Break the sacred macaron of victory out of its fortress transportation case, and tell the yobidashi to apply a fresh coat of paint, for senshuraku is upon us, and the final disposition of many trophies, awards and honors shall be decided as the sumo world looks on.
Once again, lksumo has done a masterful job of teeing up what’s at stake for the tournament’s next and final day. In addition to all of the permutations for yusho, promotion and demotion, there are a fair number of koshis left to be decided. That makes for a number of high-stakes win-or-else matches on the final day, which will likely culminate in the highest stake san’yaku bouts and possibly a playoff for the cup.
A reminder that NHK World will have Grand Sumo Live starting at 2:30 AM US Eastern time, 11:30 PM Pacific to bring you the final 90 minutes of the tournament, including at least a half hour of speeches, trophies and celebrations.
What We Are Watching Day 15
Kotoshogiku (M9e) vs Meisei (M15w) – As lksumo pointed out, the Kyushu Bulldozer has been the crusher of Makuuchi dreams this tournament. I would guess the winner gets a special prize, and the loser gets a bowl of chanko. As a bonus, this is their first ever match, so there is a fair chance that Meisei will get to enjoy the hug-n-chug for the first time.
Ikioi vs (M8e) vs Chiyomaru (M16w) – Walking contusion Ikioi goes up against the bulbous Chiyomaru, whom he has never beaten in five tries. Someone has a bit of a mean streak, it seems, and I predict Ikioi will retire to the nearest onsen shortly afterwards to ease his aches.
Daiamami (M15e) vs Asanoyama (M5w) – Daiamami needs to take a white star from the already make-koshi Asanoyama to keep from riding the ferry back to Juryo. Sadly, Asanoyama has a 5-3 advantage over Daiamami.
Aoiyama (M12e) vs Yoshikaze (M4w) – Yoshikaze comes to this match 7-7, with this result deciding his winning or losing record for November. Aoiyama is looking quite genki in the second week, and is probably looking forward to having the compact Yoshikaze to bat around. They are evenly matched 9-11 for their career, but this November, Aoiyama looks stronger. Good luck berserker!
Tochiozan (M2e) vs Shodai (M4e) – The other Maegashira 4 also decides his his koshi today. He holds a 3-1 career advantage over Tochiozan, who has lost his drive in week 2. We are hoping for some solid cartoon sumo from Shodai, and a chance to remain in the top of Maegashira ranks.
Myogiryu (M1e) vs Chiyotairyu (M5e) – Darwin match, both are 7-7. Only one will emerge kachi, the other make-koshi. Myogiryu has looked focused and strong in his past two matches, and will need to stay mobile against the overwhelming up-front strength of Chiyotairyu. Their career record is 5-5. Chiyotairyu will try to blast him into pieces at the tachiai, so if Myogiryu can survive that, it’s game on.
Takakeisho (K1e) vs Nishikigi (M3e) – Already examined well in the earlier mentioned post, but Nishikigi has been full of surprises. With Takakeisho this genki, it may seem like a foregone conclusion, but I choose to keep an open mind and let events unfold as they will. [Not betting to eat anything unwise? –PinkMawashi]
Mitakeumi (S1e) vs Takayasu (O1w) – Does Mitakeumi have anything left in the tank? He has shown he can beat Takayasu, but it’s not a common event (4-10). A win for Takayasu could seal his first ever yusho, and there would be talk about his future as an eventual Yokozuna.
I believe NHK World’s coverage starts at 2:30am US Eastern time tomorrow
Thanks for the correction
Overall you’ve submitted a good report, but I believe you’re wide of the mark in guessing the winner of the Kotoshogiku-Meisei bout is likely to get a special prize. If Meisei wins and gets his 10th victory in his second Makuuchi appearance he might get a special prize, but there’s no guarantee. (Whereas 10 victories in your first basho is pretty much guaranteed a prize.)
As for Kotoshogiku, what special prize could he possibly be in line for? He can’t get the gino-sho because he has one of the most limited techniques in the top division. He can’t get the shukun because he hasn’t defeated anyone good (his highest ranked victory came over an M6) As for the kanto award, 10 wins at M9 is hardly impressive for a former ozeki., so I don’t see him winning the fighting spirit either. At this stage in his career he will simply have to be satisfied with a good showing in front of the hometown crowd..
So Takakeisho is a shoo-in for a special prize or two. Tochiozan could get the shukun-sho for defeating all the highest ranks? Not sure if anyone else would be in line for getting to double digits?
The gino-sho is not awarded for variety of techniques. Common misconception. In theory, it’s awarded for exceptional mastery of a technique. Kotoshogiku already has four of them.
(In practice, it’s often a “you did really well but the other two prizes aren’t appropriate” prize)
Wikipedia had led me to believe the Technique Prize was informally considered the most prestigious of the three…
Mr Owl, you’re an experienced enough fan that you should remember Giku’s multiple gino-sho, which are about showing good technique, not variety. His technique is second-to-none when he manages to deploy it. That said, he’s still been passed over for sansho since his demotion from Ozeki, particularly for younger, less-tested guys, so I don’t see 10 wins being good enough. Now, in 5 years when he’s like Kyokutenho in age, maybe then if he’s still showing the maegashira what’s what with the bump, he might get a gino-sho with a mere 10 wins.
Also remember that Tochinoshin, who doesn’t have a great range of offense has won 3 Technique prizes.
As an ex-ozeki (and a long-time veteran) Kotoshokigu would have had to win an awful lot of matches at M9 to get a prize – I’d guess at least 12. (Notice, for example, that Onosho will get a prize if he wins 11, but Okinoumi will not. Onosho is 22 (although underranked because he fell down the banzuke because of his injury/surgery) whereas Okinoumi is 33. The JSA like most of up, prefer the shiny new toys.
I had forgotten that Kotoshokigu had previously won the technique award, probably because it’s been over 7 years since he’s won one (although of course much of that time he was an ozeki and ineligible for special awards). And, as Pinkmawashi points out, sometimes the award is given as a catch all or recognition for a good showing. I don’t remember anyone every being impressed with Kotoshogiku as a master of sumo technique.
Hey, just a radom guess, Mr Owl. Please note, I have no special insight into how the committee will vote, or who is up for a prize. On my guesses / ideas and all that I am about 90% wrong. Your mileage may vary.
Kotoshogiku has one all but one of his matches by yorikiri…
Did Tochinoshin go kyujo? Because he’s missing from this post 😅
Nah, just time limited. Before hand, the Tochinoshin match was bound to be decent sumo, but had no make / kachi koshi impact, so I set it aside. With an increasing number of readers seemingly in a crabby mood, the amount of time I desire to devote to the blog goes down. Being sick since day 5 did not help much either.
Here’s to hoping Hatsu goes better.
Quick update before makuuchi starts: Takakeisho awarded Outstanding Performance and Fighting Spirit. FS prize for Onoho if he wins.
Tochinoshin & Shohozan. Worth the early wake up alone.
I’m still bewildered of what happened. One does not see this happening often. Like it would had been scripted :)
We need a new word for that — “matchta”, maybe.
In pure Japanese, maybe mattatakai.
Now I want to find a way to use that.