Month: November 2018

The YDC Convenes In Kyushu

Bruce H Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kyushu Basho 2018, Yokozuna Deliberation Council ,

YDC-2017-11

The Yokozuna Deliberation Council meets following most basho to review the performance of the top rikishi, and give guidance to the NSK and the sumo world on the state of competition. These meetings usually take place in Tokyo, regardless of where the basho might be, but this Monday, the council convened in Kyushu. The primary subject on the table was the lack of Yokozuna during the second week for the second tournament in 2018, and the failure of Kisenosato specifically to win a single match.

The YDC could take a number of positions on the topic, ranging from “encouragement” to “caution” and finally “suggestion to retire”. Given the fact that Kisenosato has sat out part or all 9 of the last 10 tournaments, and was specifically admonished by this same council to not return to the dohyo until he was ready to compete as a Yokozuna, the fans would be right to expect a stern warning or guidance towards intai.

Instead the YDC returned “Encouragement”. Chairman Kitamura remarked on Kisenosato’s performance, saying that he should be showing physical strength and ability commensurate with his position and ‘the disappointment of the fans who had earnestly hoped for his recovery at the Kyushu basho was great’. Trying to put a good spin on things, he also said “There was a lot of excitement without any Yokozunae. So much so that people may be saying ‘Maybe we don’t need any Yokozuna..”.

If you are rolling your eyes at the last part, you are not alone. Clearly the YDC wants no part in pushing the only Japanese Yokozuna out of the sport. They see there is a problem, it’s easy to identify and its hurting sumo. If the broader sumo world tracks the intensity of interest that we see in traffic numbers at the site, a “No-kazuna” basho produced about 30% less interest. This has to be eating into the NSK bottom line at some point.

(Below is opinion only)

The sumo association is in a tight spot now. One would think that Kisenosato would have figured out that he is past his ability to recover, and take a dignified way out. He has his name beside an inglorious record in the annals of sumo history, and the numbers are just getting worse. In a broader sense, the NSK has a real problem with its kanban rikishi. As we have pointed out in the past, with the exception of the absolutely fantastic Aki basho, participation of the top ranking rikishi has been below 50%, and continues to be poor.

The NSK either needs to clean up its rosters, or accept that its going to fade in popularity among the core Japanese audience. This clean up is going to be painful and difficult. Many of the rikishi who may be past their sunset date are popular and well loved. But there is a significant cohort of older athletes who are not performing with the same intensity that they did 10 or 15 years ago. This has the quiet background effect of lowering the overall intensity of each basho, and I would guess it impacts the fan base, too.

Finally, it has to be said that the sumo fan base in Japan is elderly. To appeal to new (younger) fans, they need some new faces. Yokozuna Kisenosato should show his leadership, and step down to start his life as a sumo elder. We are always going to love him, and remember fondly how he put everything he had into attaining sumo’s highest rank. But for myself, I think it’s time to encourage some long serving favorites to start working towards their exit.

Short lower division report – Final Day

Herouth Kyushu Basho 2018 , , , , , , , , , ,
Tomokaze • Sokokurai • Ura • Mitsuuchi • Hatooka

Today I have little to post. For the sake of closure, though, here is a short senshuraku report.

I have a nice sandanme bout – Shohoryu vs. Kototebakari. Both 5-1 before stepping on the dohyo. We have followed Kototebakari through this basho, so no need to introduce this highly motivated wrestler to you. Shohoryu, some of you may recall, is known as Hoshoryu’s generic brand. That is, he is not Hoshoryu. He is also known for owning a sagari that looks like a hula skirt. But he is actually worth watching, because I have a hunch he will start making his way up soon, after wallowing in Sandanme for ages.

The reason I think so is that he joined Kakuryu’s team of tsukebito, replacing Gokushindo, who became a sekitori (yes, not for long). It seems that belonging to that team can have a good influence on one’s career – if you are coming to watch and learn, and not just to pull at ropes and wash Yokozuna hair.

