Daily Review
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Haru 2026: Day Three
Abi joined the growing list of kyujo today, though it seems like he’ll be returning after taking some time off to rest. He might need a few more wins to stay in the top divison, which I suspect he’s aware of, so we might be seeing a return from him soon. Rest up, Abi. Oshoma
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Haru 2026: Day Two
These guys are sensible, with the exception of Onosato, who looks decisively unhealthy. But, to my relief, neither Hakunofuji nor Onokatsu showed up at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium this morning. Their injury reports have not been released, but Onokatsu was obviously having trouble standing up yesterday, and Hakunofuji’s old injuries seem to be plaguing him
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Haru 2026: SHONICHI
As predicted, the only kyujo announcement heading into the March basho was Maegashira 15 Midorifuji. Obviously, something is wrong with his heart, which is very worrying. He got to Osaka for the banzuke announcement but had trouble sleeping and consulted a doctor, where he discovered (according to Japanese press) that fluid had built up in
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Hatsu 2026: SENSHURAKU
This is the first time in a while I’ve been actively nervous heading into the final day. There was definitely the usual mix of sadness and excitement, but man, I was actually scared for my boys in the yusho race. That said… let’s get into it. MATCH OF THE DAY: It could be no other
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Hatsu 2026: Day Fourteen
Loooooooooong post today. MATCH OF THE DAY: Asakoryu and Fujinokawa are two fun-sized rikishi, being small, crazy, exciting, and most of all, ripped. These two just bring their all to the dohyo every day and they’ve both had pretty good tournaments, which makes me very happy. I feel that Asakoryu was looking for a tsuppari
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Hatsu 2026: Day Thirteen
Not too surprisingly, but sadly, Hakunofuji announced his kyujo today. He says it’s a big toe injury, though it sure looks like a knee problem… either way, good luck with your recovery, big boy. Onokatsu got the default win for the second day in a row. Smooth sailing! MATCH OF THE DAY: Ryuden and Chiyoshoma
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Hatsu 2026: Day Twelve
Takakeisho made an appearance on the Abema broadcast; I rarely say this, but he looks lovely. He’s lost so much weight! In less adorable news, Nishikifuji is out with both some arthiritis in his elbow and neck problems, possibly a herniated disc. Eugh. You take care of yourself, buddy. He was doing pretty well so
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Hatsu 2026: Day Eleven
Terunofuji was commenting on Abema. His name is Isegahama now… for some of the stablemasters, I remember their elder names, but not him. It was nice to see the Kaiju right before his danpatsu-shiki. He hasn’t lost as much weight as I thought he would, but he probably needs it to be scary so he
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Hatsu 2026: Day Ten
Tochitaikai down in Juryo has earned the first sekitori kyujo of this tournament. He seems to have torn his MCL, which is… really rough. Good luck with that recovery, buddy. MATCH OF THE DAY: This one kind of pissed me off: Shishi vs Fujinokawa, who were both at 2 wins heading into this match. I
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Hatsu 2026: Day Nine
MATCH OF THE DAY: Tamawashi is always a joy to watch, and it’s clear that crowd loves their Iron Man. I think he got the loudest cheers we’ve heard this whole basho for his close match with Oshoma today. They went back and forth and it looked like Oshoma was going to win, but Tamawashi
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Hatsu 2026: NAKABI
I made the possibly terrible decision to get up at 12:40 am today and log onto the Sumo Mainichi livestream to watch Juryo, the second-highest division, in real time. MATCH OF THE DAY: Midorifuji has really been showing his stamina and had another bout on the long side today, though far less so than yesterday’s.
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Hatsu 2026: Day Seven
It is now the one-year anniversary of the retirement of Dai-Yokozuna Terunofuji. Thanks for the memories, big guy… much smaller guy now. His danpatsu-shiki will be on January 31, and he’ll probably start truly losing weight soon after. Luck & love to Kaiju as he begins his oyakata career in earnest. MATCH OF THE DAY:
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Hatsu 2026: Day Six
I almost missed this in my rush to get my post done today, but ex-Makuuchi Daiamami has retired. Daiamami was very large, very sweet, and very babyish, so I was quite fond of him, but I must say, his career had been on a downward spiral for a little bit. I think it’s good for
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Hatsu 2026: Day Five
Apologies for the very late, very brief post; January is the busiest time of the year and I had to skim the Abema highlights instead of NHK today, as I will tomorrow as well. But I’m holding out hope for a free Saturday! MATCH OF THE DAY: Oshoumi vs Shishi and Midorifuji vs Asakoryu were
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Hatsu 2026: Day Four
MATCH OF THE DAY: It’s always fun when the low Maegashira have a fun match, and I must say, Oshoumi made a great start to the day today. He took to the dohyo opposite old veteran Ryuden. Ryuden had a much better tachiai and almost, almost forced Oshoumi over the tawara, but just couldn’t get