Skip to main content

Grand Sumo 2026 January Tournament Day15 (Final)

Aonishiki Wins the Playoff for His Second Consecutive Championship, Sets His Sights on Yokozuna Promotion

Aonishiki and Atamifuji entered senshūraku (final) tied at three losses apiece. Personally, I did not want to see the championship decided at an 11–4 mark, so I was hoping that both men would rise to the occasion.

OshoumiーAtamifuji

Oshoumi had already beaten Aonishiki when they were in Juryo. He is a rikishi who can fight well both in close quarters and at distance, with strong lower-body balance and a certain technical versatility. I rate him highly. That said, I could not picture him defeating Atamifuji. In reality, the difference in forward-driving power between the two was obvious.

KotozakuraーAonishiki

Kotozakura tried a variety of approaches—tsuppari, attempting to break Aonishiki’s balance with a katasukashi—but Aonishiki’s forward-leaning posture never collapsed. At one point Kotozakura secured a left uwate, but he was unable to draw his opponent in. Aonishiki pressed his head into Kotozakura’s chest and finished with a yorikiri. Aonishiki’s left ottsuke was particularly effective in that sequence. It may well become a weapon he can use against Onosato in future tournaments. More broadly, even when Kotozakura manages to get a left uwate, it rarely changes the flow of a bout. For a rikishi of his size, he may lack the arm strength needed to really control and pull his opponent in.

HoshoryuーOnosato

Hoshoryu came out of the tachiai well, quickly secured both sides in a migi-yotsu position, drew his opponent in, and wasted no time in driving forward for the yorikiri. Hoshoryu is strong against Onosato but struggles against Aonishiki; Aonishiki is strong against Hoshoryu but struggles against Onosato; and Onosato is strong against Aonishiki but struggles against Hoshoryu. How long will this rock–paper–scissors relationship among the three continue?

With both men preserving their three-loss records, Aonishiki and Atamifuji advanced to a championship playoff.

AonishikiーAtamifuji

I could not predict which way it would go, but if Atamifuji were to win, I believed it would have to be by overwhelming Aonishiki with sheer power and driving straight through him. Instead, Aonishiki secured the migi-zashi and placed his head against Atamifuji’s chest. At that moment, I thought, “This is Aonishiki’s championship.” Still, Atamifuji forcibly used arm strength alone to raise Aonishiki’s upper body and drive him back to the tawara (edge of the ring). In the end, however, Aonishiki’s kubinage landed cleanly and decisively.
In the past, Aonishiki has reversed bouts at the tawara with this same kubinage against Hakunofuji, Yoshinofuji, and now Atamifuji—three rikishi from the Isegahama stable.
Aonishiki has now crowned his debut tournament as Ozeki with a championship, and next basho (tournament) he will formally embark on a tsuna-tori campaign.
Rather than picking up short-term wins through clever tricks, he has steadily refined and built up his own sumo style. That style is underpinned by exceptionally strong body, and by a consistently high level of ambition. In his interview, he remarked, “I’m glad I was able to win the championship wearing the mawashi passed down to me by my master.” When asked what he wanted to do next, he replied, “I want to report this to my master as soon as possible.” There is no sense that he will lose his way. Despite all the attention, he remains grounded and humble—it is hard to believe he is only 21 years old.

Atamifuji missed out on the championship, but this tournament I clearly felt a change in the substance of his sumo. Until now, he had been instructed by the former Isegahama-oyakata and by Terunofuji to take hidari-mae-mitsu at the tachiai, but it never quite came together. In fact, during a past NHK broadcast, Terunofuji even remarked that despite trying to instruct Atamifuji, things were not going well and it was undermining his own confidence as a coach. This basho, Atamifuji appeared to reverse that approach: instead of prioritizing a grip at the tachiai, he made “moving forward first” the absolute priority, with migi-yotsu and left uwate emerging as a result rather than a goal.
That emphasis on “moving forward first” is something I sense across the Isegahama stable as a whole.

Kirishima defeated Abi by yorikiri to finish with 11 wins and earn the Fighting Spirit Prize. After seeing Kirishima defeat Aonishiki, I had actually predicted that he might win the championship—but that was not to be. Depending on his results next basho, a return to ōzeki is now within reach. Ultimately, it will come down to the condition of his body.



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

Grand Sumo 2025 May Tournament Day9

Onosato Handles Ura with Composure and Control Even when there is a clear gap in ability, there were two key things Onosato needed to be mindful of today: 1. Ura often lowers his head at the tachiai, tempting his opponent to push down on it and pull straight back—something to avoid.     2. Using that momentum, Ura might look to stage a last-minute reversal at the edge of the dohyō, especially if his opponent tries to force him out too quickly without securing a grip on the mawashi. Onosato understood this well. He didn't recklessly charge forward, nor did he pull straight back. Instead, he applied steady pressure, pivoted smoothly,  Ura before okuridashi (sending out from behind) him with precision. I had thought from the beginning that Ura’s brand of sumo wouldn’t work against the current form of Onosato—and sure enough, it didn’t trouble him in the slightest. Ichiyamamoto’s sumo style is almost a carbon copy of Abi’s—fast-paced morote-zuki (two-handed thrusts) from...
Post a Comment
Read more