March 2025 Grand Sumo Tournament, Day 12 (Thursday 20 March 2025)

(Looking for a different day? Try the master list!)

Compiled from: JSA's postings for makuuchi, juryo, makushita, sandanme, jonidan and jonokuchi; JSA's absence list, JSA's tournament leader list, JSA's tournament champions list and JSA's Day 12 program in Japanese.

There are 155 bouts listed on the schedule today. It's an even-numbered day which means the west side is first to get called.

Check the appendices at the end of the schedule for more useful information!

Results by stable

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Results for day 12 only

Ajigawa, Arashio, Asahiyama, Asakayama, Dewanoumi, Fujishima, Futagoyama, Hakkaku, Hanaregoma, Hidenoyama, Ikazuchi, Isegahama, Isenoumi, Kasugano, Kataonami, Kise, Kokonoe, Minato, Musashigawa, Nakamura, Naruto, Nishiiwa, Nishikido, Nishonoseki, Oitekaze, Onoe, Onomatsu, Oshima, Oshiogawa, Otake, Otowayama, Sadogatake, Sakaigawa, Shibatayama, Shikihide, Shikoroyama, Tagonoura, Takadagawa, Takasago, Takekuma, Tamanoi, Tatsunami, Tokitsukaze, Tokiwayama, Yamahibiki

Results for entire tournament

Ajigawa, Arashio, Asahiyama, Asakayama, Dewanoumi, Fujishima, Futagoyama, Hakkaku, Hanaregoma, Hidenoyama, Ikazuchi, Isegahama, Isenoumi, Kasugano, Kataonami, Kise, Kokonoe, Minato, Musashigawa, Nakamura, Naruto, Nishiiwa, Nishikido, Nishonoseki, Oitekaze, Onoe, Onomatsu, Oshima, Oshiogawa, Otake, Otowayama, Sadogatake, Sakaigawa, Shibatayama, Shikihide, Shikoroyama, Tagonoura, Takadagawa, Takasago, Takekuma, Tamanoi, Tatsunami, Tokitsukaze, Tokiwayama, Yamahibiki

What our fave toriteki are doing today

If you want a toriteki (non-salaried rikishi from divisions 3 to 6) added to this watch list, get in touch!

Appearing on day 12: Agora, Arise, Asakiryu, Asanowaka, Asasorai, Asonoyama, Chiyooga, Daigozakura, Enho, Fujimusashi, Furanshisu, Furuta, Gojinyu, Hananoumi, Hayashiryu, Hikarumusashi, Hinataryu, Hogasho, Kamito, Kazeyuki, Keiga, Kitadaichi, Kitanosho, Kokuryunami, Kosei, Kototsubasa, Mabuchi, Matsui, Miyatani, Najima, Nikko, Nishikinoryu, Nobehara, Obara, Okaryu, Rinko, Sachinofuji, Sawayaka, Sazanami, Shoji, Shoketsu, Shotaimu, Shunrai, Soma, Suzaki, Tanji, Taranami, Tenrosei, Toramusashi, Toshunryu, Tsukubayama, Tsushimanada, Urutora, Yokomaru, Yuma

Having a rest on day 12: Amakaze, Asanoyama, Chiyomaru, Denuma, Dewanojo, Fubu, Goshima, Goshimaru, Hagane, Harunishiki, Hokuyozan, Ikarigata, Ikazuchido, Ishizaki, Kaihiryu, Kaiseijo, Kakuho, Kawamura, Kawazoe, Kazeeidai, Kazuto, Koga, Koki, Kotakiyama, Kotokuzan, Kuwae, Mishima, Mita, Miyagi, Moriurara, Naniwamusashi, Okada, Osanai, Oyamada, Ryubumaru, Satonofuji, Satsumao, Seihakuho, Shimizuumi, Shoran, Souga, Suyama, Tochimaru, Tokunomusashi, Tsukioka, Tsurunoumi, Ujiie, Wakamiyabi, Wakatakamoto, Yago, Yamato, Yoshii, Yukiamami

Kyujo on day 12: Jokoki, Kenho, Kikuchi, Mineyaiba, Nakashima, Raiho, Tatsuosho, Uchiumi

Note: Each division also has its own mini-report for who's on the schedule and who's kyujo!

