Daily Review
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Haru 2026: NAKABI
MATCH OF THE DAY: I have to make an exception. If anyone is just getting into sumo now, look no further than Kirishima vs Takayasu. They tried everything; tsuppari, disconnected pushes, locking up, but neither came out on top. They both looked weary and each went for a throw, but Kirishima remembered his dreams of Ozeki
-
Haru 2026: Day Seven
Hakunofuji made his return today and powered out a stunned and injured Onokatsu. He simply cannot be here. Onokatsu limped down the hanamichi and Hakunofuji staggered off the dohyo in a great demonstration of what it means to be injured. Onokatsu, you need to go home now. Go rest. Juryo isn’t… well, Juryo is good,
-
Haru 2026: Day Six
Hakunofuji will be back tomorrow, but no one else has pulled out or returned today. Juryo has released a collective sigh of annoyance and Tomokaze will be heading up tomorrow to battle Asahakuryu. MATCH OF THE DAY: This one I thought was just kind of dumb, honestly. Kotoeiho won with what seemed like a close, but
-
Haru 2026: Day Five
No kyujo announcements, finally, though Onokatsu made his anticlimactic return. Short one today, sorry. MATCH OF THE DAY: I quite like Asahakuryu, and he had a great match against Tobizaru, popular but evidently not doing so hot. Tobizaru got a quick belt grip but Asahakuryu had other ideas. They actually both had other ideas and paraded
-
Haru 2026: Day Four
The delightful news out of the infirmary is that Yokozuna Onosato has finally decided to take a day off. Just when the Juryo visitors started to get concerned, Onokatsu announced his intention to return tomorrow. Onosato, please rest up and heal; you need it, and no one is going to blame you for staying out.
-
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
-
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
-
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