Asashosakari

Daily Sports was first to publish the intai list this time; only 7 names are on it. Taiga (Arashio) Saidaiji (Ikazuchi) Shinhakuho (Isegahama) Kawabuchi (Shikoroyama) Goshimaru (Musashigawa) Chiyohokkai (Kokonoe) Tappa (Otake)

New: Miyagi, now Miyanokaze 宮乃風 みやのかぜ - Ms1e 4-3, Nakamura-beya, Okinawa, 26 years old Mudoho - Ms3w 4-3, Otake-beya, Tokyo, 23 years old Mita - Ms4w 5-2, Futagoyama-beya, Tochigi, 23 years old Returning: Daiamami - Ms2e 4-3, Oitekaze-beya, Kagoshima, 32 years old, 2nd promotion, back after one basho former maegashira

Yusho Races Round 6 (Day 11) Jk7w Chiyotenfu (5-0) (4-1) Amamidake Jd98w Jd67e Hienriki (5-0) Kaihiryu Jd87w Jd32e Okinohama (5-0) Niiya Jd47e Jd4e Daikisho (5-0) Sakai Jd21w Sd67w Gohakuun (5-0) Asagyokusei Sd33w Sd59w Uzumasa (5-0) Asanoyama Sd21w Ms39e Kawazoe (5-0) Fukuzaki Ms60TD Ms28e Oshoryu (5-0) Akua Ms6w Yusho Races Round 7 (Day 13) Jd98e Asasakurai (5-1) (6-0) Chiyotenfu Jk7w [kimarite: tsukitaoshi] Jd59e Soga (5-1) (6-0) Hienriki Jd67e Jd4e Daikisho (6-0) Okinohama Jd32e Sd33w Asagyokusei (6-0) (5-1) Daishoryu Sd6w Sd1e Chiyooga (5-1) (6-0) Asanoyama Sd21w Ms28e Oshoryu (6-0) Kawazoe Ms39e

Their site had entirely reverted to January data including tournament results etc. for a few hours for some reason.

