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We are now past the halfway point of the tournament, and two men still lead the standings unbeaten: Yokozuna Onosato and Ozeki Kotozakura.

A brief recap of today's bouts

Onosato continues to show why he is the tournament favourite. He powered through Churanoumi with pure pushing sumo (oshidashi), keeping pace at the top with Kotozakura, who dispatched Fujiryoga comfortably with an under-shoulder swing down (katasukashi).

Ozeki Kirishima, who is pursuing promotion to yokozuna, recovered from yesterday's defeat and beat Gonoyama with an arm-bar throw (tottari). In practical terms, he now only needs to maintain a winning record for the rest of the tournament to retain a strong chance of promotion.

The day's biggest surprise came from comeback Ozeki Aonishiki. After three consecutive losses, he ended the run by forcing out Sekiwake Atamifuji with yorikiri — a much-needed victory that keeps him in contention for a top finish.

Sources: Sumo Stomp!, Fantasy Basho

The first truly dramatic day of this year's September tournament. Ozeki Kirishima, a leading contender for promotion, suffered his second defeat — against a wrestler who entered the bout on a five-match losing streak.

A brief recap of today's bouts

The day's biggest story was Ozeki Kirishima, who is aiming for promotion to yokozuna, losing his second bout of the tournament. He fell to Yoshinofuji, who had entered the match with five straight defeats but turned things around with a powerful overarm throw (uwatenage).

Yokozuna Onosato kept pace with the leaders by defeating Gonoyama — the same wrestler who beat him in the previous tournament — with a finishing slap down (hatakikomi). Ozeki Kotozakura also stayed among the leaders by thrusting out Takanosho (tsukidashi), while sekiwake Atamifuji, pursuing an ozeki promotion of his own, claimed a convincing fifth victory.

Things went less well for comeback Ozeki Aonishiki, who has now lost three straight bouts after a strong start — an unexpected dip for a wrestler who was a tournament favourite only a few days ago.

Sources: Nikkei, NHK, Sponichi Annex, Fantasy Basho

We're a third of the way into the September tournament (Aki Basho) in Tokyo, and it is still wide open who will lift the cup. After day 5, a full 24 of the 39 wrestlers in the top division (makuuchi) either lead or sit just one loss behind.

Ozeki Kotozakura, unbeaten through the first four days, saw his run end when Churanoumi took the initiative at the tachiai and won without much resistance. Yokozuna Onosato bounced back from yesterday's loss and claimed his first ever win over Yoshinofuji, who is still waiting for his first victory of the tournament.

The finest finish of the day belonged to Ura: he countered a throw attempt from Wakamotoharu by hooking the leg (sotogake) and bringing him down instead. In another eye-catching bout, two newcomers to the sanyaku ranks met — Hakunofuji and Fujinokawa — with Fujinokawa winning after a strong thrusting attack that drove Hakunofuji out of the ring.

Ozeki Aonishiki, unbeaten through the first three days, fell to his second straight loss against Gonoyama and left the ring with a visible limp — something to keep an eye on in the coming days.

Sources: Fantasy Basho, Sumo Stomp!

The tournament is starting to find its rhythm, and perhaps the absence of the three top rikishi — Ōnosato, Aonishiki and Hōshōryū — has contributed to a more relaxed feeling among the remaining rikishi. As on previous days, day 3 offered a broad spectrum of techniques. We saw everything from yorikiri and hatakikomi to sukuinage and abisetaoshi.

Tobizaru and Kotoeihō both hold a perfect 3-0 record and are the quiet surprises of the tournament so far. Kotoeihō, brother of 2025 July winner Kotoshōhō, is one to keep an eye on going forward. We think he's a more technical rikishi than his brother, and we look forward to having another sibling pair — alongside Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu — in the makuuchi division.

Today we want to highlight Hakunofuji and his win over Kinbōzan by oshidashi. Oshidashi can feel like an everyday technique, but what impressed here was how Hakunofuji set the bout up — controlling the distance from the tachiai, keeping Kinbōzan at arm's length and generating exactly the pressure he needed to push him out. Simple in execution, but with a clear plan behind every movement. That's why we award today's technique to Hakunofuji.

Today's bout is without doubt Kirishima vs Fujinokawa. Beyond the gyoji's miss — when Fujinokawa stepped outside the ring without the match being stopped — both rikishi delivered a technical bout that kept us on the edge of our seats. Kirishima once again stood as the winner, and he too is 3-0 in this tournament.

Who can challenge Kirishima in this May tournament? Several rikishi look steady and strong — and we're only at the beginning. Sumo always has surprises in store.

Below is a summary of all bouts.

Much like day 1, day 2 began with absences. The injury Hoshoryu picked up in his bout against Takayasu has forced him to withdraw from the tournament. We had hoped to see him lift the cup at the end as his first win as Yokozuna — now we wish him a good recovery and look forward to his return. This basho will therefore go on without a yokozuna. Will one of the next-highest ranked, Ozeki Kotozakura or Kirishima, hold up the cup at the end?

Today's bouts featured a lot of oshidashi, which isn't always my favourite technique — but it does show a very typical side of sumo. One of our favourite techniques is Katasukashi (under shoulder swing down), a go-to move for Midorifuji — but today we got to see it from Shodai. Unusual for the former Ozeki, and just as effective.

Even though Shodai pulled out one of our favourite techniques, we'd rather highlight Rikishi Asakoryu. Facing the more experienced Abi, we saw Asakoryu hit a Shitatenage — a technique that demands incredible timing with the hip shift, which he executed without hesitation. That's why we award today's technique to Asakoryu.

Our favourite bout of the day was between Kirishima and Yoshinofuji, full of high-intensity counters. In the end Kirishima landed a Tsukiotoshi that sent Maegashira 2 down.

We're seeing a strong Kirishima — what do you think, can he win two tournaments in a row?

Below is a summary of all bouts.

The tournament begins with major absences among the dominant rikishi — the 75th Yokozuna Onosato and the fast-rising Ozeki Aonishiki. Both are out due to injury, which puts particular pressure on the newly promoted Aonishiki: his chances of holding the Ozeki rank look bleak.

The bouts that did take place on day 1 were of a high level. Debutant Wakanosho opened the tournament with a win in his first bout against Fujiroga. Another memorable bout saw Ichiyamamoto defeat sekiwake Atamifuji with hatakikomi. Atamifuji came close to winning the January tournament, but now had a tough start to the May basho — can he show the same level as before?

Our favourite bout of the day was between Ozeki Kotozakura and Maegashira 1 Fujinokawa. With over 50 kilos of difference, the lighter Fujinokawa beat the much larger and more experienced Kotozakura. Fujinokawa has had a strong start to the year and was awarded the "Technique Prize" at the March tournament. He really proves that size isn't everything, and we look forward to seeing more from him over the coming days.

Every sport has injuries, and in the match between the 74th Yokozuna Hoshoryu and Komusubi Takayasu, we saw Hoshoryu fall in what looked like an injury. Hoshoryu took his time leaving the dohyo, limping and clutching his thigh — possibly a hamstring injury. We hope he's back on his feet tomorrow for more spectacular bouts.

Below is a summary of all bouts.