2016 in sumo


The following were the events in professional sumo during 2016.

Tournaments

Hatsu basho">honbasho">basho

, Tokyo, 10 January – 24 January

Haru basho

, Osaka, 13 March – 27 March

Natsu basho

Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 8 May – 22 May

Nagoya basho

, Nagoya, 10 July – 24 July

Aki basho

Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 11 September – 25 September

Kyushu basho

, Kyushu, 13 November – 27 November

News

January

  • 7: Yokozuna Hakuhō, Harumafuji and Kakuryū perform the hono dohyo-iri or New Year ring-entering ceremony before crowds at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.
  • 10: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attend the first day of the New Year tournament in Tokyo, and express their sadness over the recent death of the Sumo Association chairman, Kitanoumi.
  • 24: Kotoshōgiku defeats all three yokozuna to win his first top division championship, becoming the first Japanese born wrestler to win the top division championship since Tochiazuma in 2006. He finishes with a 14–1 record. His only defeat is to maegashira Toyonoshima. Toyonoshima is the runner-up on 12–3, shared with Hakuhō and Harumafuji. Toyonoshima is also given the Outstanding Performance award. The Fighting Spirit Award goes to Shōdai, who scores 10–5 on his top division debut. Yoshikaze achieves an 8–7 record in his sekiwake debut. Hidenoumi, two tournaments after being demoted to jūryō, gets his first sekitori championship with an 11–4 record and will be promoted back to the top division next tournament. Two promising young Japanese wrestlers, Jokoryu and Endo, both pull out through injury and will be demoted to the second division. Ōzeki Terunofuji also withdraws and will be kadoban in March, alongside Gōeidō who scores only 4–11.

    February

  • 7: The 40th Fuji TV Grand Sumo exhibition tournament takes place at the Kokugikan. In addition to the usual knock-out tournament featuring active wrestlers, there are three matches featuring oyakata: Takamisakari vs Hōmashō, Kyokutenhō vs Tokitsuumi, and Kotoōshū vs Kotonishiki.
  • 29 The banzuke for the upcoming tournament in Osaka is released. Toyonoshima returns to the sekiwake rank for the first time since 2012. There are two makuuchi debutants, amateur champion Daishōmaru and journeyman Akiseyama, while Satoyama, Daieishō and Hidenoumi return to the top division. Ōsunaarashi, Jokoryu and Endo lose makuuchi status due to absence through injury, as do Homarefuji and Kagayaki. There are no new sekitori, but Shōtenrō returns to juryo at the expense of Tokitenkū, who is having treatment for lymphoma.

    March

  • 24: Shibatayama Oyakata and one of his wrestlers are ordered by the Tokyo District Court to pay 32.4 million yen in compensation to a former wrestler who the court ruled had faced "daily abuse" since joining in 2008 and had to undergo four surgeries for a detached retina, eventually losing sight in the eye in 2013. Shibatayama says he will appeal the ruling.
  • 26: On the final day of the Osaka tournament, Hakuho wins his 36th yusho, and first since July 2015 in Nagoya, by sidestepping Harumafuji at the initial charge. Having won fourteen straight matches after an opening day defeat to Takarafuji, he finishes on 14–1, one win ahead of ozeki Kisenosato on 13–2. Gōeidō has his best tournament as an ozeki, with a 12–3 score. Kotoshogiku, by contrast, finishes on 8–7, his yokozuna hopes dashed. The Outstanding Performance Award goes to Kotoyuki who scores 12–3 and has defeated a yokozuna and two ozeki. Ikioi scores 10–5 but fails to win on the final day and so misses out on the Fighting Spirit Prize. Osunaarashi wins the juryo division championship with a 13–2 record, ensuring his immediate return to makuuchi. The makushita champion is won by Satō with a perfect 7–0 record, guaranteeing his promotion to juryo next time.
  • 28: The results of elections to the Sumo Association's board of directors are announced. Hakkaku Oyakata is confirmed as chairman, a position he has already been in since the death of the previous incumbent Kitanoumi in November last year. His only rival for the post, Takanohana, receives the backing of only two directors, with Hakkaku winning the support of six.
  • 30: The various roles of the new board are announced. Oguruma Oyakata is the senior executive manager, Nishonoseki is the new head of the judging department, replacing Isegahama, Takanohana is in charge of jungyo, Kasugano is head of PR, and Kagamiyama will head the planning department.
  • 30: Promotions to juryo are announced. Joining Sato are Ura, a former amateur competitor from Kwansei Gakuin University, and the returning Tamaasuka, a veteran who is being promoted to juryo for the seventh time.

