Sumo's 2026 calendar opens with a Hatsu basho that the previewers are already framing as one of the most stacked New Year tournaments in years. Five storylines, in particular, have been singled out as the reasons to set the alarm clock for early-morning Tokyo broadcasts between January 11 and January 25.
The first - and biggest - is Aonishiki's pursuit of yokozuna promotion.
"If he wins this tournament he is very likely to be promoted to become the 76th yokozuna, which would make him the first European born wrestler to ever accomplish the feat," the preview said.
The 21-year-old Ukrainian arrived at the New Year basho off a Kyushu yusho and an ozeki promotion. The Yokozuna Deliberation Council will be watching. A second consecutive top-division championship would meet the convention that triggers yokozuna elevation, and the historical first - a European-born wrestler at the sport's senior rank - would carry a cultural weight beyond the tournament itself.
The second storyline is Onosato's return to full fitness. The 75th yokozuna has spent the off-season managing the shoulder injury he picked up at the back end of 2025, when he was forced to sit out his final bout of the Kyushu tournament. The preview team noted his elite hit rate in the top division to date.
"So far he's won the title in half of the top division tournaments he's ever competed in," they wrote.
Third on the list is Kotozakura, an ozeki whose toolkit set him apart in 2024 and whose 2025 was undermined by a knee problem that limited his power game.
"Kotozakura is probably the most technical grappler in sumo," the preview said.
Kotozakura has previously beaten both yokozuna in 2024 and would, if his fitness holds, be a clear title contender.
Fourth is the comeback story of Asanoyama. The former ozeki returns to the top division for the first time since July 2024, having banked a 12-3 record at the November Kyushu basho from the second division. The preview offered a measured frame for what comes next.
"At only 31, he's still got time for a late charge and a possible second top division title," the team wrote.
The fifth is Fujinokawa's career-high ranking. Promoted to maegashira 7 - up from a previous best of maegashira 9 in September - the wrestler arrives at his most senior rank to date and a chance at deeper exposure to the top of the division. Mid-rank wrestlers at career highs are historically a source of upset bouts; Fujinokawa's ranking puts him in the bracket where his work could land.
Taken together, the five storylines paint the Hatsu basho as a test bed for sumo's 2026 narrative. Aonishiki's promotion bid sets the headline, but the deeper bracket - Onosato's fitness, Kotozakura's technical work, Asanoyama's comeback and Fujinokawa's career-high promotion - is what will determine whether the tournament produces the kind of competitive depth that the sport's growing global audience has come to expect.
