Report Card: 2025 Hatsu Basho - Part 2
Continuing to grade the top division rikishi who were involved in the January tournament.
Hi all, here’s my latest report card for the January tournament. In this post I’m covering the fellas ranked from maegashira 10 to maegashira 5. The most exciting name in this section is the little river monster Fujinokawa. He’s also one of the few rikishi, among this cohort, to post a winning record in January. Tamawashi, Kinbōzan and Shōdai are among the wrestlers who struggled last time out.
Scroll down to see a short breakdown for each sumotori and a grade!
The bonus gif today is Gōnoyama getting pumped (or swatting mosquitoes on his face).
Kotoshōhō
Rank: Maegashira 10 West
Record: 9-6
Grade: B
In January, Kotoshōhō improved on his November tournament (where he went 7-8 from this same ranking). In this most recent basho he showed glimpses of the form that saw him win a shock yushō in Nagoya last year. He was never in with a shot at a yushō in this tournament, but he looked above average, which was a rare thing for this section of the banzuke. He did get to beat up on lesser competition, with six of his wins coming against guys ranked M11 and lower (including basement dwellers Hatsuyama and Asahakūryū). He got a nice win over Abi, though.
Tokihayate
Rank: Maegashira 10 East
Record: 8-7
Grade: C+
Tokihayate got the bare minimum kachi-koshi in January, but he did it at his highest ever ranking. He’s a late bloomer, but at 29 he’s looking like a mid-maegashira staple. I find Tokihayate’s sumo really easy on the eye (I’m also partial to anyone who dons the superior black mawashi). I love how he gets into and under his opponents and how his throws often end with a nice flourish. He’s a yotsu-zumō (belt grappling) wrestler, but he was able to get some pushing/thrusting wins in January, too. He was able to hold his own with more regular pusher/thrusters, too, getting wins over Kotoshōhō, Ichiyamamoto and Tomokaze.
Rōga
Rank: Maegashira 9 West
Record: 7-8
Grade: D
Rōga took another 7-8 record in January. He’s now had that mark in six of the twelve top division tournaments he’s competed in. The constant hovering over seven wins makes it hard to get that excited for Rōga. I sometimes feel like we are waiting for a breakout basho from him, which never seems to materialize. He is surprisingly young, though, at 26. So there’s still time for him to improve and perhaps get himself into the jōi for the first time ever.
In January Rōga managed to out muscle a number of the pusher/thrusters he met (Hatsuyama, Ōshōma, Tomokaze) with his yotsu-zumō. It’s a little concerning that he did so poorly against fellow yotsu practitioners. He was 1-7 against other belt grapplers. He has to do better than that if he wants to get out of the mid-ranks.
Gōnoyama
Rank: Maegashira 9 East
Record: 7-8
Grade: D+
This is the lowest Gōnoyama has ever been ranked where he’s failed to register a winning record. That’s a little concerning for the 27 year-old, who slipped down the rankings after a nightmare 1-14 tournament last September. He did OK in November, going 9-6 from M13. But he got off to a poor start in this tournament, going 2-6 in the first week to put himself into a corner. I suppose it’s good that he didn’t finish with a dreadful record, after winning six of his last nine bouts. Even so, it’s pretty disappointing for a man who seemed a potential jōi mainstay during his first two years in the big league.
I actually liked Gōnoyama’s sumo in January, though.
