An excellent day of sumo, with quality matches front to back. My compliments to everyone in the sumo association for an outstanding group of matches. The two remaining leaders will fight head to head in the final match of the basho. The pairing is a bit unusual as you have the top man fighting, Ozeki Takakeisho taking on a Maegashira 13, rather than Sekewake 1E Wakatakakage in the ultimate fight of the basho. Un-conventional, but given that one will decide the yusho, it makes a lot of sense.

You have to be impressed by what Kotoshoho, win or lose tomorrow, has been able to put together. At 11-3 on day 14, he’s been able to maintain focus and stamina into the end of the second week, and has really been an outstanding fighter. I predict special prize or prizes for him tomorrow. Against Ozeki Takakeisho, he has never won in either of the two prior fights, the most recent being two years ago on day 5 of Hatsu 2021.

Highlight Matches

Tsurugisho defeats Kinbozan – Tsurugisho manages to qualify for the Darwin group at 7-7, and hand Asanoyama the Juryo yusho at the same time by mathematically eliminating Kinbozan from the race. I am not sure where the 11-2 Kinbozan went, as Tsurugisho used him as training ballast today. Tsurugisho now 7-7.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Azumaryu – Probably should have been a matta, as Ichiyamamoto leaps off the shikiri-sen early. He gets a nodowa on Azumaryu and dashes him out. This eliminates Azumaryu from the chaser group, and thus the far fetched dream of an Azumaryu yusho is forever lost. Both end the day 9-5.

Hiradoumi defeats Kotoeko – They tried thrusting first, then went to left hand outside / right hand inside grips. Nobody had the leverage or power to throw the other, and they stalemated in the center of the ring. Hiradoumi found a surge of power, and pushed Kotoeko out when Hiradoumi’s throw attempt could not be completed. Hiradoumi kachi-koshi at 8-6, Kotoeko at 7-7 and joins the Darwin group.

Mitoryu defeats Takanosho – They locked up at the tachiai, without either man having really any kind of a grip, save Takanosho having a nodowa against Mitoryu, and the match went into a very slow mode. Takanosho eventually got a grip, but it was absolutely pointless, as Mitoryu overpowered him, gently it seemed, and placed him over the bales. Takanosho picks up his 8th loss and is make-koshi at both finish the day 6-8.

Takarafuji defeats Hokutofuji – Three cheers for dear old Takarafuji, who finally got his 8th win on the 3rd attempt. It nearly did not turn out that way, as Hokutofuji was driving the offense of this match. A well timed Takarafuji step to the side as a nodowa wielding Hokutofuji surged to drive Takarafuji out put Hokutofuji face down on the clay. Takarafuji now 8-6, Hokutofuji 7-7, and joins the Darwin group.

Ryuden defeats Chiyoshoma – Another day, another Chiyoshoma battle where he shows good form, but can’t bring enough power to win. Try as him might, he can’t dislodge Ryuden, or move him around enough to make a run for the bales. They go for an endurance check, with Ryuden struggling to maintain a grip on Chiyoshoma’s loose mawashi. Chiyoshoma wears down first, and Ryuden walks him out of the ring, improving to 9-5. I would love to see Chiyoshoma have about 10% more power, he would make for an excellent “spoiler”.

Nishikigi defeats Aoiyama – Nishikigi continues to exceed my expectations, today against Aoiyama. Aoiyama gets a couple of good hits in early, and Nishikigi pushes right past them, gets his battle hug in, and walks Aoiyama out. Simple, effective and his 9th win to improve to 9-5.

Oho defeats Nishikifuji – Its good to know that Oho can still win a match once in a while. in fact, today he looked more like the rikishi who turned in a 10-5 in November. He battled Nishikifuji around for a while, then tossed him into the front row. Oho now 3-11.

Sadanoumi defeats Chiyomaru – As predicted, all Chiyoshoma has right now is the “stand them up, slap them down” routine. Everyone knows its coming, everyone knows what to do. Sadanoumi makes fast work of him today, and improves his score to 5-9. Sad to see Chiyomaru this degraded.

