Octofuji

Tamawashi is looking very lonely at the top with Daieisho gone (and Meisei soon to go). The biggest faller after Aki was Kotozakura, with his kyujo at the end of the basho dropping him from 4th place to the bottom, and ending his streak at 353 bouts. Having an Ozeki in the top 4 is a first for this thread, Kotozakura's record included 9 full bashos as Ozeki (Shodai managed 12 after going kyujo in his first basho after promotion).

After Aki 2025 Name Matches Since Current rank Tamawashi 1092 2013-07 Maegashira 4 East Meisei 465 2020-09 Maegashira 18 East Shodai 435 2021-01 Maegashira 5 West Midorifuji 315 2022-05 Maegashira 9 East Oho 315 2022-05 Sekiwake 1 West Abi 270 2022-11 Maegashira 7 West Gonoyama 210 2023-07 Maegashira 13 East Atamifuji 195 2023-09 Maegashira 6 East Hiradoumi 195 2023-09 Maegashira 3 East Churanoumi 180 2023-11 Maegashira 7 East Ichiyamamoto 180 2023-11 Maegashira 8 East Onosato 165 2024-01 Yokozuna 1 East Takanosho 165 2024-01 Komusubi 1 East Oshoma 135 2024-05 Maegashira 4 West Wakamotoharu 125 2024-05 Maegashira 2 West Kirishima 120 2024-07 Maegashira 2 East Wakatakakage 120 2024-07 Maegashira 1 West Onokatsu 105 2024-09 Maegashira 6 West Takayasu 105 2024-09 Komusubi 1 West Tokihayate 90 2024-11 Maegashira 14 West Hakuoho 75 2025-01 Maegashira 1 East Kinbozan 75 2025-01 Maegashira 8 West Aonishiki 60 2025-03 Sekiwake 1 East Asakoryu 60 2025-03 Maegashira 17 West Sadanoumi 60 2025-03 Maegashira 16 West Shishi 60 2025-03 Maegashira 11 East Roga 45 2025-05 Maegashira 11 West Kotoshoho 40 2025-05 Maegashira 10 West Fujinokawa 30 2025-07 Maegashira 12 East Mitakeumi 30 2025-07 Maegashira 13 West Yoshinofuji 30 2025-07 Maegashira 5 East Daieisho 15 2025-09 Maegashira 10 East Hoshoryu 15 2025-09 Yokozuna 1 West Tobizaru 15 2025-09 Maegashira 9 West Ura 15 2025-09 Maegashira 3 West Hitoshi 15 2025-09 Juryo 1 East Nishikigi 15 2025-09 Juryo 6 West Ryuden 15 2025-09 Maegashira 14 East Shonannoumi 15 2025-09 Maegashira 15 West Tomokaze 15 2025-09 Maegashira 12 West Kotozakura 0 Ozeki 1 East Takerufuji 0 Juryo 7 East

After Nagoya 2025 (I missed this last basho, this is a catchup post) Name Matches Since Current rank Tamawashi 1077 2013-07 Maegashira 4 East Meisei 450 2020-09 Maegashira 18 East Shodai 420 2021-01 Maegashira 5 West Kotozakura 340 2021-11 Ozeki 1 East Midorifuji 300 2022-05 Maegashira 9 East Oho 300 2022-05 Sekiwake 1 West Abi 255 2022-11 Maegashira 7 West Gonoyama 195 2023-07 Maegashira 13 East Atamifuji 180 2023-09 Maegashira 6 East Hiradoumi 180 2023-09 Maegashira 3 East Churanoumi 165 2023-11 Maegashira 7 East Ichiyamamoto 165 2023-11 Maegashira 8 East Onosato 150 2024-01 Yokozuna 1 East Takanosho 150 2024-01 Komusubi 1 East Oshoma 120 2024-05 Maegashira 4 West Wakamotoharu 110 2024-05 Maegashira 2 West Kirishima 105 2024-07 Maegashira 2 East Wakatakakage 105 2024-07 Maegashira 1 West Onokatsu 90 2024-09 Maegashira 6 West Takayasu 90 2024-09 Komusubi 1 West Chiyoshoma 75 2024-11 Maegashira 17 East Tokihayate 75 2024-11 Maegashira 14 West Hakuoho 60 2025-01 Maegashira 1 East Kinbozan 60 2025-01 Maegashira 8 West Aonishiki 45 2025-03 Sekiwake 1 East Asakoryu 45 2025-03 Maegashira 17 West Sadanoumi 45 2025-03 Maegashira 16 West Shishi 45 2025-03 Maegashira 11 East Kayo 30 2025-05 Juryo 8 East Roga 30 2025-05 Maegashira 11 West Kotoshoho 25 2025-05 Maegashira 10 West Fujinokawa 15 2025-07 Maegashira 12 East Kotoeiho 15 2025-07 Juryo 2 East Mitakeumi 15 2025-07 Maegashira 13 West Yoshinofuji 15 2025-07 Maegashira 5 East Hidenoumi 8 2025-07 Juryo 9 East

It's going to be fascinating to see how he responds to being outskilled by Aonishiki four times in a row. Pulling to try and get into a better position doesn't seem to be working. Does he use his Yokozuna privilege to call him out until he learns how to beat him, like Chiyonofuji did to Konishiki? That could seriously backfire though...

