2025 in sumo

The following are the events in professional sumo during 2025.

Tournaments

Hatsu basho

Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 12 January – 26 January ^[1]

2025 Hatsu basho results - Makuuchi Division
Result					East			Rank	West			Result
2	-	3	-	0	ø		Terunofuji	Y	ø			0	-	0	-	0
5	-	10	-	0			Kotozakura	O			Hōshōryū*	12	-	3	-	0
0	-	0	-	0	ø			O			Ōnosato	10	-	5	-	0
6	-	9	-	0			Wakamotoharu	S			Daieishō	11	-	4	-	0
7	-	8	-	0			Abi	K			Wakatakakage	7	-	8	-	0
6	-	9	-	0			Takanoshō	M1			Kirishima	11	-	4	-	0
7	-	8	-	0			Tobizaru	M2			Atamifuji	5	-	10	-	0
8	-	7	-	0			Gōnoyama	M3			Ōhō	12	-	3	-	0
6	-	9	-	0			Shōdai	M4			Ura	7	-	8	-	0
7	-	8	-	0			Hiradoumi	M5			Chiyoshōma	9	-	6	-	0
8	-	7	-	0			Takayasu	M6			Ichiyamamoto	8	-	7	-	0
6	-	9	-	0			Endō	M7			Mitakeumi	2	-	13	-	0
0	-	3	-	12	ø		Rōga	M8			Takarafuji	5	-	10	-	0
4	-	11	-	0			Churanoumi	M9			Ōshōma	8	-	7	-	0
9	-	6	-	0			Tamawashi	M10			Meisei	6	-	9	-	0
7	-	8	-	0			Midorifuji	M11			Takerufuji	10	-	5	-	0
8	-	7	-	0			Nishikigi	M12			Ōnokatsu	7	-	8	-	0
8	-	7	-	0			Shōnannoumi	M13			Kotoshōhō	5	-	10	-	0
0	-	0	-	15	ø		Hokutofuji	M14			Kinbōzan	12	-	3	-	0
10	-	5	-	0			Hakuōhō	M15	ø		Kitanowaka	4	-	5	-	6
6	-	9	-	0			Tamashōhō	M16			Kagayaki	6	-	9	-	0
9	-	6	-	0			Nishikifuji	M17			Tokihayate	7	-	8	-	0

ø - Indicates a pull-out or absent rank

winning record in bold

Yūshō Winner * Won 3-way Playoff

Playoff

(Two consecutive victories required to win the Playoff and the yūshō)

• Match 1: Hōshōryū defeated Kinbōzan
• Match 2: Hōshōryū defeated Ōhō

Haru basho

Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 9 March – 23 March ^[1]

Natsu basho

Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 11 May – 25 May ^[1]

Nagoya basho

Aichi International Arena, Nagoya, 13 July – 27 July ^[1]

Aki basho

Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 14 September – 28 September ^[1]

Kyushu basho

Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Kyushu, 9 November – 23 November ^[1]