Endo defeats Abi – I have to wonder what has become of Abi-zumo. It’s not been present or active for the last few days, and today he let Endo disrupt him and toss him about. Sadly, they clobbered Konosuke in the process, who took a dive off the dohyo and into Ura’s lap. Abi now 7-7 and joins the Darwin gorup, Endo up to 9-5.

Mitakeumi defeats Ura – Ura tries a head pull against Mitakeumi, and it goes about as you would expect. Mitakeumi runs forward into the pull, and Ura gets tossed into Kagayaki’s lap. Not sure what Ura had in mind, but he’s at least a notch below his normal performance. Ura make-koshi as both end the day at 6-8.

Tobizaru defeats Kagayaki – The Great Sumo Cat smiles as we get a double-Darwin result from this match, both ending with a 7-7 score. Kagayaki tried an off tempo tachiai, which worked quite well for a time, and seemed to disrupt Tobizaru’s match plan. But Tobizaru kept his feet, stayed in the match and attacked with as much monkey-sumo as he could muster. It ends with Kagayaki blasting into that same poor salt basket thanks to a Tobizaru okuridashi.

Kotoshoho defeats Daieisho – Not the result I expected, Kotoshoho is really formidable right now. Solid strategy by Kotoshoho, he tangled up Daieisho’s arms, shutting down his thrusting attack. As Daieisho attempts to pivot and escape, Kotoshoho kept tight, getting a right hand outside grip. From there it was only a quick 4 steps to the edge, and a Kotoshoho yorikiri for him to pick up his 11th win, and maintain his spot in the leader group at 11-3. Wow.

Kiribayama defeats Onosho – Onosho failed to keep Kiribayama in front of him as he dialed up the forward pressure. Compliments to Kiribayama for selling that move to the side, just at the moment that Onosho went from tachiai to attack. Onosho hits the clay and drops out of the leader group, as both finish the day 10-4.

Wakamotoharu defeats Tamawashi – Did not expect Wakamotoharu to use that combo at the tachiai, and maybe Tamawashi did not expect it either. Wakamotoharu gets his hands inside and a quick three push combo was enough to unbalance Tamawashi and send him out of the ring by oshidashi. Wakamotoharu now kachi-koshi as both end the day 8-6.

Myogiryu defeats Meisei – Meisei repeatedly went to grab an arm and try a kotenage, I think. But it was easy to predict, and by the third grab, Myogiryu rotated against the grab, and slapped Meisei from behind, dropping him by hatakikomi. Myogiryu now 5-9.

Kotonowaka defeats Midorifuji – Kotonowaka overpowers the smaller and lighter Midorifuji, who gets bounced around and tossed into a waiting Takakeisho. Midorifuji now make-koshi at 6-8 and Kotonowaka, at 7-7, joins the Darwin group.

Wakatakakage defeats Shodai – Wakatakakage had good sumo mechanics on his side today. He kept his shoulders square against Shodai, and optimized the power he put into Shodai’s body. This kept Shodai from getting his “Wall of Daikon” going, and we never got to see Shodai set up any real defense. Wakatakakage now kachi-koshi at 8-6, and Shodai make-koshi at 6-8.

Takakeisho defeats Hoshoryu – Hoshoryu had a good tachiai, but found himself bounced back by the Ozeki’s first hit. That should have been a warning, but Hoshoryu responded as expected, lunging forward again, straight into Takakeisho’s hatakikomi. Hoshoryu hits the clay and joins the Darwin group at 7-7, while Takakeisho remains part of the leader group at 11-3.

It’s the final weekend of the Hatsu basho, and the crew that schedule and select the matches have done a masterful job of bringing everything together right at the end, with a high stakes battle for the cup that will unfold over the next two days. There is no way that anyone can take the yusho today, unless two of the three men leading the race go kyujo. That means two days of high stakes matches as they fight it out to see who gets to take home the hardware, and that giant macaron.

