Report Card: 2026 Haru Basho + life update and a super-duper special offer!
Grading the top division rikishi who were involved in the January tournament.
Hello all!
It’s been awhile, I know.
I’ve been quiet on here while I finish up my field placement, final assignments and exams. That all wrapped up for me last Friday. So I am now done with my college program and with my life as a 40 something year-old student. Next up for me is my official graduation in June and then my registration as a licensed social service worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. I’m thrilled with this accomplishment. This is the first time I ever really tried during school and I’m just really proud of myself this time around.
I hated going to school when I was growing up. I skipped a lot of days and, on days I went to school, I would just look out the window and count down the hours until I could go home. I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future and, honestly, didn’t think I’d be around long enough to warrant such thoughts.
I moved to Canada to escape a lot of that. Going to college here was my initial route to do so. So I just picked a TV broadcasting course, mostly at random and then just went through the motions. I found it easy and a laugh, but I didn’t really care about what I was doing. An unsatisfying decade in the TV industry followed…
This time around, though, it’s different. I felt a calling to social work and I have really tried my hardest to embrace this field and learn everything I can so that I can be a success as a professional helper. That success isn’t measured by how much money I can make, but how much good I can do. I feel strongly that this is where I’m supposed to be and I think the field wants and needs me right now.
Boy was it hard getting here, though. In order to fit in my classes and school work, alongside my regular work, side hustle and parenting/partnering duties, I was basically working an additional night shift every night.
Despite that torturous schedule, I’m going to graduate with a perfect 4.0 GPA (or very very very close to it). I’m really proud of that. And that’s also going to help me should I decide to go back to school later and for a Bachelor’s of Social Work.
I’m trying to find ways to celebrate this moment. My big party/dinner from last weekend had to be called off because I was down with the flu. But I’m going to try and make up for that this weekend a little.
In addition to that, I’d like to celebrate my milestone somehow on here. Sumo Stomp! has often been a refuge for me in hard times. It added a lot to my plate during these school years, but my work here was always something I genuinely enjoyed doing. Thank you all for being here on this ride so far. As a thank you, and a celebration, I’m doing a special offer for everyone until the end of May.
I’m doing a special offer to celebrate the end of my studies. It’s been a hard grind and I’m so happy to be done and now entering a new chapter of my life. Sumo Stomp! remains a big part of that chapter and to celebrate this milestone I am offering a 15% discount on subscriptions until the end of May.
If you take me up on this offer you will receive 15% off Sumo Stomp! for life!
OK, I’m going to get into some grades real soon. But first, just want to say congratulations to Jeff. He won the Cheeky Sumo hat giveaway in March. Thanks for subscribing Jeff and thanks to Cheeky Sumo for their continued support.
Because I didn’t have time to write multiple report cards, I’m condensing them all into one post. This is something reader Dan recommended a long time ago. This seems like the perfect opportunity to test that out. I struggle with brevity in my writing, sometimes, so I appreciate the chance to experiment a little with this regular feature. Please let me know what you think of it in the comments below!
Our bonus gif is dimples and his chilly (and well earned) car ride.
Top of the class!
S1e Kirishima (12-3, yushō, shukun-shō): A+
M5w Kotoshōhō (11-4, jun-yushō, kantō-shō): A
Y1e Hōshōryū (11-4, jun-yushō), M16e Asahakūryū (10-5): A-
You shouldn’t be too surprised about who I gave As out to this time around. Kirishima, our yushō winner, of course gets the big fat A+ for his amazing tournament.
I’ve given him the top grade here, despite his tournament petering out in the final two days. Remember, he lost his last two bouts, but due to the failings of Kotoshōhō and Hōshōryū he was still able to lift the cup. I thought about marking him down to an A because of that. But I couldn’t do it. And that’s not because he’s my favourite rikishi. It’s because I watched back all his bouts and was still tremendously impressed with his clever, suave and extremely confident sumō from March.
Other than the two inconsequential losses to Aonishiki and Kotozakura at the end of the tournament, Kirishima lost just one other time. That was his day two defeat to Churanoumi. Churanoumi fought a really good bout there and Kirishima was perhaps a little guilty of playing with his food, before he ran out of space and was shoved out. He locked in after that, though.
The next day he used powerful yotsu-zumō (belt grappling) to resist Atamifuji and amazing footwork to turn and unsettle the bigger man. The win would come when Kirishima executed a picture perfect makki-kae (switch from inside to outside position) which he seamlessly transitioned into a sukuinage (beltless arm throw).
