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.
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Grand Sumo 2026 January Tournament Day 1 ~ The Rikishi I Paid More Attention to Than Aonishiki
At last, the opening day of the 2026 January Tournament (Hatsu basho) has arrived. How will the newly promoted Ozeki Aonishiki fare? What about Onosato, returning after an absence? And how will former Ozeki Asanoyama perform after regaining his place in the makuuchi division?
As always, this tournament offers plenty of highlights for sumo fans. However, for me, the single most intriguing bout of the day was in the jonokuchi division (the lowest division on the banzuke). I have never looked forward to jonokuchi bouts this much before a tournament, nor have I ever been this excited watching a jonokuchi match.
In sumo, jonokuchi refers to the lowest rank on the banzuke (the official ranking list of rikishi).
The bout in question was Asahifuji versus Tenshoyama. Both of them are newcomers.
If any overseas sumo fans already knew these two, they would truly qualify as hardcore connoisseurs.
Please take a look at this astonishing bout.
This is a match between rookie rikishi.
This is jonokuchi sumo.
Can you believe it?
Asahifuji is a 23-year-old from Mongolia. Among sumo fans, he had been dubbed “the strongest trainee in history.” He entered the sumo world as a trainee at Isegahama stable, but due to the foreign-rikishi quota, he was unable to make his professional debut for four and a half years. During that long period of keiko (training), however, he developed skills said to rival those of makuuchi rikishi. As a result, he was widely regarded as the strongest pre-debut rikishi ever.
The shikona (ring name) Asahifuji was inherited from his former stablemaster, the 63rd yokozuna. It is extremely rare for a shikona once used by a yokozuna to be bestowed upon a newcomer. This episode alone speaks volumes about how highly the stable regards him.
His opponent, Tenshoyama, is a 21-year-old from Mongolia. At 1.97 meters tall, he is the tallest active rikishi today. He belongs to Tamanoi stable. Although he lost to Asahifuji in this bout, I believe he is a rikishi with tremendous potential.
I very much look forward to seeing where both of them will be one or two years from now. I hope you will keep a close eye on them as well.
Onosato Wins the Playoff for His Third Title, Takayasu Falls Short Once Again Takayasu has come agonizingly close to winning the championship on numerous occasions, only to fall short at the final hurdle. Among those disappointments, there were two instances where he went into the final day (senshuraku) needing just one win against Abi to secure the title. However, he lost both times, forcing a playoff where he was ultimately defeated, missing out on the championship. Today, he faced that same fateful opponent once again. Abi Attempted a Henka(side step) at the Tachi-ai. I’m glad that didn’t decide the match. Perhaps Takayasu was prepared for it, given that Abi had previously attempted a henka at the tachi-ai in a past championship playoff. Takayasu remained composed, dealt with it calmly, applied pressure with a left ottsuke, secured a grip on the uwate, and threw Abi down with authority. At that moment, I thought—perhaps this time, Takayasu has finally overcome his trauma and is...
Hoshoryu Shows Yokozuna Pride, Hands Onosato His Only Loss of the Tournament Hoshoryu demonstrated the pride and dignity expected of a yokozuna, handing Onosato his only defeat this tournament. The head-to-head record now stands at five wins for Hoshoryu and two for Onosato (with one of Onosato’s wins being by default), clearly favoring Hoshoryu. However, the content of their bouts tells a different story. In nearly every match, it has been Onosato who dictated the pace and gained the upper hand, only to be ultimately brought down by one of Hoshoryu’s well-executed throwing techniques. This pattern played out once again in today’s bout. Hoshoryu’s uwate-hineri (overarm twist-down) was expertly timed and executed, but it must be said that Onosato’s center of gravity was too high, and his ottsuke (press up on the outside of opponent’s elbow from below, as if twisting and lifting it) from the left lacked its usual sharpness. Throughout this tournament, Onosato has d...
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...
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