Kinboshi Sumo

Clash of Yokozunas!: July 2025 Preview

Our new era of two yokozuna with Hoshoryu and Onosato is finally about to start! A changing of the guard in the joijin with Aonishiki and the gang, and a couple new faces to the party with Kusano and Fujinokawa all mean we should have a great basho in the brand new IG Area! Who you got for the yusho?

Great Pace Hakuoho

Phil and I are here for a little pre-banzuke rank guessing along with some discussion of whether our young favorites are on a quick, average, or slow pace to the top of the banzuke.
The first 20-25 minutes are talking about what we think we'll see from the banzuke and in the last 25 or 30 we take a look at Hakuoho, Atamifuji, Takerufuji, and Aonishiki's predicted rankings and compare that to the likes of Hakuho and Hoshoryu and where those two yokozuna were at that point in their career.

Hakuho v JSA Pt 1,000: Hakuho's International Sumo League

Hakuho has officially left the JSA after Chairman Hakkaku pushed him one step too far, attempting to make him serve his junior Terunofuji without a promise of getting his Miyagino Stable back. 
Now he's rallying his financial backers and other connections to create some sort of international sumo organization to contribute to the sport outside of the JSA. 
Sean and I discuss some case studies of "splits" happening in other sports leagues and discuss our ideas for best case scenarios and how this could help rather than hurt sumo.
Check the article below that we referenced in the show:
https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/hakuho%27s-lofty-%27global-sumo%27-ambitions-bolstered-by-generous-backers-with-deep-pockets

Onosato Yokozuna! May 2025 Review

We cover Onosato's victory, Hoshoryu's preformance stopping the zensho yusho, and re-visit our January "young guns to Ozeki" picks.

Chasin' the Belt: May 2025 Midway Review

SPOILER WARNING: We kept our conversation to day 7 and earlier but if you haven't seen day 7 you may want to hold off on this one.
Other than that...
Onosato is doing just what we thought the would but Hakuoho, Wakatakakage, and our boy Aonishiki are hot on his heels. Who you got after 7 days?

The Onosato Express!: May Preview

Another Ozeki has a chance to make Yokozuna! Is this Onosato's time? Will Hoshoryu bounce back? Is Kotozakura even still in the building? Or will one of the Dark Horses upset them both?

Peak Rikishi: At What Age Should a Rikishi Be Performing Best?

Phil is back for us to break down some numbers to see if we can figure out what year any given rikishi should peak. After a March final of 35 year old Takayasu vs young up and comer Onosato, we wanted to see if we could figure out what the range of their "best years" is.

Spinal Injuries in Sumo

We break down the science behind spinal injuries in sumo and why there are less of them than we might expect. We deep dive into a study into how the mawashi protects rikishi and how sumo can learn from this fact to prevent future damage to rikishi.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10629334/

Takayasu Denied and Onozuna Begins

Takayasu is runner up once again but now we have Onosato's Yokozuna run to look forward to.

It Comes To This: Spring Finale

SPOILER WARNING
If you have not seen the day 14 matches pause and come back.
Otherwise, full steam ahead!
 
Takayasu lost on day 14. Onosato won. Two 11 win rikishi. A chance for a day 15 playoff. Big Papa cuts the margins to the bone once again, and if he's going to exorcise these demons I wouldn't have it any other way. Let's go Big Papa!