo, twisting Meisei down to…
There will be no new yokozuna this month, but Onosato could return to the winner's circle and Atamifuji may yet earn promotion to ōzeki.
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato maintained his dominance with his ninth win at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday, while three wrestlers…
Day Ten in Tokyo. Apologies for the abbreviated coverage today. I overslept and only caught the second half of today’s action live. Today’s NHK videos include a five-minute feature on Aki 1986 which is really worth checking-out. That tournament featured two brothers who both earned special prizes that tournament for…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato maintained the outright lead at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Monday, improving to 8-1 with a…
Day Nine in Tokyo. Joshoyu beat Chiyonotaka and remains the only undefeated rikishi in Jonokuchi. Eisei locked up his kachi-koshi against Kotokawabuchi. Congratulations! The Abema footage of his win is below. Makushita has narrowed to a three man race between Tenshoyama, Inami and Yumenofuji. In Juryo, Kagayaki…
Could this be the first decade without a dai-yokozuna? The 2020s have so far been an era of unprecedented parity in sumo, and I’m of two minds about it. In many ways this unpredictability has made the sport a lot of fun—would anyone tune in on Day 1 if we already knew who would be…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato seized the outright lead Sunday at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament after ozeki Kotozakura suffered his second…
Day 8 in Tokyo In the lower divisions, Hikarumusashi lost to Amane, picking up his first loss of the tournament and falling out of the Jonidan yusho race. He will be joined in Kyushu by Sunamusashi who debuted in this maezumo cohort. He’s second from the right, next to the 57kg Shinmichi. In Jonokuchi, Kotofuno…
One of the lesser-known benefits of joining the Tatsunami International Fan Club is that it includes access to observe asa-geiko, the stable’s morning practice. I had joined the Fan Club mainly to get a regular banzuke and because I thought it would be interesting. Once I started planning a trip to Japan, I came to…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato blew away No. 3 maegashira Churanoumi to stay on top of the leaderboard at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on…
Day Seven in Tokyo. No news from the infirmary, no new kyujo to report. Sasaki Ichiro, sumo reporter from Nikkan Sports, broke a story yesterday that Nishikifuji faces heart surgery at the end of this tournament. Heart surgery doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of thing one recovers quickly from…even in sumo. He had…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- New sekiwake Fujinokawa stunned ozeki Aonishiki, handing the Ukrainian star his third straight defeat at the Autumn Grand Sumo…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Despite lingering injuries affecting his preparation, ozeki Aonishiki is determined to build on his dramatic July championship and…
Day Six in Tokyo Nabatame is back from the infirmary and his brief bout with mumps. Childhood mumps claimed my mother’s hearing but for Nabatame, it only took a sick day. The middle weekend is rapidly approaching and we have four wrestlers with zero wins and two kyujo (not including Hoshoryu). Juryo, however, is short…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Kotozakura lost his perfect record after five days and fellow ozeki Aonishiki was beaten for the second straight day at the Autumn…
Day Five in Tokyo. Checking in with the infirmary, Nabatame is kyujo with mumps. It’s a rather sad prospect if he can’t return to the tournament because he just crawled back into the division after having knee surgery. We hope he has a speedy and full recovery allowing him a quick return. Tanji received the…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato suffered his first loss at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday, while ozeki Kotozakura became the only…
Day Four in Tokyo. Shinmichi picked up his first win in maezumo. Shinmichi is a shin-deshi (new recruit) noted in Japanese press for being “a buck 25.” Well, over there they use metric, so he’s 57kg. They note that his weight is in “the 50s.” Which is rather light for a sumo wrestler and they’re…
Day Three in Tokyo. Sorry for the late update. The presentation went well and the conference is pretty nice. But damn, dude. Remember Animaniacs from back in the 90s? They had a song about how New York was once New Amsterdam. Well, old New York is definitely new New Amsterdam. The weed up here, it’s…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Ozeki Kirishima hit a hurdle in his campaign for yokozuna promotion on Tuesday, taking his first loss of the Autumn Grand Sumo…
Day Two in Tokyo. So, yesterday, both Aonishiki and Shishi turned in good fights, though Ura managed to prevail over Shishi. Wakamotoharu looked strong and at his current level, he could clean up if that kind of performance continues. As for Onosato, it was great to see him win but I was rather disappointed to…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yokozuna Onosato turned in a convincing performance at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Monday as three ozeki also continued…
Coverage will be delayed for the next couple of days. I’m travelling to New York City for a conference, and I’ll be making a presentation tomorrow. It should be fun. Coverage should resume as normal on Thursday. But for Day 2, 3, and 4, coverage will be delayed and likely abbreviated. Day Two NHK videos…
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Injury-plagued yokozuna Onosato opened his campaign Sunday at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament by defeating veteran komusubi…
Day One in Tokyo. Eisei lost his first bout in a very close one against Joshoyu. Joshoyu pressured Eisei to the edge with a morozashi but Eisei cut Joshoyu’s left hand grip and nearly pulled off a spectacular throw. However, Joshoyu recovered and drove Eisei back through the ring and out. Joshoyu stayed low and…
Welcome back! In just a few hours, professional sumo action will be back as Aki Basho gets underway. The dohyo matsuri was streamed last night on YouTube and the dohyo is now ready. I want to thank Honda-san and Osawa-san of the Ekoin Temple, again, for their insight and expertise. I learned a lot from…
With Hoshoryu out and questions surrounding the fitness of Onosato and Aonishiki, Kirishima has emerged as the man to beat.
Aki 2026 · last confirmed 2026-09-28 11:00 JST