Daily Review
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Natsu 2026: NAKABI
MATCH OF THE DAY: I did not expect Sadanoumi to be so genki as he came up from Juryo to fight Wakanosho today. I also did not expect Wakanosho to be so un-genki. Sadanoumi is a long-time Makuuchi vet and 38 years old, second only to Tamawashi in seniority. The Juryo man blasted against powerful…
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Natsu 2026: Day Seven
As predicted, Asakoryu joins the growing list of kyujo. He hasn’t released the injury report and it’s unclear if he’ll be joining the rest of Makuuchi in Paris, but the assumption is a right leg injury after he staggered around post-bout yesterday. Best of luck to the young man; he hasn’t had a lot of…
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Natsu 2026: Day Six
MATCH OF THE DAY: The runner-up absolutely goes to Fujinokawa and Wakatakakage for a fantastic bout, but I wanted to cover this one because it was such a weird one. I have been delighting in the sumo of previously-unknown Fujiseiun, and today, he came up against Oshoma. Oshoma grabbed his arms and then they began…
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Natsu 2025: Day Five
MATCH OF THE DAY: Gonoyama and Shodai had a really good bout today. Both of them are experienced rikishi, though Shodai a bit more so. Gonoyama, however, took the W with a lot of Abi-zumo (by which I mean nodowa, or throat-thrusting attacks, basically). Shodai held up well at first but was eventually forced to…
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Natsu 2026: Day Four
Takayasu is out with a right thigh injury. I did sense some bad mojo from him yesterday but my mind did not go to a thigh injury. The bear’s yusho hopes are down the drain now. Now about half of sanyaku is kyujo, which is a really fun statistic for Day Four. I’m kind of…
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Natsu 2026: Day Three
MATCH OF THE DAY: Two rikishi I’m quite partial to, and probably the two least reactive rikishi in the top division, fought today: Churanoumi and Fujiseiun. By least reactive, I don’t mean their sumo; I mean their facial expressions. Churanoumi is the most neutral person on the face of the earth, and Fujiseiun is not…
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Natsu 2026: Day Two
Yokozuna Hoshoryu has announced his kyujo. I am, at the very least, very proud of him and Tatsunami-oyakata for not aggravating the injury and taking the time off when he needs it. Rest up, dear Hoshoryu. His oyakata has said that it’s most likely a muscle strain and he’ll need about two weeks of recovery,…
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Natsu 2026: SHONICHI
As we knew heading in, the May basho opened with two sekitori kyujo, Yokozuna Onosato and Ozeki Aonishiki. No surprises there, except for that one person drafted Onosato and one person drafted Aonishiki out of the roughly 50 people in one of my sumo fantasy leagues. So I guess they were astonished. MATCH OF THE…
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Haru 2026: SENSHURAKU
MATCH OF THE DAY: All right, so we’ve had our fair share of scandals. This one wasn’t an actual scandal, but it may as well have been. Poor, struggling, wounded Churanoumi took the dohyo today against Hiradoumi, who forced him up to the tawara. Churanoumi shifted aside and let Hiradoumi fall down, clearly before his foot…
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Haru 2026: Day Fourteen
Wakatakakage is kyujo with an elbow injury. Must be pretty bad if he’s not willing to risk two more bouts, but that isn’t really a surprise. Good luck and stay healthy, Waka. At least the fusen went to Daieisho, who is now 7-7. Churanoumi also looks quite hurt after his fight against Hakunofuji, maybe a…
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Haru 2026: Day Thirteen
No news from the infirmary, though both Wakatakakage and Abi staggered around in agony after their match. Great work, boys. You look soooooo healthy. Pretty short post today due to a long analysis at the end. MATCH OF THE DAY: Two excellent pusher-thrusers met today: youngstar Hakunofuji and old star Tamawashi. Despite the rude insinuations by…
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Haru 2026: Day Twelve
Short-ish one today, sorry! MATCH OF THE DAY: Ichiyamamoto hates fighting Wakatakakage, but today, he had to–and he often does, actually, considering they tend to loiter around the same rank. It seems to me that Ichi usually takes the win over his beloved idol; however, that idol put the W in Wakatakakage today. Wakatakakage’s early hatakikomi…
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Haru 2026: Day Eleven
MATCH OF THE DAY: In honor of Gonoyama being pretty low down and it being his hometown basho and it being the most climactic day of this basho… we’re going to take a look at Gonoyama-Kirishima. Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed. They had a great tachiai, but Kirishima seemed to swiftly lose the advantage. Gonoyama shoved…
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Haru 2026: Day Ten
Long post warning! But it’s Day 10 and it’s time to take a look at the lower divisions as well as Makuuchi. Warning: Makushita and Juryo spoilers ahead. So, buckle up (your mawashi) and let’s get to some sumo. MATCH OF THE DAY: Shoutout to Oho and Takayasu, but I’ll probably break my rule for not…
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Haru 2026: Day Nine
Abi is back and Onokatsu has swapped out for his infirmary bed. Onokatsu seems to be Juryo-bound and honestly, I’m just glad he pulled out when he did. Stay strong and heal up, kid. We’re rooting for you. MATCH OF THE DAY: Asakoryu and Fujiryoga always bring their 110%, and Asakoryu had his heart set on…