Grand Sumo’s latest offering starts this weekend! The 15 day natsu basho (summer tournament) runs from Sunday, May 11 to Sunday May 26. The tournament will be held at the historic Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Wrestlers in Grand Sumo’s top division (the makuuchi) will be expected to fight every day of the tournament, with absences due to injury considered losses. On Day 15 the wrestler with the most wins in the top division will be proclaimed champion.
Check out five reasons to tune in to the natsu basho this month (other than the fact sumo is awesome).
Onosato’s push to become the 75th yokozuna
Onosato has a chance to make history in May. The 24 year-old ozeki ranked wrestler won the March tournament. If he wins this tournament he will be promoted to the become the sport’s 75th yokozuna.
If Onosato were to gain that promotion we would then have two active yokozuna in the sport (Hoshoryu became the 74th yokozuna after the January tournament). This would mean sumo fans would be treated to all yokozuna battles on the dohyo, which is something we haven’t seen since 2021.
If Onosato claims the ultimate promotion he would become only the second Japanese wrestler to make that promotion in the last 25 years. Since 1999 there have been eight yokozuna promotions, all have been Mongolian other than Musashimaru (who is American) and Kisenosato (who is Japanese). Kisenosato retired in 2019. Kisenosato, now known as Nishonoseki, is Onosato’s stablemaster.
The pressure is definitely on Onosato to become Japan’s next yokozuna. So far, in his career, Onosato has not blenched when faced with pressure. In his short time in senior sumo (after a dominant college career) he’s already won three titles and finished runner-up twice.
Onosato has all the tools needed to win this tournament and claim that promotion. If he gets that rank, he will have a platform to become one of the most successful wrestlers ever to compete in this sport.
Hoshoryu response to terrible March
Hoshoryu is one man who will be hoping that Onosato does not manage to take home an Emperor’s Cup this month. He under performed in his debut yokozuna tournament in March. He ended with a 5-5-5 record after pulling out on Day 10 due to an elbow injury (though, it is likely he pulled out to save face).
That March record added fuel to the fire on the grumblings around sumo that Hoshoryu was not cut out to be yokozuna. He was promoted in January after winning a title (in a three way play-off) and finishing runner-up in November. That was technically good enough for the Japan Sumo Association who state that an ozeki can be promoted to yokozuna if they win two tournaments in a row or come close to that.
Hoshoryu is seemingly healed from that elbow injury now and he has looked dominant on tour and during the recent all stables open practise. He will be extremely motivated to prove he deserves to be yokozuna and take home his third top division title (to tie Onosato).
If healthy, Hoshoryu represents a very large risk to Onosato’s hopes of winning his second tournament in a row. Hoshoryu is one of few wrestlers to have a positive head-to-head record with Onosato. He’s currently 5-2 against Onosato and has thrown him to the ground in each of his five wins.
Aonishiki out to show he’s not a fluke
Aonishiki was one of the feel good stories from January. The Ukrainian refugee was competing in his first top division tournament and he shocked with a stellar 11-4 record. That record had him standing a chance to get into a play-off for the title on the final day of the tournament.
Aonishiki is just 21 years-old and has only competed in six senior sumo tournaments. His reward for his impressive March has been a promotion from maegashira 15 to maegashira 9. In sumo the first week of a tournament sees wrestlers matched up with opponents of a similar ranking. Because of this, Aonishiki will be facing stiffer competition from the get-go than he ever has in his career.
Hot prospects often get a good record in their debut tournaments, when matched against the lowest ranked wrestlers in the division (which often includes wrestlers towards the tail ends of their careers). However, many of those prospects struggle in their second tournament once the matches become more difficult.
This month we’ll find out if Aonishiki’s amazing debut tournament was a fluke, and a product of easy match-making, or whether he is talent that deserves to be ranked highly and is perhaps someone who might compete for a title.
Takerufuji to be tested in the joi
Takerufuji won the 2024 March tournament in his first time in the top division. That was the first time that had been done in over 90 years. He sustained an ankle injury during that win, which forced him to miss the next two tournaments and be demoted down to the second division.
He’s fought his way back to makuuchi and has reeled off impressive records since then. That’s earned him a promotion to maegashira 4 for the May tournament. This is the highest rank he’s ever had. This rank also puts him in the joi.
The joi-jin or ‘high rankers’ is a term for the wrestlers ranked M4 or higher. These wrestlers can expect to face elite competition in the first week of a tournament, including the ozeki and yokozuna. Few wrestlers manage to survive this rankings.
Takerufuji has looked competitive against the elite, other than Hoshoryu (who he is 0-2 against). He’s 1-2 vs. Onosato and 2-1 vs. Kotozakura (the other ozeki on the banzuke). However, there’s a chance he faces those three back-to-back-to-back in the early days of this tournament.
Retirement watch in both makuuchi and juryo
In May there will be a number of veterans competing in the juryo (second division) for the first time in a while. These are wrestlers who have been staples of the top division for a decade. Former ozeki Mitakeumi and former sekiwake Takarafuji were demoted for bad losing records in March. Mitakeumi had been in the top division since 2015. Takarafuji had his top division streak broken a few tournaments ago. Before that he had been in makuuchi since 2012.
Nishikigi and Ryuden will be fighting for their top division ranks in March. Bad losing records for either of them could see them sent down to where the other two are.
The popular ‘Berserker’ Hokutofuji will be competing in the makushita (third division) this month after injuries forced his demotion from juryo in March.
All these wrestlers are into their late thirties and/or have histories of injury. It wouldn’t be surprising if any of them retire during this tournament or shortly afterwards.
More sumo on Combat Press
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