Cheeky Chanko May 2025
Welcome back to the second edition of Cheeky Chanko! In this post we are going to discuss the recent banzuke drop then hit some US Sumo news. There were two great tournaments in April, the Rain City Open and the Rollertown Showdown. We have the winners of those tournaments and the links to watch below! Then we are going to have some interesting information on the origins of the banzuke as well as the answer of last month’s Sumo Trivia. Finally, a little Cheeky Sumo news. Be sure to subscribe if you’d like a Cheek Peek at our upcoming designs sent straight to your inbox!
If you’d like more in depth coverage of top level Grand Sumo, we highly recommend you check out the Sumo Stomp blog. Tim goes bout by bout every day of every basho covering the wrestlers, matches, and outcomes. He also releases excellent Report Cards in between bashos with comprehensive analysis of each top division rikishi! You bet Cheeky Sumo has a subscription. If you subscribe to Sumo Stomp now ($5 monthly, $30 annual) you’ll be entered to win a Cheeky Sumo Classic Logo Sweatshirt. Awesome!
Grand Sumo News: Banzuke Breakdown
2025 Hatsu Basho Banzuke
The May Natsu Basho Banzuke has dropped! What a banzuke it is. There were a few surprises in there. Lets start at the top though, where there were not many surprises at all. The Sanyaku and upper Maegashira ranks largely feel appropriate based on recent performances. Hoshoryu sits up top, though I think he is very soon to be joined by Onosato. It is nice to see Kirishima working his way back up toward Ozeki. The Waka Bros hold two of the most difficult ranks in sumo, Komusubi and M1. No major controversies jump out immediately, setting the stage for what should be some high-stakes clashes among the elite this month.
When we get to M5 things get a bit more interesting. Personally, I feel Ura might be counting his lucky stars to be ranked above Chiyoshoma. Both had their struggles, but Ura somehow getting ranked above Chiyoshoma feels very fortunate for Ura this time around. Chiyoshoma was M2w last tournament and went 6-9. Ura was M5e and went 7-8. How Chiyoshoma ended up getting dropped three ranks AND below Ura, who didn’t move at all, just doesn’t make much sense to me. At least they were consistent and dropped Tobizaru three (and a half) ranks as well. Sumo math can be notoriously tricky, but both Chiyoshoma and Tobizaru’s new ranks feel harsh.
Speaking of (in)consistency, Kinbozan also dropped three ranks after going 6-9 while Atamifuji was dropped four and Abi was only dropped 1.5 with the same 6-9 records. However, looking at the banzuke as a whole you start to see a plan. Abi was ranked as a komusubi in March, so his competition was of higher quality than Chiyoshoma (M2), Tobizaru (M3), or Kinbozan (M5). Atamifuji should have had the lowest quality competition out of this group at M8. It seems possible they are demoting more the further down the banzuke a wrestler started. All this being said, I still think Kinbozan should have been dropped one more spot and Aonishiki, who had a stellar 11-4 debut from M15e and won a Kanto-sho, should be sitting at M8w. While banzuke creation has its own unique logic balancing rank, record, and available slots, the disparity in drops between Kinbozan and Atamifuji is noticeable.
On a positive note, it's fantastic to see Roga make his return to the top division! After an 11-4 performance in Juryo, he slots back in at M14w. Welcome back!
The very bottom of the Makuuchi division features some fresh faces and interesting placements. The exact ordering might seem a little peculiar to some observers: why didn’t Asakoryu also fall four ranks for a 6-9 record? why is Nishikigi at M16w and not in Juryo? However, the anticipation is high for the Makuuchi debuts of Kayo (coming off a 9-6 at J2e) and Tochitaikai (9-6 at J3w). It will be exciting to see how these two handle the step up to the top division.
Looking down at Juryo, it's undeniably sad to see the veteran Takarafuji back in the second division at J3e after a tough 3-12 showing at M12e. He's been such a stalwart in Makuuchi for so long, and one has to worry if we'll see him compete in the top flight again.
On the other end of the spectrum, the excitement around Kusano is palpable. Following his dominant 14-1 Yusho performance in his Juryo debut at J14w, he's rocketed all the way up to J1w! That's an incredible leap. He finds himself surrounded by highly accomplished wrestlers – potential promotion candidates and recently demoted Makuuchi veterans alike: Takarafuji (J3e), Mitakeumi (J1e), and Hidenoumi (J2e). This upper Juryo group promises fierce competition, and seeing how the rapidly rising Kusano fares against them will be a major storyline for the Natsu Basho.
US Sumo News: Two Great Tournaments
Rain City Open
US Sumo continues to grow with the first ever Rain City Open hosted by Rain City Sumo in Seattle! There was some excellent sumo on display all day long on the 12th. It is definitely something you will not want to miss next year!
