Hatsu 2025 Day Six

A rundown of all the action from the sixth day of the January sumo tournament.

Public League Leaderboard

Scores from Fantasizr

Yusho Arasoi

6 Wins

14 Maegashira #3 West Oho

18 Maegashira #5 West Chiyoshoma

36 Maegashira #14 West Kinbozan

5 Wins

03 Ozeki #1 West Hoshoryu

27 Maegashira #10 East Tamawashi

30 Maegashira #11 West Takerufuji

Notable Maneuvers

Henka. Or maybe not. Endo, Chiyoshoma, and Wakatakakage all got out of the way of their opponents to win, but no one did a classic sidestep. Endo went upright while Ichiyamamoto went forward too fast for an ole win. Chiyoshoma did the slide-sideways-for-the-side-mawashi-grip move on Mitakeumi for an easy throw. Wakatakakage did an immediate hit and shift that sent Abi flying.

Match of the Day

02 Ozeki #1 East Kotozakura versus 12 Maegashira #2 West Atamifuji

This wasn’t great sumo, but it was certainly something you won’t see often. These two locked up, and in the worrying way that his matches have gone all basho, Kotozakura could only go backwards. Atamifuji looked like he had an easy win, and the gyoji pointed to him.

But then there was a mono-ii. As Kotozakura was backing up, a shimpan raised his hand to call the match over. Except the match wasn’t over, because Kotozakura had not actually stepped out. Since close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades, they redid the whole match. Kotozakura didn’t do any better in the second match, but at least everyone confirmed he was out of the dohyo before calling it.

Recap

The big sumo news of the day is that Yokozuna Terunofuji will be retiring. He has finally decided his knees can no longer carry him in the dohyo. The final match he competed in will be Tobizaru’s kinboshi on Day Four. We need to remember his full, remarkable career. Terunofuji was the 73rd Yokozuna, a 10 time Yusho winner who had two Ozeki runs separated by five years and a series of ridiculous injuries. We won’t ever see his like again.

More immediately, it’s worth considering what’s next. If there will be a Yokozuna in March, Hoshoryu will need to win the yusho in convincing enough fashion to receive the rope. He had a 13-2 Jun-Yusho to a fellow Ozeki who beat him on Day Fifteen, which is “Yusho equivalent” enough if he gets another 13 wins for the Emperor’s Cup. Kotozakura’s chances are gone with his poor performance in January, but that doesn’t take away from his November Yusho. It just means only Hoshoryu has the current Yokozuna shot.

Hoshoryu certainly looks capable of it, but it will take some work. For one thing, Hoshoryu isn’t currently leading the Yusho race. He is looking up at the three undefeated rikishi—Oho, Chiyoshoma, and Kinbozan. As the strongest competing Ozeki in a now-Yokozuna-less tournament, Hoshoryu will face any near competitors by record. Kotozakura’s struggles might actually take him off Hoshoryu’s dance card, so Hoss could have quite a few slots for Maegashira who are overperforming.

Overperforming is exactly what Oho, Chiyoshoma, and Kinbozan are doing. Oho is showing a new level of sumo, possibly rising up to the expectations he had from his entry into sumo as Taiho’s heralded grandson. It’s certainly different than his previous indecisive sumo. Chiyoshoma is, somehow, on a 13 match win streak over the end of the last basho and the start of this one. This is a guy who has been yo-yo-ing between Juryo and Maegashira much of his career, more well known for flying henkas than Yusho challenges. Kinbozan is a giant who seemed unable to handle Makuuchi before dropping to Juryo in November.

All of that is a lengthy explanation of why Hoshoryu should probably still be the favorite for this basho, but it’s been an odd one already. Hoshoryu is certainly performing well enough to win a Yusho, with his Day Six victory over Gonoyama seeing him blowing up the Takekuma man’s thrusts into a simple rear push out. Hoshoryu’s fellow Ozeki may not be threats for this one, but he’s got competition and needs to keep his current pace.