I was surprised to find Chiyonofuji did the same back in 1977 https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&n_basho=6&sum_wins=50&sum_range=6&form1_rank=J&form1_month=1&form2_rank=J&form3_rank=J&form4_rank=J&form5_rank=J&form6_rank=J

Nice to see Gonoyama has a Plan A for when Plan A doesn't work out

Yes he's the only one with 3 wins. There are a few others on two wins: Wakatakakage, Kinbozan, Daieisho, and Ryuden.

That was the best moment for me today, even with all the other superb bouts. I missed the knee grab, just looked like magic to me. And still only 20 years old!

If you do a long press (on my phone at least) then you can open another page in a new tab. And you can react if you use a computer browser and change the URL from https to http. (Which is not ideal of course). These technical problems are probably contributing to fewer comments.

Revenge henka for Hoshoryu on Wakatakakage last basho?

Daieisho is also a surprise, I guess also down to injury. (Sadanoumi has always seemed fast to me, that's what I love about him).

Ah of course, thank you. I did think that was a much quicker than normal recycling of names.

It took me a long time to work out who this was! Sounds like he's happy staying if/when the stable splits. He's the fifth Yoshinofuji since the 1990s. https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&shikona=Yoshinofuji

Fair enough, "and that's all she wrote" is one of Raja's too. I was a little disappointed we didn't get any "trickeration" last week.

The Cambridge Dictionary definition of cliché is "a phrase that has very often been said or expressed before". Hiro gets accused of a lot of things but no-one can deny his unique take on the English language . I agree with you on everything else, his energy levels are amazing for someone approaching 60. His Saturday night spiel was virtually word-for-word the same as when I watched on TV on Wednesday, so his memory must be pretty good too.

The people around us didn't know much about sumo (although they did know Ura!) and absolutely loved it. Conversely there four big guys in the circle below equipped with towels etc... who looked like they might even be amateur wrestlers. They must have known what they were seeing wasn't real, but were able to get psyched up for it in the way that fans of pro wrestling do. So even if 90% of the audience were acting like it was all real, a lot of them may be playing along too. EDIT: @Koorifu I see know you have empirical evidence from a box and weren't just observing the crowd. (We snuck into a box on Saturday before the doors opened, you got an amazing view from there!)

Some sumo fans knew :) I think the risk of injury is being overstated a bit. Quite apart from the serious bouts that these guys do in training and at degeiko, I've seen moshiai at jungyos that have a lot of bite to them, and the lower rankers doing moshiai beforehand on Saturday were really going for it. But of course serious bouts will be far less of a spectacle, and I think that's the primary reason for the choreography. (As an aside, it's interesting how protective the kyokai are suddenly perceived to be when it comes to wrestlers getting injured ). All this has made me wonder about e.g. the Fuji TV tournament and whether that's equally scripted too. In which case I feel even sadder for Takayasu... All in all though, it was a fantastic night out and the Royal Albert Hall was just perfect as a venue.

Watching the BBC on Wednesday evening I was ready to tear up my tickets for tonight. In the end we did go and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cons - obviously, the staged bouts. Pros - seeing the lower rankers doing moshiai and butsukari with Shonannoumi before the start - the yobidashi calling the first few bouts had such a beautiful voice, heard in absolute silence from the audience - seeing Kotoeiho and Abi's shiko - Three hours standing up in the gallery felt like joining in with your own keiko! - walking back to Kensington High Street and seeing Wakamotoharu and Wakatakakage (who was surprisingly huge close up) - also Mitakeumi with a very relaxed Shodai :) https://photos.app.goo.gl/26GwDEDzatmB3uJZ8

I was expecting/hoping for more of a middle ground. According to those who remember, the previous London koen was quite different. Also there are some very intense practice sessions leading up to a basho, that can (and do) lead to injuries and wrestlers missing the basho. So while perhaps unlikely, I don't think it was out of the question.

Gonoyama didn't convince me with his masterful yorikiri win ;) But yes, in general the second half was more watchable.

On a positive note, @kintamayama would enjoy Hiro getting Abi and Ichiyamamoto confused :)

The only bout that looked even a bit realistic was Tamawashi v Wakatakakage, albeit only half the usual intensity. So kudos to them for their acting ability. Very disappointing but with hindsight it was probably naive to expect anything else, what with jet lag, sightseeing, and no proper keiko. Also, I guess they didn't want the risk of the audience seeing someone leave in a giant wheelchair, not to mention the complications to the wrestler of getting injured in London.

Article in the Guardian about the koen https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/15/grand-sumo-wrestling-tournament-london-royal-albert-hall It's quite sweet they gave Hakakku the surname "Rijicho" :)

This link mentions a sumo photo exhibition free to attend for ticket holders, and also for anyone on the Saturday, as part of the "free entry open day". Does anyone have information about this open day? https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2025/sumo-exhibition

Thanks! I might even get a license for this :)