Day 10 - Results new KK: Tochimusashi new MK: Takakento, Dairaido No less than six head-to-heads featured on the Day 9/10 torikumi, including nearly all our sandanme-ranked rikishi being paired up. Two of those were part of the yusho race and saw Takasago duo Asanoyama and Asagyokusei move on to 5-0 at Yago and Chiyosakae's expense. Chiyonoo prevailed over Asanowaka in yet another bout that involved a former sekitori from Takasago-beya. One division up we saw the end of Takakento's quest to return to the paid ranks with a string of kachikoshi records; Kaisho sent him to MK for the first time in six tournaments. Tochimusashi, also five honbasho into a comeback from injury, produced the round's only new KK to push for a spot in next basho's promotion zone. Three ranks up and just outside the top 5, Kotokuzan continued to alternate wins and losses (this time winning against Daishoho) and his 3-2 record affords him two chances to get back as well. The final ex-sekitori clash of the round saw the winless match-up of Tsushimanada and current top 5'er Tenshoho, won by the former. Tenshoho's two compatriots in the promotion zone are having wildly different tournaments to this point; they're both 2-3 now, but Daiamami has gone there from 0-3 and Tochimaru from 2-0. The sandanme division yusho race wasn't the only one with represensation by our list. Two out of three undefeated makushita ex-sekitori marched on with Akua and Kawazoe, while Enho will be falling short of a zensho record in his fifth comeback basho as well. Still more than half the list has yet to decide their KK/MK fate for the basho; round 6 opens with six 3-2's and ten 2-3's. Dairaido is not one of them after dropping to 1-4 and he's now veering dangerously close to a demotion to jonidan. Rank Shikona Heya Record Haru 2025 Results Ms2e Daiamami Oitekaze 2-3 X – X – X – O – O – Ms2w Tochimaru Kasugano 2-3 – O O – X X – – X – Ms3e Shimazuumi Hanaregoma kyujo – – – – – – – – – – Ms5e Bushozan Fujishima kyujo – – – – – – – – – – Ms5w Tenshoho Isegahama 0-5 – X – X X – X – X – Ms6e Kotokuzan Arashio 3-2 – O X – – O – X O – Ms6w Akua Tatsunami 5-0 O – O – O – O – O – Ms7e Takakento Tokiwayama 1-4 X – – O – X X – – X Ms7w Daishoho Oitekaze 2-3 O – – X X – – O X – Ms8w Kaisho Asakayama 2-3 X – X – – X – O – O Ms9w Tochimusashi Kasugano 4-1 – O – O X – – O – O Ms11e Kitaharima Yamahibiki 2-3 X – O – – X O – – X Ms14e Tsushimanada Sakaigawa 1-2-2 – – – – – X – X O – Ms15e Asashiyu Takasago 2-3 – X X – – O – X O – Ms16e Chiyomaru Kokonoe 3-2 O – – X – O X – – O Ms27w Yuma Onomatsu 2-3 X – O – – X X – – O Ms30w Enho Isegahama 4-1 – O – O O – O – X – Ms39e Kawazoe Isegahama 5-0 – O – O O – O – O – Ms41e Nionoumi Yamahibiki 2-3 – X O – X – X – O – Ms43w Daishomaru Oitekaze 3-2 – O – O – O X – X – Ms46e Fujiazuma Tamanoi 2-3 O – – X – O X – – X Sd10w Asanowaka Takasago 2-3 – O – O X – – X X – Sd12e Chiyonoo Kokonoe 3-2 – X X – – O – O O – Sd12w Yago Oshiogawa 4-1 – O – O O – O – X – Sd21w Asanoyama Takasago 5-0 O – – O O – – O O – Sd29w Chiyosakae Kokonoe 4-1 – O – O – O O – X – Sd33w Asagyokusei Takasago 5-0 – O O – – O – O O – Sd52e Dairaido Takadagawa 1-4 X – X – O – X – – X Sd65e Amakaze Oshiogawa 3-2 – O – X – O X – – O Jd64w Yoshiazuma Tamanoi 3-2 O – O – O – – X X –

Yeah, the respective record holders before Onosato were Sadanoyama (2 yusho in 8 basho) and Taiho (3 yusho in 11 basho). In the 6-basho era anyway; in the entire yusho era since 1909 there's also Tochigiyama who won in his 6th, 7th and 8th makuuchi tournament, but obviously more than three years had passed since his top division debut.

0-win/0-loss fix for the Haru results, please.

The Yamane projection looks like it was based on when sandanme was still larger. No way he drops only 23 ranks on a 1-6.

Onosato is the 8th rikishi to win 3 makuuchi yusho in a span of 6 tournaments without being yokozuna for any of them, and the 4th to not become yokozuna directly after the third (in bold). Tamanishiki - three consecutive yusho as ozeki from October 1930 to March 1931; not promoted for mostly political reasons disguised as "concerns about his character" (at the time; became yokozuna in 1933) Futabayama - three consecutive yusho from May 1936 to May 1937; first one as sekiwake and the others as ozeki, promoted to yokozuna afterwards Chiyonoyama - three yusho as ozeki from October 1949 to May 1951 (basho 1/2/6); first two consecutive without promotion to yokozuna due to misgivings about his (for the era) young age of 23, promoted after the third yusho Taiho - three yusho from November 1960 to September 1961 (basho 1/5/6); first one as sekiwake and the others as ozeki, promoted to yokozuna afterwards Akebono - three yusho from May 1992 to January 1993 (basho 1/4/5); first one as sekiwake and the others as ozeki, promoted to yokozuna afterwards Takanohana - four yusho as ozeki from January 1994 to November 1994 (basho 1/3/5/6); finally promoted to yokozuna after the fourth (which was his career 7th) Terunofuji - three yusho from July 2020 to May 2021 (basho 1/5/6); was M17e, sekiwake and ozeki for them; promoted to yokozuna one basho later after 14-1 J Onosato - three yusho from May 2024 to March 2025 (basho 1/3/6); was komusubi, sekiwake and ozeki for them For those wondering: Expanding beyond 6 basho adds Tochinishiki (1/6/7, promoted), Hakuho (1/6/7, promoted), Shimizugawa (1/4/8, never yokozuna), Kaio (1/6/8, never yokozuna), Harumafuji (1/7/8, promoted), Wakanohana (1/8/9, promoted), and Musashimaru (1/8/9, promoted).

