When in the middle of week one, it was clear that we would have no Yokozuna, and 2 of the three Ozeki were out, I worried that this would be a complete dud of a basho. But the athletes and the crew at the Japan Sumo Association gamberized, and delivered a fun and satisfying tournament. My compliments to everyone, as I know this was a tough one to carry. We close this tournament with an almost perfect ending given the circumstances. The hope for a new Yokozuna in 2021, the return of a potent foe to the upper ranks of sumo, with a strong statement, 13-2!, that he will return to his former rank.
Congratulations to Takakeisho for your second yusho. You broke a long drought of Ozeki yusho (Kisenosato, January 2017), and maybe we might be able to have a new Yokozuna in 2021 to take some of the pressure off of the two guys who are at the end of their competitive careers.
Congratulations to Terunofuji. I expected 10 wins from you, but you really went above and beyond. Your skills are vastly improved, your sumo is frighteningly good, and I have great hope for your future. I just worry every day about those knees.
Highlight Matches
Ichinojo defeats Chiyoshoma – Try as he might, Chiyoshoma could not move the boulder today. There was a brief moment at the start of this lengthy chest to chest match where Ichinojo tried a pull, and Chiyoshoma changed momentum. But let’s face it, Ichinojo was motivated, and there is not a rikishi, pony ride, or ice cream parlor that can endure that. Both end the November basho with 8-7 records.
Sadanoumi defeats Ishiura – Ishiura, back for his second visit from Juryo, can’t find any way to shut down Sadanoumi’s forward motion, and is quickly run off the dohyo. Ishiura was already kachi-koshi, can he return to the top division for Hatsu? Sadanoumi improves to a painful 5-10.
Meisei defeats Shimanoumi – It almost seems as is Shimanoumi’s genki spell was broken in his loss to Terunofuji, as he drops his last 3 matches to finish at 11-4. Don’t get me wrong, thats a great score. I just wish he had been able to keep up the fight. Meisei finishes November 9-6.
Chiyonokuni defeats Kotoeko – Chiyonokuni with double digit wins (10-5) for his return to the top division. A hearty kotenage, and the kanto-sho fighting spirit prize. Quite the way to return from a long absence!
Akua defeats Tokushoryu – These two went into throw postition almost at once, and it was tough to tell if it was Tokushoryu’s throw or Akua’s counter move that took the match. The shimpan called for a monoii, and video showed Tokushoryu’s hand touch the clay a fraction of a second before Akua’s face made impact. 9-6 finish for Akua, a kachi-koshi for his first trip to the top division.
Terutsuyoshi defeats Kaisei – Terutsuyoshi got to the side of Kaisei, and picks up win number 5. Rough tournament for both men, I am going to hope they can rest, recover and regroup.
Aoiyama defeats Chiyotairyu – We finally get to see the V-Twin fire up, but at a fraction of it’s normal power. It was enough to move Chiyotairyu out of his defensive stance, and thrust him out. A 6-9 finish for November for Aoiyama.
Endo defeats Hoshoryu – In spite of the high anticipation a few days ago, there was not a swarm of Darwin matches. Most of the candidates were able to avoid a 7-7 day 14 score, or had already matched against the other 7-7 rikishi. Hoshoryu’s post-tachiai press to move forward me with Endo’s pull, and out Hoshoryu could not keep his balance. Endo finishes with a kachi-koshi, Hoshoryu make-koshi.
Enho defeats Tobizaru – I think Enho rallied everything he had for this final match, and battle-swarmed Tobizaru with great effect. Tobizaru is a high energy, high rate of motion fighter, but when Enho is cranked up and attacking well, he was easily 2-1 move for move. 3-12 finish for Enho, will it save him from a big drop to Juryo?
Hokutofuji defeats Ryuden – Wow, again today we see Hokutofuji engage at close range and dominate a match. That right hand ottsuke did its job and kept Ryuden contained. He finishes with 11-4. From Maegashira 4, that puts him in perfect position for Hatsu. Perfect as in his first week is going to be absolute hell, with 2 iffy Yokozuna, 2 iffy Ozeki, and one Grand Tadpole looking to throw him off the dohyo for much needed wins.
Yutakayama defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki really suffered this basho. The new black mawashi is completely haunted, as discussed in week 1, and no number of visits to shrines or temples will likely cure it. Go back to the gold and all may right itself. A 5-10 finish, losing after having clear advantage for almost the entire match is kind of a good summary for Kagayaki’s November.
Daieisho defeats Kotoshoho – Daieisho hits double digits (10-5) on the final day, but it took 2 matches to do it. First match, he completely dominating Kotoshoho from start to finish. When Daieisho can set up his attack and get his opponent to off balance, he is tough to stop. But the finish was deemed too close to call, and a rematch was declared. The second match was a quick dive for the edge of the ring, and another monoii. It was clear from the replay that Daieisho was airborne as Kotoshoho made contact with the dohyo, and he had his 10th win at last.
