Fujinokawa, you won from there!
A Sunday with his three wins over the ozeki. I kept going back to what happened after he got into trouble.
Sunday morning. A story about yesterday’s celebration of Fujinokawa’s promotion caught my eye.
He didn’t want to arrive at his own celebration having already lost his sekiwake rank. That pressure helped him through September, he said.
Eleven wins in his first tournament as a sekiwake, including victories over all three ozeki: Aonishiki, Kotozakura and Kirishima. None of those three wins came easily, did they?
Would I notice something if I looked at them together?
I have today off, too. I propped up my tablet and opened my notebook.
What happened after that right foot?
Day 6, against Aonishiki. In Journal #002, I couldn’t stop watching Fujinokawa’s right foot escape two kirikaeshi leg-trip attempts. Today, I wanted to follow what came next.
Aonishiki reaches out with his right hand for a watashikomi, a thigh-grabbing push-down. Fujinokawa answers with a right sukuinage—a scooping throw!
A throw! …But it isn’t over.
With Aonishiki off balance, Fujinokawa gets a deep right-hand inside belt grip. Then he drives forward, facing him squarely, and wins by yorikiri, a force-out.
So much is happening! Fujinokawa escapes the leg trips, but Aonishiki has another attack ready. Just as I’m relaxing because he’s got free, Fujinokawa throws.
Last time, I was following that right foot. Beside those notes, I added: “right scooping throw → right inside grip → forward.”
The throw didn’t finish it, but look at the position that followed. I wouldn’t have pictured all that from the single word “yorikiri.”
Against Kotozakura, the right arm goes outside.
After lunch, on to Day 9. This time, I followed his right arm.
Kotozakura’s thrusts have him at the edge already. Fujinokawa circles and stays in. His left arm goes inside, while his right reaches over Kotozakura’s arm to the belt.
After being driven all that way, he’s got a right overarm grip!
Oh! This is where he throws!
Kotozakura is still coming forward when Fujinokawa launches a right uwatenage—an overarm belt throw. Both lose their balance. Kotozakura hits the clay first.
Even knowing who wins, I tense up at this finish. Kotozakura keeps coming right to the end.
Against Aonishiki, the right hand went deep inside for the force-out. Here, it takes an outside grip for the throw.
I redrew the arrows in my notebook, marking whether the arm went inside or outside. Against Aonishiki, he throws and then drives forward. Against Kotozakura, he gets the overarm grip and throws. Writing it down made that difference in sequence clearer, too.
His left arm is caught. He keeps going.
The third bout is against Kirishima on Day 12. A right forearm blast followed by thrusts takes Fujinokawa to the edge. He’s in trouble here, too.
Fujinokawa deflects him to the left. Kirishima turns away, and Fujinokawa follows. Kirishima turns back and traps Fujinokawa’s left arm.
His arm’s caught. Oh—but he hasn’t stopped!
With that left arm still trapped, Fujinokawa keeps advancing. He leans into Kirishima and finishes with oshitaoshi, a frontal push-down. I found myself leaning forward, too.
The deflection wasn’t the end of it. Kirishima turns back, catches his arm, and still Fujinokawa keeps attacking.
Until now, I’d been following the right hand taking a belt grip. But if I only watch the trapped left arm here, I might miss how he keeps moving forward. I went back a little, this time following both wrestlers’ whole bodies.
Side by side, one more time.
By the time I laid out my notes, it was getting a little dark outside. I started by picking out where he had got into trouble.
| Bout | The attack Fujinokawa had to face | Winning technique |
|---|---|---|
| Day 6 · Aonishiki | A left overarm grip and two kirikaeshi leg-trip attempts | Yorikiri · force-out |
| Day 9 · Kotozakura | Thrusts driving him to the edge | Uwatenage · overarm throw |
| Day 12 · Kirishima | A forearm blast and thrusts driving him to the edge | Oshitaoshi · frontal push-down |
Both Kotozakura and Kirishima drove him to the edge with thrusts. But getting a grip and throwing from there is quite different from deflecting someone and following him.
I’d filed all three away as “he really hung on.” Now each has its own note.
And Kirishima had trained with him repeatedly before the tournament. On Day 6, Fujinokawa spoke about the different techniques Kirishima had used against him in practice. Day 12 was his first win over that same Kirishima.
Oh. So those two had spent that time together before meeting in this bout. Thinking back to the final push-down, I feel that rush all over again.
I wonder what their practice bouts were like. I’ve closed my notebook, but I’m still a little curious.
Sources and bout notes
Sources and bout notes
- Japan Sumo Association: Fujinokawa’s profile and results: September 2026 opponents, dates and record. West sekiwake; 11–4; Fighting Spirit Prize.
- Nikkan Sports: sekiwake promotion celebration: event held October 3; report published on the morning of October 4. Fujinokawa’s comments about the approaching celebration.
- Nikkan Sports: Day 6 against Aonishiki: responses to the kirikaeshi attempts, right scooping throw, right inside grip and force-out; his comments about training before the tournament.
- Nikkan Sports: Day 9 against Kotozakura: survival at the edge, left arm inside and right overarm belt grip, followed by the throw.
- Nikkan Sports: Day 12 against Kirishima / his comments that day: the deflection and push-down, his first win over Kirishima, and gratitude for their training.
- Japan Sumo Association technique explanations: uwatenage / sukuinage.
This journal compares three selected bouts. It does not establish Fujinokawa’s overall style or explain all eleven wins. Exchanges were checked against reporting from each match day; posture, mawashi and supports were checked against photographs from those days. The bout illustrations are interpretations based on those records and include close views of the same moment. Sources checked: October 4, 2026.