🌐 Location: Odawara, Kanagawa
The Jungyo is nearing its end, but this doesn’t mean that all troubles are over. Hakuho started the day in Kanagawa, but didn’t finish it there. His left ankle – an injury that accompanied his knee injury – started aching again, and he left the event for Tokyo, to have fluid drawn from it, and hopefully be able to return to action.
Even if he does return for the two remaining days, this is a worrying situation for him. Two days ago, he cranked up his training regime a little, adding some on-dohyo workout and a bout. And immediately, that ankle started acting up. The basho is approaching fast, and he needs to get himself in shape or be kyujo yet again.
He did notify the jungyo masters in time, so his name did not appear in today’s torikumi list.
So let’s go on with the event. First, a reminder that the Jungyo consists not only of rikishi, but also of many others – yobidashi, gyoji, tokoyama, shimpan, . So here is gyoji Kimura Kindayu:
Much fan attention was given to this foursome:
The calisthenics trio from a couple of days ago recruited a fourth member – Chiyonoumi. Here trying to strike a pose. The newcomer is still getting to know the ropes, but the others know the drill. Hokutofuji shows off his ginormous traps. And biceps. And pecs. Whoa. Enho also has nice shoulders but is a little more bashful about striking poses. And Tobizaru doesn’t miss an opportunity to show off.
And I do mean – doesn’t miss an opportunity:
<夏巡業@小田原市>腕立て伏せをする、炎鵬、北勝富士、千代の海、翔猿。別角度から。#sumo #相撲 pic.twitter.com/vH2bIOa6Pv
— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) August 24, 2018
The four continued their synchronized exercises with a form of fast shiko which I’m sure got all the demons and evil spirits in Kanagawa soil to pack up and seek asylum in some other prefecture:
<小田原場所>
トレーニング中の、千代の海関(@HmWc0)・北勝富士関(@hokutofujidaiki)・炎鵬くん・翔猿関(@butakojikimaru)。 #sumo pic.twitter.com/zhp8DhdWlB— 相撲大好き (@ryogokulove) August 24, 2018
I’m amused by the lonely tsukebito just ignoring them and doing his slow, standard shiko at his own pace.
The four also exercised in turns with a rubber band:
Hokutofuji supported by his tsukebito:
小田原場所
チューブトレーニングきつそぅ~ pic.twitter.com/N03DxOoMti— エリ (@TeFzIkjy3LSdxFS) August 24, 2018
Tobizaru supported by Hokutofuji. I shuddered to think what would have happened if this was not Hokutofuji but Hakuho:
<夏巡業@小田原市>翔猿のゴムチューブトレーニング。支えるのは北勝富士。#sumo #相撲 pic.twitter.com/s0y8GiON99
— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) August 24, 2018
Which may explain why Enho looked so apprehensive when he tried it:
Though I must say that he then trusted Tobizaru with the straps, which is something I wouldn’t do:
Then again, if I were standing next to a stall selling Tendon, I wouldn’t be pulling any rubber band at all (unless they were preventing me from approaching the stall).
This troop was not the only combo exercising at the edges of the arena. Here are Takakeisho and Daieisho. Takakeisho seems to be in high spirits. Perhaps because he doesn’t have his stablemaster getting intimate with his mawashi knot anymore.
かわいい😊#小田原場所 #貴景勝 #大栄翔 pic.twitter.com/9WuCajCk7I
— ナノ@相撲専用垢 (@nk__sumo) August 24, 2018
Things get serious (well, as serious as things can get when accompanied by a high school band playing “YMCA”) once Takakeisho slips Daieisho a slap to the face. Takakeisho also thinks it’s a good idea to smash his opponent against the door. Daieisho, however, seems to be enjoying himself immensely.
On the dohyo, Onosho is consulting with Aminishiki about something:
安美関が阿武咲に身振り手振りで教えとる。#小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/uLTj3m9FZC
— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
Takanosho got a really lengthy butsukari session from Goeido today. Not sure how he earned all that love:
豪栄道にぶつかる隆の勝
とにかく胸も目頭も熱くなるぶつかり稽古でした
この努力が、
恐らく新入幕場所となる来場所から必ず成果となって出ると信じています!💪🏻✨小田原場所にて pic.twitter.com/mx8r6dX5td
— きょんの里 (@kisetan0703) August 25, 2018
It didn’t end there. At some point Goeido takes a break and gets a sip of water, and Akiseyama and Yago hurriedly wipe and tidy the exhausted Takanosho:
🍙おむすびくんの体の砂をひたすらはたく明瀬山と矢後。率先してパタパタパタパタ。#小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/pNW7oNh9QU
— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
Kakuryu practiced with Shodai. Shodai looks pretty frustrated:
<小田原場所>
正代関(@k_a_h_s_naoya)と鶴竜関の稽古。 #sumo pic.twitter.com/2U1KaNZPr7— 相撲大好き (@ryogokulove) August 25, 2018
Here is a bit of today’s shokkiri. I’ve shown you a lot of shokkiri already, but I find it amusing when the gyoji gets deeply into “character”. Here you see the standard lead up to the “fists are forbidden”, and Kimura Satoshi starts to fan himself with his gunbai and turns his back to the pair as the fight breaks. They then start yelling at him to do his job already.
