Life comes at you fast in the world of sumo. Barely have the New Year holidays come to a close before the first tournament of 2026 gets under way.
With the Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice and Meiji Shrine ring-entering ceremonies over, preparations for the hatsu basho are almost complete.
All that remains is Saturday’s ring purification ceremony before the battle to see who will be first to lift the Emperor’s Cup in 2026.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.