I do think that my excitement is always evident in the Banzuke Preview, but just in case, I will inform my readers that I am very, very hyped for the May basho. A warning in advance: my coverage of this basho will probably be inconsistent at best and missing some parts at worst, because May is a very busy time of year (similar to January, though I think I was able to do all 15 days in January). I’ve also been sick lately, which is adding onto the fun. But I love sumo and I will do my best to do the full coverage.

Quickly, I think I may have deleted my paragraphs on Tsurugisho, but he also retired after the last basho. Much love to him, and judging by the fact that he opened up a restaurant right after the basho, I trust he has everything set up well. Good luck.

I’m not sure if there’s anything exciting down in Makushita, other than the usual slew of ex-tsukedashi and old sad guys. I should probably start mentally preparing something for Wakanofuji’s debut next basho, but otherwise, I’m not sure who I should be looking at for the yusho. Himukamaru and Shimanoumi are keeping the Kise-beya spirit alive, but they’re not very good, so I don’t exactly expect a yusho from either of them. Fujitensei, I suspect, will go back to Juryo; he seems pretty strong, just not exactly Juryo-ready. Takakento will no doubt be a little annoyed about getting his promotion case denied in favor of Enho’s, but he’s also probably the only person in the world who’s unhappy about that. And of course, I want my beloved Shimazuumi to win and come back up to Juryo. He was doing a great job in Makuuchi before his severe knee injury, which reccured last basho and sent him back down to Makushita.

I mentioned him before; now, let’s explain the saga of Enho. If you’re new to sumo, this is what you need to know: Enho is freaking awesome. He is the first wrestler in the history of sumo to get all the way back to Sekitori, the top two divisions, after falling down to the lowest division, Jonokuchi. Enho was wildly popular for his small size and just generally positive vibes ever since his debut. In July 2023, Enho lost 9 consecutive matches, then pulled out due to a severe spinal cord injury. That probably would have been the end of his successful career, except for the fact that that basho was his 29th as a Sekitori. And to stay with the JSA as an oyakata, or teacher, he needed 30. So, after three years, Enho is back to get that last basho. He has had a very positive outlook on the last three years, saying the years of recuperation taught him a valuable lesson, et cetera. He will definitely be a great asset to any rikishi he ends up coaching; very few rikishi have the experience of going down so far and coming back up (ex- Terunofuji and current Maegashira Ura and Asanoyama come to mind) and I think that’s a valuable experience. I love Enho, and I am so, so excited for him to be up, but now I’ve spent more time talking about him than the Yokozuna, so who else is in Juryo?

Onokatsu is pretty badly hurt, but he should hopefully be in better shape and able to claw his way past Ryuden and into Makuuchi again. I’ve been hoping for Daiseizan to get up to Makuuchi for a long time now, and at J1W, this is a good chance. Takerufuji is pretending to be in good shape again, so maybe he’ll be yusho-worthy. I really, really love Asasuiryu and I want him to join Asakoryu in Makuuchi, so maybe he can lock in. Kazuma is going to get to Makuuchi eventually, but I’m not sure it’ll be now. Toshinofuji had an excellent debut and will probably be a competitor again. Midorifuji is coming back from his apparently drinking-induced heart failure, so that’s great, but he’s usually a strong mid-Maegashira and will probably give the Juryo guys trouble. Okaryu‘s exciting debut is being a little bit overshadowed by Enho’s return, but I really like him and I’m excited for his first bout.

