Today I’m trying to catch up on two days of lower division action. Let’s start with day 11, May 22.
Continue readingLower divisions – Days 11 and 12
Month: May 2019
Natsu Day 13 – Ones To Watch
With just a couple of days left, its time for our “Ones to Watch” to head to their final matches of Natsu. Many of the rikishi we are following managed to already score their 4th win, taking the pressure off for the final day. While none of them are in competition for divisional yusho, most of them have fought well this May, and will find themselves with new, more difficult challenges in Nagoya.
This will be a great day of lower division sumo, as most of the yusho will be decided today as the remaining 6-0 rikishi face off to find the best of each division. The action in Makushita the past 2 days has been extraordinary, in many cases exceeding what we have seen in Juryo and Makuuchi for nearly every match. The playoffs are a bit akward this time, as some of the divisions have 3 undefeated rikishi. In that case two of them meet head to head, and the third takes on a 5-1 rikishi, with a playoff on Sunday if needed to decide the yusho.
Makushita:
Takanofuji (Ms2w) vs Chiyoarashi (Ms35e)
Sandanme:
Shiraishi (Sd100TD) vs Hokutotsubasa (Sd22w)
and
Hokutokawa (Sd12w) vs Kirinoryu (Ms56e)
with a playoff on senshuraku if needed.
Jonidan:
Tochikamiyama (Jd42w) vs Terasawa (Jd14w)
and
Ito (Jk20e) vs Okinohama (Jd78w)
Yes, a Jonokuchi undefeated against a Jonidan
Jonokuchi:
Watanabe (Jk11e) vs Kawabuchi (Jk24e)
Indeed, this time the lower division yusho races are a complete and utter mess. Let the best man win!
Day 13 Matches
Wakamotoharu vs Shiba – Both rikishi already have a losing record tally for Natsu, this match is to see how far down the banzuke they will fall. This is especially bitter for Wakamotoharu, who needed a simple kachi-koshi to join his brother in Juryo.
Ichiyamamoto vs Akiseyama – In the mean time, Juryo promotion candidate Ichiyamamoto visits sumo’s 2nd highest division to try his skill against Akiseyama, who is in need of a couple more wins to secure his Juryo spot in July. So this could in effect be an “exchange bout” -lksumo.
Wakatakamoto vs Shonannoumi – It’s Onami brother madness, with all 3 of them on the dohyo today. Sadly, Wakatakamoto shares his brother’s make-koshi result for Natsu, and will find himself pushed down the banzuke in July. The only prior match with Shonannoumi was last year during Natsu, and Wakatakamoto prevailed.
Naya vs Bushozan – Naya is possibly going to join the Makushita joi for Nagoya, and this 5-1 bracket match will decide the magnitude of his promotion. No matter who wins this one, there will be a good chance of a Naya vs Bushozan rematch in 2 months time.
Terunofuji vs Daishozen – A Sandanme 5-1 match. The disappointment was evident on Terunofuji’s face when he stumbled to his only defeat on day 8 against Sd51w Daishosei. Today’s opponent, Daishozen, is tiny compared to Terunofuji. I am going to look for another stand-up tachiai, grab-and-toss kimarite today.
Shoji vs Koshinoryu – This 3-3 “Darwin Match” will see the winner get their kachi-koshi and the loser relegated to demotion with a make-koshi. This is their first ever match, and we will be hoping for some solid sumo from Shoji, who may soon have Wakaichiro chasing him.
Kitanowaka vs Chiyooume – While I am sure he is disappinted to not be fighting for the Jonokuchi yusho, Kitanowaka is blasting his way out of sumo’s lowest division no matter what. A win today would likely seal his rank into the lower quartile of Jonidan for the sweat-box that is Nagoya.
Hattorizakura vs Nangu – They found someone with an 0-6 recored for Hattorizakura to face! Poor Nangu has been kyujo since the start of the basho, but comes back for his final match: against sumo’s wagoto mainstay. Congrats Nangu on your impending win!
Natsu Storylines, Day 12
Who will take the yusho?
“The situation is changing every day. We cannot even say the race is limited to those two. Kakuryu and Asanoyama may even face each other [suggesting that Kakuryu’s bout with Goeido or even but less likely Tochinoshin might be scrapped!]. Making the torikumi is tough for the shimpan division. It’s almost to the point where they’d like to see the results after day 14 to decide.”
