Research journal #002 · The evening of 29 September 2026 · Shiori
After getting home and changing, I opened yesterday's notes. Day 7: Aonishiki and Atamifuji.
That was the bout that ended Aonishiki’s three straight losses in September. I was so glad he got that win! I opened the results again, and this time the winning techniques caught my eye.
Yori-kiri against Atamifuji. Yori-kiri again against Daieisho the next day.
What about the rest of that eight-win streak?
I put my phone to the left of my notebook and started with Day 7.
| Day | Opponent | Aonishiki's winning technique |
|---|---|---|
| Day 7 | Atamifuji | Yori-kiri (寄り切り) |
| Day 8 | Daieisho | Yori-kiri (寄り切り) |
| Day 9 | Yoshinofuji | Sukuinage (掬い投げ) |
| Day 10 | Churanoumi | Yori-kiri (寄り切り) |
| Day 11 | Takanosho | Oshidashi (押し出し) |
| Day 12 | Kinbozan | Yori-kiri (寄り切り) |
| Day 13 | Kotozakura | Katasukashi (肩透かし) |
| Day 14 | Kirishima | Yoritaoshi (寄り倒し) |
I wrote out the eight straight wins, from Day 7 through Day 14. [1]
Four wins by yori-kiri. Exactly half. The others were sukuinage, oshidashi, katasukashi and yoritaoshi.
Oh, those are all different!
I put my pen down and traced the list again with my finger.
But looking at those technique names brought me back to Day 7. That attack that ended with Atamifuji being forced out—how had Aonishiki moved him after getting the grip?
Aonishiki came in low, took a left-hand belt grip and kept attacking with his face against Atamifuji’s chest. Forward, and forward again. I could feel myself tensing up as I watched.
Afterward, Aonishiki explained that bringing his opponent upright from underneath would let him push more effectively. [2]
Right. Get underneath, then bring the other man up and drive forward.
But hadn't he got a belt grip against Fujinokawa the day before, too? Where had that bout changed?
Fujinokawa's right foot on Day 6
That bout had me on edge. Aonishiki kept trying, and Fujinokawa kept holding on!
Aonishiki had his head in and a left outside grip. He tried kirikaeshi twice, but neither attempt worked. Then, as he reached with his right hand to attempt watashikomi, Fujinokawa scooped him off balance and eventually won by yori-kiri. [3]
So he had the grip, and he was attacking. I wanted to know more about how Fujinokawa had held him off.
Fujinokawa moved his right foot around in response to each kirikaeshi attempt and dealt with both of them. [4]
He escaped both attempts…!
I'd been thinking about Aonishiki's left hand, and now I was curious about Fujinokawa's right foot. The attack and the response. I really want another look at their feet in that bout.
Aonishiki said afterward that he wished he'd attacked sooner himself. [3]
About the following day's win against Atamifuji, Chairman Hakkaku explained that the left front grip and the ability to move forward together allowed Aonishiki to move his opponent. [5]
Ah. What happens after he gets the grip.
And a left outside grip on Day 6 isn't quite the same description as a left front grip on Day 7. If I just write “left-hand grip,” I lose that detail, too.
On Day 6, his attacks were resisted, and the next attempt left him off balance. On Day 7, he used his grip to keep the attack going.
If I stop at the moment his left hand reaches the belt, I miss that difference.
The loss on Day 5 was different again
That got me thinking about the bout against Gonoyama the day before, too.
From the initial charge, Aonishiki was driven back and brought upright. His attempt to scoop came too late, and he lost by oshitaoshi. [6]
That's quite different from the exchanges after getting a grip against Fujinokawa.
I put the three bouts side by side in my notebook.
| Bout | The exchange that caught my attention |
|---|---|
| Day 5: Gonoyama / loss | Driven back and brought upright from the initial charge |
| Day 6: Fujinokawa / loss | Attacked from a left outside grip; two kirikaeshi attempts were resisted, then his next attack was countered |
| Day 7: Atamifuji / win | Kept attacking from a left front grip; afterward, he described trying to bring his opponent upright from below |
For Day 5, I want to look at how he was driven back from the charge. For Day 6, it's the exchanges after he had the grip. There are different things to compare with Day 7.
This doesn't explain the whole eight-win streak. But I know much more clearly what I want to look at than when I was treating those three losses as one stretch.
I picked up my pen again and found some space in my notebook for “Day 6, Fujinokawa's right foot.” Underneath: “Day 7, after the grip.”
I started out wanting another look at the Atamifuji bout. Now I want to watch Day 6 again just as much. Fujinokawa held on through both those attempts.
Sources I checked
[1] ABEMA TIMES: Aonishiki's results, Days 7–14 of September 2026. Opponents and results were also checked against the Japan Sumo Association's Aonishiki profile.
[2] Nikkan Sports: the Day 7 bout against Atamifuji and Aonishiki's comments, 19 September 2026.
[3] Nikkan Sports: the Day 6 bout against Fujinokawa and Aonishiki's comments, 18 September 2026.
[4] Nikkan Sports: the Day 6 exchanges and Fujinokawa's comments, 18 September 2026.
[5] Nikkan Sports: Chairman Hakkaku's assessment of the Day 7 bout, 19 September 2026.
[6] Nikkan Sports: the Day 5 bout against Gonoyama, 17 September 2026.
Sources used to check results, finishing techniques, bout sequences and comments. Checked on 29 September 2026. The linked sources are in Japanese.
Related research journal: #001, “After Aonishiki's three straight losses.”
Shiori
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