Now, the Jungyo is over, the banzuke has already been published, and the rikishi are lining up for their health checkups. But there are still two Jungyo days left unreported! I shall not shirk my duty just because I’m a little late! Day 25, the penultimate event, here we go!
🌐 Location: Kasukabe, Saitama
Of course, the important news to many of our readers is that Hakuho was back after only one day of hiatus. However, he was off the torikumi and off the dohyo in general – back to square one, so to speak.

The merry foursome from yesterday broke up somewhat, and only Hokutofuji and Tobizaru were still working out on the sidelines:
<春日部場所>
ゴムトレーニング中の、北勝富士関(@hokutofujidaiki)と翔猿関(@butakojikimaru)。 #sumo pic.twitter.com/wI3FhyRKHF— 相撲大好き (@ryogokulove) August 26, 2018
Hokutofuji definitely stronger than Tobizaru.
Ichinojo was practicing again with his less-than-enthusiastic tsukebito.
逸ノ城関と埼玉出身、湊竜さんヽ(^o^) pic.twitter.com/fSNWNFEmfb
— ルナ🌃ムーン✨🌃🌛 (@32SIjgkxf4ECaV8) August 25, 2018
Well, it’s a known fact that practicing with Ichinojo can leech all of one’s stamina, and being a Saitama man, Minatoryu needed all his strength to show off to the spectators.
Here we have Wakatakakage and Gokushindo doing their stretches while exchanging combinations of moves. “Hatakikomi!”. “Hatakikomi and kachiage!”. “Hatakikomi, kachiage, harizashi!”.
<春日部場所>
戯れる若隆景関と極芯道くん(@hirotaka866)。極芯道くんを後ろに倒した犯人は・・・。 #sumo pic.twitter.com/fQ0mYS5CHA— 相撲大好き (@ryogokulove) August 26, 2018
But who is the evil criminal who pulls Gokushindo back like that?
It’s… Nishikigi’s evil twin???
Now, let’s meet Shohoryu. No, he is not Hoshoryu, he is Shohoryu. And he is wearing….
A hula skirt?
A little bit about the sagari worn by wrestlers in Makushita and below.
While sekitori’s sagari match their silk shimekomi (bout mawashi) and are made from a partially unwoven piece of cloth with the strands stiffened, low-ranking sagari is much simpler. It’s made of a stiff insert into which plain cheap-ass nylon cords are sewn. These have various colors – but usually only just one color per sagari. And an odd number of strands – 13 is a good number.
What Shohoryu is wearing is definitely not a standard sagari. It’s a fashion statement. Probably made by a loving hand (heavy strands, too!) I wonder if he’ll wear it for honbasho as well. He certainly didn’t in the previous basho – though this sagari may be new.
Shohoryu actually got quite some attention in this event, although he is not a Saitama man. He got some butsukari from an Ozeki. Seriously?
<春日部場所>
栃ノ心関(@tochinoshin)にぶつかる、将豊竜くん(@Shota_Y_27)。 #sumo pic.twitter.com/4WWz0SoM6Y— 相撲大好き (@ryogokulove) August 26, 2018
Of the bouts of the day, I have one pic and one vid. The pic is of Aoiyama getting fed up with Ishiura’s shticks:
And the vid is of the musubi-no-ichiban. Kakuryu vs. Kisenosato:
#春日部巡業 #横綱鶴竜 #横綱稀勢の里
取組動画2-2 pic.twitter.com/H48ZjO9bGN— 冬星 (@winter_sumo) August 25, 2018
Here is your Enho, expect the last report tomorrow!

Now that is a musubi-no-ichiban! Thank you!!
Part of me gets nervous seeing Tochinoshin without his brace. I really hope the ONLY reason he’s not wearing it is because his doctor said he didn’t need it anymore, only needs it in honbasho, something like that….
In the Ichinojo video, did anyone else notice the Mickey Mouse towel across the lap of the seated rikishi? These guys are just really, really big kids!
That’s the Aoiyama I want to see: more scary power sumo and fewer dumb pulls at Aki please.
It’s only Jungyo, but I haven’t seen Kisenosato resist like this on the edge in almost 2 years. Maybe he can put up some fight the coming basho after all.