初切のほんの一部🤨#小田原場所 pic.twitter.com/rPWA7nzwe9
— ナノ@相撲専用垢 (@nk__sumo) August 25, 2018
Let’s move on to some torikumi. Starting with the lower ranks:
Jonidan – Arikawa vs. Adachi. These two are amazingly tenacious for a Jungyo bout:
大先生しっかり!!#小田原場所 #有川 #足立 pic.twitter.com/PFDyHytcSj
— ナノ@相撲専用垢 (@nk__sumo) August 24, 2018
Here is Shinohara vs. Chiyootori at Makushita. Shinohara tries a hassotobi (a flying leap). Chiyootori makes him take a flying leap alright:
千代鳳×篠原は八双飛びの、飛び返し。面白い。#小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/rGl1yBlalg
— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
Two can play this game…
And this was not the last hassotobi of the day. You know who does it again… and again… and again… And by coincidence, it’s attempted against the other one of the Kinoshita brothers. This bout between Ishiura and Chiyomaru really needs the Yaketi Sax accompaniment. If it didn’t involve two sekitori in their shimekomi I’d have sworn this was shokkiri:
石浦の八双飛びに千代丸、どこどこどこ?アッ後ろォって慌てたポーズか。後ろ抱っこにしてやったのに石浦、千代丸の腹ならぬ丸いお尻で押し出された。
決まり手、うしろもたれ。#小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/seLagvdObj— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
But it isn’t. Chiyomaru sees he is becoming the butt of a joke, so he uses his very formidable pair of glutei maximi. The joke is now on Ishiura. The kimarite, by the way, is ushiromotare – “Lean backwards”. It’s a fairly recent kimarite, which was introduced into the top division by Takamisakari (“Robocop”), though I don’t think he did it quite as comically.
I don’t have the video, but I’m informed that Aoiyama has beaten Ryuden by a very decisive tsuridashi. He’s immitating his heya mate?
Here is Shodai vs. Kaisei:
晃之助さんを堪能。#小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/VG2qqOdY54
— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
Now, when they pair Tamawashi with Shohozan, you know you’re not going to get any comedy. What you get is a saloon brawl, including defiant stares and whatnot:
玉鷲×松鳳山、睨み合い、張り合い。烈しい!#小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/RNkPJNGX99
— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
Ooh, there’s some fight club action going on there. And it ends in a monoii. It’s not clear who got out first, and the shimpan do not have the benefit of a video room in the Jungyo. So it’s a torinaoshi:
取り直しのすえ、子どもの烈しい喧嘩っ早さは松鳳山が玉鷲を吊ってやって終焉。面白すぎた。 #小田原じゅんぎょ pic.twitter.com/11C0dI8gtX
— ハルタ (@727236) August 24, 2018
Ooh, the brawl continues! By this time, the Yokozuna and Ozeki arrive for the kore-yori-sanyaku, and you can see they, too, are being well entertained by this bout:
Apropos Tochinoshin, he got into the news coverage of this event.
#大相撲 小田原場所 角番大関 #栃ノ心 🙏 08.24 [every.] #Tochinoshin pic.twitter.com/SJs34CZt4l
— inhashi (@inhashi_) August 24, 2018
You can see him doing fansa for the children on summer vacation who came to the event (instead of doing their homework). He says that his toe is improving, but still hurts, and adds that he is full of spirits for the coming basho. He later adds that because of his kadoban his first aim is a kachi-koshi, of course, but then he aims at reaching double figures again.
In this same video you can also see his bout with Goeido. Yet another tsuridashi.
Finally, here is your musubi-no-ichiban, and Kakuryu seems to have shifted his gear into Yokozuna drive:
稀勢の里-鶴竜
小田原場所にて pic.twitter.com/zcuI3LUYuX
— きょんの里 (@kisetan0703) August 24, 2018
OK, just in case you didn’t get your fill of Enho with those earlier exercises:
Shinohara vs. Chiyootori also looked like shokkiri :lol:
Yeah, both of those made me laugh out loud.
The Enho rubber band pic.
“Guys,guys! I caught a pixie!”
Much thanks. Enjoyed thoroughly.