🌐 Location: Tsu
Short one today, as the newspapers are pretty dry.
Kakuryu on the mend, minces Asanoyama
Today it was Kakuryu’s turn to play with Asanoyama, the Yokozuna corps’ favorite toy in this jungyo. He took him for an 11-bout san-ban. The Yokozuna won all. Moving quickly, he led with his right and fiercely attacked the up-and-coming youngster.
“It was my own, never-retreating form. I am able to do sumo without any discomfort”, said the recovering Yokozuna. In Hamamatsu he took Asanoyama for 11 bouts as well and won them all. “But then, I was pushed back”, he recalls. Today, he dominated.
But is he back to his full form? “Not yet. There are still several days till the next honbasho, and I will work every day to improve my sumo and reinforce those parts that are currently unsatisfactory. Next time I’ll take on a rival who is a tsuppari specialist”.
Lots of bouts for your enjoyment
Most of these are Juryo and below, though.
Start with Takayoshitoshi vs. Akua (former shokkiri vs. current shokkiri performer here).
今日の貴公俊の取組み天空海と😆 #津場所 pic.twitter.com/YlxyGh7QDo
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
There is actually a second in that match that looks like they are actually doing shokkiri.
Hakkairyu vs. Motokiyama
白海竜vs本木山 白海竜の新しいまわし(・∀・)ｲｲ!! #津場所 pic.twitter.com/hYASo63iDN
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
Kyokushoho vs. Meisei
旭秀鵬vs明生 #津場所 pic.twitter.com/IEko9jwqI2
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
Azumaryu vs. Aminishiki
安美錦vs東龍 安美錦粘るが😅 #津場所 pic.twitter.com/9St5NU3msd
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
Daiamami vs. Kotoyuki
大奄美vs琴勇輝 大奄美熱盛😝 #津場所 pic.twitter.com/VECYQyxqST
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
A real slapfest, that one.
Chiyonokuni vs. Takarafuji
ご当地力士、千代の国😆 #津場所 pic.twitter.com/Hubza1vWX1
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
Chiyomaru vs. Ishiura
石浦vs千代丸 石浦飛んだけど🤣千代丸たんの技あり😆 #津場所 pic.twitter.com/P3xc5WUDT1
— わ～ちゃん@津場所 (@wakya33) October 18, 2017
Ishiura gets his just deserts.
As for the musubi no ichiban, if I find a decent video, I’ll add it. The only one I found was so bad I couldn’t tell if Hakuho won by Yorikiri or Oshidashi. Seriously. In fact, if it wasn’t for Kisenosato’s slightly larger silhouette, I wouldn’t even be sure who was who. That bad.
But Hakuho did win this time. So it’s 2-2 so far.
Imagine if Kakuryu silenced his critics with his second consecutive yusho in Kyushu. Cannot wait for this tourney
All four as prime as we’ll get them. Takayasu is my worry.
I don’t know. Harumafuji not doing any sumo at all worries me.
My hope is that the yusho earned him a break.
No, he keeps saying that he intends to contend for his 10th one in Kyushu. Fat chance, that (well, “fat” as in “155kg and wearing a brown mawashi”).
That man is driven by too much sense of duty, and I’m not sure he is entirely aware that he is not as sharp as he used to be, and needs to prepare a lot more than he used to.
Since I don’t speak Japanese, I can’t easily go looking for news on Takayasu. Given a choice between him sitting out the basho to recover and dropping to Ozekiwake, or turning up and putting on a terrible performance – or worse, doing an Ura and worsening his injury – I’d definitely prefer the former.
There are no news of Takayasu. It’s the big oath of silence taken by all absent sekitori while a Jungyo or a honbasho is in the works.
But his oyakata did say, before the Jungyo started, that they intend to have him on his feet for Kyushu. Like you, I liked it not at all, especially as he was having trouble sitting down at the post-Aki party.
Well, now I’m really worried. He’s my favourite, please don’t break him great sumo cat of the Kokugikan.
I just want to say that I’m really, really enjoying this jungyo coverage. It makes the break between basho much more bearable!
That doesn’t look like Ishiura to me!
It’s small, it wears a green mawashi, and it’s in Makuuchi. What else would it be?
It has Ishiura-sized trapezius muscles too.
My new nickname for Ishiura: Trap Jesus
I guess it was the dumb look on his face and the clumsiness that threw me off.
I think perhaps what threw you off may be his slightly swollen eye. He cut his eyelid a few days ago, per Aminishiki’s blog.