There are several rikishi to finish sorting into make and kachi-koshi, and we have the possibility for several Darwin matches on day 15, where two 7-7 rikishi face off to see who is kachi-koshi, and who is make-koshi. Right now there are 16 candidates, and we will see how many of them have 7-7 scores at the end of today.

Hatsu Leaderboard

All three leaders are in fights today against rikishi further back in the pack, with Onosho fighting Kiribayama and Kotoshoho fighting Daieisho. Should the two men from the chase group win their matches, it really would likely turn the final day into a multi-way brawl to end it all, which readers know I love. Then there is the most unlikely of outcomes – Azumaryu yusho… While confounding and outrageous, it would nicely represent the current state of sumo. I think we should have known, years ago, when Goeido won a zensho yusho that something had gone terribly wrong in the Matrix. May the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan shield us from such a result.

Leader: Takakeisho, Onosho, Kotoshoho
Chasers: Kiribayama, Daieisho, Azumaryu

2 Matches Remain

What We Are Watching Day 14

Tsurugisho vs Kinbozan – Hulking sumo battle platform Kinbozan comes to visit the top division, and with 11-2 at Juryo 5, I think he’s going to be a top division man in Osaka. This may, in fact, be an exchange match. Should he win today, he would serve Tsurugisho (6-7) his make-koshi, and possibly his boarding pass for the Juryo barge of the damned.

Ichiyamamoto vs Azumaryu – Azumaryu needs to win this one to stay with the pack that are chasing the three leaders. He beat 8-5 Ichiyamamoto their only prior match, on day 3 of Kyushu 2022. Both men are kachi-koshi, so this is really just to decide the level of boost going into the March banzuke.

Kotoeko vs Hiradoumi – A Darwin qualifier, winner is kachi-koshi, loser gets to join the 7-7 Darwin pool. Hiradoumi has won both of their prior matches.

Takanosho vs Mitoryu – At 6-7, Takanosho has to win both remaining matches to avoid make-koshi, and a further setback in his climb back to the top ranks. He’s only won one of his 6 prior matches against 5-8 Mitoryu, with the win coming day 9 of Nagoya, 2019 – almost 4 years ago. In fact, they have not had a head to head since Aki of 2019, and oh how so much has changed since then.

Hokutofuji vs Takarafuji – A second Darwin qualifier. Winner is kachi-koshi, loser joins the Darwin pool. I have a sinking dread that Takarafuji will be the Darwin nominee, as he has really faded into week two, and Hokutofuji holds a 9-3 career advantage.

Ryuden vs Chiyoshoma – These two are already sorted, with 8-5 Ryuden being kachi-koshi and 5-8 Chiyoshoma being make-koshi. When the schedule was drawn up, this was possible a “fail safe” in case they were both eligible for Darwin selection today.

Aoiyama vs Nishikigi – Both men are 8-5, and this is a nice battle of sumo styles. We have Nishikigi who will want to move in close and give Aoiyama a battle hug, and Aoiyama who prefers to beat his opponents to pulp from medium range. However, Big Dan has shown surprising flexibility in some matches this January.

Nishikifuji vs Oho – Both men are already make-koshi, with Nishikifuji at 4-9, and Oho at 2-11. As poorly as Oho is doing, he seems to be employed as a white-star donor at the moment, helping cushion the fall for other rikishi who face demotion. As my granny used to tell me “Its good to be useful”.

Chiyomaru vs Sadanoumi – Take care, Chiyomaru, sorry your trip back into the top division was so rough and did not last longer. I hope you can come back with your undercarriage rebuilt or at least working. I don’t expect that he will be able to put up too much of a fight today, and his “stand them up, pull them down” routine should be expected by Sadanoumi.

Abi vs Endo – Endo, at 8-5, is kahci-koshi. He faced 7-6 Abi who will either find his 8th win today, or be joining the Darwin camp just down the road waiting for their doom on day 15. The good news for fans of Abi-zumo, he is 11-2 against Endo.

