- 2 か月前
[2025.09.12] Aki 2025 - Grand Sumo Preview
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00:00Hello and welcome to Grand Sumo Preview. I'm Hiro Morita.
00:18The September tournament starts this Sunday the 14th in Tokyo.
00:22Now before we go any further, let's bring in our partners for today's show.
00:26First up is Murray Johnson. Hello Murray.
00:29Hiro, good to see you. Great to be at a new venue.
00:31Okay, yeah. And my other partner is of course John Gunning. Hello John.
00:36Good to see you Hiro. Yeah, it's excellent for an amateur venue, isn't it?
00:39All right. Now the July tournament was held at the new IG arena.
00:45Now this time we're also coming to you from a brand new location, the NX Budokan in Tokyo.
00:52This facility, which opened just last year, houses arenas for sumo, kendo, and judo.
01:01The sumo arena here is where the sumo team of one of Japan's major logistics company trains on a daily basis.
01:09All right. Now, let's begin the show by looking back at the July tournament where two Yokozuna competed for the first time in five years.
01:21The July tournament in Nagoya was the first basho in five years to feature two Yokozuna.
01:39Hoshoryu was aiming for his first championship at sumo's top rank.
01:45And the new Yokozuna Onosato began his campaign for a third consecutive title.
01:55On day four, Onosato pushed forward at the initial charge but pulled back midway, suffering his first loss as a Yokozuna.
02:03In his second loss, Onosato again showed his tendency to pull back midway.
02:17By day 10, he had accumulated three defeats.
02:19Meanwhile, Hoshoryu suffered three consecutive losses early on.
02:30He withdrew on day five due to a left big toe injury that had worsened since before the tournament.
02:36Three Maegashira rank-and-file rikishi, all age 25 or under, save the tournament amid the disappointing performances by the two Yokozuna.
02:55First up, Aonishiki, a formidable rikishi with 11 wins in both of his first two tournaments.
03:01He brings excitement with his versatile techniques.
03:04Next, Kusano, a newcomer to the top division.
03:15True to his record of back-to-back Juryo championships, he clinched a winning record by day 10.
03:26Finally, Koto Shouhou.
03:28He remained unbeaten from the middle stages and secured victories over opponents such as Komusubi Takayasu.
03:38And on day 13, he was up against Onosato.
03:42Koto Shouhou and Aonishiki were now leading the race, followed by two rikishi with three losses.
04:04On day 14, a face-off between two championship contenders was arranged.
04:20Aonishiki had two losses against Kusano's three.
04:24Kusano maintained his attack after securing a left-handed grip and forced Aonishiki out.
04:39The defeat brought Aonishiki's record to three losses.
04:45With two losses, Koto Shouhou skillfully evaded his opponent's attacks to secure victory,
04:50propelling himself to the top of the leaderboard.
04:57Heading into the final day, Koto Shouhou led the tournament race.
05:02But despite three losses each, Aonishiki and Kusano remained in contention.
05:06A win by leader Koto Shouhou with two losses would make him the champion.
05:18Victory by Aonishiki would keep his and Kusano's title hoax alive.
05:23In low is Aonishiki, and he's taken down Koto Shouhou, you show.
05:34Koto Shouhou advanced with a sharp step and executed a timely thrust down
05:39to clinch the championship in a tournament tightly contested among the Maegashira.
05:44初めて抱いた支配、どう感じましたか?
06:01今度はまだちょっと感情が追いついてない感じで、はい。
06:08でも、うれしいです。
06:13もっともっと自力をつけて、とりあえず三役、そしてその先も見据えてやっていきたいです。
06:19What a performance by Koto Shoho, winning his first title.
06:25I mean, Koto Shoho showed sumo the combined skill with a touch of craftiness.
06:29What I mean is that Koto Shoho is a push-a-thruster who likes to go forward with his attacks,
06:34but he used more of a sideway attacks, evasive attacks, attacks from the side,
06:39which is quite different than what we've seen from Koto Shoho in the past.
06:44Yeah, that was surprising.
06:45But everything about this entire run was surprising.
06:48He came into it on a back of four losing records in five tournaments.
06:53He was 3-2 after five days.
06:55And at that point, who would have imagined that he could go on a career-best 10-bout winning streak,
07:01take down a Yokozuna, take down the hottest rising star, Aonishiki,
07:06and win the first career Emperor's Cup.
07:08It was just shopping all the way through.
07:10But he's always had potential.