Onosho defeats Myogiryu – Nice to see Onosho finish with a win. Myogiryu is fighting at a fraction of his potential, he was completely disrupted by Onosho from the start. Onosho finishes November 7-8, Myogiryu 4-11.
Wakatakakage defeats Kotonowaka – These two changed battle plans at least twice per second, with hands and feet shifting to adjust. Kotonowaka eventually was able to wrap up Wakatakakagi with a bear hug to Wakatakakagi’s head. Wakatakakagi charged ahead, willing to sacrifice his own head, driving Kotonowaka from the ring. Both men finish November 7-8.
Okinoumi defeats Kiribayama – Kimarite really needs to regroup. But a make-koshi that big will take him safely away from the abattoir that will be the Hatsu joi-jin. Maybe that is some consolation.
Takayasu defeats Tamawashi – Takayasu gave a great example of why I find the form of sumo he went to as an Ozeki so bothersome. Today he reverts to his Sekiwake style, and completely dominated Tamawashi. Compare today to day 14 for Takayasu. Today his movements were focused, efficient, and no power or energy was wasted flailing around. Much better, and a well deserved kachi-koshi.
Tochinoshin defeats Takanosho – I must remark that I am delighted to see Tochinoshin in somewhat better condition this basho than I had feared. He can still fight, and has found a way to overcome the problems with that right knee. His win today puts him at 9-6, and I guess may be in the joi-jin for Hatsu. Enjoy your Christmas, big stuff. Santa’s got a whole lot of sumo for you to enjoy in January.
Mitakeumi defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji did not quite get his defense in ordered before Mitakeumi took him apart and drove him to the clay. Whatever injuries Mitakeumi have, I hope he’s able to rest and repair starting tonight. A 7-8 finish for Takarafuji, and a strong 9-6 finish for Takarafuji.
Terunofuji defeats Takakeisho – What a finish to a fantastic basho. Both have 13-2 records, Terunofuji picked up 2 special prizes (well earned) and with 13 wins has a strong opening move to return to Ozeki. I marvel that Terunofuji kept his feet during during the two big combos that Takakeisho delivered. But the third was not enough to keep the kaiju back, and his big hands found Takakisho’s mawashi. A twist and press attack threw the Ozeki to the clay. We had a playoff for the cup!
The playoff, well Takakeisho went in calibrated that Terunofuji would be able to overcome his attack after the second wave. So 2 waves was all it took to clear the Terunofuji over the west side of the dohyo. For the world of sumo, this was the best possible ending. We have the story of Terunofuji dominant in the basho, and a strong step on the road to regaining his rank of Ozeki after falling all the way to Jonidan 48! With a Takakeisho win, we have the seeds of possibly the next Yokozuna, which will be put to the test in January, where we may lose one or both of the current Grand Champions.
With that, Tachiai concludes our daily highlghts for this November basho. Thank you, dear readers, for sharing our love of sumo, and spending your time on our site.
Discover more from Tachiai (立合い)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Many thanks for these daily write-ups. Best English language coverage of sumo around – much appreciated. A great end to a very entertaining basho.
Thank you, Bruce! This was an AWESOME basho. Like you, I was pretty worried around Day 5-6. I’m on the edge of my seat for Hatsubasho. I’m going to be a nervous wreck by the time Shonichi comes around.
Sadly, Enho’s win wasn’t nearly enough to keep him out of Juryo, although it should limit his drop to J2 if not J1, giving him an opportunity to bounce right back with a winning score. And Ishiura won’t be returning to the top division, though he should be ranked right at the top at J1e. His match with Sadanoumi was an exchange bout, and wins by Sadanoumi and by Yutakayama left no room for him.
Our coverage is not quite over—my wrap-up with a look toward the Hatsu banzuke is still to come later today 😉
Don’t forget the now usual post basho quiz! And further analysis to come…
I gotta study! 😂
No Enho and no Ishiura make me wonder about entourage for Hakuho’s dohyo-iri. Kaisei and who else?
Many many thanks Bruce and to the Tachiai team. A thrilling final day!
Endo’s tippy-toe twirl at the perimeter made me think wistfully for a moment of my beloved Abi, now languishing down in Makushita (entirely his own stupid fault of course).
But the sickly sumo withdrawal symptoms have already begun… please don’t leave us addicts hanging till mid-January. Gotta hook a bro up with a little sumo sumo content before then!
Amateur sumo next weekend!
Oh, and as Kintamayama also obliquely noted, with Takayasu’s rank at stake, and with little on the line for Tamawashi, and possibly no desire to face the full slate of upper-rankers in January, the latter … umm … didn’t offer a lot of resistance.
Tamawashi’s approach to any given match is “what’s in this for me?” In this case it was absolutely nothing, whilst Takayasu really needed the win, The result was predictable. If Tamawashi had the single-minded, laser-sharp focus of someone like Takakeisho he would have made ozeki long ago. I suppose he’s content with his role and his paycheck. I also have a hunch that behind the scenes most of the wrestlers are genuinely scared of him, he has that aura.