Mitakeumi vs Ura – This is one sad sad match for myself. We have an already make-koshi Mitakeumi at 5-8, with the option to relegate Ura to make-koshi as well if the former Ozeki can win today’s match. Ura is not moving well this tournament, and many of his standard crazy moves just are not executing crisply this time around. Should Ura win today, it’s off to the Darwin camp with him for day 15.

Tobizaru vs Kagayaki – In this match, we get to see if 6-7 Tobizaru can overcome his 2-4 career deficit to 7-6 Kagayaki and pick up a win today. Call this one a “mini Darwin”, if Kagayaki wins, he is kachi-koshi and Tobizaru is make-koshi. If Tobizaru wins, they are both put into the Darwin pool. Their last match was at Kyushu in 2021, and the win went to Tobizaru.

Kotoshoho vs Daieisho – First of the leaders to mount the dohyo, I don’t like 10-3 Kotoshoho’s chances here today. They last fought in November of 2020, when Kotoshoho was Maegashira 5. The match went to Daieisho, and Kotoshoho finished at 8-7. Given how well 9-4 Daieisho is fighting right now, it’s a long shot that Kotoshoho will prevail.

Kiribayama vs Onosho – As long as Onosho’s fighting spirit was not quenched by his loss on day 13 to Takakeisho, this will be one hell of a fight. With 10-3 Onosho having a narrow 4-3 winning record against 9-4 Kiribayama, the battle may be as potent as any so far this tournament. Of their two matches in 2022, both of them won a one and lost one, with Onosho having the most recent win, in Kyushu on day 14 as well.

Tamawashi vs Wakamotoharu – While the yusho race is worthy of a lot of attention, we still have some key rikishi to sort into make and kachi-koshi. Today its time to see where 7-6 Wakamotoharu ends up as he fights 8-5 Tamawashi. Wakamotoharu has lost 2 of the last three, and I am going to guess that it may be stamina starting to run low. Tamawashi has lost the last 2 in a row, and is already kachi-koshi.

Meisei vs Myogiryu – Both men are at 4-9, and this fight is really to see how far down the banzuke they will drop. We know what Meisei will be out of the named ranks, and hopefully he will be able to bounce back in better form and condition by March.

Midorifuji vs Kotonowaka – Another head to head, this time with both men at 6-7. The winner joins the Darwin group, the loser is make-koshi. Kotonowaka has won 4 of their 5 prior matches, and I think has a distinct advantage today over Midorifuji, who I suspect is feeling the effects of some injury this month.

Wakatakakage vs Shodai – It’s time for one last, rather high stakes mini-Darwin. We have 7-6 Wakatakakage up against 6-7 Shodai. One of them was hoping to become an Ozeki, one of them just got done being an Ozeki. Both of them have underperformed their abilities this January, and both need to regroup and try again. Shodai has won 7 of their 11 prior matches. A Wakatakakage win means kachi-koshi for him, and make-koshi for Shodai. A Shodai win, and they both get to be part of the Darwin group.

Hoshoryu vs Takakeisho – This match is a heavy burden to place on a man with an injured ankle. Hoshoryu is a lot less mobile than he normally is, and he struggles to keep his body in a fighting stance. On day 13, that bum ankle could not support much defensive sumo, and he took a disappointing loss. He has only won 2 of the prior 8 matches against the lone surviving Ozeki, Takakeisho, who must win this match to keep the lead in the race for the cup.

Today was anticipated to be a day of big sumo, and it was all of that and more. There were a host of good matches, from the brilliant opening win by Endo to the brutal tadpole brawl to end the day, some top flight performance from everyone, event hit or miss Chiyoshoma showed us good sumo today.

In Juryo, top division aspirant Asanoyama narrowly won against the hulking Kazakh Kinbozan. A tough match from start to finish, the win gives Asanoyama sole possession of the lead in the Juryo yusho race. The question on many fan’s mind – will he be posted back to the top division for March?

