前相撲を3連勝で終えた「史上最強の新弟子」旭富士（23＝伊勢ケ浜）が九州場所中日の16日、元横綱旭富士の化粧まわしを締めて新序出世披露に臨むことが分かった。元… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

Check out Leonid's update on the Makushita race. I was bummed to see Enho lose the other day but he faced a stiff challenge in Kazuma. Seihakuho could also make it to sekitori before long. No news to report on the kyujo front in either of the sekitori divisions. Fujiryoga continues to steamroll through Juryo and stands at 7-0. Shirokuma and Daiseizan chase with one loss.

Three rounds of lower-division bouts have been completed, and we are left with 14 men with 3-0 records. They'll be matched up (mostly) in rank order on days 7 and 8 to winnow the race to 7. Since Daiyusho and Ryusho both hail from the Oitekaze beya, they can't face each other, and presumably will instead fight Mineyaiba and Asonoyama…

Fujiryoga won his bout against Tsurugisho to stay undefeated and the sole leader in the second division. Tamashoho, Shirokuma, and Daiseizan chase with one loss. Fujiryoga will fight Wakanosho tomorrow as we enter the middle weekend. Asanoyama watchers will be able to see Asanoyama in prime time tomorrow as he will take on Tokihayate. Kagayaki is the Juryo visitor slated for today.

With Shirokuma’s loss to Kazekeno, Juryo rookie Fujiryoga took sole possession of the lead in Juryo by defeating Kitanowaka. If his success continues, Fujishima beya may have two new Makuuchi wrestlers in a few tournaments. Heya-mate Fujiseiun is at the top of the division and is also doing well. He could crack the barrier for Hatsu 2026. Asanoyama picked up a third win as we plot his progress back to the top division.

Welcome to Tachiai's coverage of the 3rd-division yusho race. As a reminder, this is essentially a single-elimination tournament, with only undefeated rikishi continuing in the yusho bracket. Each round unfolds over two days, so two rounds have been completed, and we are left with 28 men with 2-0 records. They'll be matched up in rank order on days 5 and 6 to winnow the race to 14.

No new kyujo news in the top divisions. In Juryo, Fujiryoga and Shirokuma won their bouts to remain undefeated. Daiseizan lost to fall one off loss off pace. Fujiryoga will fight Kitanowaka tomorrow while Shirokuma will fight Kazekeno. Asanoyama picked up his second win is his hunt to earn promotion back to Makuuchi. Today’s NHK videos are at this link…

Before diving into Day Three, there is one quick kyujo news bulletin. After yesterday’s knee injury, Mita is kyujo. Daiseizan picked up the walk-over win to stay undefeated. We hope Mita takes his time to heal properly and is able to do so without suffering a significant fall down the banzuke. The Juryo competition has quickly narrowed to include Daiseizan, Shirokuma, and Makushita Tsukedashi prospect, Fujiryoga at 3-0.

Follow this link for NHK videos with Day Two action. Aki basho videos are also available for you to review, here. It looks like you can think of that second link as your “home page” for the NHK videos. Day One action is available there, too. All of the videos are there, including the second half which I didn’t see up there yesterday.

Kyushu basho is here! Meisei is kyujo. Hitoshi will visit from Juryo and fight Asakoryu. NHK has changed things up on their website with this new NHK One restructuring. A lot of the old links don’t work anymore and some of the links point to warnings that the content is intended for people in Japan. However, those of us outside of Japan are not left completely in the lurch.

Once again, the Dohyo Matsuri will be streamed live on the Sumo Association's YouTube channel at 8pm Eastern. For those new to the sport, this is the consecration ceremony, based on Japan's Shinto roots. The kami are beckoned to the dohyo to watch after the action on the dohyo. Let's hope there will be a safe tournament! Action will begin on Sunday morning, Japan time with the Jonokuchi bouts.

ALT: a man sitting in a field of yellow flowers

入場券や相撲観戦の情報も充実。番付の即日発表や相撲歴史文化等、最新情報提供中。

News out of Oitekaze beya that Endo will retire. Though the Sumo Association has not made the official announcement, multiple media reports are confirming the decision citing sources close to the wrestler, including Nikkan Sports, Mainichi, Chunichi, Sports Hochi. I would still have held out for the official announcement but for the confirmed news that Kitajin-oyakata retired…

The Kyushu Banzuke was released. A few days ago, I posted this summary to give a bit more information about this all-important ranking sheet and explain what you see there. Here it is in Japanese, and English from the Sumo Association website. Leonid's banzuke prediction worked out pretty well. On my first glance, he got everything right down to Fujinokawa.

The November banzuke has been released. The Crystal Ball was clear this time, especially for the top two thirds of the banzuke—my prediction had the first 26 ranks, from Y1e to M10e, exactly right. The only surprise here was seeing the name Yoshinofuji at M5e. I had to do a double-take before realizing that Kusano got a new shikona, which I haven't seen announced anywhere prior to the release of the banzuke.

"Aki Basho is over and but there are still some note-worthy updates to make." That's how I began this post several weeks ago when I started drafting it. Now it's nearly Halloween. Time flies and my conceptualized update post needs significant updates. Wrestlers who just got back from London will be packing up and heading to Kyushu. Some are already there in advance doing a bit of PR.

Here is how our last tournament debutants did: Kobayashi followed up his Sandanme Yūshō with an injury related absence. It was a disappointing 0-0-7 debut, but I imagine he will be back, provided he can recover. He already fell to Jonokuchi once after injury. I hope repeated injuries do not take a collective toll. Ryūji, Harunishiki, and Kōki finished with not unexpected 3-4 records and will have to try for a kachi-koshi on their second go-around (should the opportunity arise).

The official rankings for the November tournament will be released Sunday or Monday, depending on where you are in the world. Fun fact—the banzuke is actually drawn up at a meeting on Wednesday after the previous basho concludes, but remains a closely guarded secret for several weeks, with the exception of promotions to Juryo and any Ozeki and Yokozuna promotions. In advance of the real thing, here is my guess.

This summer, Tatsunami beya opened its virtual doors to foreign fans for the first time. They currently offer two subscription plans and it appears two more subscription options are being designed. The cheapest option is a $5/month plan which offers “behind the scenes” video content. There is not a lot there, currently. The other option is $20/mo and includes the video content as well as a banzuke for each tournament -- and supposedly an option to watch keiko sessions.