Skip to main content

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.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Sumo 2025 March Tournament Day15 (Final)

 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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grand Sumo 2025 May Tournament Day15 (Final)

 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...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Heartwarming Story About Hoshoryu

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...
Post a Comment
Read more