It’s September 14th, and the 2025 Aki basho is about to kick off.
My name is Emma, and I’ve been a sumo fan for several years. This is Pink Mawashi Sumo, and we’re about to get into the action for the very first time. But before we do, let’s take a look at the banzuke (rankings) for this tournament. [Please use this sumo glossary for anything that’s confusing!]
The banzuke is starting off strong with two Yokozuna: Onosato on the east side and his injured counterpart, Hoshoryu, on the west. Onosato from Nishonoseki-beya had a typical performance in July, meaning he secured an 11-4 record in his first ever tournament as a Yokozuna–no small feat, though his goal was the championship. Today will be his first time as a Yokozuna in the Ryogoku Kokugikan and he has set his sights on the Emperor’s Cup in his first Yokozuna tournament in Tokyo.
Hoshoryu has had a less positive career as a Yokozuna, though this will only be his fourth showing as a Yokozuna and his first starting at Yokozuna west. Unfortunately, his injuries have made him pull out of two out of those three tournaments, albeit with an impressive 12-3 in May. Hoshoryu’s participation in the summer tour was less than inspiring, though he appeared at public events to promote the October events in London. Hopefully he’ll be able to power through his injuries and be able to put up a good performance in Aki, but it seems like his goal might be to make it through the tournament with a positive record.
Moving down from the Yokozuna, we have the lone Ozeki Kotozakura of Sadogatake-beya. With the retirement of Takakeisho last year and then the promotions of Hoshoryu and Onosato to Yokozuna in quick succession, the Ozeki rank hasn’t been strong. Kotozakura is a sumo legacy and an excellent fighter when he’s capable of competing; due to his back problems and size, this has not always been as easy as it sounds for him. After his yusho win last November and a subsequent disaster of 5-10, he’s earned three consecutive 8-7 records and evidently may need to keep his focus on maintaining his rank.
The Sekiwake rank brings both good and bad news, with Sekiwake East Wakatakakage facing Sekiwake West Kirishima. Wakatakakage has been posting positive records all year except for a 7-8 in January, and with a 12-3 tournament and a Technique prize in May backed by a 10-5 in July, sumo fans will know that he’s officially set his sights on the rank of Ozeki. Wakatakakage has never achieved the rank but has been in contention before his injury in 2023 that caused him to drop into the third-highest divison of sumo. He appears to be back in full form and aims for 11 wins to secure his spot as an Ozeki, which would have a definite impact on the “Ozeki curse” of 2025. Kirishima has had either average or excellent tournaments for the past year and hopes to reclaim the rank of Ozeki, which he obtained in July 2023. However, the summer tour brought the bad news that Kirishima had broken a bone in his right wrist, though the severity of the injury is unclear and likely will be until the beginning of the Aki basho.
Takayasu and Aonishiki close out sanyaku with the Komusubi ranks, the East rank being awarded to Takayasu. Takayasu’s near-vicotry in March has been followed by one negative and one positive basho, leaving him in static as a Komusubi. Aonishiki, however, has been the opposite of static and is midway through his meteoric rise to the upper ranks of sumo. His life story was covered in an NHK documentary, explaining his move to Japan to flee the war in his homeland of Ukraine. Aonishiki has earned three back-to-back 11-4 records backed up by a 12-3 and a 10-5, with three special prizes across the 11-4 basho. Thus, he has never received anything less than eleven wins and a prize in the top division, and most likely also hopes for the Emperor’s Cup in Tokyo.
Tamawashi had a troublesome lower back injury during the summer tour and was forced to pull out, which did not bode well for his reputation as the “Iron Man” of sumo. Tamawashi is the oldest in the top division at the incredible age of 40, and has competed in 21 years of tournaments without ever pulling out (his absence due to COVID was ruled as invalid by the JSA because it was completely out of his control.) Opposite Tamawashi is Abi, who usually has a spot in sanyaku but fell to the Maegashira ranks after poor performances in January, March, and May. Neither of them are likely to be yusho contenders and Tamawashi takes on a Yokozuna on day one.
