Sumo Scene / What’s in a Sumo Name? The Reason Why the New Year Tournament Is Called the January Tournament

By Kuniyuki Kamimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

10:58 JST, January 21, 2026

The New Year Grand Sumo Tournament that is now being held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo is entering its final stretch, with the championship race reaching its climax. Hearing the term “New Year Tournament,” which carries the sense of the new season, adds even more excitement as we anticipate how this year’s grand sumo world will unfold.

It is perhaps a perfectly named event to heighten the mood in the new year.

However, the expression “New Year Tournament” is hardly seen on the Japan Sumo Association’s website or inside the Kokugikan arena. This is because the association formally refers to this tournament as the “January Tournament,” naming it after the month.

Similarly, the Spring Tournament is the March Tournament and the Autumn Tournament is the September Tournament.

In fact, the association once used seasonal names for its regular tournaments.

Historically, the January tournament was called the “Spring Tournament,” because “shin shun,” one of the terms meaning New Year, carries the kanji characters meaning new spring. However, starting in 1953, when the March tournament began in Osaka, the association started calling the January tournament the “New Year Tournament” and the March tournament the “Spring Tournament,” establishing the four-tournament system per year alongside the summer and autumn tournaments.

However, having two names for the January tournament apparently caused confusion and ambiguity. Consequently, when the Kyushu Tournament was added in November 1957, the association unified the names to use the months in tournament names.

Even so, NHK television broadcasts and The Yomiuri Shimbun and other newspapers continue to follow the old convention and still use names like “New Year Tournament” and “Summer Tournament.” The reason is likely that these names evoke a stronger sense of seasonality and are well-established among viewers and readers.

Recently, however, the association has actively adopted commonly used names like “Nagoya Tournament” and “Kyushu Tournament” for regional tournaments held in places like Nagoya and Kyushu. This move appears to emphasize local ties and foster familiarity with the regions, carrying significant promotional implications. When you visit tournament venues, please check the names used at each official site.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.