He used diverse sumō from this point on in the basho. He used powerful yotsu-zumō to out-muscle Wakatakakage and Takayasu and deft footwork to side-step Daieishō, Takanoshō and Gōnoyama. His inashi (side-step) was so on point that I was calling him El Matador in my daily posts.
At the business end of the basho he scored a huge win over his old friend Hōshōryū. These two had a judo battle, but it was Kirishima who was able to get his leg in the right place and keep it there long enough to execute a throw.
A day after that he beat Ōhō , but almost threw that bout away. He tolerated a slap fest with Ōhō , early on in their bout. But, as a result, he was almost sent flying by the more adept pusher/thruster. Kirishima, smartly, recognized he was getting the worst of the tsuppari exchanges and then ducked under to get a hold of Ōhō’s belt. After he did that he was able to easily force him out. That smart play would be what clinched him his third cup (after Hōshōryū lost his bout with Kotozakura).
Hōshōryū gets an A- for his runner-up finish. This grade isn’t me saying Hōshōryū did poorly in this tournament. He was, literally, one of the three best wrestlers competing that month. However, 11-4 as a yokozuna, leaves a little to be desired. His losses came to Fujinokawa, Daieishō, Kotozakura and Kirishima, as mentioned above.
The Fujinokawa loss was unlucky. Fujinokawa went early and the referee either didn’t notice or didn’t care. We saw a few of those this tournament. Yoshinofuji did this to Kirishima, too (but Kirishima was able to still pull out the win). Hōshōryū can have no complaints about the Daieishō and Kotozakura losses, though. He was sloppy in those bouts. He left his chest out there for Daieishō and made it too easy to get pushed back. And against Kotozakura he put himself right into Kotozakura’s favoured migi-yotsu position and then paid the price. That strange decision happened when he needed a win to stay in title contention.
Kotoshōhō gets an A for over-performing from a pretty decent rank. His run included wins over Aonishiki, Yoshinofuji, Ōhō and Takanoshō.
I gave Asahakūryū an A-, too. That might come as a surprise to some. I really liked his sumō in March, though. And he managed to score some wins over much higher ranked opponents down the stretch, including Shōdai, Tokihayate and Gōnoyama. This was just his second ever top division tournament. But he fought with a lot of confidence and showed some great nuance, instinct and power with his yotsu-zumō.
Best of the rest
O1w Kotozakura (10-5), M13w Fujiseun (10-5, kantō-shō): B+
M4w Takanoshō (9-6), M6e Ichiyamamoto (9-6), M10e Gōnoyama (10-5), M12e Asakōryū (9-6), M14e Chiyoshōma (10-5): B
K1w Atamifuji (9-6), M2e Fujinokawa (8-7, kinboshi x 2), M14w Nishikifuji (9-6), M16w Kinbōzan (9-6), M17w Kotoeihō (9-6): B-
Kotozakura gets a solid B+ for his efforts in March. He was pretty under-the-radar at this tournament. I think that’s mostly due to the struggles of his fellow ōzeki Aonishiki. However, he still deserves some praise for hitting double digit wins for the first time since his yushō in November 2024. His win over Hōshōryū was one of his highlights of the tournament, but he also beat our winner Kirishima on the final day. His best performance was probably his win over Churanoumi. He showed off the intelligent yotsu game that confounds many, in that bout, as well as his shocking nimbleness. Kotozakura’s yotsu moves were a constant threat in this tournament, but his swift feet were more occasional.
I don’t know if its his nagging knee injuries, his age, or a mixture of both, but it seems the days of him showing off quick feet for 15 days straight may now be beyond him.
Fujiseun gets a B+, too. He looked very strong in his top division debut. And that’s despite being placed high on the banzuke. His ten wins earned him the Fighting Spirit prize. I liked what I saw from him, but it’s too early for me to lavish him with the kind of praise I did on Asahakūryū earlier in this post.
Takanoshō leads the B-level wrestlers. He was surprisingly competitive despite being in the jōi (a spot where he usually struggles). He went 7-1 in the first week to stake an early claim of title intentions. That all unravelled, though, once he came up against the san’yaku and higher.
It was nice to see Ichiyamamoto bounce back from his terrible January tournament. He had a poor first week, but salvaged the kachi-koshi (winning record) by finishing with a 5-1 run, which included big wins over Fujinokawa and Takayasu (someone he was 2-6 against).