Hakuoho and Oho at Maegashira 2 are both on the younger side of the top division and are typically strong rikishi when they’re performing at their prime. Hakuoho was the first of the new Makushita-tsukedashi to experience the quick rise to the top divison and earned the nickname “The Reiwa Monster” before an injury forced him out of the top division. He hopes to round out a year of positive records in September. Oho’s stellar performance in January is almost enough to forgive the five negative records he’s had in the last year. Eye surgery and a recurring facial injury has made his career difficult already, though he hopes to someday achieve his grandfather Taiho’s rank of Yokozuna.
Atamifuji and Gonoyama both had strong performances in July, with Atamifuji’s 11-4 taking him Maegashira 10 to Maegashira 3. They’re followed by Hiradoumi, who has had a long slew of decent or only slightly below average performances, and Wakamotoharu, who has long been combatting an injury to his toe and has had losing records in the last two basho. As Wakatakakage’s older brother, his story is nearly certain to be overshadowed, but his sumo is strong enough that hopefully he can overcome his injuries.
Kotoshoho and Ichiyamamoto are an interesting pair at Maegashira 5. Kotoshoho, who has long been mediocre (erring on the side of bad) had a shocking 13-2 yusho paired with two special prizes and is now hoping for a promotion to sanyaku. Whether his victory was a fluke or an unlocking of his true potential is yet to be seen. His victory was also achieved in his younger brother Kotoeiho’s first performance in Makuuchi, though Koteiho’s tournament went less well and he fell back into the ranks of Juryo, the second-highest division. Opposite Kotoshoho is Ichiyamamoto, beloved among sumo fans for being a zealous Wakatakakage fan, including owning a life-size signed poster of the other rikishi. His performances have been solid at best for the last year but his fans hope for a better basho in September.
Onokatsu and Kusano at Maegashira 6, like Hakuoho and Yokozuna Onosato, are products of the Makushita-tsukedashi system and are looking to compete in the yusho competition. Onokatsu is perhaps the least outstanding tsukedashi who’s made it to Makuuchi, while his opposite, Kusano, is one of the most impressive. No one has been able to top Takerufuji’s yusho during his first basho in Makuuchi, but Kusano’s debut tournament with an 11-4, jun-yusho, and two special prizes is undeniably impressive. He could be a pick for the yusho but it’s only his second basho in Makuuchi and will be his first facing harder opponents.
Takanosho and Oshoma bring the ranks of Maegashira 7 and are most likely the two most unremkarable rikishi on the banzuke. Takanosho’s solid 9-6 brought him up, whereas Oshoma had a disaster 3-12 performance at the rank of Komusubi, which dropped him all the way down to Maegashira 7. Behind them are stablemates Ura and Kinbozan. Leaving the topic of Ura alone for now, Kinbozan had a less than ideal 4-11 in Nagoya, though he has come back well from terrible performances before.
I consider it my solemn duty to mention that Ura, or more specifically his signature cherry blossom mawashi, is the namesake of this blog. For a basic explanation of the brilliance and style of this particular rikishi, please see this excellent Youtube video. Suffice it to say for now that his acrobatics and unusual belt color have led him to become extremely popular. In the statistics vein, Ura had a decent 8-7 performance in Nagoya, but the important fact was that he missed a full two days due to an injury to his already heavily damaged knees. Ura’s falls and rises in and out of Makuuchi after previous severe knee injuries mean that what could be a superficial injury may not be, and I–along with many others–will be watching to see what kind of performance he has in September.
Midorifuji and Fujinokawa are two of the smallest men in Makuuchi and, though they’ve had different careers so far, are both popular for being both on the smaller side and quite charming. Midorifuji is a Makuuchi mainstay known for winning a disproportionately high number of his matches by the katasukashi, or under-shoulder swing-down, technique. Fujinokawa is in his second tournament in Makuuchi after a surprising 10-5 and special prize in Nagoya, and should have an interesting tournament, though it seems unlikely that he’ll spend too long in Makuuchi before dipping back into juryo.