Shohoryu manages to recover from that pirouette and get himself all over Kototebakari. You can see Kototebakari’s frustration.

Another bout that’s worth watching is the Jonidan yusho playoff. If you recall, Mitsuuchi is facing Kotourasaki. Mitsuuchi is somewhat more familiar with the large crowd, as he won the Jonidan yusho last basho and had to receive his certificate in front of the big time audience. Kotourasaki is a little greener:

Kotourasaki manages a good leg grab and leads surprised Mitsuuchi to the edge, but somehow, Mitsuuchi recovers and Kotourasaki finds himself dropping down. Very entertaining. Mitsuuchi gets his second yusho in a row, and it would be interesting to see if he can do the Sandanme yusho in Hatsu for a off-record “21 club” membership.

Now, at this point I would like to do the Juryo summary, but unfortunately, I do not have a digest for you today. If you want to watch the whole shebang, including dohyo iri and each individual shikiri, here is the video at Miselet’s channel (which means that it’s bound to disappear together with the channel at some point, my apologies in advance to readers happening upon this post in the future):

The only individual bout I have is not one of the key matches. But hey – we have been following Enho through the tournament, so let’s look at his final battle, against Kotoeko:

Our little pixie manages to finish the basho with a smile, after four consecutive losses. Still not back in his initial form, but a win is a win.

As for the key matches, if you recall, we had the possibility of a four-way tie for the Yusho. Toyonoshima had to beat Kyokutaisei to stay in it. Terutsuyoshi had to beat Chiyonoumi for his own bid. But Kotoyuki faced the challenge of actually going against the leader, Tomokaze, to create that chance of a playoff.

While Toyonoshima did win the required bout and finish the basho with a nice 11-4 score, Terutsuyoshi failed to deliver vs. Chiyonoumi. Too bad – Chiyonoumi picked the wrong time to start winning!

But both bouts became moot as Tomokaze eliminated Kotoyuki almost nonchalantly, eliminating the chance of a playoff at the same time. Tomokaze is the Juryo yusho.

There have been 41 cases in recorded history (read, recorded on SumoDB) in which a newly arrived man in Juryo has won the yusho. Many of these are Makushita tsukedashi, like Mitakeumi, Endo and Ichinojo. Those who made it coming all the way through Jonokuchi include Tochinoshin, Ikioi and Terunofuji. So Tomokaze finds himself in a very respectable circle, and we can expect him to end up in the upper part of Makushita sooner rather than later.

And just for fun, here is Tomokaze playing the piano. He used to be better than this, but he can’t really practice it too much these days.

And here ends my coverage of the lower divisions for this basho. It’s been a pleasure getting to know rikishi I have not met before and following those I have.

  • I’ll be keeping an eye on the guys who came in on mae-zumo this tournament. I’d like to see how much future Denpoya has at Isegahama, how fast Roga will go through the ranks, and whether Daitenma is going to join the elite Mongolians or level at Kyokusoten or Yoshoyama achievements.
  • I will continue to follow the two princes, the gap between whom is growing larger as future Yokozuna Hoshoryu pushes forward relentlesly. Will Hoshoryu be able to keep his clean record of kachi-koshi intact? Can he make Juryo by Natsu? Will Naya be able to catch up eventually?
  • I’ll keep an eye on Mitsuuchi and Hatooka, who are recovering from long injuries. How far can they make it?
  • I’ll hope to see little Chiyotaiyo eat more and break out of the Jonokuchi/Jonidan level where his size keeps him.
  • I’m really curious to see what Enho will come up with for the next basho. He hit a wall in the middle of this basho, but he seems to be growing between bashos and I’m sure he’ll come up with possible solutions. Please let these not contain a rain of henka. One miyagino man doing the Achey-Breaky-Heart on the tachiai is quite enough.
  • And I’ll be absolutely delighted to see my main man Terutsuyoshi appear on NHK G. Remember when Harumafuji prepared for that last yusho of his, and used Terutsuyoshi as practice target? When asked why, he told the press “I wanted to put Terutsuyoshi in the limelight”. Well, former Yokozuna, now he is just about to do it himself!

