Sumo's 2026 spring basho in Osaka is fast becoming the tournament of upsets that no-one in the rank list saw coming. By day nine of the 15-day haru basho, three wrestlers - Kirishima, Kotoshoho and Gonoyama - sat tied at the top of the leaderboard at 8-1. The man most expected to dominate, ozeki Aonishiki, was already cleaved out of the title race after losing five of his nine bouts.
"This tournament has been very exciting, partly due to a number of unexpected storylines," the official tournament wrap noted.
The biggest of those storylines has been the implosion of yokozuna Onosato. The 75th yokozuna lost his first three bouts and withdrew from the basho - an unprecedented opening for him at the sport's senior rank - leaving the title field without one of its expected anchors before the second week even started. The other yokozuna, Hoshoryu, has been competitive but uneven at 7-2, dropping bouts to Fujinokawa and Daieisho along the way.
The biggest surprise has been Aonishiki himself, who entered the tournament fresh off back-to-back yusho and at the centre of the yokozuna promotion conversation.
"Aonishiki has looked human for the first time in his pro sumo career," the report observed.
Losses to Yoshinofuji, Churanoumi, Oho, Atamifuji and Takanosho add up to a record - 4-5 - that effectively ends his promotion bid in the short term. The Yokozuna Deliberation Council needs consistency at the top of the championship leaderboard, not a 4-5 mid-basho. Aonishiki's pursuit of the sport's 76th rank promotion will, instead, be re-opened across the May and July tournaments.
In his place, the leaderboard belongs to the trio. Kirishima, the former ozeki demoted at the end of 2025, is on a 6-day stretch toward ozeki re-promotion if he can land 11 wins.
"With only three wins left in the next six days, he seems odds on to make that mark," the tournament report read.
Kotoshoho is producing a career-best run, building on a strong 2025 finish with technical wins and a rare clean opening week. Gonoyama, fighting at maegashira, is the surprise of the trio - his 8-1 mark includes wins over more senior opponents and represents the best opening week of his pro career.
For sumo's title narrative, the day-9 leaderboard is a reset. Kirishima carries the most direct path to the senior ranks - a yusho would re-elevate his case for ozeki - while Kotoshoho and Gonoyama are racing for what would be career-defining titles. The remaining six days will determine whether one of the trio breaks away or whether the contest holds together into a final-day deciding bout.
The injuries continue to be a presence throughout the rank list. Both yokozuna have been managing physical issues across the past two basho cycles. Several ozeki have been operating below full fitness. The result is a top-heavy field that has been vulnerable to mid-rank wrestlers willing to attack inside, and the spring basho is delivering proof in the form of a wide-open leaderboard.
The schedule turns toward the final week with promotion stakes, comeback storylines and a yokozuna already on his way out of the venue. Whatever happens in Osaka over the next six days, the spring basho has already broken the script that the New Year tournament wrote.
