Natsu 2026 Day Twelve

The twelfth day of the May sumo tournament has further shaken up the contenders.

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Public League Leaderboard

Scores from Fantasizr

Yusho Arasoi

10 Wins

05 Ozeki #2 East Kirishima

34 Maegashira #13 East Kotoeiho

9 Wins

08 Komusubi East Wakatakakage

12 Maegashira #2 East Yoshinofuji

30 Maegashira #11 East Ura

38 Maegashira #15 East Tobizaru

Notable Maneuvers

Fusen. Two wrestlers withdrew on Day Twelve because of injury, and both were important results. Former Ozeki Asanoyama gave Kotoeisho a freebie win for his 10th. Current Ozeki Kotozakura pulled out to give Churanoumi a kachi-koshi and make Kirishima the lone competing Ozeki.

Match of the Day

05 Ozeki #2 East Kirishima versus 07 Sekiwake West Kotoshoho

Kotoshoho executed a smart game plan against Kirishima. He went with a pushing attack at Kirishima’s chest. This pushed the Ozeki back, also only giving Kirishima a chance to try and fend off Kotoshoho’s repeated thrusts. Kirishima never moved forward in this match, but he’s a rikishi who can manage going backwards. Most sumotori need to avoid reverse movement because it’s hard to control yourself and stop. Kirishima moved sideways to give himself more dohyo to work with, then planted his feet to slap down an on rushing Kotoshoho.

Recap

Kirishima and Kotoeiho are tied atop the yusho arasoi after Day Twelve on 10 wins. Kirishima got a nice hatakikomi, Kotoeiho got the freebie win, and Tobizaru got bulldozed by Yoshinofuji to set up this situation for the final three days. Tobizaru is at 9-3 with Wakatakakage, Yoshinofuji, and Ura. Barring true strangeness—and this basho has certainly been peculiar so far—only the six men mentioned in this paragraph have a realistic chance at the Emperor’s Cup.

The withdrawal of Kotozakura means that Kirishima’s final three days are wide open for possible opponents. If no one was injured and everything had gone to plan, Kirishima’s final four matches would have been Hoshoryu, Onosato, Kotozakura, and Aonishiki in some order. He will see none of them. They’ve all pulled out injured from this one.

Which weirdly means Kirishima will have to beat all his nearest rivals. Day Thirteen will, a little oddly, feature a Kirishima-Kotoeiho matchup. The current co-leaders could just as easily be saved for the last day. The matchmakers had other plans, seemingly wanting to make the most exciting day possible. The 3 loss group is also getting sliced in half, since Wakatakakage-Tobizaru and Yoshinofuji-Ura also feature on Day Thirteen.

This would seem to set Kirishima up with a Tobizaru and Ura close to the basho if all three men win. We also haven’t seen Kotoeiho face Wakatakakage or Yoshinofuji if the Day Thirteen matches go the other way. At a minimum, the yusho winner will need to beat their closest rival on the dohyo. This is another reason why the 8-4 rikishi have little chance of making it through. Everyone on 2 or 3 losses currently can’t drop all their remaining matches.

The cluster at the top—not to mention that many key matchups have already happened—enhances the possibility of a playoff on Sunday. Surviving until Sunday is going to be enough of a challenge. This Natsu basho has been cursed by injuries, especially at the top of the Banzuke. But it’s also given us an exciting yusho race and set up a possible wild finish.

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