Kyujo rikishi

The following 37 rikishi are kyujo on day 12: Bushozan, Daibasho, Fujiazuma, Fujihara, Gonowaka, Goseiryu, Higohikari, Hoshoryu, Jokoki, Kaizen, Kawabuchi, Kazuma, Kenho, Kikuchi, Kiryuko, Kitanowaka, Kotokenryu, Kumanohana, Kyoda, Mineyaiba, Nakashima, Nihonyanagi, Nishikifuji, Nishikimaru, Okuniiwa, Raiho, Raiho, Satsumasho, Shimazuumi, Shinhakuho, Sonoshun, Taiga, Takanoryu, Tappa, Tatsuosho, Uchiumi, Uchiumi

Salary promotions and demotions

Congratulations to new juryo promotees Wakanosho (Tokiwayama), Kusano (Isegahama) and Otsuji (Takadagawa) and re-promotees Kazekeno (Oshiogawa) and Hitoshi (Oitekaze).

Congratulations also to our new yokozuna, 74th yokozuna Hoshoryu!

Retirements

Best of luck to retiring rikishi Kainoshima (Fujishima), Tsunekawa (Arashio), Honma (Naruto), Shunkaku (Shikoroyama), Mori (Tamanoi), Shimamura (Arashio), Okanojo (Dewanoumi), Shosei (Sakaigawa) and Wakayamanaka (Hanaregoma) and last but not least outgoing yokozuna Terunofuji (Isegahama).

Taiga (Arashio) is reported to have retired (arashio.net)

We wish all retirees the best in their future endeavours!

Absences

Kitanowaka was absent from day 1.

Nishikifuji was absent from day 2 due to neck pain (Nikkan Sports).

Nabatame went absent from day 4 with an ACL and medial meniscus knee injury (source); Futagoyama Twitter and returned on day 9.

Oshoumi went absent from day 6 due to a leg injury (Nikkan Sports).

Kiryuko went absent from day 7 with a torn left ACL, damaged right MCL, and contusions on the outer condyle of the right femur and proximal bone of the right shin bone; his recovery is expected to take 3 months (Nikkan Sports).

New yokozuna Hoshoryu went absent from day 10 with a cervical sprain and a right elbow sprain which require two weeks of rest (Nikkan Sports, Sponichi). The elbow injury is severe enough he can't straighten his arm (hochi.news). This will be the first time a yokozuna has gone absent during their debut since Futahaguro in 1986 - Futahaguro only reached 3 wins and withdrew on day 8.

Non-rikishi absences

Fan favourite gyoji Kimura Kankuro is still absent for disciplinary reasons. This Japanese forum post suggests he may have been suspended after an incident, and this Nikkan Sports article confirms that he pinched a junior gyoji's arm to the point that it bruised. He'll continue to be suspended for the March tournament.

Gyoji Shikimori Komei was absent from day 1 until day 9 when he reappeared.

Start at 9:30AM

Jonokuchi 序ノ口 (Division 6)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for jonokuchi

Coming up: Hikarumusashi, Tenrosei

Shimpan are Tamagaki (komusubi Tomonohana) right of dohyo, Futagoyama* (ozeki Miyabiyama) facing away on mic, Tokitsukaze* (maegashira #1 Tosayutaka) left of dohyo, Hidenoyama* (ozeki Kotoshogiku) facing us left, Takekuma* (ozeki Goeido) facing us right

Yobidashi is Katsuki (Ajigawa stable); Gyoji is Kimura Yunosuke (Tagonoura stable)

Jonidan 序二段 (Division 5)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for jonidan