Gōnoyama and Asakōryū represented Osaka well on home turf. Both were early contenders. Gōnoyama hung in a little longer than Asakōryū did, though. Both were very aggressive. That’s to be expected from Gōnoyama. Asakōryū can fall in love with the henka, though, so it was nice to see him embracing contact more in this tournament.
Chiyoshōma was at his best in this tournament. The veteran used his dark arts to surprise, drag down and trip up guys who have more straight-forward game-plans.
Atamifuji stuck the landing in his first san’yaku tournament. I didn’t see any jitters out of him, but I was left wanting more (since I really rate his abilities highly). His losses were a little surprising in March, especially when he was overwhelmed—in the clinch—by Fujinokawa.
Fujinokawa gets a well earned B for surviving at maegashira 1. I marked him down to a B-, though, due to the heavy asterisks we should put on his kinboshi wins over Hōshōryū and the very banged up Ōnosato.
Nishikifuji, Kinbōzan and Kotoeihō handled the pressure of potential demotions well. They all did what they needed to do to stay in makuuchi. Kotoeihō was especially impressive. He looked much improved from his debut top division tournament. This time he was able to keep his hips low and prevent himself being toppled over by his bigger opponents.
Just Doing Enough to Get By
M12w Asanoyama (8-7): C+
M1e Wakatakakage (8-6-1, kinboshi), M8w Shōdai (8-7), M15w Mitakeumi (8-7): C
I was happy to see Asanoyama continue to chug along. I fear the next injury might be the last one of his career, so it was nice to see him get through this one unscathed and also earn a kachi-koshi. He remains one of the biggest “what if” wrestlers on our banzuke right now. Sadly, it looks like his knees just don’t have the power left in them to mount any serious yushō challenges at the moment.
Wakatakakage was treading water in this tournament. He showed flashes of his no-quarters-given Rottweiler brand of sumō that made him such a fan favourite. It does seem that age is catching up to him, though.
Age is catching up to Shōdai and Mitakeumi, too. Nonetheless they were still able to get winning records here.
Lagging behind
M3e Hiradoumi (7-8), M3w Ōhō (7-8): D+
O1e Aonishiki (7-8), S1w Takayasu (7-8), M1w Yoshinofuji (7-8), M4e Daieishō (7-8 kinboshi), M17e Fujiryoga (7-8): D
M7e Ōshōma (6-9), M7w Hakunofuji (5-6-4), M11e Shishi (6-9), M13e Tobizaru (6-9): D-
Aonishiki is the big story from this cohort. I thought we were heading to a coronation and then a triple-yoko May tournament. However, due to his struggles, we’ll have just the two yokozuna in May and Aonishiki will be fighting for his ōzeki rank. He’s kadoban (in the corner) after taking the first losing record of his career.
A lot of Aonishiki’s troubles did seem to stem from a foot/toe injury he suffered during the tournament. However, I think that’s a subplot when it comes to what was going on with him in March. I think the main story is that the field simply caught up to him.
Up until March, Aonishiki’s sumō had surprised his opponents. His freestyle infused style forced opponents into trying to adopt a head-to-toe defense that they weren’t used to. Aonishiki’s ability to attack the belt and the knees, coupled with his freakish grip strength, balance and reaction speed, made him unbeatable.
The only times he looked human were when people showed they didn’t want to play defense and instead wanted to attack as early and as viciously as they could. That attack first mentality, along with the knowledge that Aonishiki can’t attack low when he’s forced to stand up straight, has permeated the entire division.
And in this tournament, Aonishiki was put under immense pressure from a number of different opponents who were all able to stand him up straight and then out muscle him over the edge. There were a number of tactics used to execute this. Yoshinofuji used gaburi-yori (torso thrusting) to keep him chest-to-chest. Churanoumi used hazuoshi (armpit thrusting) to force him upright. Ōhō used the brutal kimedashi to lock Aonishiki’s elbow and keep him up. Takanoshō used the nodowa (throat thrust) to stand him up. Daieishō did similar with the moroto-tsuki (double handed thrust).
As you can see there is an arsenal of moves that can be used to prevent Aonishiki leaning over into his favourite posture. The pressure is now on Aonishiki to figure out how to defend and counter all these. At just 21, with his amazing physical gifts and his stellar fight IQ, I think he’ll find a way.
