Sumo Scene / Veteran Takayasu Continues to Fight to Secure Grand Sumo Tournament Championship After Three Fruitless Attempts

By Kuniyuki Kamimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

18:35 JST, April 16, 2025

At the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka in March, 35-year-old veteran Takayasu once again fell agonizingly short of winning his first Emperor’s Cup.

It has been more than five years since Takayasu was demoted from ozeki, a rank he had held for 15 tournaments. But he impressed many with a never-say-die attitude that, despite never having won a championship, kept him going back into the ring in a quest for that elusive goal.

In the Spring tournament, his dream was shattered when he lost a championship playoff to ozeki Onosato after the two had finished in a tie for the lead. It marked the third time in his career that Takayasu had lost a wrestle-off for the title.

The first came at the 2022 Spring tournament, when he held the lead through 13 days, but lost his last two matches to fall into a tie with Wakatakakage. In the playoff, Takayasu drove Wakatakakage to the edge, only to allow his opponent to reverse him at the last moment.

Later that year at the Kyushu tournament, Takayasu led up to the final day, when he faltered and then lost in a three-way playoff with Takakeisho and Abi.

When the third time proved not to be the charm, the scene of him biting his lip in regret as he descended from the ring left a strong impression.

The fact that Onosato was the one who came from behind to deny Takayasu seems to have been determined by fate.

Onosato’s coach is stablemaster Nishonoseki, the former yokozuna Kisenosato. During his career, Kisenosato was a senior member of the same stable as Takayasu. They dined from the same stew pot and sweated together in the practice ring. As a disciple of Takayasu’s former senior stablemate, in a way Onosato can be said to be his “nephew.”

There’s no doubt that Nishonoseki had mixed feelings watching the playoff between the two, but that is the severity of this competitive world.

During the tournament, Takayasu commented that he is currently having the “most fun” in his sumo career. Two decades have passed since he joined the sumo world at 15, but it’s not easy for wrestlers to maintain this outlook.

When I hear Takayasu say with a positive attitude, “I’ll continue to fight on as long as my body can handle it,” he remains a wrestler one wants to root for.

Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku, former yokozuna Hokutoumi, showed he is on Takayasu’s side, saying, “I want him to keep going and never give up on his dream.” I think many sumo fans share that sentiment.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.