2017 in sumo

The following are the events in professional sumo during 2017.

Tournaments

• Hatsu basho, Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 8 January – 22 January^[1]
• Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 12 March – 26 March^[1]
• Natsu basho, Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 14 May – 28 May^[1]
• Nagoya basho, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, 9 July – 23 July^[1]
• Aki basho, Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 10 September – 24 September^[1]
• Kyushu basho, Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Kyushu, 12 November – 26 November^[1]

News

January

Kisenosato's first public yokozuna duties at the Meiji Shrine on January 27

• 6: The three Mongolian yokozuna Hakuhō, Kakuryū and Harumafuji attend a New Year ceremony at the Meiji Shrine, and perform the dohyo-iri.^[2]
• 21: Ōzeki Kisenosato wins his first yūshō or top division championship, after seeing Hakuhō fall to maegashira Takanoiwa.^[3] Kisenosato, at 13-1, is two wins ahead of Hakuhō who drops to 11-3, with only one day to go. Kisenosato had been a runner-up on twelve previous occasions.
• 22: On the final day of the Hatsu basho, Kisenosato wraps up his first championship by defeating Hakuhō in the last bout of the day to finish with a 14–1 record.^[4] Hakuho, on 11–4, has gone four tournaments without winning a championship for the first time in his ten-year yokozuna career. The runner-up is rank-and-file maegashira Sokokurai on 12–3, who wins his first special prize (for Technique) at the age of 33. He shares the award with Mitakeumi, whose 11–4 record gives him a strong case for promotion back to the sanyaku ranks. The Outstanding Performance Award goes to Takanoiwa (11–4) for his win over Hakuhō. Takayasu wins his fourth Fighting Spirit prize. Ōzeki Terunofuji and Kotoshōgiku both finish with poor 5–10 records. It is Kotoshōgiku's second losing score in a row and he will be demoted to sekiwake for the following tournament. The jūryō division championship is won by Daieishō.
• 22: The process to promote Kisenosato to yokozuna begins as the judges division of the Japan Sumo Association asks chairman Hakkaku Oyakata to hold an extraordinary meeting of its directors, and he agrees.^[5]
• 23: Hakkaku asks the Yokozuna Deliberation Council about whether Kisenosato is deserving of promotion to yokozuna. The council decide that he is suitable.^[5] Speaking at a press conference, Kisenosato recalls the words of his late stablemaster Takanosato who was also a yokozuna. "He said that 'being a yokozuna is lonely'. I don’t know its meaning yet. But I will make efforts so that I will be able to understand the meaning."^[5]
• 25: Kisenosato's yokozuna promotion is confirmed by the Sumo Association's board of directors in a unanimous decision. Kasugano and Takadagawa convey the message to Kisenosato and his stablemaster Tagonoura at a hotel in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. Kisenosato says "I am honoured to accept the decision. I will do my best not to tarnish the title of yokozuna."^[6]
• 27: Kisenosato performs the yokozuna ring-entering ceremony (dohyo-iri) for the first time in public in front of a crowd of 18000 at the Meiji Shrine.^[7]
• 31: Magaki Oyakata, former komusubi Tokitenkū, dies of malignant lymphoma at the age of 37. He had retired only last August. His fellow Mongolian Hakuhō pays tribute by saying "I’m in my 30s too, it came too early. He was full of fight when I first faced him, I struggled to see eye to eye. I always had to be careful about his good footwork."^[8]

February

• 3: Kisenosato and Hakuho throw soy beans at the Narita-san temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture as part of the annual festival to celebrate Setsubun.^[9]
• 5: The 41st Fuji TV Grand Sumo Tournament takes place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Yokozuna Kisenosato performs his dohyo-iri in the Kokugikan for the first time. The event is a knock-out format. In the makuuchi competition, the top eight men on the Hatsu tournament banzuke are seeded (except for Harumafuji and Goeido who are injured and do not take part) - Kakuryu (1), Hakuho (2), Kisenosato (3), Terunofuji (4), Kotoshogiku (5), Tamawashi (6), Shodai (7) and Takayasu (8). Kisenosato wins the tournament, defeating Takanoiwa in the final. The juryo tournament is won by Kyokutaisei who defeats Seiro.
• 11:The 50th NHK Charity Sumo Tournament takes place, also at the Kokugikan. This time Harumafuji attends along with the other three yokozuna. Several wrestlers take part in a singing competition with partners or groups: Hakuho with Rimi Natsukawa, Harumafuji with Natsuko Godai, Kakuryu with Midori Oka, Terunofuji with Team Syachihoko, Takayasu with Ai Nishida and Ikioi with Yoshimi Tendo.
• 27: The banzuke for the March tournament is released. Kisenosato is listed on the west side at yokozuna rank, the first Japanese born wrestler since Takanohana in 2003 to be yokozuna on the banzuke. There are three sekiwake following Kotoshogiku's demotion from ozeki. It is the first time since 1949 that there has been a promotion of a yokozuna and a demotion of an ozeki in the same tournament.^[10] The only newcomer to the top division is Ura. He is the first former student of Kwansei Gakuin University to reach the top division.^[10] Making his juryo debut is Takasago stable's Asanoyama, the first sekitori from Toyama Prefecture since Kotogaume in 1997.^[10] His promotion means Takasago stable has a sekitori again after they had none in the previous tournament for the first time in their history.