The crowning element of this excellent day of sumo was the final battle, the musubi-no-ichiban, we saw Onosho and Takakeisho beat each other bloody in a battle where the lone surviving Ozeki to clawed his way back into co-leading the yusho race. We ended the day with a 3 way tie for the lead between Takakeisho, Onosho, and Kotoshoho, who also won his day 13 match. We have 2 days of regulation remaining, and how this ends up is going to be a lot of fun figure out, as events unfold.

Highlight Matches

Enho defeats Mitoryu – It’s been a while since people who watch the NHK dailies got a chance to watch Enho, and some folks new to the sport may have never seen him before. It was fantastic that he brought his “A” game today, with some magnificent, well executed sumo. Mitoryu had the size, weight and maybe a few more advantages, but Enho had the technique. Once Enho was inside Mitoryu’s defenses, it was quick work to push his wide body out. Enho returns to Juryo 7-6, with my hopes he can be promoted for March.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Kagayaki – In a match where the winner would be kachi-koshi, and it’s not unexpected that Ichiyamamoto might win. But when he stoped his double arm thrusting attack, and grabbed Kagayaki’s mawashi, I think he had an element of surprise against his opponent. It sure surprised me. Nice work by Ichiyamamoto to claim his 8th win, with a yorikiri, now 8-5.

Azumaryu defeats Chiyoshoma – A fine example of tsuki/oshi work from Chiyoshoma today. With those kind of chops, I wish he could deliver about 15% more power, he would be winning matches left right and sideways. I love that he never stops attacking in this match, but Azumaryu seems to be incredibly patient today, wearing Chiyoshoma down. Eventually Azumaryu gets a throw in, taking Chiyoshoma out, he’s make-koshi now at 5-8, while Azumaryu improves to 9-4.

Aoiyama defeats Endo – Aoiyama fired up the V-Twin today, and ran that hog over Endo like he was a pothole. Endo missed his early attempts to get a belt grip, and decided he would just duke it out with Big Dan. “Bold move Cotton, let’s see how that works out…” Endo takes the oshitaoshi express into one of Sadanoumi’s salt baskets. Aoiyama now 8-5 and kachi-koshi.

Takanosho defeats Chiyomaru – Another example of Chiyomaru’s injury removing almost all forms of sumo from his fight menu. All he could try was a quick blow to stand Takanosho up and a pull back / down. Takanosho knew it was coming. The gyoji knew it was coming. The gal at the combini in Kinshicho who does not even like sumo knew it was coming. Takanosho motors ahead and drives Chiyomaru out, improving to 6-7.

Kotoeko defeats Ura – Ura had a significant advantage, but then decided a pull was in order to finish Kotoeko off. When those things fail, the do tend to fail in a big way. Kotoeko powered forward, blasting Ura out with a yoritaoshi into that same poor salt basket, improving to 7-6.

Tsurugisho defeats Myogiryu – I think Tsurugisho’s “stand up, put both arms out” tachiai surprised Myogiryu. I think while Myogiryu was trying to think of what to do next, he was not quite ready to defend against Tsurugisho’s hatakikomi, and hit the deck. Tsurugisho advances to 6-7, in a smart bit of match strategy there.

Nishikigi defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji has now lost 4 of the last 5, and I worry this could be it for him. He still just needs one more win to reach kachi-koshi and a life line to stay in the top division. But as we are aware, Nishikigi is greatly improved this basho, and when Nishikigi got hidariyotsu right at the tachiai, I knew it was going to be trouble for Takarafuji. Credit to Takarafuji, he tried a couple of throw attempts, but their failure left him with poor footing, and wide open to Nishikigi’s sukuinage, which dropped Takarafuji near the other salt basket this time. Nishikigi improves to 8-5 and is kachi-koshi.

Oho defeats Sadanoumi – Oho still has some sumo left in him, it seems. He gets Sadanoumi too far forward and slaps him down with a hearty hatakikomi, picking up his second win of January, now 2-11.