07:12He's always had size, as we've seen.
07:14So it's always been in him.
07:15Overall, what a tremendous performance by Koto Shoho.
07:18Now Murray, did you expect Koto Shoho to win the championship?
07:22We've had, what, in 2022, we had three Hiromaku Yusho winners in a row.
07:28That's right.
07:28So it's not unusual for Hiromaku to win the championship, and I guess it was his time.
07:34Remember, we did an interview with Koto Shoho and Koto Zakura when he was Koto Zakura?
07:39Yeah.
07:39And then on became Koto Zakura.
07:44And Koto Zakura said, when he's good, he's really good.
07:47And in fact, I think he's better than me.
07:50And I think that came to fruition in this tournament.
07:53Yeah, well, Murray, we have that interview ready.
07:55So two years ago, Koto Shoho and his senior stablemate Koto Zakura spoke to our cameras.
08:01And in it, here's what Koto Zakura said about Koto Shoho.
08:05Usually, when we see, I don't know, a guy.
08:35who's competing for the championship for the first time, usually we see him drop a match
08:39or two and flinch in the final, you know, five days or four days to take himself out
08:45of the championship race.
08:46But that was not the case with Koto Shoho this time.
08:48He showed tremendous mental strength in the final days to win the championship.
08:53I don't think it actually sunk in when he won that he'd won.
08:57Because even he couldn't believe it.
08:58But the big question is, now, does this kick him on to something better, to greater heights?
09:04Do we have Sadako Takei's table ending up with two ozeki in the future or better?
09:09Or is this, like Murray was saying, is this like a flash in the pan?
09:12Is this his career high moment?
09:14And he's just going to fade back into, you know, mid-level performances?
09:19And honestly, I don't know.
09:20I don't think anyone could tell at this point.
09:22It's a mystery.
09:23But it's kind of one of the exciting things to watch for.
09:26We'll keep an eye on Koto Shoho.
09:27But all in all, congratulations to Koto Shoho.
09:30Anyway, that's Koto Shoho.
09:32Now, let's shift our attention to the two top dogs, Yokozuna.
09:36We had two Yokozuna competing for the first time in five years.
09:39And let's talk about the newly promoted Yokozuna Ono Sato, who went 11-4.
09:44Now, he did not win the championship, but besides, you know, aside from that, you know, winning the title, I think he did okay.
09:52Yeah, you know, that's the reason that I didn't predict him.
09:55I didn't follow my usual pattern or predict that he'd win the usual.
09:58It's really difficult for a young, new Yokozuna to win titles.
10:02Generally speaking, when we have a new Yokozuna who wins the Emperor's Cup, he's older or more experienced.
10:07So, of course, giving up for Kimboshi is not ideal, but I expect a quick bounce back, and I think he'd be back on track.
10:15Yeah, well, who did pick him to win?
10:17I did.
10:19So, yeah, I probably didn't think the age factor was going to be a factor.
10:23I thought just he was too good.
10:25Okay.
10:2511-4, I agree with both of you.
10:27Definitely a passing mark.
10:28Can't ask for anything more.
10:30Okay, well, you know, Ono Sato was almost flawless in his matches when he won.
10:34He was able to just crush his opponent in a matter of seconds.
10:37But when he faced some rugged opponents who were able to come in with a strong forward charge, such as Oho and Haku Oho, he struggled.
10:45So he pulled back right away.
10:47He was pulling and snapping, and as a result, he lost on both occasions.
10:51Which indicated lack of practice, probably with all the activities that's required when you become a Yokozuna.
10:56Yeah.
10:57It happens too many times where there's so much to do going into a tournament because you're being congratulated by all your sponsors.
11:04He knows what he's doing wrong.
11:06I think he'll clean it up.
11:07Right.
11:08His opponents know what he does wrong, and they'll try to persevere with that.
11:12But I think he'll come out on top overall.
11:14Now, let's shift our attention to the other Yokozuna, Ho Shoryu, who only won one match, and he pulled out himself starting on day five.
11:25Now, since he's becoming a Yokozuna, he hasn't been rising to the occasion.
11:30He's pulled out two of the three tournaments, and he's already given up eight Kimboshi gold star victory to Maegashira rank and fighters.
11:38So he's underperforming, to say the least.
11:41Now, the constant pressure of being a Yokozuna, plus insufficient training, has been giving him a very, very bad time in the ring.
11:50I'm much more optimistic about his future than you are.
