Sumo is back!
Grand Sumo is back in our lives this weekend with the kick-off of the 2026 honbasho (Grand Sumo tournament) season. Sunday, January 11 marks the beginning of the 15 day hatsu basho (New Year tournament), which runs until Sunday, January 25.
This tournament takes place at the historic Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
Preview and Rankings
Our first sumo tournament of the year has a lot at stake. Aonishiki, the 21 year-old former Ukrainian refugee, could become the sport’s 76th yokozuna if he wins this tournament. That’s because he won the last tournament, the 2025 Kyushu basho. And because he’s had a stellar record since being promoted to the makuuchi (top division) less than a year ago.
Aonishiki’s biggest competition are the two current yokozuna, Hoshoryu and Onosato. He got past Hoshoryu in Kyushu, after Onosato bowed out due to injury. This time around, both Hoshoryu and Onosato might not be fully fit. That opens the door for Aonishiki to became the first European born yokozuna in the sport’s history. However, there’s 15 days of combat we need to figure out first and plenty that could go wrong for him.
For a more in-depth preview of the tournament, head here.
See below for the complete banzuke (rankings) for the top division for this tournament.
| East | Rank | West |
| Hoshoryu 🇲🇳 | Yokozuna | Onosato 🇯🇵 |
| Kotozakura🇯🇵 | Ozeki | Aoinishiki 🇺🇦 |
| Kirishima 🇲🇳 | Sekiwake | Takayasu 🇯🇵 |
| Oho 🇯🇵 | Komusubi | Wakamotoharu 🇯🇵 |
| Ichiyamamoto 🇯🇵 | M1 | Yoshinofuji 🇯🇵 |
| Ura 🇯🇵 | M2 | Wakatakakage 🇯🇵 |
| Takanosho 🇯🇵 | M3 | Hakunofuji 🇯🇵 |
| Daieisho 🇯🇵 | M4 | Atamifuji 🇯🇵 |
| Tamawashi 🇲🇳 | M5 | Churanoumi 🇯🇵 |
| Hiradoumi 🇯🇵 | M6 | Onokatsu 🇲🇳 |
| Oshoma 🇲🇳 | M7 | Fujinokawa 🇯🇵 |
| Shodai 🇯🇵 | M8 | Kinbozan 🇰🇿 |
| Gonoyama 🇯🇵 | M9 | Roga 🇷🇺 |
| Tokihayate 🇯🇵 | M10 | Kotoshoho 🇯🇵 |
| Chiyoshoma 🇲🇳 | M11 | Nishikifuji 🇯🇵 |
| Midorifuji 🇯🇵 | M12 | Abi 🇯🇵 |
| Tobizaru 🇯🇵 | M13 | Tomokaze 🇯🇵 |
| Shishi 🇺🇦 | M14 | Mitakeumi 🇯🇵 |
| Ryuden 🇯🇵 | M15 | Asakoryu 🇯🇵 |
| Asanoyama 🇯🇵 | M16 | Oshoumi 🇯🇵 |
| Asahakuryu 🇯🇵 | M17 | Hatsuyama 🇯🇵 |
Broadcast Details
Grand Sumo tournaments are all day affairs in Japan. The top division bouts happen at the end of the day, during local prime time. These matches usually start happening at around 3 a.m. ET.
Grand Sumo highlights, with English commentary, are aired on television channel NHK World (which is included in many cable TV packages), NHK’s JME.tv app, NHK’s official website and NHK’s official YouTube channel. These programs are broadcast on a 24 hour delay.
JME.tv broadcasts live coverage of the tournament, as well as two hour long programs showing all the top division bouts along with the rituals in between. JME broadcasts those programs daily at 2 p.m ET/11 a.m. PT, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT.
JME also broadcasts condensed highlights, in Japanese, after the third and fourth airings of the two hour broadcasts. JME.tv costs $25 a month. JME.tv can be viewed on desktop, mobile devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and most other smart TV set-ups.
You can watch sumo live through the Abema TV app. Abema costs around $8 a month and is entirely in Japanese with no English translations. Abema does not offer video on demand for their sumo broadcasts.
Matches can also be viewed on the official Grand Sumo app, which has some English translations. The Grand Sumo app features unavoidable spoilers. The free version includes ads, which are often twice as long as the actual bouts.
The Japan Sumo Association’s official YouTube channel uploads the top matches from each day, almost immediately. These are presented without commentary or replays.
More Sumo Coverage on Combat Press
Combat Press will provide more coverage of the 2026 hatsu basho. We will have results at the mid-way point and end of the tournament!
For more sumo news, and a daily results/recap newsletter (with lots of full bout videos), subscribe to Sumo Stomp! on Substack.