Coming up: Agora, Arise, Asasorai, Daigozakura, Fujimusashi, Furanshisu, Kazeyuki, Keiga, Kokuryunami, Kosei, Mabuchi, Miyatani, Najima, Nishikinoryu, Sawayaka, Shoketsu, Shotaimu, Tsukubayama, Urutora

Gyoji is Shikimori Kazenosuke (Oshiogawa stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Kisaburo (Tokitsukaze stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Komei (Naruto stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Shunta (Shikoroyama stable)

Shimpan shift change

Shimpan are Onaruto (ozeki Dejima) right of dohyo, Hanaregoma* (sekiwake Tamanoshima) facing away on mic, Tanigawa (sekiwake Hokutoriki) left of dohyo, Ajigawa* (sekiwake Aminishiki) facing us left, Otowayama* (the 71st yokozuna Kakuryu) facing us right

Gyoji is Kimura Ryunosuke (Kokonoe stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Keitaro (Musashigawa stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Katsunosuke (Oshima stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Narimasa (Ikazuchi stable)

Sandanme 三段目 (Division 4)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for sandanme

Coming up: Asakiryu, Asanowaka, Furuta, Hayashiryu, Hogasho, Kitanosho, Kototsubasa, Nikko, Sachinofuji, Shoji, Soma, Suzaki, Taranami, Toramusashi

Gyoji is Shikimori Kainosuke (Isenoumi stable)

Shimpan shift change

Shimpan are Tatekawa (sekiwake Tosanoumi) right of dohyo, Azumazeki (komusubi Takamisakari) facing away on mic, Ikazuchi* (komusubi Kakizoe) left of dohyo, Naruto* (ozeki Kotooshu) facing us left, Tateyama (maegashira #6 Homarefuji) facing us right

Gyoji is Shikimori Tatsunosuke (Takadagawa stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Seisuke (Isegahama stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Sakuranosuke (Shikihide stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Seiichiro (Isegahama stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Kintaro (Nishikido stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Kazuma (Nishiiwa stable)

Makushita 幕下 (Division 3)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for makushita

Coming up: Asonoyama, Chiyooga, Enho, Hananoumi, Hinataryu, Kamito, Kitadaichi, Matsui, Obara, Rinko, Sazanami, Shunrai, Tanji, Toshunryu, Yokomaru, Yuma

Shimpan shift change

Shimpan are Urakaze (maegashira #1 Shikishima) right of dohyo, Oshima* (sekiwake Kyokutenho) facing away on mic, Takasago* (sekiwake Asasekiryu) left of dohyo, Nishonoseki* (the 72nd yokozuna Kisenosato) facing us left, Kiyomigata (sekiwake Tochiozan) facing us right

Gyoji is Shikimori Kinosuke (Sadogatake stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Tomokazu (Oshima stable)

Yobidashi is Soichi (Yamahibiki stable); Gyoji is Kimura Ennosuke (Nishonoseki stable)

Yobidashi is Yohei (Dewanoumi stable)

Yobidashi is Keisuke (Shibatayama stable); Gyoji is Kimura Satoshi (Takasago stable)

Yobidashi is Fujio (Isegahama stable)

Yobidashi is Shigetaro (Kokonoe stable); Gyoji is Shikimori Kazuki (Arashio stable)

Yobidashi is Tasuke (Yamahibiki stable)

Yobidashi is Satoru (Hanaregoma stable); Gyoji is Kimura Hideaki (Tokiwayama stable)

Juryo dohyo-iri at 2:15PM

Makushita Joi 幕下上位 (Division 3)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for makushita

Coming up: Gojinyu, Nobehara, Okaryu, Tsushimanada

Shimpan are Kumegawa (komusubi Kotoinazuma) facing away on mic, Onaruto (ozeki Dejima), Hanaregoma* (sekiwake Tamanoshima), Tanigawa (sekiwake Hokutoriki), Otowayama* (the 71st yokozuna Kakuryu)

Yobidashi is Masao (Nishiiwa stable); Gyoji is Kimura Kozaburo (Hakkaku stable)

