Professional sumo holds six major tournaments (honbasho) each year, each lasting exactly 15 days. Every wrestler in the top two divisions competes once per day.
The six tournaments:
- Hatsu Basho (January) — Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
- Haru Basho (March) — Edion Arena Osaka, Osaka
- Natsu Basho (May) — Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
- Nagoya Basho (July) — Dolphins Arena, Nagoya
- Aki Basho (September) — Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo
- Kyushu Basho (November) — Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka
Tournaments typically begin on the second Sunday of each month and run through the fourth Sunday. The schedule is announced months in advance by the Japan Sumo Association.
Between tournaments, wrestlers return to their stables for intensive training. There are no regular matches between honbasho — only occasional exhibition tours (jungyo). In October 2025, a rare exhibition tournament was held at London's Royal Albert Hall, the first Grand Sumo overseas event in 20 years.
All 90 tournament days were sold out in 2024 — the first complete sellout since 1996 — reflecting sumo's booming popularity. Tickets often sell out within minutes of release.