F6 / The year
Six honbasho (grand tournaments) per year
Sumo's rhythm has not changed in decades. Every odd month, 15 days, three different cities, two different times of year in Tokyo. The Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo hosts three of the six. In between, wrestlers go on regional tours (jungyo) and train.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
初場所
Hatsu
Tokyo
JUNGYŌ
春場所
Haru
Osaka
JUNGYŌ
夏場所
Natsu
Tokyo
JUNGYŌ
名古屋場所
Nagoya
Nagoya
JUNGYŌ
秋場所
Aki
Tokyo
JUNGYŌ
九州場所
Kyushu
Fukuoka
JUNGYŌ
Six venues, three cities
- JAN Hatsu basho Ryogoku Kokugikan · Tokyo 11,098 165K
- MAR Haru basho EDION Arena Osaka · Osaka 7,500 105K
- MAY Natsu basho Ryogoku Kokugikan · Tokyo 11,098 165K
- JUL Nagoya basho IG Arena (new 2025) · Nagoya 14,000 175K
- SEP Aki basho Ryogoku Kokugikan · Tokyo 11,098 165K
- NOV Kyushu basho Fukuoka Kokusai Centre · Fukuoka 6,000 80K
- YR Annual total Across 6 honbasho · 90 days ~855K
15
days per basho · one bout per day per Makuuchi rikishi
~855K
total in-person attendees per year - across all six bashos. NHK broadcast adds millions more.
~40
jungyo (regional tour) days between bashos - exhibitions, no real bouts
235+
days of pure training in the heya (stable) - the bulk of a rikishi's year