Rain City Open Results
Women’s:
Female Heavy Weight:
Silver: Mika Grimmer - Rain City Sumo
Gold: Alexis Meliza - Seattle Sumo Club
Female Super Heavyweight:
Bronze: Rachel Gates - Kurowashi Sumo Collective
Silver: Christina Griffin-Jones - Honu Sumo
Gold: KellyAnn Ball - Honu Sumo
Female Open Weight:
Bronze: Alexis Meliza - Seattle Sumo Club
Silver: Christina Griffin-Jones - Honu Sumo
Gold: KellyAnn Ball - Honu Sumo
Female Lightweight:
Silver: Rachel Tonkovich - Portland Sumo
Gold: Kira Songer - Songer Combat Sports
Female Middleweight:
Silver: Ailleen West - Rain City Sumo
Gold: Leah Mancillas - Honu Sumo
Female Light Heavy:
Bronze: Nat Nimmo - Clan Sumo Scotland
Silver: Ailleen West - Rain City Sumo
Gold: Mika Grimmer - Rain City Sumo
Men’s
Mens Light Heavy
Bronze: Miguel Alcarez - Iron Goat Sumo
Silver: Joe Barlow - Rain City Sumo
Gold: Michael Fields - Rain City Sumo
Mens Heavyweight
Bronze: Geoff Barnes - Portland Sumo
Silver: Niklas Streng - Portland Sumo
Gold: George Sua - Rain City Sumo
Mens Open Weight
Bronze: Hugo Tigerman - Gracie Barra Vancouver
Silver: Niklas Streng - Portland Sumo
Gold: George Sua - Rain City Sumo
Mens Ultra Lightweight:
Bronze: Nikolas Dalbeck - Rain City Sumo
Silver: Chris Songer - Songer Combat Sports
Gold: Joseph Ponsetto - Yamamoto Sumo Dojo
Mens Lightweight
Bronze: Jimmy Dolan - 10th Planet Portland JJ
Silver: Hugo Tigerman - Gracie Barra Vancouver
Gold: Kane Tyler - Songer Combat Sports
Mens Middleweight
Bronze: Eddie Ziegler - Portland Sumo
Silver: Riley Porter - Seattle Sumo Club
Gold: Kyle Cox - Sumo Sundays
Rollertown Showdown
The Rollertown Showdown was April 25-26. What a showdown it was! This tournament is set up a little differently than most in the US where it is an entirely open tournament. Its a full basho! 15 matches, no weight classes, no men’s and women’s, just pure sumo. The Dallas Sumo Club put on the event and its one that Cheeky Sumo is hoping they can attend next year! We were happy to sponsor Dallas Sumo Club. Can’t wait to see more of their sumo!
Rollertown Showdown Results:
1st Place: Hayden Southall - Dallas Sumo Club
2nd Place: Edobor Konyeha - Raijen Sumo
3rd Place: Jay Scriven - Mighty Eagle Sumo
Outstanding Performance: Sam Rodriguez III - Chicago Sumo Club
Technique: TJ Moore - Ohio Sumo Dayton
Fighting Spirit: Max Wellbrock-Talley - Sunflower Sumo Club
Upcoming Events
Coming up in May along with the Natsu Basho there is the US Sumo Open on the 10th, Empire Cup on the 17th, and Sakura Cup on the 31st! Cheeky Sumo will be spectating at the US Sumo Open (find us and say hi!). Cheeky Sumo is proud to sponsor the Empire and Sakura Cups! Check out CheekySumo.com on those days for links to the livestreams and good luck to all the competitors. What a month for sumo!
Sumo Style - The Banzuke and Picture Banzuke
The banzuke is the official hierarchical listing of all professional sumo wrestlers, playing a foundational role in the sport's structure and traditions. Its primary purpose is to rank every wrestler (rikishi) according to their performance in the previous tournament, determining their standing and matchups for the upcoming grand tournament (honbasho). The creation of the banzuke is a meticulous process undertaken by the ranking committee of the Japan Sumo Association after each tournament. Significantly, the final banzuke document is not typeset or printed; instead, it is painstakingly handwritten by skilled sumo referees (gyōji) using a unique, traditional calligraphy style known as sumō-ji. This highly specialized task requires intense concentration and precision, taking several days, sometimes up to a week, for a team of gyōji to complete the large scroll detailing the ranks of hundreds of wrestlers.
Beyond the official calligraphic ranking sheet produced by the gyōji, there exists a tradition of illustrative, hand-drawn banzuke. These often function more as commemorative art pieces or popular souvenirs, featuring drawings or caricatures of the top-ranked wrestlers alongside their names and ranks. While the official banzuke is a collaborative calligraphic effort, certain artists have become known for producing these distinctive pictorial versions and they can be very sought-after items. It's worth noting that the term banzuke itself simply translates to "ranking list" or "program." Historically, outside of sumo, similar banzuke were created during Japan's Edo period to rank various other popular interests, such as Kabuki actors, noted artisans, popular restaurants, tea houses, and even wealthy merchants, demonstrating the cultural significance of ranking and lists in Japanese society.
From left to right: 2012 January Basho Banzuke, 1788 April Basho Picture Banzuke, 1851 banzuke for onsen (hot springs)
Credit: Public Domain, Wikipedia
Sumo Trivia
Last month’s question: How do you wash a mawashi?
A: You don’t! The lowest ranked wrestlers from each stable take all the mawashi after practice and roll them very tightly to wring them out. Sounds fun! They are then hung to dry to get ready for the next day’s practice.
Mawashi blowing in the breeze
May 2025 Cheeky Chanko Trivia Question:
Besides the position on the sheet, how does the banzuke visually indicate the rank of a wrestler?
Till next month!
We're incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support we've received since our launch! This was our second month live, and we couldn't be happier with the response. Thank you to everyone who's visited our site, followed us on social media, liked our posts, and made a purchase. We're committed to bringing you fresh designs, with plans to release two or more new items every basho. Four new designs are dropping May 5th - make sure to check back! In the meantime, don’t forget to take a look at our current designs featuring new colors for our Classic Cheeky Sumo logo!
