Kirishima is going back to ozeki. The Mongolian sekiwake closed out the Spring Basho in Osaka with a 12-3 finish — and a third career Emperor's Cup — to push his three-tournament total to the 34 wins the Japan Sumo Association requires for promotion to sumo's second-highest rank.
The 28-year-old's title run came amid carnage at the top of the banzuke. Yokozuna Onosato withdrew on day four with a shoulder injury and finished 0-0-11. His fellow yokozuna Hoshoryu posted 11-4 and was openly criticised by JSA Chairman Hakkaku, who described the showing as "pathetic". Ozeki Aonishiki, the surprise back-to-back champion of late 2025 and early 2026, slumped to 0-4-11, his first losing record at any rank.
Kirishima had his own day-14 wobble — Hoshoryu beat him in a result widely viewed as the yokozuna trying to redeem himself in the wake of the chairman's rebuke — but the sekiwake closed strongly to seal the cup. He last held ozeki rank exactly two years ago before a poor stretch dropped him out of the san'yaku top tier. Returning to that level on the back of three Emperor's Cups makes him one of the most accomplished active rikishi outside the yokozuna ranks.
The tournament's sub-plots ran deeper than the usual jockeying around the kensho banner-bearers. M5 Kotoshoho finished 11-4 to underline his rise. M2 Fujinokawa, sitting low in the rankings, went 8-7 and pulled off the rare distinction of beating both yokozuna in the same basho. Maegashira-1 Wakatakakage sat out the final two days with a triceps injury at 8-6-1, and Komusubi Wakamotoharu, one of the wrestlers expected to push the san'yaku, hit a dispiriting 3-12.
For Kirishima, the May tournament now becomes a chance to settle in at the higher rank rather than scramble for promotion. For the rest of the top of the banzuke, his ascent reshapes the field at the same moment that the JSA is publicly questioning whether its current yokozuna are doing enough. The Spring Basho ended with the Emperor's Cup heading to Mongolia, the chairman raising eyebrows, and a returning ozeki ready to fight for more.