Kotoshoho defeats Abi – How remarkable is this basho for Kotoshoho? His best top division performance ever was at 10-5 result from Aki in 2020. He could lose every match from here on out and equal his best. The chances are more likely that he will get one or two more wins in the final days, and this will be his personal best. Abi gets a bit too wild after Kotoshoho does not yield to Abi’s double arm pounding, and Kotoshoh sets him up for the side step and tsukiotoshi that followed. I would love to think that this is Kotoshoho’s “new normal”, but that will best be judged in March. Kotoshoho stays on the leader board at 10-3

Daieisho defeats Hiradoumi – Who doesn’t love a mutual windmill thrusting battle? These two guys were full throttle from the tachiai, and had no restraint. Daieisho had a bit more power, and chipped away at Hiradoumi’s position, until he had him at the bales and thrust him out. Excellent sumo action, Daieisho now 9-4.

Tobizaru defeats Mitakeumi – Oh Mitakeumi, what the hell was that? You thought you would be cheeky and try to henka the flying monkey? No sir, not a working plan. Tobizaru captures Mitakeumi in mid flight and runs him to the exit. Mitakeumi now make-koshi at 5-8, Tobizaru improves to 6-7.

Wakamotoharu defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji was over eager to start the fight, and we had a series of matta. The fight itself saw Hokutofuji unable to exploit his narrow window of advantage to finish Wakamotoharu, instead leaving him with his heels on the tawara, and ready to rally. Wakamotoharu did rally, and drove forward without pause to force Hokutofuji from the ring. Both men end the day 7-6.

Nishikifuji defeats Meisei – A battle of the make-koshi, Meisei had the advantage early, and got his chance when Nishikifuji executed a poorly considered pulling attempt. Rather than drive it back down Nishikifuji’s throat, Meisei counters with his own pulling attempt, and finds himself defenseless to Nishikifuji attack. A quick sukuinage finishes Meisei off, and both me end the day 4-9.

Kotonowaka defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi may have had a bit too much focus on Kotonowaka’s head and face, and missed a big opportunity to apply force to Kotonowaka’s chest. This give Kotonowaka all of the room he needed to get his offense started, which turned out to be quite effective today. When Tamawashi moved to drive forward, Kotonowaka had the body position to back away and drop Tamawashi to the clay. Tough outcome for Tamawashi, but Kotonowaka picks up a most welcome win and is 6-7.

Kiribayama defeats Midorifuji – An impressive display from Midorifuji today. He attacked from underneath, and was able to confound and then stalemate Kiribayama’s attempt to draw him attacking his upper body (which would have raised him up). He was able too stalemate Kiribayama near the center of the ring for a time, but chose to break contact and attempt a throw. It was instantly shut down, and Kiribayama tossed him at (yes, it’s true), that same poor salt basket. Kiribayama now 9-4, the salt basket is in the ICU.

Wakatakakage defeats Hoshoryu – I get the impression that Hoshoryu’s ankle is degrading day to day, as each day he mounts the dohyo, he has a bit less power transmitted to ground. A prime example today is the moment before Wakatakakage crushes Hoshoryu to the clay, he has that left leg nearly straight, and is deflecting pressure that would normally put lateral stress on that ankle. This leaves him unable to react to Wakatakakage’s winning move. Both men end the day 7-6, and Wakatakakage may squeeze out a kachi-koshi yet.

Ryuden defeats Shodai – Brilliant match from Ryuden today. Shodai was all defense, as he could not find a way to get Ryuden raised up. Once Ryuden gets that right hand outside, he has control of the match. Three steps later he walks Shodai out, and earns kachi-koshi for January, at 8-5.

Takakeisho defeats Onosho – This is in fact what the fans all wanted to see. Two tadpoles beating each other senseless with everything on the line. Highlights for me? Onosho’s use of “wave action”, Takakeisho responding with a round house slap to the face. That slap set up the dive into Onosho’s chest from Takakeisho that blasted him out of the ring. Great oshi-zumo today from both men, brutal, fast effective, and potent. Both are now 10-3, creating a 3 way tie for the cup to start day 14.