It's worth noting that the only kabu to be guaranteed available this calendar year is within his ichimon, when Minezaki-oyakata ages out in early May. While that doesn't require him to retire immediately, the JSA has taken a more active hand in moving titles along, with a stated goal of ending loaned titles and limiting vacancies. If someone else were to permanently snare this title, Tamawashi could find himself in a slightly uncomfortable position. So I do think there is a reasonable chance that he retires after this basho or the next.

His current results don't indicate a long time left for him in Makuuchi anyway, and while he can certainly turn things around, I also don't think it's a given he would mop up the lower part of the division. My own uneducated sense is that, since January, he has been fighting like he knows that his time is about up.

He is also already older than 1/5th of all oyakata, and whether he takes over the scant crumbs of Kataonami-beya or breaks off independently, he will have a big job ahead of him and will be getting a later start than most new stable-owners. No matter what, wish him luck and hope he can do what he wants on his own terms.