I hope you enjoyed this too!

Kyushu Wrap-up and Predictions

lksumo Kyushu Basho 2018

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Image courtesy of Japan Times

Congratulations to Komusubi Takakeisho on adding a top-division yusho to his previous victories in Jonokuchi, Jonidan, Makushita, and Juryo! He also picked up his third Shukun-sho and his second Kanto-sho. This is only the 9th yusho by a Komusubi, and the first since Kaio’s in 2000. Takakeisho will take over the East Sekiwake rank in January, and 11 victories there, give or take, should see him ascend to Ozeki.

Ozeki Takayasu picked up his 4th jun-yusho, and Ozeki Tochinoshin, despite a disappointing tournament, collected the most victories in 2018. M13 Onosho (11-4) was awarded his third Kanto-sho.

With the results of final-day bouts, all the complicated promotion/demotion scenarios worked themselves out. Mitakeumi’s last-ditch victory over Takayasu not only handed Takakeisho the championship, but will keep the Sekiwake in sanyaku for the 12th consecutive tournament (no mean feat!), albeit at the lower rank of Komusubi. The last man with such a long string of consecutive lower sanyaku appearances? None other than current Ozeki Goeido. Mitakeumi was the only rikishi to defeat both Takakeisho and Takayasu. The other Sekiwake, Ichinojo, showed zero interest in defending his rank today, and his sanyaku streak will come to an end after 5 basho.

The impending demotions of Ichinojo and Kaisei create two openings in sanyaku, and there are two clear candidates to fill them: M2w Tamawashi (9-6) and M1e Myogiryu (8-7). I expect Tamawashi to occupy the West Sekiwake slot, and his three-tournament line is one that’s never been seen before: K 4-11, M2 9-6, S. Myogiryu will be returning to sanyaku for the first time since 2015, and should hold down the West Komusubi slot. Just missing out is M2 Tochiozan (8-7), who started the tournament with five straight victories over both Sekiwake, two Ozeki, and a Yokozuna, but followed that with a 3-7 fade against easier opposition. He will occupy the M1 rank, alongside Ichinojo.

The other top ten maegashira slots will be filled out by a combination of holdovers from these ranks and strong performers from lower down the banzuke. Staying should be M1 Hokutofuji (7-8), M3 Nishikigi (8-7), M4 Shodai (8-7), and M4 Yoshikaze (7-8). Joining them will be M7 Shohozan (10-5), M9 Kotoshogiku (10-5), M11 Okinoumi (11-5), and M12 Aoiyama (11-5). This is a formidable and battle-tested joi for the top-rankers to contend with at Hatsu.

In general, this time around there should be no huge banzuke moves. Okinoumi, Aoiyama, and Onosho will rise the furthest, while the biggest fall will belong to Kaisei, apart from those dropping out of the top division altogether.

Speaking of which, the Makuuchi/Juryo line also sorted itself out neatly on the final day. The senshuraku loss by Daishomaru should send him to Juryo along with Arawashi, Chiyomaru, and Takanosho, while Daishoho’s loss removed him from promotion consideration. So it should be four down and four up: Yago, Kotoyuki, Kotoeko, and Terutsuyoshi. Breathing a sigh of relief are Chiyonokuni and Daiamami, one of whom might have gone down with a Daishoho win—either that, or Terutsuyoshi would have stayed in Juryo.

For completeness, there should be two demotions from Juryo to Makushita, Chiyonoo and Gokushindo, whose vacated slots will go to former sekitori Gagamaru and Sokokurai. We’ll find out in a couple of days, when new Juryo rikishi are announced.

As usual, I will have a full banzuke prediction post up in the coming days, and there will be other great content between the basho, so please don’t forget to keep reading Tachiai, and thank you!