11:53Because basically, for me, the problems that he's had since becoming a Yokozuna are all injury-related.
11:58It's not a lack of effort or mentality thing.
12:01So, if he can get healthy and stay healthy, I think there's not going to be an issue.
12:07Of course, this time out, he's still recovering, so there's going to be an element of managing the pain, and that could affect his performance.
12:12But still, I expect him to reach the final day.
12:15And long term, I think he'll maybe not rack up Yokozuna, but I think he'll consistently win titles or be in contention.
12:22So, I'm much more positive about his...
12:24What about you, Murray?
12:26I'm more to John's side of things.
12:28But I'd like to see the Oyakata manage him well.
12:31Stable master.
12:32A lot of pressure on him right now about this tournament.
12:35I hope he starts.
12:36I hope he finishes the 15th.
12:43Now, here is the Banzuke official listing of ranks for the September tournament.
12:47As you can see, we have two Yokozuna.
12:49Ono Sato is now ranked the East Yokozuna, the top spot.
12:53And the Yokozuna Hoshoryu is on the west side.
12:56And of course, Ono Sato is going 11 and 4.
12:58I think comparing their records, Ono Sato will compete for the second time as a Yokozuna.
13:03And I think he will be competing with more confidence, scoring 11 wins.
13:07My hope is 100% that we have the two Yokozuna fighting on the last day.
13:12Yeah.
13:13My real belief is it's probably about 20%.
13:17I'm concerned about Hoshoryu's injury.
13:20I think if you look at Hoshoryu, I think it's better to take a wider view.
13:24He's a 26-year-old, still improving, Rikishi, who's already won a couple of Emperor's Cups.
13:29Right.
13:30And his issues to date, as I said previously, are just health-related.
13:35And it's not, if you look at the Banzuke there, there are not a whole host of stars, right?
13:40Of course, we have Kusano, we have Aonishiki, we have a few rising talents.
13:44But it's hard to argue against Hoshoryu being one of the two best Rikishi.
13:47Now, let's talk about the Sanyaku ranks.
14:07The one name that really pops into my eye is this man Aonishiki, the newly promoted Komusubi from Ukraine.
14:15And he went 11-4. Now, let's talk about Aonishiki a little bit.
14:18This will be the fourth time he'll be competing in the top division.
14:22In the past three tournaments, all 11-4 records, plus all three special prizes in each of the past three tournaments.
14:30So, outstanding performance for Aonishiki since moving into Makunouchi.
14:35And he's already at the Komusubi slot, which is the fourth highest rank in sumo.
14:40Aonishiki is ready to make the next move and win the Emperor's Cup for the first time.
14:45In the September tournament. So, keep your eye on Aonishiki for sure, John.
14:49Yeah, he almost won it. And we only learned after the tournament that he was injured.
14:53That's right.
14:53And if he hadn't been, who knows, he'd probably, I mean, it's arguable that he would have won it.
14:57If you look at his first ten fights, what, he won? Eight?
15:00And all, against all of the top rankers.
15:02So, his level of performance just keeps improving and improving.
15:07And there doesn't seem to be a ceiling with him. It's so impressive what he's doing.
15:10Yeah, statistically going into the last five days, I think we were all saying, he's already met the tough guys.
15:15He's got an easier slate the last five days, so it's his to win.
15:18And the fact that we spoke about earlier, Koto Shouhou taking out was a real surprise.
15:23But Aonishiki, Komusubi, he'll be going bigger than Komusubi.
15:27I see him boosted within the next 12 months to Ozeki.
15:48考えすぎないようにって言われても考えちゃうんですけど、どんどん少し、それをなくしたいというか、直したいですね、やっぱ教会挿、ちょっと、してみたかったんで、それが楽しみです、選抜賞よりいい成績出せるように頑張りたいです。
16:16Well, Aonishiki sounds very nice and confident.
16:22Now, the other Sanyaku Rikishi I want to mention is Sekiwake, Wakataka Kage, who's at East Sekiwake.
16:30Now, this will be a very big moment for Wakataka Kage, as he will be challenged for promotion to Ozeki, the second highest rank.
16:37Wakataka Kage this time needs 11 wins.
16:40As you know, Murray, 33 is the benchmark to make Ozeki, right?
16:4411 wins to match that 33 number.
16:47All right, let's take a look at how Wakataka Kage is preparing for the big challenge.
17:03Wakataka Kage scored double-digit victories in back-to-back contests from May.
