2026 Natsu Basho: Day 11 results and analysis
Recapping all the top division action from Grand Sumo's 2026 Natsu Basho (spoilers).
We are into the home stretch of the 2026 May tournament and it’s really starting to heat up!
The first half of this tournament felt very underwhelming, due to the absences of Aonishiki and our two yokozuna. However, in the last few days, we’ve seen a lot of guys step up the intensity. I think they are sensing what a huge opportunity they have this month and are also feeling how every win/loss really counts with so many wrestlers bunched together.
We had a six way tie going into last night’s matches. No matter how they broke down, we’d still be left with a lot of contenders for this cup.
Scroll down to see where we stand now and how everything went down.
Our bonus gif today features someone who is on the outside looking in this month.
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SPOILERS BELOW
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Results
Mitakeumi (6-5) def. Hatusyama (3-8) by oshidashi (frontal push out)
Ōshōumi (3-8) def. Shishi (3-8) by yorikiri (frontal force out)
Tamawashi (2-9) def. Kinbōzan (5-6) by tsukiotoshi (thrust down)*
Ura (8-3) def. Wakanoshō (6-5) by katasukashi (under shoulder swing down)*
Hakunofuji (8-3) def. Fujiryoga (8-3) by uwatenage (over arm throw)*
Tobizaru (9-2) def. Asanoyama (7-4) by hikiotoshi (hand pull down)*
Ryūden (4-7) def. Nishikifuji (3-8) by okuridashi (rear push out)
Rōga (6-5) def. Abi (4-7) by yorikiri
Tokihayate (4-7) def. Asahakūryū (3-8) by shitatenage (underarm throw)
Kotoeihō (9-2) def. Ōshōma (5-6) by okurinage (rear throw down) after mono-ii (judges’ review) confirms gyoji (referee) decision*
Ichiyamamoto (5-6) def. Gōnoyama (8-3) by hikiotoshi*
Daieishō (5-6) def. Takanoshō (4-7) by oshidashi
Ōhō (5-6) def. Fujinokawa (5-6) by yoritoashi (frontal crush out)*
Kotoshōhō (7-4) def. Fujiseun (5-6) by oshitaoshi (frontal push down)*
Churanoumi (7-4) def. Atamifuji (5-6) by yorikiri
Kirishima (9-2) def. Wakatakakage (8-3) by yorikiri*
Shōdai (5-6) def. Kotozakura (3-8) by okuridashi (rear push out)*
*Must see bouts!
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Leaderboard
O2e Kirishima, M15e Tobizaru, M13e Kotoeihō: 9-2
K1e Wakatakakage, M2e Yoshinofuji, M4w Gōnoyama, M10w Hakunofuji, M11e Ura, M17e Fujiryoga: 8-3
Analysis
Kirishima maintained his lead of the tournament last night, with a very intelligent win over Wakatakakage.
This was an interesting match-up, pitting Kirishima’s favourite hidari-yotsu (left arm inside position) against Wakatakakage’s favourite migi-yotsu (right arm inside position). You can’t have both of those in a match. So this was expected to be a battle to see who would get their favourite position and thus force their opponent into fighting in their least favourite position. The tachiai often determines which way a battle like this is going to go, with wrestlers squeezing their favourite arm tight and trying to get it onto the ribs of an opponent, while also trying to prevent the opponent from doing the same thing.
In this bout, though… Kirishima had another idea.
Kirishima opened the bout with a strong kachiage (elbow/forearm strike) with his right arm. This was very risky, because he left his right arm high and open for Wakatakakage to take his favourite position. But Kirishima really committed to the kachiage and was able to push Wakatakakage backwards and stand him up with it, making it impossible for Wakatakakage to reach forwards.
With Wakatakakage reeling Kirishima first put his hands on the back of his neck, perhaps thinking he would try a slap down, but then he quickly changed his approach. He swam both his arms under and secured the moro-zashi (double inside position). Wakatakakage’s route to an inside right position was blocked off, so he tried to do something with a left outside position, but that just wasn’t strong enough to counter the firm grip Kirishima had (which included double belt grips towards the end).
This fantastic decision making resulted in a massive win for Kirishima. It’s a win that almost counts as two wins, since it robs Wakatakakage of a win.
All is not lost for the man from Arashio heya, though. He’s still just one win behind Kirishima and the other two wrestlers leading this tournament.
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Icon by HINOKODO (link).
Those other two are Tobizaru and Kotoeiho.
I really thought Tobizaru would take his foot off the gas now that his kachi-koshi (winning record) and place in the makuuchi was secured, but I think he might actually be trying to win this!
