As the long hot summer descends on Japan, and the people of Nagoya prepare for the annual visit of the Japanese Sumo Association, this year's basho, like that held last year, looks like being make-or-break basho for at least one rikishi in terms of reaching a career high.
Last year it was Kotooshu who was trying to add to his championship victory in May, 2008, and by doing so, being able to secure promotion to the rank of yokozuna — the highest in the sport.
This year we see Harumafuji, an ozeki like Kotooshu, for whom this year's visit to the central Japanese city carries more significance than ever before, as he attempts to reach the pinnacle that only 69 other men have succeed in doing over the past two and a half centuries of organized sumo.