Grand Sumo returns this weekend for the 2026 aki basho (autumn tournament). The 15-day tournament happens at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. That’s the sumo-specific site that hosts half of the year’s six Grand Sumo tournaments.
Things kick off on Sunday, Sept. 13, and run until Sunday, Sept. 27.
The top division (makuuchi) and second division (juryo) wrestlers are scheduled to compete every day of the tournament. The wrestlers ranked lower than that will be expected to compete around every other day.
Preview and Rankings
Aonishiki comes into this tournament looking to repeat as top-division champion. He won his third yusho (championship) in July. That earned him a promotion back to the rank of ozeki (one below yokozuna). He’s the favorite heading into this one. His toughest challengers will be yokozuna Onosato, who has been carrying a shoulder injury all year, and Kirishima and Atamifuji (who he beat in a playoff in July).
Hoshoryu, our other yokozuna, will not be challenging Aonishiki this month. He is listed as absent for this tournament, as he recovers from knee surgery.
For a complete preview of the aki basho, read my Five Reasons To Watch post below:
Below are the full September rankings for the makuuchi.
| East | Rank | West |
|---|---|---|
| Onosato 🇯🇵 | Yokozuna | Hoshoryu 🇲🇳 |
| Kirishima 🇲🇳 | Ozeki | Kotozakura 🇯🇵 |
| Aonishiki 🇺🇦 | Ozeki | |
| Atamifuji 🇯🇵 | Sekiwake | Fujinokawa 🇯🇵 |
| Hakunofuji 🇯🇵 | Komusubi | Daieisho 🇯🇵 |
| Kotoshoho 🇯🇵 | M1 | Kotoeiho 🇯🇵 |
| Takayasu 🇯🇵 | M2 | Yoshinofuji 🇯🇵 |
| Gonoyama 🇯🇵 | M3 | Churanoumi 🇯🇵 |
| Takanosho 🇯🇵 | M4 | Fujiryoga 🇯🇵 |
| Roga 🇷🇺 | M5 | Oshoma 🇲🇳 |
| Asanoyama 🇯🇵 | M6 | Ichiyamamoto 🇯🇵 |
| Fujiseun 🇯🇵 | M7 | Nishikifuji 🇯🇵 |
| Takerufuji 🇯🇵 | M8 | Hiradoumi 🇯🇵 |
| Ura 🇯🇵 | M9 | Shishi 🇺🇦 |
| Oho 🇯🇵 | M10 | Kinbozan 🇰🇿 |
| Wakamotoharu 🇯🇵 | M11 | Shodai 🇯🇵 |
| Wakatakakage 🇯🇵 | M12 | Asahakuryu 🇯🇵 |
| Asakoryu 🇯🇵 | M13 | Abi 🇯🇵 |
| Tobizaru 🇯🇵 | M14 | Chiyoshoma 🇲🇳 |
| Asasuiryu 🇯🇵 | M15 | Tokihayate 🇯🇵 |
| Wakanosho 🇲🇳 | M16 | Toshinofuji 🇲🇳 |
| Shonannoumi 🇯🇵 | M17 |
Broadcast Details
Grand Sumo tournaments are day-long affairs. All six divisions compete every single day. We start in the morning with matches from the jonokuchi (sixth division) and work our way up. By the time prime time hits in Japan, the top division starts to compete. Those top-division matches begin around 3 a.m. ET.
Grand Sumo highlights for the makuuchi, 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. They are about 30 minutes long and include all of the top-division bouts.
JME.tv broadcasts live coverage of the tournament and two-hour-long programs showing all the top-division bouts, with some ceremony and coverage between bouts. 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. These broadcasts feature Japanese commentary.
JME also broadcasts condensed highlights, also 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 setups.
You can watch sumo live on the Abema TV app. Abema costs around $8 a month and is entirely in Japanese with no English translations or commentary. Abema does not offer video on demand for its 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 with a single camera angle and without commentary or replays.
More Sumo Coverage on Combat Press
Combat Press will provide more coverage of the 2026 September tournament. We will have results at the midway 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.