Yobidashi is Rokuro (Nishonoseki stable); Gyoji is Kimura Zennosuke (Kasugano stable)

Yobidashi is Hiroyuki (Nishiiwa stable); Gyoji is Kimura Chishu (Dewanoumi stable)

Juryo 十両 (Division 2)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for juryo

Yobidashi is Matsuo (Hanaregoma stable); Gyoji is Kimura Kichijiro (Shibatayama stable)

Yobidashi is Kunio (Takasago stable); Gyoji is Shikimori Shinnosuke (Hanaregoma stable)

Yobidashi is Mitsuaki (Tagonoura stable); Gyoji is Kimura Yukihiro (Tamanoi stable)

Yobidashi is Rikinojo (Takasago stable); Gyoji is Kimura Mitsunosuke (Takadagawa stable)

Yobidashi is Koji (Asakayama stable); Gyoji is Kimura Shozaburo (Tagonoura stable)

Yobidashi is Teruki (Isegahama stable); Gyoji is Kimura Asanosuke (Takasago stable)

Intermission at 3:40PM: Makuuchi dohyo-iri

Makuuchi 幕内 (Division 1)

Official JSA fixtures, results and winning techniques for makuuchi

Shimpan are Takadagawa* (sekiwake Akinoshima) facing away on mic, Tatekawa (sekiwake Tosanoumi), Azumazeki (komusubi Takamisakari), Ikazuchi* (komusubi Kakizoe), Tateyama (maegashira #6 Homarefuji)

Yobidashi is Daikichi (Hakkaku stable); Gyoji is Shikimori Kiichiro (Oitekaze stable)

Gyoji is ❤️ Kimura Yonosuke ❤️ (Hakkaku stable)

Yobidashi is Kotoyoshi (Sadogatake stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Ginjiro (Shibatayama stable)

Yobidashi is Kotozo (Sadogatake stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Kindayu (Hanaregoma stable)

Yobidashi is Ryuji (Isegahama stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Akijiro (Kasugano stable)

Yobidashi is Akira (Oshima stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Motoki (Minato stable)

Shimpan shift change

Shimpan are Kokonoe* (ozeki Chiyotaikai) facing away on mic, Urakaze (maegashira #1 Shikishima), Oshima* (sekiwake Kyokutenho), Takasago* (sekiwake Asasekiryu), Kiyomigata (sekiwake Tochiozan)

Yobidashi is Kokichi (Oshima stable)

Gyoji is Shikimori Kandayu (Asahiyama stable)

Yobidashi is Goro (Otake stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Hisanosuke (Oshima stable)

Yobidashi is Shigeo (Kokonoe stable)

Gyoji is Kimura Konosuke (Kokonoe stable)

Yobidashi is Shiro (Otake stable)

Gyoji is 43rd Shikimori Inosuke (Kasugano stable)

Yobidashi is Katsuyuki (Shibatayama stable)

Gyoji is 39th Kimura Shonosuke (Kokonoe stable)

Bow-twirling with Hananoumi

Appendices

General knowledge

Wikipedia has a list of winning techniques like oshidashi, yorikiri, etc and a sumo glossary, the heaviest grand sumo competitors ever, and an English-language page for just about every sekitori there is or was.

SumoDB has the entire banzuke in both Japanese and English. SumoDB also contains information about historical results and head to head matchups.

Nihon Sumo Kyokai (Japan Sumo Association) links: current rankings Japanese/English; yobidashi (ushers & attendants) Japanese/English; gyoji (referees) Japanese/English; oyakata (coaches) Japanese/English; heya (training stables) Japanese/English. NSK homepage in English; retirees - Japanese only but only requires hiragana knowledge; changes of name - Japanese only but only requires hiragana knowledge.

Fred Pinkerton's promotion/demotion charts show who's moving where in top division.

