2026– date –

Zensho Yusho: Sumo's Perfect 15-0 Championships Zensho Yusho: Sumo's Perfect 15-0 Championships A zensho yusho is a championship won without a single loss. In today's 15-day format that means a flawless 15-0; in earlier eras, when tourna...

2026 Natsu Basho Results: Wakatakakage Wins His Second Title in a Playoff at the May Tournament At the 2026 Natsu Basho, the May tournament held in Tokyo, komusubi Wakatakakage took the Emperor's Cup for the second time in his career. He...

In sumo, Asanoyama is a rikishi who has just been promoted to ozeki, the second-highest rank. His promotion was formally decided at the rankings-editing meeting and an extraordinary board meeting of the Japan Sumo Association. He fights ...

In sumo, Takayasu is a wrestler who climbed to ozeki on the back of a sudden surge in form. He was never tipped early on as a future ozeki — his rise came only recently, after a run of strong tournaments in the sekiwake and komusubi rank...

In sumo, Daieisho is a pushing-and-thrusting specialist out of Oitekaze stable, run by the former Daishoyama. A product of the powerhouse Saitama Sakae High School sumo club, he climbed steadily through the ranks before breaking through ...

In sumo, Oho is a makuuchi wrestler of Otake stable and the third of the four Naya brothers. The grandson of the legendary yokozuna Taiho, he rose from the bottom of the rankings under his birth name Naya, weathered a long stretch in the...

In sumo, Chiyonofuji is remembered as one of the sport's greatest yokozuna — a wrestler who won 31 yusho and put together a 53-bout winning streak despite competing at a far lighter weight than his rivals. He was the first wrestler to re...

To watch sumo live in Japan, plan around one of the six honbasho (grand tournaments) held each year. Three take place in Tokyo at the Ryogoku Kokugikan (January, May and September), with the others in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fuk...

The rules of sumo wrestling come down to one short contest with one simple goal: force your opponent out of the ring, or make any part of his body other than the soles of his feet touch the ground. Whoever does that first wins. The bouts...

In sumo, a yokozuna is the highest rank a wrestler can reach — the grand champion who stands at the very top of the sport. Unlike every rank below it, a yokozuna can never be demoted: a grand champion who can no longer perform at the lev...