September Basho 2026 — Topics

Takayasu, 36, moves up to maegashira two. Eleven wins from maegashira seven in Nagoya brought him a seventh Fighting Spirit prize and a fourteenth special prize overall, tying him for fourth on the all-time list. At maegashira two he will again be matched against the yokozuna and ozeki.

高安 →

Asasuiryu and Kotobukinofuji both reach the top division in September. Asasuiryu, 26, earned his place with eleven wins from the top of juryo in Nagoya. His brother Asakoryu is also in makuuchi at the same Takasago stable, making them the fourteenth pair of brothers in the top division — the most recent being Kotoshoho and Kotoeiho, who this time stand as the east and west maegashira one. Asasuiryu came through Nippon Sport Science University alongside yokozuna Onosato, whom he calls a benchmark. He said the promotion was a goal he had set himself, and that his name is bigger on the ranking sheet now.

朝翠龍 →寿之富士 →朝紅龍 →大の里 →

Back at ozeki, Aonishiki said there was nothing special about it and that his sights remain set higher. He declined the customary photograph with the new banzuke, saying he had done it before and had only regained a rank he already held. He won in Nagoya while nursing a left ankle and left big toe, and spent the summer tour on conditioning work rather than practice bouts, saying the injuries are improving and he has no anxiety about the preparation. All three of his championships have come through a playoff; the 22-year-old said he wants to know what it feels like to settle one in the regular bouts.

安青錦 →

Hakunofuji, 23, becomes komusubi for the first time. He is reportedly the first wrestler from Tottori to reach sanyaku since the former yokozuna Kotozakura, some 62 years ago — and as a primary school pupil he competed in a tournament named after that predecessor. After a storming top-division debut he spent a spell going back and forth, and says he is stronger now than he was then. His stablemaster at Isegahama praised him for rising on ability rather than momentum, and said that if he can perfect a relentless style off the front belt, nothing will frighten him. Hakunofuji called sanyaku a goal but not the finish line, naming a championship and ozeki as what comes next.

伯乃富士 →

Fujinokawa, 21, is the new sekiwake. From maegashira one in Nagoya he beat both yokozuna and took the Outstanding Performance prize. Reaching sanyaku in twenty-two tournaments from his debut ties him for tenth on the all-time list, and comes barely a year after his first appearance in the top division. He is reportedly the first wrestler from Kyoto to reach sanyaku since Himeodoshi in 1828. He said reaching sanyaku had been his goal for the year, that he had not thought he would get there when he joined, and that his aim in September is simply a winning record and sumo the crowd enjoys.

藤ノ川 →

Ozeki Kirishima goes for yokozuna promotion for a second straight tournament. He finished 12-3 in both May and July and reached the playoff each time without lifting the cup. Asakayama noted that promotion to the top rank demands both quality and results, and said the run of good sumo should continue. At 30, having twice come through to a playoff without winning it, the result itself is now what counts.

霧島 →

Sekiwake Atamifuji arrives in September with a shot at ozeki. Nine wins in May and twelve in July give him twenty-one over two tournaments; the customary benchmark of thirty-three across three would require twelve more. Asakayama, the head of the judging department that compiles the banzuke, said on the final day in Nagoya that it would certainly count as an ozeki run, and that sumo of the quality he showed there would leave nothing to argue about. The 23-year-old beat Aonishiki in the regular bout in Nagoya but lost the playoff.

熱海富士 →安青錦 →

The Sumo Association announced the September banzuke on 31 August. Aonishiki, who took his third championship in Nagoya, returns to ozeki under the rule that lets a demoted ozeki come straight back with ten or more wins. Two men reach sanyaku for the first time: Fujinokawa, who beat both yokozuna from maegashira one, moves up to sekiwake, and Hakunofuji, nine wins from maegashira three, becomes komusubi. Daieisho returns to komusubi. At the top, Onosato takes the senior east slot after nine wins on his return from injury, while Hoshoryu, who withdrew mid-tournament, moves to the west.

安青錦 →藤ノ川 →伯乃富士 →大栄翔 →大の里 →豊昇龍 →