Too-early attempt at the makushita-joi: Hokutofuji (J8e 3-12) Ms1 Akua (Ms6w 6-1) Kitanowaka (J2w 0-0-15) Ms2 Oshoryu (Ms28e 7-0 Y) Otsuji (J14e 5-10) Ms3 Dewanoryu (Ms10e 6-1) Kotokuzan (Ms6e 4-3) Ms4 Ishizaki (Ms1w 3-4) Kyokukaiyu (Ms9e 5-2) Ms5 Tochimusashi (Ms9w 5-2) Daishoho (Ms7w 4-3) Ms6 Very crowded, unless we do get a sekitori retirement. Ms1 3-4 getting punted out of the top 5 ranks hasn't happened since 2011, but Ms7 4-3 not getting in also hasn't happened since 2017. (And Ms9 5-2 not getting in has happened exactly never.) Dropping Otsuji straight past Ms5 doesn't look like an option - at least it's my impression that any 5-10 is treated as superior to any 3-4 these days, so he should have the inside track at least on Ishizaki.

I have to wonder if there's some sort of game of chicken going on behind the scenes right now...should, say, Mitakeumi decide to retire, Hokutofuji might survive in juryo making a retirement of his own unnecessary (assuming he's even considering it, of course). I'm kinda bummed that Otsuji didn't beat Mita. Not because I have anything against the latter, but I really would have liked to see that J14e 6-9 vs Ms4w 4-3 decision play out. Now it's another basho without any useful data points for or against the hypothesis - unless Mitakeumi does retire and we get to see how they decide Hokutofuji vs Akua. (But maybe I'm getting completely ahead of myself here and they throw a curveball like not exchanging Kitanowaka and Mudoho... Incidentally, if both Kitanowaka and Hokutofuji have to go, Hakkaku-beya will be without sekitori for the first time since Haru 1997.)

5-5-5 records have occurred 15 times in the history of 15-day tournaments since 1949. Astonishingly, no less than 8 of them were produced by yokozuna: Rikishi 1 > Date Rank Record Tochinishiki 1956.05 Y1w 5-5-5 Takimiyama 1959.07 J12w 5-5-5 Sadanoyama 1966.03 Y1w 5-5-5 Onokuni 1988.01 Y2wHD 5-5-5 Kototsubaki 1992.07 M3w 5-5-5 Wakanohana 1999.03 Y1e 5-5-5 Asashoryu 2003.07 Y1e 5-5-5 Takamisakari 2007.11 M8w 5-5-5 Asashoryu 2008.09 Y1w 5-5-5 Tokitenku 2010.01 M8e 5-5-5 Kyokushuho 2013.05 M12w 5-5-5 Endo 2021.03 M5e 5-5-5 Terunofuji 2022.09 Y1e 5-5-5 Chiyoshoma 2024.07 M15e 5-5-5 Hoshoryu 2025.03 Y1e 5-5-5

We've just observed the first time since Kyushu 2002 - Haru 2003 that three consecutive yusho have been won by ozeki. With three different ozeki it last happened Kyushu 1997 - Haru 1998.

Groundhog Day!

I just came across this again. Further evidence on video that matches 1 and 3 should have their sides reversed: