🌐 Location: Kure, Hiroshima
🚫 Scandal level: 0
Let’s walk along the sidelines and pick up some rikishi photos. We have Endo practicing his very fine shiko:
I don’t know who gave him that lash mark across the chest, apparently it’s not just a smear of blood, as it is there the next day as well.
Speaking of marks of injury, Ichinojo practices with his tsukebito, Minatoryu. And what he practices is his fearsome Nodowa:
He then moves on to teppo, but take a look at Minatoryu’s throat:
Wow, that really was a killer nodowa… being Ichinojo’s tsukebito is a bit of a health risk.
Somehow, I don’t think Tochiozan would have chosen this photo as his OKCupid profile pic:
Impressive array of bandaging on that left leg.
Tomozuna oyakata takes a selfie with Takakeisho:
I think Tomozuna oyakata is one of the coolest oyakata around.
Here is one side of the Makuuchi dohyo-iri. From the NSK official account. And as usual, the dohyo-iri just can’t pass without some antics:
＜秋巡業＠呉市＞幕内土俵入りの様子。明日は広島県
広島県立総合体育館で巡業が行われます。#sumo #相撲https://t.co/TPFZXTczyT pic.twitter.com/XLqzIbs4bn— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) October 26, 2018
Kaisei is posing for the camera. Tamawashi – who else – messes with his mawashi knot.
Here is a fine shiko match between Chiyonokuni and Abi:
Konosuke seems to be enjoying the view.
Here is a summary video of the day, including:
- A variety of keiko – bouts and butsukari
- Jinku
- Quite a bit of shokkiri
- Juryo dohyo-iri
- Drumming demonstration
- Jokoryu-Chiyoarashi
- Gagamaru-Tobizaru
- Yokozuna rope tying demo (Kakuryu)
- Meisei-Yago
- Makuuchi dohyo-iri (and continuation of the Tamawashi and Kaisei saga)
- Yokozuna dohyo-iri
- Yoshikaze-Chiyoshoma
- Okinoumi-Sadanoumi
- Aoiyama-Hokutofuji
- Abi-Chiyonokuni
- Shodai-Endo
- Takakeisho-Kaisei
- San-yaku soroi-bumi
- Tochinoshin-Mitakeumi
- Takayasu-Goeido
- Kakuryu-Kisenosato
No Tobizaru, Enho or Wakatakakage today, so your pin-up boy of the day is…
Ichinojo!
Thanks Herouth, I love the new pinup boy. Although I’m surprised at his hairless armpits…
Yeah, I was wondering about that, too. Couldn’t remember if he had hair before or not.
I do believe that is a win by Uwatenage for Abi at around 14:53 in the video. His transformation into a mawashi specialist continues . . .
I don’t know if he is going to become a specialist, but at least, like Chiyonokuni, he will be able to switch styles when he needs. Of course, the better he does this, the higher he can expect to be ranked.
Abi’s had that uwatenage in his back pocket for a while now. I want to see his yorikiri win percentage increase; if he can gain the necessary strength he’ll be headed to sanyaku.
. . . from your lips to the sumo gods’ ears!
I doubt “Minatoryu” is really a greek mythos reference, but that shikona is amazing.
Well, he doesn’t look like a Minotaur. 😀
Ichinojo belongs to Minato beya, and most of the wrestlers there get a shikona that starts with “Minato”. Ichinojo himself is an exception. So his tsukebito is Minato-ryu (ryu=dragon).
Now I’m really looking forward to the next basho to see if Abi and Takakeisho take these different (for them) styles they are practicing into the actual competition.
I certainly hope they do. If you look back at recent champions (yokozuna and ozeki) they have nearly all been either belt specialists or have employed a balanced attack. The only out-and-out oshi specialist I can think of would be the former ozeki Chiyotaikai… but other posters may know better.
Akebono springs to mind. But then this is probably a function of his build, which nobody currently approaches.
I would put Akebono in the “balanced attack” group: he certainly preferred to blast his opponents out of there with thrusts but he had no problems going to the belt if he had to. Champions always have a “Plan B”.