Grand Sumo 2026 January Tournament Day 4 ～ turbulence！

It was a turbulent day, with upsets seeing Ozeki Aonishiki and Kotozakura, as well as yokozuna Onosato, all suffer defeats.

OhoーAonishiki

Oho wrapped up and locked Aonishiki’s left sashite (inside grip) and overpowered him with sheer strength.　This was not the first time. At the September tournament last year, Oho similarly wrapped and locked Aonishiki’s left sashite and won with a kotenage (arm-lock throw). It was a kotenage that crushed him with raw power.

Succumbing to raw power remains one of Aonishiki’s key challenges.

Yoshinofuji ーOnosato

Yoshinofuji defeated Onosato with an uwatenage (overarm throw), earning back-to-back kinboshi (Hiramaku defeats Yokozuna). I thought Yoshinofuji had good sequence from the tachi-ai (initial charge). In his post-bout interview, he said, “During morning practice, I worked out a plan with my master, Isegahama-oyakata (former yokozuna Terunofuji): solidify the left, lift him from the right, stay tight against him, and try to get a left sashi.” He then added, however, that “I couldn’t execute even one part of that plan.”

BTW, Kotoshoho has beaten Onosato multiple times since his Juryo days by executing a left uwatenage while retreating at the edge of the dohyo (ring). This is not unique to Kotoshoho; it is one of Onosato’s recurring “loss patterns.” In this tournament, due to the lingering effects of his left-shoulder injury, Onosato has tended to rely even more heavily on a right sashite, making the Kotoshoho strategy effective. The flow of this bout was such that it almost made me wonder whether Yoshinofuji had studied Onosato carefully and had this pattern firmly in mind.

HoshoryuーUra

Hoshoryu, who suffered a decisive loss to Yoshinofuji yesterday, rebounded today by dispatching Ura with ease. Ura is known for his extremely low stance, but today he went too low. Hoshoryu watch this well and fought with a calm, composed torikuchi (fighting style).

KotozakuraーIchiyamamoto

Kotozakura lost to Ichiyamamoto in a yotsu-zumo (belt-grappling contest). While it is true that Ichiyamamoto had established a strong position, I would have liked to see Kotozakura absorb his opponent’s offense and gradually rebuild his stance. I think it is a bad habit that, whenever he finds himself at a disadvantage, he immediately looks for a last-second reversal at the edge of the ring.

TakayasuーHakunofuji

Takayasu’s sakatottari (reversal of the arm lock) was superb. 　As for Hakunofuji, it is disappointing that he refuses to correct his hand placement at the tachi-ai and does not try to meet his opponent squarely at the initial charge. His stablemaster should be stricter in his instruction.

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Hooked on Sumo: Insights & Analysis 　(by 小柳公寿)

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