During the week after a tournament, sumo withdrawal symptoms usually begin to set in. Goeido’s retirement has dampened that a bit with his dramatic impacts on the March banzuke. Takekaze’s intai and the Hakuho Cup will give us a bit of a fix this weekend.
Well, mark another sumo event on your calendars! The Kokugikan will host Fiji TV’s 44th Annual Sumo Tournament on February 9. This tournament is a one day, single-elimination tournament, featuring our top Makuuchi and Juryo wrestlers. If you’re planning to be in Tokyo that Sunday, tickets are available at this site. Tickets in the upper deck start at about $10 and run upwards of $400+ for a box of four cushions down in front. Zabuton Naganaide Kudasai! Enjoy chanko and Shokkiri, as well!
Takayasu won last year’s event and Tochinoshin won the year before though I will be surprised if either participates. It will be interesting to see how well our Ozeki prospects perform as a warm up for Osaka. In the Juryo event, Azumaryu beat out Tokushoryu and Daieisho.
Tokushoryu will obviously be eligible for the Makuuchi tournament this time around. Participation in this event, and no Jungyo tour may help keep him focused, but some yusho winners have done poorly in the subsequent tournaments, like Tamawashi’s 5-10 last March. Tamawashi defeated Kaisei but lost to Ryuden in the third round. Might Tokushoryu pull off another yusho? (No, this will not make him a Yokozuna.)
I expect his next tournament to go about like this: Takatoriki 2000.03 M14e 13-2 Y 2000.05 K2w 2-13
Anybody have any ideas about available coverage?
I’ll try to find something, or at least cobble together some footage from Twitter afterwards.
You are the best!
I hear Mbovo will stream it on Twitch
I live in the USA – does anyone have any info on when or if we can watch both events? Will NHK carry it?
Thanks for any info!
I’m looking, also, for something beyond Fuji TV. NHK has a different event a few nights later. I will post about that, too but it seems more exhibition, less tournament.
Thanks Andy!
Great to see sumo being promoted again in the Pacific islands thanks to the sponsorship of “Fiji TV”.
I think about going, but wonder, who at all will be attending, since the ranks are quite thinned right now.
Hakuho lost quickly last year. I bet most take part, except Goeido, Tomokaze, Ichinojo (?)
They used to do the tournament draws quite early, I think a full week or more ahead of the event. Last year was the first time they were posted much later, IIRC only three days before. They probably got tired of having late withdrawing rikishi in the brackets all the time, on top of others who declined their participation early enough.
Hakuho, Kakuryu have both been Kyujo, Goeido announced retirement, Takayasu and Abi weren’t healthy, neither seemed Mitakeumi, Tsurugisho somehow survived, but wasn’t healthy at all. Kotoeko and Aoiyama were also quite off their sumo. That’s just of the top of my head the guys from Makuuchi whom I wouldn’t be surprised to not attend.
Hakuho has the Hakuho Cup today and while Goeido retired, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest show up out of fan duty and lose their first bouts.
I imagine Tokushoryu is the headliner. With Hakuho’s participation in the hanazumo last night, I bet he’s in…even if it’s just one bout.