Let’s start the top division with Hoshoryu. I say this every time, but this young man does not deserve the hate that he gets. Discounting his injury and 10-day kyujo in July, he has an average of 11.6 wins per his last 6 basho. In case the math isn’t mathing: that’s really, really good. His 11-4 jun yusho last time was definitely not the result he wanted, but considering he’s still having some injury trouble, 11-4 is a very good result. Hoshoryu is a fantastic rikishi, but Kirishima is also fantastic and was simply in better form with more to fight for. So last basho didn’t go the way he wanted. John Gunning, I think, phrased Hoshoryu’s issue very well; it isn’t that he’s bad at fighting sanyaku, it’s that he often loses in the early days and then doesn’t have the wiggle room that other sanyaku competitors do in the last few days, so if he loses to Aonishiki or Onosato, he falls behind them because he lost to Daieisho or Fujinokawa earlier. Hoshoryu has said that he doesn’t go into the basho at full force, and if that’s true, I think that’s why he doesn’t win yusho. But he is great, and I want a Hoshoryusho.

Onosato was, again, at the center of every pre-basho discussion, even if it wasn’t clear if he’d be in the basho. I waited basically until the last minute for his taking part in the basho ti be confirmed, and as I suspected, it was confirmed that he will not be there, at least for the first two days. Taking Onosato out of the equation definitely brings up the odds of a Hoshoryusho, and you all know I’m rooting for that, but I do feel for Big O a little bit. Can’t be easy to be so good and then suddenly so bad.

Kotozakura is back at Ozeki East, this time with two other Ozeki by his side. Zaku managed to go 10-5 in Haru, an unexciting score for most, but a rare two digits for him. I doubt this means he’s in the form of his life, but it was a pleasant surprise, and I’m happy for him. As usual, some of his losses were losses that maybe shouldn’t have happened, but most of his opponents were strong. He also beat both Hoshoryu and Kirishima, which is extremely impressive considering the form they were in. So, not an altogether terrible result.

We have a rare situation where our kadoban Ozeki is not actually the lowest-ranked, due to the newly promoted Kirishima taking that honor. Kirishima will have to step up and take his duties, though, because Aonishiki, like Onosato, will not be in attendance, at least in the first two days. He seems to be nursing a toe injury from last basho on top of an ankle injury on Thursday against Wakamotoharu in training, which seems to have taken him out of the basho, since up until today his stablemaster said he intedned to compete. This is obviously a huge setback for the Ukrainian, even if he somehow manages to come back and get 8 wins to avoid being demoted, which I doubt is going to happen. I wish him, and Onosato, much luck and love in their recoveries.

Kirishima is back to being a yusho threat and, just maybe, a long-term Yokozuna threat. He won the yusho last time around, taking home his third Emperor’s Cup and his ninth special prize. Back problems took him out of a section of the jungyo and he nominated Ura as his replacement, but I think he’s in pretty good form otherwise. It’s undeniable that he’s a very good rikishi when he’s in excellent form, but can he make it two in a row? He, along with Kinbozan, Oshoma, Hoshoryu, Roga, and Asahakuryu, have been doing loads of press at the French Embassy, since this is the last honbasho before the Paris tour. Why they decided to send a bunch of Mongolians, plus Russian Roga and Kazakh Kinbozan, to advertise sumo, I don’t know. But they looked very happy (except for Asahakuryu, who looks bemused), and they made that woman look very, very small.

I am delighted to announce that at Sekiwake East, the brink of Ozeki, we have Atamifuji. It seems that 2026 is the round man’s year, with a special prize, a jun-yusho, and a san’yaku debut. I’ve read some talk about Atamifuji being the next Ozeki, which I think is possible, but for him to get it this time, he’d have to get at least 12 wins, probably with a yusho on top of that. I do not think that is likely. In the future, however, Atamifuji may well be a huge threat, and maybe specifically to the Ozeki rank in the future. I have a lot of faith in the young man, but he has continued to surprise even me with great performances. Hopefully he keeps that going amidst his scandal-filled heya, though he has had tons of positive things to say about his relationship with ex-Terunofuji.