17:07And he's now gunning for Ozeki promotion for the first time in his career.
17:11Wakataka Kage!
17:13Wakataka Kage! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka!
17:24Wakataka Kage! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka! Wakataka
17:54The key is his Otsuke forearm attack that's executed from a low angle.
17:59Wakatakakage squeezes and lifts up his foe's arm,
18:02preventing him from getting an offense started.
18:24In the March 2022 Tournament...
18:42Wakatakakage achieved his long-awaited first championship with a 12-3 record.
19:07But just one year later, tragedy struck.
19:11The first championship tournament, there was a rock.
19:14No, come on! Come on!
19:25When I got when I was lured, my knees crossed,
19:30and when I got about to attack, I got a lot of pain in the air.
19:34Due to that serious injury to his right knee, he missed three straight tournaments, and his rank plunged to the third-highest division of Makushita.
19:45Even so, Wakatakage never gave up.
20:04I had a chance to get back to the other side of Makushita.
20:17He overcame his injury and strengthened his resolve to battle higher rankers again.
20:22Now, Wakatakage has no doubts as he strives to clear the benchmark for Ozeki promotion.
20:28Well, I think it's not easy to do, but I think it's a chance to get back to it.
20:38So, I want to be able to do it as well.
20:49One thing about Wakatakage we know is that Wakatakage is a resilient fighter, a devastating knee injury, never held him back, John.
20:57Yeah, you have to admire the mental strength to overcome all those difficulties.
21:01I'm sure it was not easy.
21:03You know, when you fall down so far, the intrusive thoughts start coming in.
21:08Can I make it back? Do I have what it takes? Am I going to get injured again?
21:12So, for anyone who can overcome that and come back up, I'm just so impressed by what he did.
21:17Yeah, me too.
21:18I really want Wakatakage to succeed and make Ozeki because I admire those people who fight so hard, who train so hard and, you know, who competes with a never say die attitude.
21:28Murray, what do you think?
21:29He's a very proud Fukushima man.
21:31Yeah.
21:32As are his brothers. And when they go back there, they get rallied behind by all the locals.
21:37Right.
21:38He could be the first man in 144 years from Fukushima to make it to the rank of Ozeki.
21:43I'm not saying that's the only inspiration, but I think it's one of them that will help him get that much needed rank.
21:48All right, let's keep our focus on these top rankers. Now, I know you don't like to give me any credit most of the times, but I think I deserve one this time.
21:57Why?
21:58Hey, remember in the last tournament, I picked Kusano as my championship hope.
22:05And how did he go?
22:07He almost won the championship.
22:09So, I will almost give you credit.
22:11Okay, thank you very much.
22:12So, what would you like to say about him?
22:13All right, well, Kusano is fast, aggressive, and I love his, you know, all guns blazing fighting style.
22:19I love Kusano watching because Kusano, once he goes forward, he's able to establish himself a nice, strong inside position.
22:27Now, once he gets a double inside position, he uses a superb technique to raise his opponent's center of gravity with that twisting arm inward.
22:35Kusano is a rising star.
22:37Almost correct.
22:38Okay, thank you.
22:39So, I was on the live broadcast on day 13.
22:42Yeah.
22:43Absolutely outstanding when he was up against Kirishima.
22:45And when he pulled that sotogake, you know, I thought, where did this come from?
22:49So, this is day 13.
22:51Kirishima on the right.
22:53Kusano facing this way.
22:54Kirishima pushes.
22:56Kusano to the edge.
22:57They lock up chest to chest in MIGIOTU, right hand in, left hand out.
23:00Watch Kusano as he advances.
23:02This is what you're talking about, Murray.
23:04Yeah, and this happened so quickly, I've gone.
23:06Wow.
23:07Where did that come from?
23:10Yeah, going forward, he uses his right leg to topple Kirishima.
23:15What a move.
23:16Sotogake outside, leg trip.
23:20As a result, I think, Kusano was able to pick up his first technique prize.
23:24John, what do you think?
23:26Yeah, I had exactly the same reaction as Murray.
23:28I was like, where did that come from?
23:30Because I've been watching him since he was an amateur.
23:32And I can't ever recall him doing that, even once.
23:35And it was like, we saw, it was just so smooth and just in the flow of the bout.
23:39If he's improving like this, and his technique is developing, I think he's a bright future.
23:44And then the next day, he comes on and takes on Al Nishiki on day 14 and beat him.
