Takakeisho will start the May 2026 Natsu Basho ranked at the top of the Ozeki list — Ozeki 1 East — after picking up 10 wins in March, his strongest tournament since the November 2024 yusho that confirmed his place at the front of sumo's senior ranks.
The Ozeki re-shuffle on the May banzuke also moves Aonishiki, the 22-year-old Ukrainian, to the west side of the Ozeki line after a difficult Osaka tournament. Aonishiki finished March with a 7-8 record — his first sub-11-win tournament since reaching Makuuchi — and has been managing a fractured left toe along with what Sports Hochi reported as a fresh left ankle injury sustained in practice on the Wednesday before the May tournament.
For Takakeisho, the 10-win March resolved months of speculation about whether he could hold his Ozeki rank in the longer term. He had finished four of his previous six tournaments below the kachikoshi line that defines an Ozeki's continued tenure at the rank, with the November 2024 yusho followed by a series of mixed performances. The Osaka 10-win, 5-loss output was the kind of tournament that returns him to the title-contention conversation.
The competition at the top of the May banzuke is thicker than it has been in months. Hoshoryu, the Mongolian Yokozuna who turned 26 earlier this year, sits at Yokozuna 1 East for the third consecutive tournament. He has yet to win a yusho since being promoted to sumo's highest rank — four runner-up finishes in his last six tournaments — and the pressure on him to convert is mounting. Across from him, Onosato sits at Yokozuna 1 West but the wounded giant remains a question mark, with a dislocated left shoulder from November still affecting his sumo and a March tournament that opened with three straight losses before he pulled out entirely.
Kirishima's return to Ozeki — back at the rank for the first time in two years after the March yusho secured the promotion — adds another title contender to the May field. Kirishima accumulated 34 wins across the last three tournaments, including the March 12-3 championship.
Takakeisho's role in this top-rank picture is the steadiest of the Ozeki options. Hoshoryu has the rank but not the recent results. Onosato has both the rank and the past results, but not the fitness. Aonishiki has the rank but is kadoban — under demotion threat — and managing two injuries. Kirishima is back at Ozeki but is rebuilding his consistency at the higher level. Takakeisho, after the 10-win March, looks like the best-positioned title contender among them.
If the Yokozuna pair underperforms, Takakeisho is among the wrestlers most likely to lift the Emperor's Cup at the end of Natsu Basho. The 22-year-old technical wrestlers (Atamifuji, Kotoshōhō) and the upper Maegashira contenders sit a tier below the title-contention conversation but could reshape the standings on any single day.
The first move on May 11 belongs to the top Ozeki. Takakeisho is back where he wants to be.