First 4 days of the September tournament in the books, and what a first half to the first week it’s been! Altogether, the Yokozeki look quite strong, even if the 3 I tabbed as the biggest favorites have each had one hiccup so far. As of Day 4, only one rikishi remains undefeated, while a whopping 16 wrestlers are logjammed at 3-1, so expect the next few days to do a lot of sorting out of the true contenders from the pretenders.

1. O2e Aonishiki (3-1)

He may have suffered his first defeat on Day 4 against a spirited Hakunofuji (though not without some grumbling that there should have been at least a mono-ii), but the pre-basho concerns about Aonishiki’s ring rust should be at least somewhat assuaged by his performance so far. With Onosato’s health still a bigger question mark at this juncture, the reigning Emperor’s Cup winner retains the #1 contender status until he drops 2 matches off the pace.

2. Y1E Onosato (3-1)

If I had written this post yesterday, after Onosato’s steamrolling of Kotoeiho, I would have been sorely tempted to move the Yokozuna to the #1 spot. However, a disappointing performance against Takayasu raised the lingering questions about how genki Onosato truly is, as he seemed entirely too quick to shift into retreat mode after losing the tachiai to the Bear. Watch this space, I expect the next few days to tell us a lot about whether Onosato is truly “back” yet.

3. O1w Kotozakura (4-0)

I mentioned in my pre-basho writeup that I was hesitant including Kotozakura among the top 5 favorites given his extended run of mediocre form, but he’s surprised us all by emerging from the bloodbath of the first 4 days as the lone unbeaten rikishi. The manner in which he’s been running understandably raises some questions as to whether his pace thus far is sustainable, but he knows what it takes to put together a full two weeks of elite sumo, so the rest of the field would do well to take him seriously as a yusho threat (at least until he gives them reason to think otherwise).

4. O1e Kirishima (3-1)

A disappointing loss to Takayasu on Day 3 immediately jeopardized whatever hopes Kirishima had of securing a Yokozuna promotion heading into this month, but he’s looked solid in his other matches and seems well on pace to clear 11 wins once again. The question remains will he be able to execute against the very top of the banzuke when the chips are down in the second week.

5. S1e Atamifuji (3-1)

Another promotion hopeful who suffered an early disappointing loss against a veteran wrestler, Atamifuji rebounded well on Day 4 to keep himself potentially on pace to finish off an Ozeki run. It remains to be seen how much the nerves of knowing the rank is within reach will affect his sumo, but there’s something to be said for an early loss at least taking some of the heat off him being at the front of the yusho race.

In the hunt: M4e Takanosho (3-1), M6e Asanoyama (3-1), M8e Takerufuji (3-1)