23:49Yeah.
23:50This guy's exceptional.
23:51He's risen very quickly.
23:52He's going to go a long way.
23:53Okay.
23:54So that's one Shin Yumaku top division rookie from the July tournament.
23:59Another top division rookie I want to talk about is on the other side of the board.
24:04So let's flip this new Banzuke board.
24:07And we're going to be talking about this man, Mike Shiranain, Fujinokawa.
24:11Fujinokawa going 10 and 5, winning the Fighting Spirit prize.
24:16I love Fujinokawa's fighting style.
24:18He never backs down.
24:19Fantastic.
24:20Everything about it was wonderful.
24:21There isn't a persistence prize, special prize, but I think he should have gotten it.
24:24And also a toughness because, you know, he had to get stitches.
24:27Yeah.
24:28He injured his neck early on.
24:29Yeah.
24:30So just outstanding in every aspect.
24:33That neck injury, though, does concern me a little bit because, you know, those kind of things can linger.
24:38And the way he fights goes in head first, direct.
24:42The risk of re-injuring it or aggravating it is always going to be there, so I'm a little bit concerned.
24:47Yeah, I'm concerned about the neck injury more than anything else.
24:52Finally, it's time to make our championship prediction.
24:55So, John, you go first.
24:56I'm back on track.
24:57Ono Sato, you shall.
24:59Okay.
25:00Uh, 13 and 2.
25:01I think he'll...
25:0213 and 2?
25:03No, Zensho, you shall?
25:04Not this time.
25:05Perfect record, no?
25:06Yeah, not yet.
25:07I did predict that before and he came within one bout of it, but not this time.
25:10So you're saying Ono Sato will win his first you show as a yokozu?
25:13Yes, I am.
25:14Okay.
25:15Alright.
25:16So I kind of gave my... showed my cards.
25:18I'm going to go for Aonishiki.
25:20Okay.
25:21The Komusubi.
25:22He should have been, I thought, a sekiwake.
25:24I think the promotions should have been two for sekiwake and two Komusubi on the Bansuke,
25:29but that didn't happen.
25:30He'll have the same opponents he had in the previous tournament.
25:33He beat them all in the first week.
25:35And, uh, as quite mentioned earlier, if the shoulder's right, the termination's there,
25:40maybe 13 and 2 you show for him.
25:42Okay.
25:43Not Koto Shoho winning back to back, guys?
25:45No.
25:46Okay.
25:47Well, who would have thought that Koto Shoho will win his first you show in the previous tournament?
25:51What I'm trying to say is that anything can happen in the ring these days, right?
25:55Here we go.
25:56No, I'm looking forward to this.
25:57So, now, that's why I'm picking the other Komusubi, Takayasu, to win it all.
26:03For the first time in his career, finally, Takayasu will win his first championship.
26:08I'm saying that because Takayasu must be really fired up and motivated and inspired by watching Koto Shoho winning his first title.
26:17Takayasu is probably saying, if Koto Shoho can do it, I can do it.
26:21Koto Shoho's victory must be giving Takayasu a lot of confidence.
26:26Takayasu will win his first you show in Tokyo in September at the Kokuki Kan. Remember that guy?
26:33The September tournament in Tokyo starts Sunday the 14th.
26:39NHK World of Japan will bring you daily highlights throughout all 15 days of the tournament.
26:45We'll also have live broadcasts on four of those days, so be sure to tune in.
26:51Also, Grand Sumo Legends will air at 10.10 a.m. on October 11th, Japan time.
26:58This time, we will focus on Koto Oshu, the first European-born Ouzeki.
27:04All right, that's going to do it for this edition of Grand Sumo Preview.
27:10Now, I'm sure we all enjoy the new venue for the show, NX Budokan in Tokyo. What a fantastic place.
27:17Now, before we go, Murray and John, why don't you tell us what you're most excited about for the September tournament?
27:23Well, it's not excitement. It's more hope that the fact after a very long summer jungyo, the touring through the hot tour of the northern part of Japan.
27:33Well, I hope the rikishi get through the full 15 days without too much of a problem.
27:38For me, I'm just looking forward to perhaps the birth of a new Ouzeki at the end of the tournament.
27:42Sounds very exciting, John. All right, Murray and John, thank you very much.
27:46Okay, from Murray Johnson and John Gunning, I'm Hiromorita.
27:50Arigato for watching and sayonara. Grand Sumo!