Daieisho at Maegashira 10 East is bound to be one of the main stories of this basho. Usually a Sekiwake or Komusubi, Daieisho’s injury to the right calf brought him out of sanyaku and down to Maegashira 10. Provided that he’s healthy, he could be a good pick for the yusho, as he won’t be fighting the higher-level opponents he typically does. Opposite him at West is Churanoumi, the stablemate of Ura and Kinbozan and a generally average rikishi coming off of a 9-6 in Nagoya.
Shodai and Roga are at Maegashira 11. Ex-Ozeki Shodai is on the older side but both rikishi are relatively solid and are coming off of 9-6 and 7-8 respectively, so nothing very drastic is expected from them. Behind them are Takerufuji and Mitakeumi. Takerufuji is the early tragedy of this basho, having announced his departure from day one already after a torn bicep and re-aggravated ankle injury. I talked about him earlier as being a highly successful younger wrestler and winning his debut tournament, but he was immediately injured and evidently still needs time to recover. Mitakeumi is also beginning with a difficult tournament, having just lost his mother, who was 55, shortly after his father and stablemaster passed away. He had a strong 10-5 showing in Nagoya though, like Shodai, Mitakeumi is an ex-Ozeki likely in the twilight years of his career. Best wishes to him.
Meisei, Tokihayate, Sadanoumi, and Asakoryu bring the next four ranks. Meisei is the only top divison stablemate of Yokozuna Hoshoryu and had a terrible 3-12 tournament in July. Tokihayate is relatively new to the top division and a lightweight, like Asakoryu, who is the most visibly muscular rikishi in the top division. Sadanoumi is 38 and a veteran of sumo at the end of his career, and as he had a poor 4-11 performance in Nagoya, it’s possible that he will retire if he falls into Juryo from his rank of Maegashira 14.
Tobizaru, Shonnanoumi, Tomokaze, and Nishikigi are three sad stories and one fairly typical one. Tomokaze is back to Makuuchi but probably won’t stay for long, as he generally stays in the upper ranks of Juryo. Tobizaru and Shonnanoumi have both been in Makuuchi for years, though Tobizaru has been up for far longer, and neither are usually this low in the banzuke. Nishikigi appeared to have a back injury about a year ago and is returning after he had an 8-7 basho at the top of Juryo, doing the minimum to return to the top division.
Ryuden, Hitoshi, and Shishi round out the banzuke. Ryuden has an identical story to that of Nishikigi; both are Makuuchi regulars who fell to Juryo 1 and came back with 8-7 records. On the other side of Maegashira 17 is Hitoshi, who is 28 and a newcomer to Makuuchi. His stay is unlikely to be long. Shishi is a more interesting story, the only other Ukrainian in the top divison and far less impressive than Aonishiki. Shishi’s size is his main advantage and his sumo isn’t particularly polished, though he’s still extremely young with room to improve.
Those three close out the ranks of Makuuchi, but I’m going to talk briefly about Juryo, the second-highest division the six professional divisions of sumo. I’ve picked a few persons of interest from the banzuke, which can be accessed here.
Kotoeiho is mainly notable as the brother of Nagoya’s yusho winner, Kotoshoho, who is back down in Juryo after his first Makuuchi tournament.
Mita is another Makushita-tsukedashi and, at Juryo 4, has a shot at getting up to Makuuchi if he performs well in this tournament. Chinese Daiseizan and Oshoumi are also relatively young and successful, and both are at Juryo 1, making both good candidates for promotion from the very start.
Asanoyama is the main story of Juryo, having once been an Ozeki. He fell through the ranks of sumo because of a personal scandal that ended in his suspension, then fought his way back up, was reinjured, and fell down to Makushita once again. He is now back in Juryo and is trying to reclaim his spot in the top division.
That wraps up the Aki 2025 Banzuke post! If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading. Everybody cross your fingers for Ura’s knees and let’s get ready for some sumo!