No. 4 maegashira Takanosho survived a battle against another title contender to improve to 10-2 and retain the sole lead after 12 days of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Thursday.
Three wrestlers, including yokozuna Terunofuji, remain one win back with three days remaining at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Takanosho avoided a trap to shove out No. 15 Ichiyamamoto (8-4). After the two collided, Ichiyamamoto took a step back and tried to pull down the former sekiwake, but failed.