News

January

• 11: The Japan Sumo Association announces that 2,955 envelopes of prize money (called kenshō-kin ) will be distributed to winning wrestlers at the upcoming January grand sumo tournament, setting an all-time record. ^[2] On the following day–the first day of the tournament–244 prize money envelopes are distributed, establishing a single-day record. ^[3] Among the sponsor banners paraded during the tournament are those promoting the future Major League Baseball Tokyo Series games, featuring photos of Shohei Ohtani and other Japanese baseball players. ^[4]
• 12: Maegashira competitors Rōga and Hokutofuji withdraw at the start of the January tournament. Roga suffered a torn thigh muscle a week earlier and is reported to be considering entry into the tournament while it is in progress, while Hokutofuji has spine and knee issues that are expected to take until the end of the month to heal. ^[5]
• 16: Yokozuna Terunofuji withdraws on the fifth day of the January tournament after suffering a first-day loss to Wakatakakage and conceding a gold star to Tobizaru on Day 4. It is his 13th absence in 21 tournaments at sumo's highest rank. ^[6] Later that day, Japanese media learn through sources at the Sumo Association that Terunofuji has decided to retire. ^[7]
• 17: The Sumo Association officially announces Terunofuji's retirement. ^[8] His retirement threatens to leave the sport's ranking without a yokozuna for the first time since the March 1993 tournament, when Akebono was promoted to the supreme rank and occupied the position left vacant since Hokutoumi's retirement in May 1992. ^{[9] [10]} He will remain with the Sumo Association coaching at Isegahama stable under his ring name of Terunofuji, which his status as a former yokozuna allows him to do. ^[8]
• 18: Rōga withdraws for a second time after re-entering the January tournament on Day 5 and suffering two consecutive losses. ^[11]
• 19: The Sumo Association announces that it will hold a sumo exhibition in the Accor Arena of Paris in June 2026, following the announcement of a 2025 London tour. The Sumo Association will be returning to Paris for the third time in its history, a first since 1995. ^[12]
  On Day 8 of the January tournament, maegashira Kitanowaka loses his match after getting his right foot trapped on the straw bales as he retreats from the attack of Takerufuji. Kitanowaka is removed from the dohyō in a wheelchair and is subsequently diagnosed with a broken ankle, forcing his withdrawal. ^[13]
• 26: Ōzeki Hōshōryū (12–3), the nephew of the 68th yokozuna Asashōryū, stages a late comeback on the final day of the January 2025 tournament to win his second Emperor's Cup and, as a result, is set to become the sport's 74th yokozuna. The Mongolian entered Day 15 tied with maegashira Ōhō and one win behind maegashira and tournament leader Kinbōzan. Hōshōryū first needed help from Ōhō, who defeated Kinbōzan in their regularly-scheduled final day contest, to remain in contention. With a playoff between Kinbōzan and Ōhō assured, Hōshōryū joined the playoff by defeating struggling ōzeki Kotozakura. In the three-way playoff, a wrestler needs to win two consecutive matches to claim victory. Kinbōzan and Hōshōryū drew first, and Hōshōryū powered himself to victory by force-out. In the second match Ōhō denied Hōshōryū his favorite grip from the outset; after a stalemate, Hōshōryū sent Ōhō down to the dohyō to clinch the tournament win. Hōshōryū's victory ensures that the lack of a yokozuna following the retirement of Terunofuji will be brief, as the Yokozuna Deliberation Council will meet on 27 January and is expected to formally recommend Hōshōryū's promotion. Two days after that, the full board of the Sumo Association is expected to give their final approval. The two runner-ups in the top division receive their first special prizes for their efforts, with Kinbōzan receiving the Kantō-shō (Fighting Spirit prize) and Ōhō receiving the Ginō-shō (Technique prize). A second Fighting Spirit prize is given to former ōzeki Kirishima, who remained in contention for the championship until he was defeated on Day 14 and finished with 11 wins. Meanwhile Kotozakura, the other yokozuna candidate, suffers a losing record and will need to win eight matches at the next tournament in March to hold on to his ōzeki rank. ^{[14] [15]}
  Ukrainian Shishi (13–2) takes his first career championship in professional sumo, winning the jūryō division and likely securing a return promotion to the top division. ^[16]
• 27: In a unanimous decision, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council recommends Hōshōryū's promotion to yokozuna. ^[17]
• 29: The Sumo Association accepts the recommendation of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council and unanimously promotes Hōshōryū to become the sport's 74th yokozuna. ^[18] The date also marks the 22nd anniversary of the promotion of Hōshōryū's uncle, Asashōryū, to the same rank. In his customary acceptance speech, Hōshōryū said that he will "continue to work hard with a strong determination in order not to tarnish" his new rank. ^[19]
  There are five promotions to the second-highest jūryō division announced by the Sumo Association. Three are promoted for the first time. One is 23-year-old Kusano  [ ja ], a former Nihon University student who is a National Student Sumo champion and subsequent makushita tsukedashi entrant into the sport. The others are 21-year-olds Wakanoshō  [ ja ] and Ōtsuji  [ ja ], both of whom had placed third in the National Junior High School Sumo championships. Kazekenō  [ ja ] returns to the second division after competing in jūryō last May, while four-time lower division champion Hitoshi  [ ja ] returns for the first time since November 2023. ^[20]
• 30: Fuji Television decides to withdraw its broadcast of the Japan Grand Sumo Tournament, a 49-year-old charity event to be held on 9 February at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The decision comes after the sexual misconduct scandal of television presenter and former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai, and the subsequent withdrawal of sponsors from Fuji TV programming. ^[21]
  The Japan Sumo Association announces the suspension of Kimura Kankurō, a jūryō-ranked gyōji , for the March tournament and a pay cut after he was found to be the perpetrator of a physical assault on one of his apprentices at the November 2024 tournament. ^[22]
• 31: With Asashōryū among the family members in attendance, Hōshōryū's first ring-entering ceremony as a yokozuna is held at Meiji Shrine. Stablemate Meisei serves as the dew sweeper, and Hiradoumi is the sword bearer. ^[23]

February

• 1: The retirement ceremony for former maegashira Tokushōryū is held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. ^[24]
• 8: The NHK charity sumo tournament is held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan with around 4,500 people attending. ^[25]
• 9: The 49th Japan Grand Sumo Tournament, a one-day competition for professional sumo wrestlers, is held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. Although organizer and broadcaster Fuji Television decided to withdraw the broadcast of the tournament after the scandal involving Masahiro Nakai, the tournament was sold out. ^[26] Several changes were made to the tournament's usual organization, including the discontinuation of matches between toshiyori (retired wrestlers), radio broadcasting and post-match prize-giving. ^[27] The tournament winner is Takayasu—who wins this tournament for the third time—with the former ōzeki defeating opponents such as new yokozuna Hōshōryū, before winning the championship match against Wakamotoharu. ^[26]