Hiradoumi and Ōhō are two young guys in similar situations. They were rising through the ranks during the power-vacuum days, where there were few, if any, reliable yokozuna or ōzeki competing. Neither of them were quite good enough, or far along enough in their development, to establish themselves in the san’yaku and now they both seem in danger of being supplanted by a newer wave coming in behind them.
Hiradoumi’s make-koshi (losing record) is a direct result of losing to two of those guys (Fujinokawa and Yoshinofuji) in the last three days of the tournament.
Ōhō’s make-koshi also came due to a loss to Fujinokawa, in a Darwin Match on Day 15.
After a great opening week, Takayasu slumped to a losing record thanks to seven losses in a row. Daieishō and Yoshinofuji had OK tournaments, but they couldn’t pull out the kachi-koshi despite being aided by a fusensho (forfeit win).
Fujiryoga had some teething pains in his first makuuchi tournament. He also managed to lose to Ryūden by katasukash (under shoulder swing down).
Hakunofuji was fighting hurt for this entire tournament, due to a potential ligament injury in his foot. He was also fighting under a heavy cloud. Isegahama (the former Terunofuji) was under investigation at the time for throwing a bottle at Hakunofuji. It is alleged that Isegahama did this at a public event after he judged Hakunofuji to be drunkenly harassing a woman in attendance. Isegahama received a rank demotion for this. This just isn’t a good look for anyone. I don’t know where Hakunofuji goes from here, but it feels like he needs some sort of intervention/guidance and a way out of Isegahama heya.
Ōshōma, Shishi and Tobizaru just couldn’t get it going in this one. Ōshōma and Shishi were over-ranked. Tobizaru seemed to be struggling with injuries. He also didn’t indulge me in my trample-meter feature nearly as much as I was hoping for.
The Struggle Bus
M5e Abi (4-6-5): E+
M8e Ura (5-10), M9e Tokihahaye (5-10), M9w Tamawashi (5-10), M10w Rōga(5-10), M11w Ōshōumi (5-10): E
M2w Churanoumi (4-11): E-
Y1w Ōnosato (0-4-11), M6w Ōnokatsu (1-6-8), M15e Midorifuji (0-0-15): Ungraded
Abi hurt his back right before this tournament. It was pretty obvious that he was walking wounded in all his bouts.
Ura was a big disappointment in March. Of all the handful of Osaka born wrestlers competing here, he was the one the crowd most wanted to see do well. He just couldn’t deliver for them. He didn’t get many wins and a lot of his losses were non-competitive, with Ura’s head getting snapped back with thrusts and then getting dumped into the seats. He did manage a nice highlight reel win over Rōga. These exciting moves are becoming fewer and further between for Pink Magic, though.
I was surprised to see Tokihayate struggle. He was at his highest ever ranking, but I still thought he would be able to get a kachi-koshi. His throwing game wasn’t on point this time around. Most of his losses were yorikiri (frontal force out), with opponents stifling his attempts to get an angle and then toss them over.
I was surprised by Ōshōumi, too. I thought he had a lot of upside after his amazing January tournament. I don’t think I was wrong on that assessment, but this was a very disappointing sophomore effort for him.
I thought Churanoumi would do better here, too. This was his highest ever rank and M2 is a brutal place to be. He somehow managed wins over Kirishima, Aonishiki and Wakatakakage in this tournament, while also losing to the injured Abi and Hakunofuji.
Tamawashi got off to a poor start and couldn’t really recover. The only person he beat with a winning record was Kotoeihō on the last day.
Rōga was very poor in March. I’m actually happy to see him get a big losing record here. That’s not because I’m being spiteful. I just think it might give him a wake-up call. He’s been teetering between 8-7 and 7-8 for a long time and needs something to force him to take a big step forwards.
Ōnosato and Ōnokatsu weren’t competitive during the few days we saw them. Neither gets a grade from me. Ōnosato was clearly compromised due to his shoulder and Ōnokatsu went down with a leg injury early on and just couldn’t work around it (though he made a good effort to do so).
Midorifuji sat out the entire tournament due to a heart issue. I hope we get some good news about that soon.
OK, what did you think of that? I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed getting back into sumo writing after my forced absence.
We have the banzuke coming out soon, so I will be analyzing how I did with my prediction. I’m also working on an interview with the former Ōsunaarashi (aka Sandstorm). That will be coming out in early May.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Tim
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