2027.01.10 — 2027.01.24 · Coming soon
Grand Sumo January 2027 — Tokyo
Grand sumo holds six main tournaments a year, and January’s Hatsu basho is the first. In 2027 it runs for 15 straight days, from Sunday 10 to Sunday 24 January, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo: each day starts with the lower divisions, the top-division and yokozuna ring-entering ceremonies come in the afternoon, the bow-twirling ceremony closes the day, and the championship is decided on the final day. Tokyo prices are revised from this tournament: an adult chair seat D is JPY 3,000 and ringside seats reach 30,000, with advance sales from 5 December.
In the afternoon the top-division wrestlers file onto the ring in embroidered ceremonial aprons and stand in a circle to be presented.
Then comes the yokozuna’s own entry: wearing the thick white rope of his rank and flanked by a herald and a sword-bearer, he claps, raises a leg high and stamps it down in the centre of the ring.
Before each bout the wrestlers throw salt across the ring, crouch and stare each other down, rising and settling again until they charge at the same instant; the clash itself often lasts seconds.
Before popular matches, ushers parade sponsors’ banners around the ring; after the last bout of the day a wrestler twirls a long bow in the closing bow ceremony.
The January tournament is the first of the year’s six, and after 15 days the final day crowns the year’s first champion.
The Kokugikan opened in 1985 and seats 11,098; its Sumo Museum holds woodblock prints, ranking sheets and ceremonial aprons, with three themed displays a year.
Checked · 2026-10-09
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2014 · Gregg Tavares · Photo source · CC BY 2.0 · Preview cropped; enlarge for full image. · Report image rights
Advance sales start on 5 December; the time and outlets are not announced.
Masu prices are per person; how many share a box and whether boxes sell whole follows the ticketing page.
Daily door and bout times are not yet announced.
Day 14 and the final day are the most expensive.
The Kokugikan has fixed ringside, masu-box and chair seats; GoWoah has no plan yet, and the Japan Sumo Association site has a seating chart and an interior street view.
Open official guide ↗Photos from this show come first; those from other shows may have a different stage and obstructions.
10 GoWoah points if accepted
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Sunday 10 to Sunday 24 January 2027, 15 consecutive days (Tokyo time); daily door and bout times are not yet announced. Day 14 is 23 January and the final day 24 January.
Asia/TokyoThe Ryogoku Kokugikan is at 1-3-28 Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, about 2 minutes on foot from the west exit of JR Ryogoku station and 5 minutes from Ryogoku on the Toei Oedo Line.
Tickets are sold by date and valid for that day. The Sumo Museum inside the hall opens 12:30–4pm during the tournament, entered with that day’s ticket.
JPY 3,000–30,000
Confirm accessibility services and companion policies with the organiser before travel.
Dates and entry details refer to this edition; individual sessions may differ.
Jeffrey Pauletto · CC BY-SA 2.0 Image source
Japan Sumo Association
A yokozuna ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, September 2014; a file photo, not this tournament.
Information checked on 2026-10-09
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