Honbasho

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A honbasho (本場所) is any of the six official professional sumo tournaments held each year. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi (sumo wrestlers).

View of the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

A literal translation of honbasho is "main (or real) tournament". This term is used to distinguish these tournaments from display basho which are held as part of sumo tours, between the six major tournaments. Such display tournaments may have prize money attached but a wrestler's performance will not have any effect on their ranking. This type of sumo is often called hana-sumo (lit. flower-sumo) as it is not taken as seriously by the wrestlers. The honbasho tournament format is league-style.

Dohyo-iri at the Aki-Basho 2005

Honbasho last for 15 days. Sumo wrestlers ranked in the top two divisions (makuuchi and juryo) wrestle once each day, while those of the lower divisions wrestle seven times, approximately once every alternate day. The first aim for most wrestlers is to achieve kachikoshi, or a majority of wins, and thus ensure a promotion for the next honbasho tournament. In addition for each division there is a championship prize for the wrestler with the most wins at the end. A playoff on the final day is used to decide the winner in case of a tie.

The six honbasho tournaments are:

Honbasho	Nickname	City	Venue	Opening Day
January	Hatsu (Opening) Basho	Tokyo	Ryōgoku Kokugikan	1st or 2nd Sunday
March	Haru (Spring) Basho	Osaka	Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium	2nd Sunday
May	Natsu (Summer) Basho	Tokyo	Ryōgoku Kokugikan	2nd Sunday
July	Nagoya Basho	Nagoya	Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium	1st or 2nd Sunday
September	Aki (Fall) Basho	Tokyo	Ryōgoku Kokugikan	2nd Sunday
November	Kyūshū Basho	Fukuoka	Fukuoka Kokusai Center	2nd Sunday