News sources and blogs: Tachi-Ai sumo blog (in English); Japan Times sumo coverage (in English); Nikkan Sports sumo articles (in Japanese); Sponichi sumo articles (in Japanese); Chunichi sumo articles (in Japanese). Hochi.news sumo articles (in Japanese). Useful Japanese terms to search in the highlights page for: 休場 (kyujo, absence); コロナ (korona, COVID).

Japanese language resources: DeepL for translating entire articles; Jisho for looking up specific words and kanji; the 10ten extension for Firefox lets you mouse over particular Japanese text of interest on websites.

Curiosities: that time half a stable went AWOL because the stablemaster's wife was being too harsh on them; interview with a yobidashi; countdown until Onokuni reaches mandatory retirement age

And finally a list of amateur sumo events around Japan (in Japanese).

Videos

Miscellaneous

A comprehensive gallery featuring head shots and bios of rikishi, oyakata, gyoji, yobidashi and more (correct to the beginning of 2023). Pre-bout rituals explained; What do the gyoji say?

Sumo match announcements

  1. Yobidashi sings the names of the rikishi about to bout in turn, then rikishi ascend the dohyo
  2. Once rikishi are on the dohyo, gyoji hollers their names in turn while gesturing their way
  3. Announcer clearly announces each rikishi's starting side (nishi/higashi-gata rikishi), name, place of origin (-shusshin) and training stable (-beya) as they perform shikiri and throw salt
  4. Once timekeeper judge says to begin, gyoji commands rikishi into position, then officiates the match
  5. (optional) If the outcome is unclear or in dispute by a judge, a mono-ii is called and head judge reports on their findings; gyoji announces a rematch if that's what the judges want
  6. Gyoji announces winner's name turning to them and possibly giving them envelopes full of sponsor cash.
  7. Once winner is decided, announcer says who won and what the kimarite (deciding technique) was (technique de rikishi name no kachi) - this can be delayed by up to a few matches if the technique is hard to determine!

Understanding the judges' reports

Mono-ii reports are very formulaic! They're usually a couple of long run-on sentences that go something like this:

  1. Now we're going to explain our conference. Tadaima wa kyogi ni tsuite setsumei itashimasu or similar
  2. The gyoji pointed (one way or another), but.. Gyoji gunbai wa higashigata/nishigata/(rikishi name) arimashita ga..
  3. We had a conference about (something that affects the outcome of the match), the result of that conference was.. (???) mono-ii ga tsuki, kyougi shita kekka..
  4. (The findings of that discussion) (???)-te ori/orazu
  5. (The outcome of that discussion and the rightful winner of the bout if one was determined.)

Matters for discussion and findings may include a touchout (te ga dete ori/orazu..), a simultaneous landing for both rikishi (doutai or ryousha), or even a disqualification (hansoku).

Helpful words to listen out for to get the gist of the report:

Body parts

Actions and other stuff

Verdicts

The outcome can go three ways:

Who's that shimpan (ringside judge)?

Click the name of the shimpan to see what they look like. Thanks to the maintainer of this page for providing these images! Our new shimps this month are Otowayama, Tateyama and Kiyomigata.

Shimpan groups

Stablemasters have * after their name; everyone else is a coach.

Senior shimpan

Members of this senior group join up with other shimpan groups to act as head shimpan after the juryo ring entrance ceremony & intermission. This month's senior shimps are Takadagawa* (sekiwake Akinoshima), Kokonoe* (ozeki Chiyotaikai) and Kumegawa (komusubi Kotoinazuma).

Who's that yobidashi

The official program only lists juryo-ranked yobidashi and above from Soichi onwards. Even after their match-calling shifts, these guys work throughout the day as attendants, minding the salt during salaried matches, etc.

There's a slightly outdated gallery of yobidashi headshots with bios at Heyaaz - it's missing Kumajiro because he debuted during 2023.

To help spot them, here's links to screencaps of the lower ranked yobidashi in their order of appearance, including onscreen bios in Japanese:

jonokuchi yobidashi

jonidan yobidashi

sandanme yobidashi

makushita yobidashi

What does the gyoji say?