Yokozuna Onosato and Ozeki Kotozakura Were Among Seven Wrestlers Tied on Five Wins in Tokyo
Four rank and file maegashira were level with the two highest ranked men at the halfway point of the fifteen day Autumn tournament.
Seven wrestlers shared the lead on 5-1 after six days of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on 18 September 2026.
Yokozuna Onosato, ozeki Kotozakura and sekiwake Atamifuji were joined at the top of the makuuchi division by four rank and file maegashira, Churanoumi, Asanoyama, Ura and Toshinofuji, an unusually broad leading group for the halfway stage of a tournament.
Onosato won his day 6 bout with a slap-down, a technique that can look like desperation when mistimed. The sumo writer Tim Edwards wrote that when Onosato is on, his slap-down is perfect, triggered with intention and executed with authority, and suggested the yokozuna was in the form to chase the title.
Kotozakura's form was described as a revival after two inconsistent years at ozeki. Aonishiki slipped to 3-3 with a loss to Fujinokawa, and Yoshinofuji, on 1-5, turned a defensive position at the straw bales into an over-arm throw to beat Kirishima and leave that ozeki on 4-2.
The 15-day tournament runs from 13 to 27 September. With the field this tightly packed and wrestlers from several rank levels involved, no clear favourite for the Emperor's Cup had emerged at the halfway point.