Grand Sumo 2026 January Tournament Day 14

Onosato completely overwhelmed Aonishiki, who had been leading the yūshō (championship) race with only two losses. I do not think anyone could have anticipated that the Aonishiki–Onosato matchup this tournament would unfold in such a one-sided manner.

With Atamifuji having defeated Kirishima, Atamifuji and Aonishiki will head into senshūraku (final day) tied at three losses apiece.

AonishikiーOnosato

I had expected Aonishiki to adopt an attacking approach modeled on Hakunofuji’s style: The strategy was to win the hidari-zashi and attack with hazu-oshi on the right.However, judging from Aonishiki’s footwork at the tachiai, it seemed more likely that he was considering either pulling a left uwate to set up a throw, or attacking laterally by applying ottsuke from the left. Rather than stepping straight forward at the tachiai, he steps to his left.

That said, this bout unfolded in a way where strategy hardly mattered at all. Perhaps this is what is meant by aikuchi—the term used to describe a particularly favorable or unfavorable matchup against a specific opponent. Yesterday, Aonishiki sent Yokozuna Hoshoryu sprawling onto the dohyo; today, he was made to look like a child.

KirishimaーAtamifuji

Atamifuji’s tachiai was excellent in every respect. Rather than reaching out to grab the left uwate, he secured it while driving forward, and, most importantly, he never stopped his attack. That continuous forward pressure made all the difference.

HoshoryuーKotozakura

Hoshoryu went into the tachiai aiming for a right mae-mitsu. Although Kotozakura managed to get moro-zashi, Hoshoryu immediately sensed the danger and countered with an uwatenage. It was a bout in which the difference in reaction speed clearly showed. That said, relying so heavily on throwing techniques is likely contributing to the strain on his knees.

AbiーTakayasu

Abi, on the other hand, overwhelmed Takayasu at the tachiai with fierce thrusts from a morote-tsuki attack. Given that he is capable of producing sumo like this, it feels wasteful that he overcomplicated things and suffered back-to-back losses yesterday and the day before.

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Grand Sumo 2026 January Tournament Day 2

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Grand Sumo 2026 January Tournament Day 7

KirishimaーYoshinofuji The bout between these two rikishi—both of whom have been showing excellent form this tournament—lived up fully to expectations. At the tachi-ai (initial charge), Yoshinofuji clearly had the better hit, but Kirishima succeeded in getting moro-zashi (double inside grips). From there, Kirishima’s right kaina-no-kaeshi (inside arm turn-back) was effective, and his movement to cut off Yoshinofuji’s right uwate (outside grip) was particularly impressive (0:39-40 in the video). Kirishima is a rikishi with undeniable ability, yet when he is carrying even a minor injury, it tends to show very clearly in his results. Judging by his performances in the previous tournament and this one, however, he appears to be in good condition. Although the bout could easily have turned into a one-sided affair, Yoshinofuji showed admirable resilience and fought on stubbornly. HoshoryuーHakunofuji In the first bout, Hoshoryu’s tachi-ai (initial charge) was not good. His body came...

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

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