Makes sense. If he’s not breaking their arms during the bashos, he’s doing a tittie twister/purple nurple action during jungyo,
I think he said after his yusho that his goal was longevity, not ozeki.
I also have gotten the impression that Tamawashi sometimes lets up if he knows he can’t win the fight. Makes sense if you want to prevent injury. I also wouldn’t be surprised if a veteran like Tamawashi’s plays the “I’m already kachikoshi so I’ll let you get yours” game. I think some of that camaraderie still exists today, even after the match fixing scandal. (I’m not saying something illegal is going on, it’s just a “I scratch your back and you’ll scratch mine” type of thing).
With all of the kyujo, one must take seriously the idea of self-preservation. In one of Toma’s first bouts a poor guy was utterly flattened partly by trying to resist at the edge. I still cringe. I thought I’d just seen a fatality. With Enho’s falls of late, too.
not unusual for a smart fighter to live lower and longer, including juryo where pay isn’t much less
why wreck yourself, just to hold high rank and break down sooner?
not worth it
I seriously believe this is why kensho-kin was invented.
Thanks a lot to you all for all the hard work. Very much appreciated, you guys are the best. Thanks Bruce, Andy, Leonid. Can’t wait for January.
For a few moments I thought that the play-off result was down to who wanted it more. Terunofuji had the 13 wins he needed to keep his ozeki push alive whilst Takakeisho needed the yusho to make a run for yokozuna. So maybe it was a case, of Terunofuji saying “Whatever, I’ve got mine, now you can get yours”. And then NHK gave a staggeringly insensitive “Congratulations on your Sansho” interview with Terunofuji. He was choking on emotion and seemed to be surrounded in a cloud of darkness (like a Balrog without wings). Terunofuji really wanted this one, he didn’t get it, and there will be hell to pay in January.
This is far from the last of Terunofuji. In fact, I have a fiendish anticipation for what kind of chaos he is going to embody with so many in the top 2 ranks fighting to save their careers or positions on the banzuke. Imagine what kind of hell a Terunofuji yusho in January might cause….
What kind of heaven, you mean 🥰
yeah, of course Terunofuji forfeited the match lol
but thank god he didn’t henka at least.
You’re right about that interview. (Balrog without wings, great image.) He looked grief-stricken.
Tobizaru, losing to Enho, had one of those “that was fun” smiles as he turned back from the middle of the audience where he landed, and I think someone in juryo did too – it’s nice to see that sometimes the ones who lose still seem exhilarated from the zest of it. Harder when your hopes are pinned on something big.
Yes, I expect Rowdy Roddy Kaiju to a lot of fun to watch in January.
Thank you so much, Tachiai writers and community! Always a pleasure.
What a great climax to an excellent Basho. I do hope to see Terunofuji win at least one more yusho before his knees give out (ideally on the final match in March against the shin-Yokozuna).
One thing I don’t understand is why they didn’t give a Fighting spirit prize to Hokutofuji (or even the Technique one). Noone put more effort in than him over the 15 days. I guess they prefer to give them to low rankers (and for sure Shimanoumi is a deserving winner), but then that doesn’t explain Wakatakakage missing out last time.
But anyway thank you Bruce and all at Tachiai for such brilliant reporting.
My guess is that Hokotufuji is a well established rikishi now. He already collected two prizes for 11 wins at M2 and M3 in the past. This time he got 11 wins with a depleted banzuke losing to all Sanyaku but Takayasu. That’s simply not sufficient. Had he been a newer guy or not been slaughtered by the Sanyaku guys things probably would have looked different.
I think your correct. They don’t tend to give prizes to guys who are obviously below their optimum ranking and therefore can be expected to rack up a big score. Hokutofuji was hardly over-achieving and he only defeated one sanyaku opponent. Tobizaru would have probably have got the Outstanding Performance award if he had got to 8 wins.
Great sumo coverage. Thank you Bruce and the rest of Team Tachiai. I wonder if we’ll see more Yorikiri by Hokutofuji in the future. It seems to work quite well for him and would make him a more versatile rikishi.
I’m high on sumo today! Hugely satisfying result. and also in Juryo! Congratulations to Takakeisho, Teronofui, Midorifuji, and the numerous rikishi who gave us so much amazing sumo. And of course to the Tachiai team for their outstanding coverage. Well done, all!
Great basho! Excellent job by the scheduling team, as well!
Why did Teru allow Taka to do his wave action game? He’s really quite one-dimensional. All Teru had to do was to step to the side. Some lateral movement from the tachiae and offset the wave action. Taka is really quite a limited rikishi
Terunofuji did not win two sansho. His Shukun-Sho was conditional on winning the yusho.
Seems harsh; I would have made it conditional on winning his final regulation bout, which would either mean taking the yusho or defeating the yusho winner.
Thanks to the tachai team again for your daily commentary, an invaluable companion at every basho. Sad to see Enho’s magic much diminished but still lots to enjoy and plenty to look forward to – bring on 2021!