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 4
Onosato has withdrawn from the tournament. My reaction was basically, “as expected.”
In yesterday’s bout against Fujinokawa, I had been hoping to see the kind of sumo he once showed when he demolished Aonishiki in an instant. But not only did he lose—the content of the bout itself was quite poor as well.
Fujinokawa defeated Hoshoryu to claim kinboshi on consecutive days.
In fact, I had a feeling Fujinokawa might win this bout. My reasoning was that Hoshoryu has often lost in the past to smaller rikishi such as Midorifuji and Wakatakakage.
Recently, however, he seems to have figured out how to deal with both Midorifuji and Wakatakakage, so I expect that he will eventually learn how to handle Fujinokawa as well.
However, the key point was probably the timing of placing his hands down at the tachiai. It gave the impression that Fujinokawa had completely read that timing and managed to seize the initiative.
I don’t think Hoshoryu lost because he was in poor condition, but tomorrow’s opponent, Churanoumi, could still be one to watch.
Aonishiki lost to Churanoumi and now stands at two losses.
Even so, I thought Aonishiki’s attacking sumo in the early stages of the bout was good, and he did not look stiff or overly tense from the pressure of his tsuna-tori campaign. Simply put, Churanoumi was excellent.
Churanoumi’s record is only 1–2, but over these three days the content of his sumo has been very impressive. More specifically, his knees stay well bent, allowing him to maintain a strong forward-leaning posture while his footwork remains active. His attacking from below—pushing upward from underneath—and his defensive handwork, absorbing and redirecting his opponent’s thrusts from below, have both been precise and effective.
Takayasu defeated Kotozakura to extend his winning streak to four.
Takayasu prefers hidari-yotsu, while Kotozakura favors migi-yotsu, making this a classic kenka-yotsu matchup. Kotozakura did manage to establish his preferred migi-yotsu position, but he was unable to draw in the uwate. Takayasu, on the other hand, secured both sides of the mawashi firmly. When Takayasu first secured the uwate, it was at a deep position, but he slid it to a shallower grip, which worked very well for him.
Takayasu is particularly strong even in a migi-yotsu position as long as he can get a solid left uwate, so I was watching the bout expecting it to develop with Takayasu holding the advantage. That said, when Kotozakura attempted a makikae, I thought Takayasu would simply drive forward at once to settle the bout.
Instead, he produced a far more elegant sequence—firing off a series of dashi-nage, then placing his head against his opponent and finishing with a yorikiri. It was a superb attacking display.
The bout between Kotoshoho and Oho turned into a tremendous battle. It was very entertaining.
Although Oho ended up losing, we saw the kind of sumo he shows when he is at his best. To be more specific, he kept things simple—driving his opponent back with solid tsuppari and then crashing in with his head—repeating that approach again and again in a straightforward manner. Perhaps he thought he had the bout won a little too early… and to be honest, I did as well.
Takanosho is looking good with four straight wins. He is becoming a very interesting presence in the tournament. His stablemaster has changed to Minatogawa-oyakata (the former Takakeisho), and I’m paying close attention to his coaching. His approach to physical training, nutrition, and especially the emphasis he places on rest and recovery is quite different from that of many other stablemasters.
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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