I’m less delighted and more confused to announce that Kotoshoho is at Sekiwake West. It is his highest rank ever (and his san’yaku debut, which is a little rare but not crazy, since he went 11-4 last time. However, that was from M5. The math really isn’t mathing). He often has weirdly explosive streaks and a bunch of bad basho, but Kotoshoho has, like Atamifuji, had a great year so far. And of course, there was that July yusho… situation. Do I think that he can replicate that? I certainly hope not, for the sake of our san’yaku rikishi. But he has more than proven himself to be a capable rikishi when he’s in good form, so maybe if he’s in good form again, he can… do Kotoshoho things. I think Murray Johnson on NHK did a beautiful job of describing him: “He’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get.” That’s about right. And I kind of hope we get the one where you think it’s a nice milk chocolate, and then you bite into it and realize far too late that it’s coconut.

Our Komusubi are basically the two rikishi I would say actually belong at this rank, though they both take sojourns up and down: Wakatakakage and Takayasu. Hilariously, at least to me, Takayasu has literally been bouncing back and forth between Sekiwake and Komusubi at 7-8 and 8-7 since last September, and following a 7-8, he’s now back at Komusubi. He always makes those 7 to 8 wins exciting, though! Wakatakakage had a challenging bout with Abi on Day 13 that ended with him clutching his elbow and pulling out the next day in a kyujo-riddled basho. He pulled out of the jungyo due to injuries stated to his tricep and elbow. However, he did get his 8 wins before that, so he’s back up at Komusubi. I wish luck and health to both of these injury-prone men.

Fujinokawa and Takanosho are the first Maegashira, and also unlikely at that. I hold a very deep love and regard for Fujinokawa’s sumo, but like Atamifuji, he’s been surprising me by how good he is. Last basho, he beat the Yokozuna and got a gino-sho for his efforts, which were considerable considering he ended up with an 8-7. He is just barely 21 but is a force to be reckoned with. He had a very badass interview (and he is a badass, so it wasn’t very surprising, but it was still a great interview) where he basically said, “Yeah, my neck is really messed up, but I’m not letting that get in the way of my tachiai.” He’s got the Daieisho mentality. But if he’s actually having spine issues, he needs to be careful. Takanosho is very similar to Kotoshoho, except more babyish, with a fascinating rise from M4 to M1 with a fascinating 9-6 last time around. That wasn’t a very crazy rise compared to the jumps some others (*cough* Chiyoshoma *cough*) had, but it might be a little kinder than necessary.

Maegashira 2 is much more exciting, with two exciting and fun rikishi opposite each other for the first time: Yoshinofuji and Ichiyamamoto. Yoshinofuji had his first career makekoshi last tournament, as did Onosato, Aonishiki, and Fujiryoga (the only 4 Makuuchi wrestlers who had not had one before then, I believe), with a bit of a letdown and a 7-8 record. He technically beat Onosato, who was kyujo, and Aonishiki, who was injured, but lost to most of san’yaku in a rough tournament at M1. Ichi had a textbook Ichi tournament, down a little too low after a terrible performance in January, and performed well enough to get back up to M2. I don’t expect fireworks from either of these rikishi, but I like them and they’ve shown that they can give a consistent good performance.

Hiradoumi and Oho are our M3s, not an altogether very exciting or surprising pair of rikishi. Both of these men remain at the same ranks as last tournament after suffering a pair of 7-8 records against top opponents. Hiradoumi is a little rikishi who just celebrated his 26th birthday, the same age as Oho. I don’t see Hiradoumi going much farther up than this, but I do hope he enjoys his stay. I always want a little more from Oho and rarely see him get there; I keep expecting him to have some sort of breakout moment, but he never does. He is consistent, but not great, and so he will loiter at M3.

We close off the joi-jin with Daieisho and Gonoyama. Gonoyama rose from M10 to M4 with 10 wins, which was a fascinating decision, and Daieisho, like Hiradoumi and Oho, enjoyed a stay at the exact same rank with a 7-8 record last time. Gonoyama has been in the top division for under 3 years, but it feels like we’ve had him forever, and he is usually a pleasure to watch on the dohyo. Daieisho is not enjoying his long recuperation from his injury and seems to be having a little difficulty getting back up to his typical rank of Sekiwake, but M4 is not a bad place to be. Good luck to them both.