March

The spring jungyō (regional tours) will be held at the following locations in March: ^[28]

• 30: Ise Shrine, Mie (Ceremonial tournament)
• 31: Hirakata

April

The spring jungyō (regional tours) will be held at the following locations in April: ^[28]

• 1: Kinokawa, Wakayama
• 2: Kishiwada, Osaka
• 3: Kashihara, Nara
• 4: Seki, Gifu
• 5: Nanao, Ishikawa
• 6: Toyama
• 7: Tsubata, Ishikawa
• 8: Tsuruga, Fukui
• 9: Chita, Aichi
• 12: Fujisawa, Kanagawa
• 13: Chiba
• 14: Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo (Ceremonial tournament)
• 15: Ōta, Tokyo
• 16: Tsukuba
• 17: Hokota, Ibaraki
• 18: Utsunomiya
• 19: Ōta, Gunma
• 20: Takasaki
• 23: Jōsō
• 24: Kawasaki, Kanagawa
• 25: Hadano, Kanagawa
• 26: Yokohama
• 27: Hachiōji

Deaths

• 27 January: Former jūryō Kuniazuma  [ ja ], aged 49, of a heart attack. ^[29]

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of active sumo wrestlers
• List of years in sumo

References

1. "Grand Tournament Schedule". Japan Sumo Association . Retrieved 22 December 2024.
2. "初場所の懸賞申し込み2955本、過去最多更新の見通しに　力士別首位は琴桜" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
3. "ドジャース大谷翔平の懸賞旗周回に館内どよめき　１日244本、場所総本数2955本は過去最多" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
4. "MLB Sponsorship Banners Shown Before Crowd at New Year Sumo Tournament in Tokyo". Yomiuri Shimbun. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
5. "前頭の狼雅と北勝富士、十両は武将山が初場所休場　肉離れの狼雅は途中出場の可能性も" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
6. "横綱照ノ富士が休場　４日目までに２敗―大相撲初場所" (in Japanese). Jiji Press. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
7. "Sumo: Injury-plagued lone yokozuna Terunofuji set to retire". Kyodo News. 16 January 2025. Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
8. "Sumo: Grand champion Terunofuji retires after injury-plagued career". Kyodo News. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
9. "横綱照ノ富士が引退の意向　両膝痛と糖尿病に苦闘　序二段まで転落の苦労人、横綱在位21場所" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
10. "Sumo avoids chasm at top as Hoshoryu picked for top rank" . The Japan Times . 28 January 2025. Archived from the original on 28 January 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
11. "東前頭８枚目の狼雅が７日目から再び休場　師匠の二子山親方「万全に治して」千代翔馬は不戦勝" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
12. "2026年６月のパリ公演を発表　現状で横綱不在に八角理事長「私が赤い綱を締めてやりますか」" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 19 January 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
13. "北の若が右足首骨折、休場へ　尊富士に敗れ取組後は自力で歩けず車いすで引き揚げる" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 19 January 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
14. "Sumo: Hoshoryu set for yokozuna promotion after winning New Year meet". Kyodo News. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
15. "Hoshoryu seizes 2nd career title, to be promoted to 74th yokozuna". The Asahi Shimbun. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
16. "十両は獅司が初優勝　来場所の再入幕確実／初場所" (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
17. "Sumo: Hoshoryu ready to rest after promotion-earning New Year win". Kyodo News. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
18. "横綱豊昇龍が誕生、臨時理事会では全会一致で承認　照ノ富士引退による32年ぶりの横綱空位救う" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
19. "Sumo: Mongolian wrestler Hoshoryu becomes 74th yokozuna". Kyodo News. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
20. "若ノ勝、草野、大辻の３力士が新十両昇進決定　再十両は風賢央、日翔志" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
21. "フジテレビ主催の「日本大相撲トーナメント」テレビ放送中止、興行は一部内容を変更し実施" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
22. "十両格行司の木村勘九郎が後輩行司１人に暴力行為…腕をつねってあざ負わせる" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
23. "豊昇龍、叔父の元横綱朝青龍が見守る前で奉納土俵入り　露払いは明生、太刀持ちに平戸海" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
24. "元幕内徳勝龍の千田川親方、断髪式　ボクシング内山高志氏らの姿／出席した主な著名人" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
25. "「NHK福祉大相撲」開催 元横綱照ノ富士が新横綱豊昇龍にエール" (in Japanese). NHK. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
26. "高安３度目の優勝「本場所と同じような雰囲気」フジテレビ中継なしも、満員の観客に感謝" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
27. "大相撲トーナメント"フジテレビ色"消える　放送取りやめで一部内容変更　一方でフジ化粧まわしの力士も" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
28. "Jungyo Schedule 2025". Japan Sumo Association (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 January 2025.
29. "元十両・国東が心筋梗塞で急死　49歳　ブラジル出身2人目の関取" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2025.