Readers of the site will notice that our posting activity is very slow right now. The reason is that the sumo world is not really doing much of note during the period between Natsu and Nagoya. After most basho, there is a tour through one of the regions of Japan to promote sumo and make closer connections with the fans outside of the big cities.
After the Natsu basho, there was no tour. As a result, most of the rikishi took a well earned break to train, visit relatives, seek medical attention for long running problems, or just work out like mad. While the news cycle is very slow now, it is likely that some interesting developments will take place in the next month leading up to the Nagoya basho. Until then, news on tachiai may be rather thin, but rest assured, we are keeping both eyes on the sumo word.
While there’s no basho going on, I’ve been paying attention to the guys in Juryo. It’s turning out to be more fascinating to look at them rather than higher divisions because there are two types of plots going on – the ones going up and the ones coming down.
Like… are there other folks who are excited about Asanoyama? http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=12291 — he’s not had a MK after 8 basho, and he was at J7. He was also the only guy in Juryo who had reached his highest rank that *didn’t* get a MK this time. The record shows that he’s slowing down a bit, and I’m imagining that his promotion (because of the ‘outrageous tire fire’ that was Juryo this past basho) will only be to about J3 on the next banzuke and it’s going to be a hard test… but dang.
And then there’s the continuing stories about Gagamaru (I LOVE saying his name) and Osunaarashi and the others.
I’ve also been watching Asanoyama’s rise. He should be at J4 in Nagoya, and would probably need to go 10-5 or better to make Makuuchi. Gagamaru is right on the border for promotion; Osunaarashi, on the other hand, will be down around J12 and in danger of dropping out of the sekitori ranks altogether after Nagoya.
The timing of this break is good if Osunaarashi can heal.
Help! I’m in sumo withdrawal! Must…have…sumo…news!
I’ve been traveling Bruce, but have a couple of my basho-bridging features coming up to hopefully help fill some pages! :)