It’s that exciting time again for Grand Sumo fans-we are now less than 2 weeks away from the next tournament and thus the new Banzuke for May 2022 has just been announced.
Among the highlights:
Few changes at the top of Makuuchi (top tier), no Kadoban Ozeki this time. March champion Wakatakakage & Abi remain at Sekiwake. Hoshoryu remains at Komusubi and is joined by Daieisho, the January 2021 champion. March runner-up Takayasu makes a big move up from Maegashira 7 to Maegashira 1 as he tries to get back to Sekiwake, and is joined by Ichinojo. Kotonowaka also continues his big climb up, now at Maegashira 2 after a 2nd straight 11-4 performance
On the down side, the biggest drop was Meisei, who seemed to struggle with lingering injuries and had a terrible March, going 1-14 and finishing dead last. He plunges from Maegashira 1 to Maegashira 13. Ura also saw his rocket run out of steam as despite a late rally of sorts, he still falls from Maegashira 1 to Maegashira 6. Ishiura missed most of the tournament due to injury and fell all the way down to Maegashira 16.
Newcomers/returns include Oho, back for a second try in the top tier at Maegashira 14, a personal best. Midorifuji returns to top tier after spending the last year at Juryo, coming in at Maegasira 16. And finally, for the first time in over 2 years Azumaryu is back in the top tier, coming back at Maegashira 15 after being in Juryo since July 2020.
In the Juryo (second tier), March champion Ryuden, coming off his second championship in 3 tournaments (and nearly 3 straight, he won Makushita in November and lost in January on the final day), is one good performance away from returning to the top tier and will be a Juryo 3, so 9-10 wins should have him back up top in July. Chiyomaru is a Juryo 1 after demotion from the top tier along with Hidenoumi, up from a Juryo 2. Akua was demoted from the top tier as well and will be a Juryo 4. After a winning performance, everyone’s favorite underdog, Enho, moves up to Juryo 7 as he tries to put on more weight and climb back up to the top tier (he is the smallest rikishi at just over 220 pounds/100 kg). Former Sekiwake Kaisei continues a slow slide down the ranks as he falls down to Juryo 9. It’s been 5 straight losing tournaments fror the huge Brazilian wrestler, who also missed 3 matches in January due to injury.
In the Makushita (third tier), March champion Kinbozan, originally from Kazakhstan, goes for his 3rd championship in just his 4h career tournament. He made a big leap from Makishuta 34 to Makushita 4 and will likely be a Juryo Man in July with a winning record. He’s won 8 straight matches overall and has just 2 losses to date. Chiyonoumi, trying to make it back to Juryo after a year down, is a Makushita 1 along with Nishikawa, the January champion who beat Ryuden on the final day to win the title but struggled to just a 4-3 record in March. Popular elder statesman Akiseyama, trying to climb back to the top tier after a steep drop due to coronavirus outbreaks, is up to Makushita 8 this time. Also watch Shishi, a Makushita 7 who will again be a huge sentimental favorite and receive loud ovations from the crowd because he is from Ukraine. There will be one Makushita pre-tournament dropout as former Ozeki Asanoyama serves what should be the final tournament of his 1-year (6 tournament) suspension for breaking coronavirus safety protocols and not being truthful about it. He is a Makushita 42 so if he comes back in July he’ll start his climb back to the top from the Sandanme, the 3rd lowest division.
In addition to the usual 200 in the Sandanme, the no-firm-limit Jonidan division will have roughly 224 participants this time, while the bottom tier Jonokuchi division has 44 entrants.
The May 2022 Tournament runs from 5/8-5/22 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Fans outside Japan can watch the entire tournament in English on NHK World Premium, available through participating cable/satellite providers. You can also watch the daily highlights program with all top tier matches on NHK World Japan, available on participating cable providers plus online and via smartphone and smart TV apps. The online and app versions are 100% FREE to watch with no login or account required and no viewing restrictions. You’ll also be able to find streams/replays on YouTube and the official Nihon Sumo Kyokai mobile app (remember that to watch more than one video a day on the app you have to subscribe to their premium membership, which is about $5 a month).
