Takanohana cruised to his fourth straight victory Wednesday, while fellow yokozuna Akebono rebounded from Tuesday's setback with a hard-fought win over Tochinonada on the fourth day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
Takanohana had little trouble with Hamanoshima (0-4) after getting a right arm lock on the No. 2 maegashira shortly after the faceoff and quickly sent his opponent tumbling to the dirt surface to remain unbeaten along with six other wrestlers.
Fighting in the day's penultimate bout at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, Akebono had his hands full with No. 1 maegashira Tochinonada, who battled back from the brink of defeat several times before finally being bellied out by the lumbering Hawaiian.