March

• 12: The Osaka tournament begins with four yokozuna competing in a honbasho for the first time in 17 years.^[11]
• 17: Hakuho withdraws from the tournament because of toe and thigh injuries.^[11]
• 24: Having compiled a perfect 12-0 record thus far, Kisenosato loses for the first time as a yokozuna on Day 13, defeated by Harumafuji. He is injured during the match and leaves the arena with his arm in a sling, but does not withdraw from the tournament.^[12]
• 26: In a remarkable final day's action, Kisenosato comes from behind to win the tournament by defeating Terunofuji twice – once in their regulation match and again in a playoff.^[13] He finishes on 13-2, his only two defeats in the tournament being to his fellow yokozuna Harumafuji and Kakuryu (who both finish with mediocre 10–5 records). He is the first yokozuna to win his debut tournament since Takanohana in January 1995.^[13] Terunofuji, seemingly recovered from the knee problems that dogged him throughout 2016, not only saves his ozeki rank but has his first runner-up performance since September 2015.^[13] Kisenosato's stablemate Takayasu was the only other wrestler to defeat Terunofuji and finishes with a fine 12–3 record and his third Outstanding Performance Award.^[13] Takakeisho receives the Fighting Spirit Prize after winning eleven in only his second top division tournament.^[13] Sekiwake Kotoshogiku fails in his bid to return immediately to the ozeki rank, finishing on 9–6, one win short of his minimum target of ten. His sixth defeat on Day 14 saw the crowd boo his opponent, Terunofuji, after Kotoshogiku fell victim to the henka manoeuvre.^[14] The juryo division championship is won by veteran Toyohibiki for the third time after a three-way playoff. Down in the jonokuchi division the 46 year-old Hokutoryu announces his retirement after 31 years and 186 tournaments in sumo, leaving Hanakaze (who made his debut alongside Hokutoryu in March 1986) as the last active wrestler from the Showa era.

April

Wrestlers during the April 13 stop in Kawasaki, Kanagawa

• 1: Naruto Oyakata, the former ozeki Kotooshu, branches out from Sadogatake stable and opens his own Naruto stable.^[15]
• The spring regional tour visits the following locations:
  • 2: Ise Shrine (Honozumo ceremonial tournament held in the shine’s precincts), Mie Prefecture
  • 3: Komaki, Aichi Prefecture
  • 4: Kato, Hyogo Prefecture
  • 5: Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture
  • 6: Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture
  • 8: Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • 9: Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture
  • 11: Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture
  • 12: Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • 13: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • 14: Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
  • 15: Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture
  • 16: Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture
  • 17:Yasukuni Shrine (Honozumo ceremonial tournament held in the shrine’s precincts), Tokyo
  • 20: Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture
  • 21: Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture
  • 22: Hachioji, Tokyo Prefecture
  • 23: Machida, Tokyo Prefecture
  • 24: Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture
  • 29: Chokaigi basho, Chiba Prefecture
• 27: Former yokozuna Sadanoyama, who served as the head of the Japan Sumo Association in the '90s, dies of pneumonia.^[16] This leaves Tochinoumi as the oldest living former yokozuna.

May

• 1: The banzuke for the May tournament is released. Two wrestlers make their top division debut: Ōnoshō from Onomatsu stable, and Yutakayama from Tokitsukaze stable. Onosho is the fifth wrestler to reach makuuchi from Onomatsu stable since it was founded in 1994.^[17] Yutakayama debuts in makuuchi a year after his stablemate Shodai. Both are former students of the Tokyo University of Agriculture. Yutakayama also makes history as the first ever sandanme tsukedashi to make his makuuchi debut.^[17] Chiyonokuni and Chiyoshoma of the Kokonoe stable reach their highest career ranks, at maegashira 1 and maegashira 2, respectively. Yoshikaze returns to sanyaku after seven tournaments. Hakuhō is ranked at yokozuna for the 59th time on the banzuke, level with Chiyonofuji and behind only Kitanoumi with 63.^[17]
• 24: Having failed to recover sufficiently from his upper body injuries sustained in the last tournament, Kisenosato withdraws after four losses in the first ten days. He had previously missed only one bout in his career, the last day of the January 2014 tournament.^[18]
• 28: Hakuhō wraps up his 38th yūshō (and first in a year)^[19] by defeating Harumafuji to claim his 13th zensho-yūshō or perfect score of 15 wins and no losses. Second place is shared by ōzeki Terunofuji and maegashira Tochinoshin on 12–3. Ōnoshō scores 10–5 in his top division debut and receives the Fighting Spirit Award. The Outstanding Performance Prize goes to komusubi Mitakeumi for defeating two yokozuna. The Technique Prize is shared between Yoshikaze and Takayasu, who with 11 wins in this tournament and a 34–11 record over the last three tournaments is virtually certain to be promoted to ōzeki.^[19] The jūryō division championship is won by Nishikigi with a score of 10–5 who defeats Aminishiki, denying the veteran the chance to win his first championship in any division at the age of 38. Another veteran, former maegashira Ōiwato, does claim his first makushita championship at the age of 36. Announcing their retirements are former sekiwake Asasekiryū and former maegashira Sadanofuji, who are staying in sumo as Nishikijima Oyakata and Nakamura Oyakata respectively.
• 31: Takayasu is formally promoted to ōzeki. His promotion gives sumo four active yokozuna and three active ōzeki for the first time since 2000.^[20]

