Silly Sumo Stuff
It’s the brothers basho, as we get THREE sets of brothers in makuuchi this tournament! How cool is THAT? Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu, the highest ranked duo at sekiwake and komusubi. Tobizaru and Hidenoumi, the Flying Monkey and He Who Has Not Been Given a Nickname Yet. And, Kotoshoho and Kotoeiho.
Someday, I WILL be a grownup and stop giggling whenever I say Kotoeiho.
This is picture is just for fun, because look how excited he is! Extra points if you know who he is.
In Between Bashos
Hakuho left the JSA. You read that right. He’s no longer a coach. He is gone. Retired. He has big dreams though, and I want to know what you think about it. Got an opinion? If you want to listen to us chat about it, listen here.
Free Space
We like speaking about (and to) women who are involved in sumo. It’s a topic we return to again and again for obvious reasons. Along with our friend Mai, we’ve been researching the women who sit on the Yokozuna Deliberation Council. If you are curious about the THREE women who have sat or are sitting on the YDC, then this episode is for you. It is not easy to earn a place in professional sumo, so kudos to these women for serving on the YDC and blazing a trail for more women to follow.
BINGO CARDS ARE AVAILABLE
It takes luck, speed, and skill to win this game. OK, mostly LUCK, but it’s still fun!
Tip: BINGO is a great way to learn each wrestler’s name.
NEWS: We’ve decided to double the fun and start a new BINGO category - DOUBLE BINGO - for those of you who get 2 or more BINGOs in a tournament. Obviously, this takes a LOT of skill, years of BINGO practice, and probably a lot of time lifting heavy weights by your once delicate fingers.
Ganbatte!
How to PLAY SUMO BINGO:
CLAIM YOUR CARD. (1 per person please)
Watch the July sumo tournament and mark a wrestler when he gets 8 wins (kachi-koshi) and/or 8 losses (make-koshi).
5 across/down/diagonal of the same type is a BINGO (all kachi-koshi or all make-koshi).
When you get a BINGO, email us a photo/screen shot of your completed winning card sumokaboom@gmail.com ASAP. We’ll let you know if you were the first BINGO.
The prizes go to the 1st kachi-koshi and make-koshi BINGO winners, so speed is of the essence. If you BINGO later, your name goes into a drawing for additional prizes at the end of the basho - 2nd place BINGOs. SO KEEP PLAYING.
We also give prizes for Double BINGO and Most Creative BINGO card, so there are multiple ways to win.
Feel free to share your good fortune with the world over social media, too. Go ahead - share your win!
Reminders
***IMPORTANT*** Your BINGO card is filled with wrestlers who are on the current banzuke. If a wrestler never wrestles in this tournament, it's NOT a make-koshi or kachi-koshi. It's a dead square. It sucks, and we don’t like it either!
A sense of humor is appreciated and will earn you special sumo points from us. Decorate your cards. Redesign them. Take pictures of them surrounded by all your sumo merch. This basho, Cheeky Sumo is offering a prize for the best decorated BINGO card.
Play to the end of the basho! Every BINGO enters your name into the drawing for prizes at the end of the basho. We give away 2-4 prizes to folks who BINGO late.
If your wrestler wrestles at least 1 day, his record counts. He might be make-koshi, but he could be JUST the loser you need to win BINGO.
Stay true to your style of sumo bingo! Ganbatte!
WHAT DO I WIN?
IF YOU WIN SUMO BINGO, you get BRAGGING RIGHTS. You may also receive any number of prizes from our sponsors - homemade jam, a chance to get yourself some sumo merch from bigSUMOfan.com or CheekySumo, or perhaps some sumo fiction from BuddhatheBard. Sponsor info below!
bigSUMOfan
bigSUMOfan.com has been a BINGO sponsor for years! Robert at bigSUMOfan.com carries many authentic Japanese sumo products that are likely to be of interest to fans worldwide. bigSUMOfan.com is an online store in the USA for sumo fans all over the world.
The second series of 2025 Sumo Wrestling Trading Cards called Nagomi (和) or Harmony, Peace, or Calm are now available. And, acrylic Stands are here. Available with wrestlers in their robes or (new!) wrestlers in their keshso mawashi. 28 different wrestlers are available, including Shishi.
They carry each basho’s program, traditional banzuke, picture banzuke, and Sumo Magazine. They announce new arrivals on X/Twitter @bigSUMOfan.
Cheeky Sumo
Sumo is a sport packed with power, tradition, and—let’s be honest—plenty of cheeks. From cheeky grins to cheeky butts, and now cheeky designs, we’re here to bring the fun side of sumo to life.
At Cheeky Sumo, we aim to celebrate, educate, and support the sumo world with bold merch and fresh gear that both fans and wrestlers can get behind (pun intended). Whether you're laughing at our clever graphics or proudly repping your sumo spirit, you’re showing sumo’s got more than just power—it’s got personality.
Cheeky Sumo is offering a prize to the most creative BINGO card, so let your creativity fly!
As a special offer just for Sumo Kaboom listeners, use promo code KABOOM to get 10% off your order! Shop tees, sweatshirts, socks and more at cheekysumo.com. US and International shipping available.
Hiroshi, Tale of a Sumotori
This tournament, we are giving away a copy of Hiroshi, Tale of a Sumotori by BuddhatheBard.
In this gripping coming-of-age story of strength, honor, and sacrifice, Hiroshi’s journey is one of self-discovery and resilience as he learns that the path to greatness is never simple, and the price of legacy may be higher than he ever thought.
This may be the greatest (only?) sumo-centric fantasy novel to date! Not only that but it’s going to be an introduction to a whole new world where Kami walk the plane of mortals and gods rule. Cultivators strive for immortality while sumotori praise Kentaro!
Sumo Kaboom
Sumo Kaboom is a weekly podcast about all things sumo. Give us a listen! We talk about the wrestlers, the history and culture of sumo, and of course, sumo wrestling. We recently covered women who serve on the YDC, Hakuho’s Retirement, the sumo Belly Touching event, and more.
Leslie makes a mean jar of homemade jam and offers it to a SUMO BINGO winner. The flavors change - orange, fig, strawberry, grape, depending on what’s in season.
Stay true to YOUR BRAND of SUMO BINGO. Thank you for reading Sumo Kaboom. This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Hakuho leaving JSA was all due to the way they treated him over the years. A man can take just so much bs in his life. He was and continues to be the best we have ever seen. God bless him in all he does. He gave us all years of excitement and enjoyment watching him...