The Kyokai second highest executive Oguruma oyakata, via the Sumo Forum.
Yokozuna Kakuryu and M8 Asanoyama are your Day 12 co-leaders wth 10-2 records. Sekiwake Tochinoshin trails by one, followed by a group of six rikishi with 8-4 records who are somehow not completely out of it.
The race is set to change yet again tomorrow when Tochinoshin and Asanoyama face each other. Kakuryu won’t have an easy day either, taking on Ozeki Takayasu (7-5). While the career record favors the Yokozuna 12-8, and Takayasu has been struggling this basho, he has defeated Kakuryu in their last 4 bouts.
As the quote above suggests, the scheduling for the contenders for the final weekend may not follow the usual playbook, and we could be in for a number of unusual and exciting matchups to settle the yusho race. Buckle up!
Will Tochinoshin regain his Ozeki rank?
Going back to the previous tournament, Tochinoshin has now lost three consecutive bouts in which victories would have saved or restored his Ozeki rank. His next shot comes tomorrow against the tournament co-leader, whom he bested in their only prior meeting. Asanoyama’s yotsu style should favor Tochinoshin, but he’ll have to overcome nerves and whatever else that may have derailed him in the last two bouts. Should he fail, he will have two remaining opportunities to re-ascend to sumo’s second highest rank, but those will almost certainly be against two of the three highest-ranked men in the tournament.
Who will occupy the San’yaku ranks in July?
East Komusubi Aoiyama (5-7) needs to win out to defend his rank (or even move up). West Komusubi Mitakeumi (7-5) is one victory away from staying in San’yaku. Tochinoshin is one victory away from vacating his slot via promotion, and Ichinojo (3-6-3) will be vacating his via demotion.
Tamawashi now leads the promotion derby after his defeat of Asanoyama, who drops into a virtual tie with Abi. Others with plausible promotion chances are Kotoshogiku, who must win out, Ryuden, Shodai, and Meisei.
Who will be in Makuuchi in July?
Chiyoshoma (4-8) is now make-koshi at the last rank in the top division, and would have to benefit from remarkable banzuke luck for a third-straight basho to stay up even if he wins out; one more loss sends him down for sure. Tokushoryu (3-9) is next in line, and even three more victories may not be enough to save him. At the moment, Ishiura is the third man going down, though he can still save himself by winning all of his remaining matches. Kagayaki is right on the bubble and needs two victories to be safe, while one more should be enough for Terutsuyoshi. Everyone else should be back in Makuuchi in July.
Takagenji (11-1) will make his top-division debut in Nagoya. Top-ranked Toyonoshima (7-5) needs to win one more bout to join him in Makuuchi, while Kotoyuki (9-3) probably needs two victories. Other second-division men have only faint hopes of moving up, requiring a combination of them winning out and poor performances by all of the demotion candidates above.
Who will make the jump from upper Makushita to Juryo?
There could still be as few as three demotable records in Juryo, or as many as seven. Ms2w Takanofuji (6-0) is assured of promotion, and I would guess that so is Ms3w Kizakiumi (5-1). The other open slots should go to some combination of Ms2e Kotokamatani (4-3), Ms3e Ichiyamamoto (4-2), Ms4e Ryuko (5-1), and Ms4w Hoshoryu (3-3), depending on how they fare in the closing days.
Senshuraku Live Blog
UPDATE: The live blog is up – https://tachiai.org/?p=30618
For more on the President’s visit to the final day of the summer sumo tournament, check here – https://tachiai.org/tag/presidential-sumo-visit/
Just to give readers early notice, we will be live-blogging senshuraku overnight Saturday into Sunday. We will have friends of the blog live in the Kokugikan, plus team coverage from around the globe tuned in to video coverage. We expect Prime Minister Abe, US President Trump, and possibly His Serene Highness Emperor Naruhito to be in attendance.
As a reminder, we may close comments on some posts, in an attempt to keep political commentary out of our sumo coverage. Frankly I think our current Natsu story lines (which lksumo covers with excellent posts) are far more compelling than any governmental nonsense. So let’s just ignore the elected people, and focus on which one of these guys will take the cup, and if Tochinoshin can find a way to get his 10th win.