My name is Kimitoshi Koyanagi , Japanese. I am a sumo fan with approximately 50 years of experience watching the sport. My English is poor. But I aim to share the appeal of sumo with the world, focusing on analyzing and providing commentary on the bouts and their content during tournaments.
Search This Blog
Grand Sumo 2025 May Tournament Day4 ～ Onosato Overpowers Oho to Remain Undefeated at 4–0
The most anticipated bout of the day was undoubtedly Onosato vs. Oho.
While Onosato led the overall head-to-head 3–2 going in, Oho had taken the last two matchups, making this a highly intriguing contest.
Before the bout, my prediction was as follows:
If Onosato were to win, it would be by getting his right arm inside (migi-yotsu), closing the distance, and driving forward in a tight body-to-body position.
If Oho were to win, it would be by launching a fierce tsuppari (thrusting attack) and hitting on the head to deny Onosato the right inside grip.
As both rikishi stepped onto the dohyo and entered the final moments of their shikiri (pre-tachi-ai ritual), I started to feel that Onosato might take this one. His demeanor showed not a hint of hesitation leading up to the tachi-ai—he appeared entirely focused and composed.
However, the way he won was different from what I had envisioned. While he did make a motion to go for the right inside grip, he didn’t fixate on it—instead, he decisively settled the bout with a powerful tsuki-oshi (pushing and thrusting attack). It was a convincing win that further builds his momentum as he continues his tsuna-tori (bid for promotion to Yokozuna).
In his post-match interview, Onosato said:
“My body has been moving well since Day One. I was focused on keeping my upper body from rising too high and took the match with that in mind.”
Coming off a loss to Oho the day before, Hoshoryu faced Abi today—a rikishi against whom he had lost three straight bouts.
Hoshoryu was slow off the tachi-ai, and his footwork failed to follow through. Abi capitalized with a well-executed morote-zuki (double thrust), taking the initiative. When Hoshoryu tried to hurriedly push back, Abi coolly pulled him down with a hiki-otoshi.
In his post-match interview, Abi commented:
“I think the Yokozuna was trying to gauge my movements before deciding how to respond.”
But my analysis differs. Abi’s timing at the tachi-ai was superb. He placed both hands on the shikiri-sen first, and just as Hoshoryu began lowering his hands, Abi launched forward. In that moment, Hoshoryu had no choice—he couldn’t stop(physically) and call for a "matta"(re-do of the tachi-ai). Even if he was half a beat behind, he had to go.
Hoshoryu declined to give an interview, so we don’t know for sure why he was late off the mark— there was hesitation at the tachi-ai ? In that regard, he stood in stark contrast to Onosato, who showed no such doubt today.
Next up was the match I had been personally looking forward to the most: Takerufuji vs. Wakatakakage. Could Wakatakakage stop Takerufuji’s explosive tachi-ai and sharp initial drive?
At around the 51-second mark in the video—right at the moment of impact—pay close attention to Wakatakakage’s stance. You can see that he has bent his knees deeply, stepped forward with his left leg, lowered his center of gravity, and kept his upper body at an ideal angle. His elbows are tucked in tightly.
Wakatakakage wants to get his right arm inside; Takerufuji wants his left. It was a superb tachi-ai, and Wakatakakage won the battle for inside position, successfully establishing his preferred grip first. As for Takerufuji, he wasn’t aiming for a left uwate—it’s more likely that it was simply the only option available to him in that situation.
Onosato defeated Hoshoryu in a championship playoff between yokozuna, both having finished with a 13–2 record. With this victory, Onosato claimed his fifth career championship, his first since being promoted to yokozuna, and his first in two tournaments. The Onosato–Hoshoryu matchup turned out very differently from what I had expected. In the honwari (regulation bout), I thought Onosato would charge forward with an unhesitating attack at the tachi-ai (initial charge). Yesterday, Hoshoryu won with a henka (sidestep at the initial charge) at the initial charge. Precisely because of that, I believed it would be extremely difficult for him to attempt a second consecutive henka in such a high-stakes yokozuna showdown for the championship. I assumed Onosato thought the same way—but I was wrong. In the honwari bout, rather than focusing on the kind of sumo he wanted to impose, Onosato seemed too preoccupied with the possibility that his opponent might attempt another henka or some other varia...
As many of you know, Hoshoryu won the January tournament and was promoted as the 74th Yokozuna. During his victory interview, he shared that after experiencing the heartbreak of losing on the final day of the November tournament, he made a promise to "a certain person." He vowed to channel that frustration into the January tournament and win the championship no matter what. That "certain person" is Ruri Kubota, whom Hoshoryu refers to as his "mother in Japan." And the boy who sat beside Hoshoryu in the open car during the victory parade was none other than Ruri’s son, Teruchika, whom Hoshoryu calls his "younger brother in Japan." Teruchika has Down syndrome. Hoshoryu first met Teruchika and his mother in 2019, when he was still in the Juryo division. Their connection began when Hoshoryu was invited to coach Teruchika through Kashiwa Sumo Club, where the club’s representative happened to be Hoshoryu’s former high school mentor. Hoshoryu was deep...
Yoshinofuji vs Aonishiki I felt that Yoshinofuji attacked effectively, but the key to Aonishiki’s victory was the speed of his decision-making and his ability to switch tactics instantly. Minatogawa-oyakata (former Ozeki Takakeisho), commenting on the NHK broadcast, pointed out that Yoshinofuji’s downfall was that “he failed to knock Aonishiki back at the tachi-ai (initial charge),” adding that Yoshinofuji wanted to create distance by thrusting his opponent away rather than continuing to push forward. Indeed, had he managed to keep Aonishiki at arm’s length, Aonishiki would not have been able to execute his techniques. That said, when Aonishiki briefly touched the dohyo (ring) with his left hand at the end, I couldn’t help thinking that if it had been Takanohana (the 65th yokozuna) or Wakanohana (the 66th yokozuna), they would have gone down face-first without hesitation. Wakatakakage vs Takayasu Wakatakakage defeated Takayasu with a kata-sukashi (shoulder swing-down). At th...
Comments
Post a Comment