    April

  • The spring regional tour visits the following locations:
  • *3: Ise Shrine, Mie Prefecture
  • *4: Iga, Mie Prefecture
  • *5: Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture
  • *6: Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture
  • *7: Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
  • *8: Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture
  • *9: Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • *10: Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture
  • *12: Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture
  • *13: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • *14: Machida, Tokyo
  • *16: Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture
  • *17: Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture
  • *18:Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo
  • *19: Saku, Nagano Prefecture
  • *20: Toyama, Toyama Prefecture
  • 25: The banzuke for the May tournament is released. Ikioi and Kotoyuki both make their debuts at sekiwake. Kaisei becomes the first wrestler from Brazil to reach komusubi. Nishikigi will make his top division debut, while Osunaarashi, Endo and Seiro all return.

    May

  • 22: Hakuho wins his 37th championship with a perfect 15–0 record, his twelfth zensho-yusho. Kisenosato is once again runner-up, with a 13–2 score. He is the first ozeki to win at least thirteen bouts in two consecutive tournaments and not get promoted to yokozuna since Hakuho in 2006. Tochinoshin wins his first Technique Prize, while the Fighting Spirit Award goes to Mitakeumi. Terunofuji, struggling with injuries, loses 13 consecutive matches from Day 3 onwards and finishes on 2–13, equal to the worst ever record for an ozeki. The juryo division championship is won by Chiyonokuni.

    June

  • 27: The rankings for the upcoming July tournament in Nagoya are released. As in May there are two wrestlers making their debuts at sekiwake, Tochinoshin and Kaisei. This is the first time since 1943/44 that there have been two consecutive tournaments featuring two sekiwake debuts. Kitaharima makes his top division debut 85 tournaments after his professional debut, the ninth-slowest in history. Chiyonokuni returns to the top division for the first time in 13 tournaments, having at one point dropped to the rank of sandanme 28 – the second lowest rank that a wrestler making a successful makuuchi return has fallen since World War II. Toyohibiki, Kagayaki, Sadanofuji and Arawashi also return to the top division. Making their juryo debuts are Daiki and Shimanoumi, while Onosho, Kyokutaisei and Kotoeko return.

    July

  • 24: On the final day of the Nagoya tournament, Harumafuji wins his eighth career championship by defeating Hakuho to finish on 13–2, avoiding the need for a playoff with maegashira Takanoiwa and yokozuna candidate Kisenosato, who are runners-up on 12–3. With 38 wins over the last three tournaments, Kisenosato will be in contention for promotion once again next time if he wins the championship. The Fighting Spirit Award is shared between Takanoiwa and Takarafuji, who scores 10–5 and also brought to an end Hakuho's winning streak on Day 5. Both are first time winners. Yoshikaze, who defeated Harumafuji, wins his second Outstanding Performance Prize. Takayasu wins his first Technique Award.
  • 31: The 58th Yokozuna Chiyonofuji, Kokonoe Oyakata, dies of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. He won 31 career championships, third on the all-time list behind Hakuho's 37 and Taiho's 32. 19 of his championships were won after the age of 30, and he also set records for longest post-war winning streak and most career wins.
  • 31: The summer tour begins in Gifu.

    August

  • The summer tour visits the following locations:
  • *2: Fukui, Fukui Prefecture
  • *4: Tachikawa, Tokyo Prefecture
  • *5: Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture
  • *6: Tainai, Niigata Prefecture
  • *7: Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture
  • *8: Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture
  • *9: Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture
  • *10: Fukushima, Fukushima Prefecture
  • *11: Sagae, Yamagata Prefecture
  • *12–13: Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
  • *14: Morioka, Iwate Prefecture
  • *16: Akita, Akita Prefecture
  • *17: Hirakawa, Aomori Prefecture
  • *18: Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture
  • *19: Hakodate, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • *20: Tomakomai, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • *21: Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • *25–26: Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • *27: Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture
  • *28: KITTE Basho, Tokyo Prefecture
  • 3: Former ozeki Chiyotaikai takes over as stablemaster of Kokonoe stable following the death of Chiyonofuji, changing his name from Sanoyama to Kokonoe Oyakata.
  • 7: The funeral of Chiyonofuji is held at Kokonoe stable, with around 1000 guests attending.
  • 26: Tokitenkū, who has been absent from the dohyo since November 2015 because of ongoing treatment for malignant lymphoma, announces his retirement. He is staying in sumo as a coach at Tokitsukaze stable, under the name Magaki Oyakata. After acquiring Japanese citizenship he had purchased the toshiyori or elder stock from former yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji II in May 2014, the first Mongolian born wrestler to do this.
  • 29: The banzuke for the September 2016 tournament is released. Both Goeido and Kotoshogiku are kadoban, or in danger of demotion from ozeki rank. There are two new sekiwake for the third straight tournament. Chiyoshoma and Amakaze make their top division debuts, while Homarefuji, Gagamaru, and Kyokushuho return. There are no juryo debuts, but Kizenryu and Wakanoshima return to the paid ranks. Makuuchi veterans Toyonoshima and Aminishiki drop to juryo through injury, as does Osunaarashi.