Kisenosato set to profit from Hakuho's absence at Autumn Basho
Early on Thursday, it was announced that yokozuna Hakuho had decided to skip the upcoming Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo due to injury. According to reports from his stable, the most successful man in sumo now or in any era since sumo was organized ...
Won't be long before Kisenosato wins coveted title
When he won his eighth Emperor's Cup on Sunday afternoon, in the eyes of many, yokozuna Harumafuji also guaranteed that ozeki Kisenosato would forever remain in the sport's second rank, never to win the coveted Emperor's Cup. Not so, say I — at least in ...
YouTube poses unique challenges for Japan Sumo Association
Every few days, year-round, I receive emails from foreign visitors to Japan asking just how to gain access to morning training sessions at one of the sport's (current) 44 stables. Most mails are routine from individuals, couples, small families looking to see a unique aspect ...
Consistent Kisenosato needs title to secure promotion to yokozuna
Few involved in the world of sumo, as fans or as part of the inner workings of the sport would or could ever claim that Kisenosato has been anything other than the most consistent ozeki in recent memory. In 20 of 27 tournaments at rank ...
May tournament has history of delivering memorable results
There is something uplifting, even magical at times about the Natsu Basho each May. The weather has more often than not started to get warmer; the days a little longer too. Most of the rikishi have been out on the road pressing the flesh, and entertaining ...
Hakuho's best days are behind him
The time has come for yokozuna Hakuho to look in the mirror, recognize the person looking back at him as head and shoulders above all others the greatest sumo wrestler that has ever lived, but to then accept that it is now time to ...
Kotoshogiku faces uphill battle to maintain winning form
Every four years just before the Olympic Games begin, the Japanese broadcast, online and print media announce with the confidence bordering on arrogance just how many gold medals the nation's athletes are "expected" to win. The figure is always given as the "minimum expected." Rarely ...
Fortune smiled on Kotoshogiku during surprise run to Emperor's Cup
If, on Jan. 10, the first day of the 2016 Hatsu Basho, the 11,000 sell-out crowd at the Ryogoku Kokugikan had been asked who they thought would be standing atop the dohyo two weeks later to collect the Emperor’s Cup, few, if any, would ...
After Hakuho exceeded all expectations, can Mitakeumi or Homarenishiki become the next superstar?
When former ozeki Tochiazuma was presented with the Emperor's Cup on Jan. 22, 2006, few in the sport could have predicted that Tochiazuma's third and final championship victory would be the last to be awarded to a Japan-born rikishi for the next decade. And Sumo ...
Kitanoumi’s death overshadows Harumafuji’s triumph
On Sunday, when yokozuna Harumafuji was presented with the Emperor's Cup for the seventh time, the world of sumo was still reeling from the news that Sumo Association Chairman Kitanoumi had died 48 hours earlier from complications related to rectal cancer aged only 62. As ...
Kakuryu needs titles to elevate place in sumo's pecking order
If for nothing else, the upcoming Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka's Kokusai Center may well be remembered as the tourney in which Mongolian yokozuna Kakuryu was finally able to call himself the "best of the best" — at least for one basho. Having taken ...
Kakuryu leaves questions unanswered after Autumn Basho triumph
In recent years, the Sumo Association has bent over backward looking to put bums on seats at the six tournaments held annually. In large part it has succeeded, particularly so in Tokyo, with the past few tournaments seeing more full-house announcements than at any other ...
