Haru 2026 Day Four

On the fourth day, the March sumo tournament descended further into chaos.

If you’re wondering where to watch all the action, check out NHK World’s Grand Sumo highlights or with the Grand Sumo App (App Store and Google Play).

Public League Leaderboard

Scores from Fantasizr

Notable Maneuvers

Yoritaoshi. Aonishiki began his match with Churanoumi blocking any kind of offense. Yet Churanoumi isn’t here because of his ferocious attack. Churanoumi kept working, got inside, and eventually tackled Aonishiki in a way guaranteed to put the Ozeki under him for the frontal crush out.

Match of the Day

06 Sekiwake West Takayasu versus 04 Ozeki West Kotozakura

These two came in undefeated, and the tachiai began as tactically careful as expected. Kotozakura seemed to be parrying Takayasu better. Takayasu was defending well enough to keep it even and ugly. What began to change was that Kotozakura remained high, looking like he wanted a strong mawashi grip where he enveloped the Old Bear. Takayasu was going forward and crucially inside. His left hand grip was powerful enough to keep on while Kotozakura went backwards to shift the match. He kept on as he shoved the Ozeki forward.

Recap

Your remaining undefeated rikishi are Takayasu, Takanosho, and Kotoshoho. Hoshoryu got rocked back and sent down to the clay by Fujinokawa, who picked up a second straight kinboshi through sheer fury. Kotozakura’s loss to Takayasu is nothing to be ashamed of, but also still puts him one behind the leaders. Aonishiki went two behind thanks to the consistent effort of Churanoumi.

Can any of the 4-0 rikishi keep this up? They weren’t among the obvious pre-basho favorites, but they all have their strengths. Takayasu is a former Ozeki and has an amazing 9 Jun-Yusho to his name. Takanosho is a rikishi with 7 Sanyaku basho to his name and occasional double-digit win basho. Kotoshoho won the July basho last year. Yet they also have been up-and-down at best recently, and expecting them to keep it up over another 11 days feels like asking too much.

Haru does seem like it is bound to produce more surprises. Onosato is out officially with his left shoulder injury after losing his first three matches. Every sanyaku man’s remaining schedule just shifted, plus the only Sanyaku man at 4-0 is Takayasu. As a sekiwake, he will likely get the other Sanyaku rikishi sooner rather than later. Similarly, Takanosho and Kotoshoho will square off before the middle weekend, since they have one rank between them. An opening for anyone off the pace should be there before too long.

Can the top ranked men go perfect? It feels like a long shot. Hoshoryu no longer controls his own fate, and also still looks like he isn’t quite as sharp as he needs to be. Aonishiki is still maybe the most talented rikishi, but he has to face every rikishi gunning for him. Kotozakura has a 3-1 record, but his fundamental sumo is largely uninspiring even when he wins. Kirishima is doing well so far, but also seems allergic to the quick and easy match. None of them are in ideal form.

The basho is not even a third of the way through, yet Haru already is a strange one. Rikishi keep falling off the pace quickly. While just three rikishi picked up a fourth win, four rikishi got their first loss to fall from the undefeated group. (Hoshoryu, Kotozakura, Ura, and Gonoyama.) The day was capped by the upset of two Ozeki, the kyujo announcement for one Yokozuna, and the loss by the other Yokozuna.

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