He beat former ōzeki Asanoyama last night. He got moro-zashi, too, off the tachiai. Asanoyama seemed unprepared for that, as if he was assuming Tobizaru would come at him with thrusts to start things off. Asanoyama managed to break that grip and get his right arm on the inside. But Tobizaru forced him to move every second while he worked for that and wriggled like an eel once Asanoyama attempted to do anything with the grip. Eventually Tobizaru was able to slide out of Asanoyama’s grip and send him down to the dirt.
Kotoeihō had a fun win last night, too. Though the JSA haven’t put it on their official YouTube channel. He did well to force the slap down merchant Ōshōma into an uncomfortable grappling battle. Ōshōma tried an out of character throw on the boundary, but Kotoeihō showed great balance and awareness to step out of that and nudge Ōshōma over. Both hit the ground together, but Kotoeihō managed just a split second more of hang-time to earn himself the win.
Behind those leading three is a growing group of chasers. Wakatakakage is the highest ranked among those, but it’s a very exciting group of contenders as a whole. The group also includes Yoshinofuji, Gōnoyama, Hakunofuji, Ura, and Fujiryoga.
Yoshinofuji has come out of nowhere to get himself into title contention over the last few days. He started this tournament with a 1-3 record, but has won everything since then.
Last night he thrashed around with Hiradoumi, but was able to outmuscle him with his migi-yotsu and throw him down on his third attempt.
Ura joined the 8-3 club with a classic win over Wakanoshō. Wakanoshō did a pretty good Takakeishō impression in this bout (Takakeishō, now Minatogowa, is Wakanoshō’s new stablemaster). He had Ura on the brink, but then found out that the man’s spine is made of rubber. Ura survived Wakanoshō’s high thrusts with a death defying back bend and then wrapped him up for the katasukashi.
Ura seemed to really enjoy that. He gave a big head nod and strut after the win.
Hakunofuji joined the chasing pack by beating Fujiryoga (and thus stopping Fujiryoga from sharing the lead). He took Fujiryoga’s thrusts and then put him in a hidari-yotsu. Fujiyoga then made a mistake. He went for the watashikomi (thigh grabbing push down), but Hakunofuji was far too sturdy for that move to work. Fujiryoga had landed that finisher earlier in the tournament, but it’s far more effective when the opponent is moving backwards.
This is the closest Hakunofuji has been to title contention since he debuted in makuuchi back in July, 2023 (back when he was Hakuōhō and before he had a top knot).
Like Fujiryoga, Gōnoyama missed his chance at a ninth win last night. He fought hard against Ichiyamamoto, but not as smart as I was hoping. Ichiyamamoto showed a lot of toughness to take Gōnoyama’s pushes and then yanked him down with the hikiotoshi. Ichiyamamoto now has a 5-1 record against Gōnoyama with four of those wins coming by hikiotoshi.
Tamawashi hobbled through his second win of the tournament last night, taking out Kinbōzan. He’s still got some work to do if he wants to be safe from a jūryō demotion (even if I think the banzuke committee might be kind to him when push comes to shove).
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We have some very big matches on tap tonight. The leaders of this tournament are starting to get paired up, so that big group of guys in first and second place is going to start to shrink.
Tournament favourite Kirishima is going to face Kotoshōhō. After a rocky start Kotoshōhō has found some form and is now just one win away from a kachi-koshi as a shin sekiwake (first time sekiwake). They’ve only met twice and have each won once. Kotoshōhō won their last bout, on route to winning last year’s Nagoya tournament.
Wakatakakage has Gōnoyama in a bout that could essentially eliminate one of them from the running. Wakatakakage has a commanding 5-0 record against Gōnoyama.
Yoshinofuji and Tobizaru will duel. They’ve never met. Yoshinofuji is from the Isegahama stable (now led by the former Terunofuji). Terunofuji loathes Tobizaru, so Yoshinofuji might look for some brownie points by beating Tobizaru in as brutal a fashion as possible.
Ura and Fujiryoga are paired off. They’ve also never met.
Hakunofuji is the odd man out. He doesn’t get a fellow title chaser. Instead he has the wildly inconsistent Ōhō, who is currently 5-6. Hakunofuji is 1-3 against Ōhō, but won their last meeting.
Tamawashi is given a bone tonight. He’s got the juryo call-up Kyokukaiyū.
Keeping count!
Henka counter: 9.5
Tobi trample counter (rows): 5*
* Tobizaru just touched the seats in his win over Asanoyama. That’s good for one more point on the tramble counter.
And now something extra…
If you are a paid subscriber, below you will find results, videos and analysis for jūryō.
