Maezumo

Let’s continue to watch the new fledgelings:

First bout – Denpoya is matched with Watai. With this win, Denpoya is 1-2, and Watai is 0-3.

Shimomura faces Narumi – one of the banzuke-gai veterans. Has no real problems with him. He is 2-1.

The best bout is Roga vs. Daitenma. Makes sense when both sides are Mongolian and apparently highly competitive. Roga is now 3-0 and certainly a man to watch. Daitenma drops to 2-1.

Hamasu faces a banzuke-gai veteran, Yuriki, who bests him. He looks very disappointed. He, too, drops to 2-1.

Jonokuchi

Watai, above, is probably going to meet our next rikishi in the next basho. So Watai, this is Hattorizakura. His second bout was his normal “nah, I’m not here to fight. Peace, man” sumo. How is his third bout going to look, against 0-2 newcomer Sawada?

Actually, not bad for Hattorizakura.

Jonidan

For the Kenho (remember, the biggest rikishi since Orora’s retirement) fans: your big man is not doing badly at all!

His second bout was somewhat lethargic bridge abutment style. But in this one he is very active. 3-0 for the reigning bane of scale manufacturers.

Sandanme

We have Naya again. This time facing Kihonoumi.

Classical oshi zumo there. The prince redeems himself and goes 2-1.

Makushita

Since we are thinking big today, here is Gagamaru vs. Irodori. Irodori is the hot thing in Shikoroyama beya right now (Abi is, of course, off the scale). Gagamaru… well, not the hottest thing in Kise beya

I wonder if Gagamaru might decide to retire if he doesn’t get that kachi-koshi he needs to regain his sekitori status. Because right now, it looks like he is not quite that level.

Juryo

Here is your digest. Power tip: if you don’t have time to watch all of it – watch the Terutsuyoshi – Takagenji bout. If you didn’t love sumo before…

• Gokushindo is trying the tactic that Sokokurai complained about: Keeps Toyonoshima at arms length from the beginning of the bout. Toyonoshima tries and tries to attack, and it develops into a long leaning match. Gokushindo figures that the 35 years old veteran will run out of stamina before him. He is wrong. You don’t see it in this footage, but Toyonoshima looks mightily pleased at the end of this match.
• Jokoryu dominates Tomokaze.
• Chiyonoumi looking like he is heading back to Makushita, which is a real shame. His sumo simply lacks power.
• Enho starts his usual series of attempts to get at Shimanoumi’s belt. This session usually ends up with the stubborn pixie getting what he wants. But this time he slips on the dohyo salt, ever so slightly, and Shimanoumi wisely uses that to chase him out. It’s Enho’s first loss this basho.
• Tobizaru does a half-henka, then makes several attempts to get Chiyonoo’s mawashi. Eventually gives up, pulls and drops the Kokonoe man to the floor. Tobizaru is now – wait for it – the sole leader of the Juryo chart with 5-0. Yes. A flying monkey is heading the Juryo Yusho Arasoi. But after day 5 in Makuuchi… nothing is going to surprise me.
• Takekaze does a nice proper tachiai. Then sidesteps, and Azumaryu just goes for it. OK… Takekaze will take whatever win he can get.
• Tsurugisho goes densha-michi on Hakuyozan. I guess he is the one who stole Goeido’s sumo today.
• Akiseyama looks very different than he looked yesterday. Perhaps day 4 was Lethargy Day and we didn’t get the memo. Today – after doing his long and painful-looking descent to the start position, he rises quite quickly, and follows that up by even quicker reactions. Kyokushuho finds himself at the bottom of the dohyo.
• The Ishiura-Wakatakakage bout is one of the highlights of Juryo today. That is, the original bout. If I recall correctly, there were also a couple of mattas at first. Then the two start with a… double sided henka! They engage in a pretty even mawashi battle. Ishiura manages to get his head beneath Wakatakakage’s chest, lifting him up. Wakatakakage successfully neutralizes Ishiura’s right hand and doesn’t let him get a grip on that side. Ishiura drives Wakatakakage to the edge. Wakatakakage attempts to throw him. Doesn’t quite succeed, but Ishiura’s balanced is destroyed. Ishiura lunges at Wakatakekaze’s thigh. They both fall out. The gunbai goes to Ishiura. A monoii is called. The result: dotai – both touched at the same time – and a torinaoshi. The torinaoshi is a lot less exciting. There is another matta – not in this footage – and then… Ishiura actually goes straight and Wakatakakage is the one with the henka. Pheeew…
• The Kyokutaisei-Hidenoumi bout is pale in comparison. Both try to get some sort of grip but don’t commit. Eventually Kyokutaisei shoves, follows with a nodowa, and sends Hidenoumi out. Hidenoumi is 0-5 and doesn’t look well.

And now, the real highlight of the evening. Whenever Terutsuyoshi meets Takagenji, there are bound to be sparks. Takagenji rains some classic tsuppari on the Isegahama humonculus. I don’t know what Terutsuyoshi’s throat is made of or how he manages to keep upright. But he does.

He disengages for a second and lunges in. Takagenji replies with a nodowa – but Terutsuyoshi slips his right hand inside. At this point, it turns out, we have a wardrobe malfunction. The gyoji stops the bout, reties Terutsuyoshi’s knot, checks on Takagenji’s, then pats both to continue.

The fun continues. Takagenji promptly releases Terutsuyoshi’s grip on his mawashi, but that arm is still wrapped around him, and their other hands are also fighting for positioning.

Takagenji shakes Terutsuyoshi off, grabs at his skull – and, er, his hair as well – and tries to push him down. Terutsuyoshi survives this as well, and uses Takagenji’s pull as he attempted that hatakikomi to push him outside.

Terutsuyoshi got the first place in the fighting spirit poll of the day, and quite rightly so. That was one helluva bout. On Abema TV you could see Terutsuyoshi then almost double over at the corner of the dohyo as he waited to give the power water, with the yobidashi giving him a worried look. I hope there will be no lasting effects on his health – he doesn’t deserve it, and we deserve more fun like that.

• Kotoyuki slams, pulls, Daishoho down. Meh. Kotoyuki maintains himself in the yusho race, such as there is, with 4-1. Daishoho is 3-2.
  
• Tokushoryu envelopes kotoeko and dominates him. Kotoeko circles and circles, but to no avail, ending off the dohyo.
• Yago attacks Aminishiki with strong shoves. Aminishiki tries to get some sort of grip going, but by the time he gets anything, he is on the bales and cursing himself for going backwards again – not that he could do anything about it, with Yago’s mass and intensity.
  

This was really a fun day in Juryo. Really, don’t miss this division. Unlike Makuuchi, which has the san-yaku which is a sub-division of its own, Juryo is a small and very even division. Crazy is the norm here.