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 March Tournament Day 1
Aonishiki, who is making a tsuna-tori (yokozuna promotion )bid this tournament, opened with a win.
Wakamotoharu attempted a henka at the tachiai, but Aonishiki showed no sign of panic, maintaining his forward-leaning posture and finishing with a yorikiri. His ability to secure and draw in the hidari-mae-mitsu was particularly good.
Watching both his NHK pre-tournament interview and this bout, the impression he gives is that he is truly grounded.
That said, tomorrow’s opponent is the formidable Yoshinofuji.
From a spectator’s point of view, it should be a very interesting match to watch.
Onosato showed one of his bad habits and started the tournament with a loss.
Wakatakakage, on the other hand, fought very well. He twisted back his right inside arm (migi-zashi), neutralizing Onosato’s left hand, while applying ottsuke and shibori (squeeze) from the left to deny Onosato the migi-zashi.
That said, how many times have we seen Onosato dig his own grave by pulling straight back when he fails to secure the migi-zashi? Even if he ends up in a slightly disadvantageous position, I would like to see him stay patient, keep himself alive in the bout, and gradually work his way back into his preferred form of sumo.
Hoshoryu managed to defeat Atamifuji, an opponent he has often struggled against, by yorikiri.
I thought Hoshoryu’s tachiai was good, but as he drove forward their chests ended up square against each other, which made the situation difficult for him. He then attempted a right shitatenage, but that movement effectively turned into an invitation for Atamifuji to take the left uwate, which I thought was a very dangerous mistake.
Atamifuji seized what was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and attempted the so-called “Wolf Special.” However, Hoshoryu—who has excellent balance and lower-body strength—managed to stay in the bout, slip inside Atamifuji’s guard, place his head against his opponent’s chest, and drive forward.
Given Hoshoryu’s body position and the placement of his head at the moment Atamifuji attempted the “Wolf Special,” I can understand why he went for it. But in that situation, it might have been better for him to keep his hips low, crash his body into Hoshoryu, and continue driving forward instead.
The “Wolf Special” refers to the signature technique of the 58th Yokozuna Chiyonofuji, in which the wrestler presses down on the back of his opponent’s neck with the right hand while striking for a left uwate.
Onosato defeated Hoshoryu in a championship playoff between yokozuna, both having finished with a 13–2 record. With this victory, Onosato claimed his fifth career championship, his first since being promoted to yokozuna, and his first in two tournaments. The Onosato–Hoshoryu matchup turned out very differently from what I had expected. In the honwari (regulation bout), I thought Onosato would charge forward with an unhesitating attack at the tachi-ai (initial charge). Yesterday, Hoshoryu won with a henka (sidestep at the initial charge) at the initial charge. Precisely because of that, I believed it would be extremely difficult for him to attempt a second consecutive henka in such a high-stakes yokozuna showdown for the championship. I assumed Onosato thought the same way—but I was wrong. In the honwari bout, rather than focusing on the kind of sumo he wanted to impose, Onosato seemed too preoccupied with the possibility that his opponent might attempt another henka or some other varia...
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...
Yoshinofuji vs Aonishiki I felt that Yoshinofuji attacked effectively, but the key to Aonishiki’s victory was the speed of his decision-making and his ability to switch tactics instantly. Minatogawa-oyakata (former Ozeki Takakeisho), commenting on the NHK broadcast, pointed out that Yoshinofuji’s downfall was that “he failed to knock Aonishiki back at the tachi-ai (initial charge),” adding that Yoshinofuji wanted to create distance by thrusting his opponent away rather than continuing to push forward. Indeed, had he managed to keep Aonishiki at arm’s length, Aonishiki would not have been able to execute his techniques. That said, when Aonishiki briefly touched the dohyo (ring) with his left hand at the end, I couldn’t help thinking that if it had been Takanohana (the 65th yokozuna) or Wakanohana (the 66th yokozuna), they would have gone down face-first without hesitation. Wakatakakage vs Takayasu Wakatakakage defeated Takayasu with a kata-sukashi (shoulder swing-down). At th...
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