June

• 1: The Sumo Association announce that the Nagoya tournament in the year 2020 will start a week earlier than normal to avoid clashing with that year's Tokyo Summer Olympics which is scheduled to begin on July 24, 2020. The sumo will now conclude on July 19.^[21]
• 11: Ex-sekiwake Kyokutenhō takes over as the head coach of Tomozuna stable from former sekiwake Kaiki, as the latter has reached 65 years of age. The former Tomozuna is however re-hired by the Sumo Association as a consultant on reduced pay for five years, and is now known as Ōshima Oyakata.
• 25: The banzuke for the July tournament in Nagoya is released. There are no wrestlers making their top division debuts for the first time since May 2015,^[22] but Gagamaru, Chiyomaru, Sadanoumi and Nishikigi return, replacing Kaisei, Myogiryu, Toyohibiki and Yutakayama who are all demoted to juryo. With Takayasu's promotion there are four yokozuna and three ozeki on the banzuke for the first time since March 2000.^[22] Mitakeumi makes his debut at sekiwake. The sole new sekitori is Tobizaru (previously known by his family name of Iwasaki), while Abi returns to the juryo division.

July

• 23: The Nagoya tournament concludes with Hakuhō defeating Harumafuji to win his 39th yusho, his 14–1 record ensuring that he finishes one win ahead of rank-and filer Aoiyama on 13–2.^[23] During the basho Hakuhō established a new record of total career wins, surpassing both Chiyonofuji's 1045 and Kaiō's 1047. The record-breaking 1048th win came on Day 13 against new ozeki Takayasu.^[24] Aoiyama is runner-up for the first time in his career and wins the Fighting Spirit Award. The Outstanding Performance Prize goes to Mitakeumi, who was the only man to beat Hakuhō. The tournament sees a number of high profile withdrawals due to injury, including yokozuna Kisenosato and Kakuryū, ozeki Terunofuji and maegashira Endō. The juryo division championship is won by Daiamami.
• 27: Isegahama Oyakata says that Harumafuji may need surgery on a left elbow injury and is likely to miss the Aki basho in September if that occurs. He also indicates that Terunofuji will miss the whole of the summer regional tour or jungyo as he continues to recover from knee surgery in May.^[25]
• The summer regional tour visits the following locations:
  • 30: Gifu, Gifu Prefecture
  • 31: Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture

August

• The summer regional tour will visit the following locations:^[26]
  • 1: Toyota, Aichi Prefecture
  • 2: Toyama, Toyama Prefecture
  • 3: Shibata, Niigata Prefecture
  • 5: Sado, Niigata Prefecture
  • 6: Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture
  • 7: Honjo, Saitama Prefecture
  • 8: Aoyama Gakuin, Tokyo Prefecture
  • 10: Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture
  • 11: Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture
  • 12-13: Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
  • 15: Aomori, Aomori Prefecture
  • 16: Itayanagi, Aomori Prefecture
  • 18: Eniwa, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • 19: Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • 20: Asahikawa, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • 23-24: Odaiba, Tokyo Prefecture
  • 25: Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture
  • 26: Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture
  • 27: KITTE, Tokyo Prefecture

September

October

• The autumn regional tour will visit the following locations:^[26]
  • 5: Yachiyo, Chiba
  • 6: Yokohama, Kanagawa
  • 7: Saitama, Saitama
  • 8: Fuji, Shizuoka
  • 9: Chikusei, Ibaraki
  • 11: Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
  • 12: Ichinomiya, Aichi
  • 13: Nagano, Nagano
  • 14: Kanazawa, Ishikawa
  • 15: Kyoto, Kyoto
  • 17: Takayama, Gifu
  • 18: Tsu, Mie
  • 19: Kashiba, Nara
  • 20: Hirakata, Osaka
  • 21: Kishiwada, Osaka
  • 22: Osaka, Osaka
  • 24: Okayama, Okayama
  • 25: Yabu, Hyogo
  • 26: Tottori, Tottori
  • 27: Matsue, Shimane
  • 28: Hiroshima, Hiroshima
  • 29: Fukuyama, Hiroshima

November

Deaths

• Jan 25: Former makushita 37 Musashiumi, also a pro wrestler, aged 51, of a heart attack.
• Jan 31: Former komusubi Tokitenku (see January entry)
• Apr 27: Former yokozuna Sadanoyama, aged 79, of pneumonia. (see April entry)

See also

• Glossary of sumo terms
• List of active sumo wrestlers
• List of years in sumo

References