Wakamotoharu and Shodai sit just outside the joi-jin, sipping cups of tea and ruminating on the days of their youth. To be fair, Wakamotoharu’s were more recently. He is coming off of a relatively polite drop from Komusubi after a terrible 3-12 basho in March; I think he is one of the rikishi who consistently complains about allergies, but he might have just had an off basho. He has had historically great spring basho, so I doubt it’s a seasonal issue. Shodai had a large bump from M8 to M5 with 8 wins, which is generous, but as it’s Shodai, I’m fine with it. There were a lot of people catapulted up to take the spots of the guys who were in the joi last time, who–with all due respect–didn’t do so hot.

Churanoumi, Fujiseiun, Chiyoshoma, and Asakoryu make up the next four ranks, with Chu coming off a terrible March at a career high rank and looking to have a better showing this time around. Fujiseiun has been such a nonentity to me for such a long time that even now, I’m having trouble picturing his future. He’s a little past his prime but had a very promising debut last basho from the very high M13, and is now at the very high M6. He surprised me last time and I want to ask for the same this time, but I’m not sure I’ll get it. Chiyoshoma had a ridiculous leap from M14 to M7 with 10 wins last basho. Ridiculous.

Moving on to slightly sadder topics, I learned that Asakoryu’s mom very sadly died before the last basho and that he wants to attribute his kachikoshi to her and to his little brother in Juryo, Asasuiryu. Obviously, he’s going through it, but he performed very well last time and is at a good rank for him, I think. Good luck to him. Also, congrats to Churanoumi on his recent birthday. Here is a delightful picture of him and his bestest friend.

Oshoma, Asahakuryu, Abi, and Nishikifuji are a relatively unexciting group of rikishi. At 29, Oshoma has found his home sweet home in the mid-Maegashira ranks after a brief visit to san’yaku in July. Asahakuryu has shown himself to be not great, but very dependable, and is at a career high rank after a huge bump up from M16. I think he can handle it, but a guy like him is going to stop having solid-to-good basho eventually. Abi is having some injury troubles and was experiencing difficulty with low Maegashira, but from this rank, I expect a kachi-koshi from him, unless his injuries are worse than they seem. Nishikifuji had a very awkward basho after he was in some way involved in the Terunofuji scandal, but it doesn’t seem that he was really a part of it. It was a very confusing article. But anyway, he did well with a 9-6 record last time around.

My personal ranks-to-watch of this basho are M10-11, consisting of three heavily injured men feat. Kinbozan. Asanoyama, Hakunofuji, Ura, and K-Bo are all used to being a little higher up the banzuke, though for Asanoyama and Ura, they were used to it before their almost-career-ending knee injuries as well. Many people, like me, expected Asanoyama to return to Makuuchi explosively, which he decisively did not; however, he wasn’t bad per se, with a 9-6 and 8-7 in his last two basho. Hakunofuji is clearly very hurt, though which of his injuries is the biggest problem so far has been very unclear. I believe he’s plagued by injuries in the shoulder, some sort of bizarre left foot/toe thing, and an old knee problem. But other than that, he’s great. Ura has been having some really rough times lately, I’m not going to lie. At 33, he is not getting any younger, but I frankly can’t see him retiring either. I really don’t know how his career is going in the future, but I know I’ll support it til the end. Kinbozan and Ura took a visit to a Paris Saint Germain popup or something in Tokyo, which yielded this lovely picture of them holding up jerseys and this even lovelier picture of Ura being transported into a 2000s science fiction movie to try out this interesting chair. I quite enjoy his facial expression, somewhere between confusion, serenity, and fear.

