Kirishima is back at ozeki. The Mongolian-born sekiwake's 12-3 victory at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka in March secured his third career Emperor's Cup and triggered the Japan Sumo Association's confirmation of his promotion back to sumo's second-highest rank — a move that reshapes the top of the May banzuke and gives sumo a third active ozeki for the first time in over a year.
Kirishima's previous ozeki run ended in 2024 after a string of injury-affected tournaments forced his demotion. The intervening 12 months were spent at sekiwake, a rank he has held with relentless consistency, and the Spring Basho was the third tournament in his current campaign — the standard reference window the JSA uses for ozeki promotion. The traditional 33-win benchmark across three consecutive san'yaku tournaments is a guideline rather than a fixed rule, but Kirishima cleared it comfortably.
What made his Spring run particularly emphatic was its shape. He was the sole leader by day thirteen, having combined his usual yotsu-zumo with a more aggressive tachiai than he had shown in recent meets. Even his two final-day losses — to Aonishiki on day fourteen and Kotozakura on senshuraku — were more about a tournament already mathematically secured than any real fade. "I lost my bout, and ideally I wanted to [win] it," Kirishima said after day fourteen. "But I'm relieved to have secured the title."
For the May Natsu Basho banzuke, Kirishima's return creates a more complete top of the rankings than sumo has seen in a while. He joins ozeki Aonishiki, who finished Spring on kadoban after a losing 7-8 record, and Kotozakura, the Japanese ozeki whose Spring win over Hoshoryu reasserted his quiet authority at the rank. With both yokozuna — Onosato and Hoshoryu — entering Natsu under their own pressure, sumo will go to Tokyo with arguably its deepest top three since Terunofuji's twilight years.
The banzuke implications go further. Kirishima's promotion clears space at sekiwake for Atamifuji to step up — itself a meaningful development for the Japanese audience, given that Atamifuji has emerged as the next domestic hopeful for ozeki. The reshuffle leaves the san'yaku looking more populated than at any point in 2025: three ozeki, two yokozuna, and a freshly promoted Japanese sekiwake with a credible ozeki case of his own.
Kirishima himself enters Natsu in his standard role: the wrestler that everyone has to game-plan around. His head-to-head record against Aonishiki shifted slightly during Spring, and the Ukrainian's day-fourteen win in Osaka will be replayed in both stables ahead of the May meet. Hoshoryu, publicly chided by JSA Chairman Hakkaku for his "pathetic" Spring 11-4, is also expected to come out swinging against Kirishima, having lost their last meeting at Spring.
Natsu Basho runs from 10 May through 24 May at Ryogoku Kokugikan. The opening day's bouts will feature Kirishima at ozeki for the first time since 2024 — a marker for both his career and for a top of the banzuke that finally looks complete.