Besides randomly putting in a lot of PR hours for the JSA, Kinbozan has had a surprisingly good jungyo following a pretty good basho last time around. Good luck to both of these divas (and Churanoumi) in completing the Kise trio and hopefully finishing with positive records. I found a theory somewhere that Kinbozan’s skin is in good condition when he has a kachi-koshi and bad condition when he has a make-koshi, and his skin looks good in the photo above, so maybe it’s a good omen.

Shishi, Tokihayate, Kotoeiho, and Tamawashi are our M12-13. Shishi had a nice interview again where he talked about his sumo and Ukraine a bit, and got a litlte bit of backlash about saying almost kind of slightly abrasive things about Aonishiki. Basically, that he respects Aonishiki but wants people to stop asking him to fight like him, which I think is fair both in terms of acknowledging Shishi as a good rikishi, and in terms of that’s not the physique that he has. I do see his point that the comparisons are probably annoying, but also, like, Aonishiki’s kinda badass. For some reason, I have a Tokihayate custom postcard, along with Ura and Aonishiki. I have never been a big Tokihayate fan, so I’m really not sure how that came into my posession.

Kotoeiho, I’m excited to watch. There was a very lovely interview with him on NHK where he talked about his promotion being alongside Fujinokawa and Aonishiki and said that they were fighting top rankers while he was getting his makekoshi, which was a little sad, actually, but put in perspective for me that a) Aonishiki and Fujinokawa haven’t actually been in the top division that long and b) Kotoeiho is very young. He also had the exciting revelation of saying that his brilliant shiko stomping (shown below) was inspired by watching Abi’s when he was younger. Tamawashi has been having some injury trouble as well as, obviously, being 41 years old. So that’s crazy. I can’t say he hasn’t been showing his age, but I don’t think retirement is that close unless he gets a serious makekoshi.

Mitakeumi, Roga, Tobizaru, and Oshoumi are two old guards and two new guards clinging onto the bottom now. Mitakeumi broke his 7-8 streak last basho with a nice, refreshing 8-7 burst of power. He has had a difficult personal life in the last few years, losing both of his parents, his grandfather, and his stablemaster, and it was very fulfilling to see him with a positive record for the first time since losing his mom. Much love to him. Roga had a rough go of it last time but should be okay from this rank; the same pretty much applies to the Flying Monkey, though he is clearly getting up in the years and also struggling with some injury problems. Oshoumi seems to be having a little difficulty finding his feet in Makuuchi, though in his defense, that’s neither unexpected nor unfair. He had an unnecessarily large demotion from M11 with a 5-10, so hopefully this will be an easier one for him.

Wakanosho, Ryuden, and Fujiryoga are three rikishi I’m excited to watch for three different reasons. I haven’t seen much debut content from Wakanosho, which is upsetting for me mostly because I want to see him with his stablemaster. However, there was this charming picture, and apparently he spent a lot of time training with Kirishima. I think Wakanosho will be very good and I’m excited to see what he can do. Ryuden is a fun dude to watch, though not so fun off the dohyo; I just want him to go down so that my boys in Juryo can come up, but I want to see what he does. Fujiryoga, though I hate to say it, has been a disappointment, and I want to see sparks from him this time around. Makuuchi has not been kind to him, but he needs to take that unkindness and turn it into a better tachiai. Said with love. And I do love him, and I hope he does well!

Honestly, I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen in Makuuchi. Onosato and Aonishiki’s kyujo obviously changes the scene for the basho. The obvious choices for a yusho are the Mongolian rivals (and bros), Hoshoryu and Kirishima. But then again, there’s a pair of new Sekiwake, and in this basho and this world, I could see Atamifuji running away with it. Or we could see a young Maegashira mixing it up, like Wakanosho, Yoshinofuji, or Fujinokawa. Or a veteran, like Mitakeumi, Shodai, or an Onami. The point is, it could really be anybody. It could even be Ura. My bet would be either Hoshoryu or Atamifuji. But that’s also what I want, so maybe it’s more of that.