Well, Day One had its highlights and lowlights, that’s for sure. Terunofuji sure made an impression with the way he dispatched Ura last night. We’ll be worried about that elbow for the next fortnight, won’t we? I can honestly say that I have never seen that before and I’ve been watching sumo for a few days now.

I’m going to try something new here on the blog. The infinite scroll is rather annoying, so I’m going to try to resurrect and old idea I had a couple years ago. I hope to re-establish the “tournament archives” page with a few tweaks so that this content will hopefully be easier to find as we go deeper into the action. I’ll still have a central page for each tournament, like this one for Hatsu 2024 but I will also have a year-long wrap up since there is a lot of action and news that comes outside of the tournaments.

This way will hopefully help organize these “current events” and “news” type posts. Other feature posts that are more focused on individual topics will be organized separately. More on that to come. We’ll see how it goes. Keep in mind that these pages are living and will be updated with content frequently during the tournament. They look rather Spartan now.

Makuuchi Highlights

Takarafuji (2-0) defeated Aoiyama (0-2). Takarafuji weathered the Aoiyama tsuppari storm for a good long while. To lessen the impact of the blows, he deflected what he could by batting away at Aoiyama’s elbows. Aoiyama’s forward motion started picking up steam and Takarafuji slipped quickly to the side, gently ushering Aoiyama out. Hikkake.

Shimazuumi (2-0) defeated Bushozan (0-2). Two quick slaps after the tachiai and Shimazuumi established superior position at the center of the ring, with Bushozan on the ropes. From there, he pursued the retreating Bushozan halfway around the ring, while applying constant pressure before finally hoisting him over the tawara. Yorikiri.

Bushozan will face Aoiyama. Shimazuumi will take on Takarafuji.

Onosato (2-0) defeated Kotoshoho (1-1). Kotoshoho’s tsuppari gave Onosato a bit of a challenge at the tachiai but he gave up on it for a slapdown attempt. This provided Onosato an opening to press forward. Kotoshoho tried a throw at the edge but Onosato kept Kotoshoho in front. With a powerful shove, Onosato cast Kotoshoho down into the crowd. Oshitaoshi.

Onosho (1-1) defeated Tomokaze (0-2). So, Onosho does know how to move forward! Excellent work here. Solid tachiai and powerful tsuppari forced Tomokaze back. When Tomokaze attempted a slapdown, Onosho dodged it and pressed Tomokaze out. Oshidashi.

Oh, no! Onosho versus Onosato on the ‘morrow. Kotoshoho and Tomokaze to follow.

Endo (1-1) defeated Takanosho (1-1). Endo picked up his shonichi, first win, with a powerful shove at the tachiai. That left hand hit on Takanosho’s elbow at the right time to deflect Takanosho headlong toward the tawara. Simple pursuit and he ushered Takanosho out. Oshidashi.

Churanoumi (2-0) defeated Myogiryu (0-2). Powerful tsuppari from both competitors. I think Churanoumi had a gripe about a hair pull there in all that slapping. Regardless, he won by pressing Myogiryu down to the side and slipping in behind as Myogiryu tried to keep his balance. A simple push out from behind. Okuridashi.

Endo will get Myogiryu while Takanosho will try to get some dirt on Churanoumi.

Tamawashi (1-1) defeated Oho (1-1). In the ring, Tamawashi is not the gentle geezer that he is on the jungyo trail. He showed Oho no mercy and blasted him from the fighting surface with his standard fierce tsuppari. Oshidashi.

Tsurugisho (1-1) defeated Sadanoumi (1-1). Wow. One blast from that right arm of Tsurugisho was enough to send Sadanoumi sprawling. Shibatayama-oyakata (a big dude, himself) was chatting with the Abema commentator about Tsurugisho’s girth and how much he weighs. There sure is a lot of power in that mass. Oshitaoshi.

Tsurugisho will battle Tamawashi and Sadanoumi will face Oho.

Hokuseiho (1-1) defeated Meisei (0-2). This was an entertaining, evenly matched yotsu battle. Certainly unexpected from Meisei. Meisei started with a morozashi but as the grapple evolved, he switched to a migi maemitsu grip, with his left hand at the back of Hokuseiho’s mawashi. Hokuseiho had his usual deep grip over Meisei’s back. There were several flurries of action and resistance. Meisei finally worked Hokuseiho over to the edge but Hokuseiho threw Meisei to the ground. Uwatenage.

Hiradoumi (2-0) defeated Mitakeumi (1-1). A strong, head-butt tachiai from Hiradoumi, followed by a right-hand blast to the face and Hiradoumi thrust Mitakeumi back, off the dohyo and into the lap of an elderly fan. Mitakeumi’s offense and defense have been rather uninspired. Oshidashi.

Hiradoumi is set to take on winless Meisei; Hokuseiho is scheduled to take on Mitakeumi.

Asanoyama (2-0) defeated Kinbozan (1-1). Kinbozan tried twice at the very start of the bout to heave Asanoyama to the ground, casting to and fro, but Asanoyama’s solid footwork kept him upright. He then wrapped up Kinbozan with his right-hand inside and pressed forward forcefully. Yorikiri

Halftime

Shonannoumi (1-1) defeated Ichiyamamoto (0-2). Shonannoumi was all in on the slapdown strategy. The third time was the charm as he finally forced Ichiyamamoto to the clay. Hatakikomi.

Shonannoumi will try to get his first win against Asanoyama in his sixth attempt. Ichiyamamoto will fight Kinbozan.

Tobizaru (1-1) defeated Nishikigi (1-1). Nishikigi pressed forward and Tobizaru hopped to the side, thrusting Nishikigi’s head down. A quick slapdown win. Tsukiotoshi.

Shodai (2-0) defeated Ryuden (0-2). Excellent, powerful, twisting throw from Shodai. He absorbed Ryuden’s powerful charge, spun around, and twisted Ryuden down. Sukuinage.

Shodai will face Nishikigi and Tobizaru gets Ryuden.

Sanyaku

Hokutofuji (1-1) defeated Ura (0-2). “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Hokutofuji was committed to that slapdown from the word, “jump.” He met Ura at the tachiai with his arm already extended, ready to press down. This should have been one of Ura’s easy wins. He’s got a heavy advantage in this rivalry but Hokutofuji had a plan and executed well. Ura stood at the side of the ring, defeated. That lonely feeling in the pit of your stomach when she doesn’t even answer the phone. Hatakikomi.

Kotonowaka (2-0) defeated Gonoyama (0-2). What a throw! Two powerful youngsters locked into a great grapple. Gonoyama, holding Kotonowaka’s right arm at bay with his left, charged forward into his opponent. Kotonowaka apparently did not need a right-handed grip, as Gonoyama charged forward, he just threw him into the crowd with the left. BEAUTIFUL. Uwatenage.

Daieisho (2-0) defeated Abi (0-2). I thought Abi had this one. He was laying into Daieisho with powerful thrusts to the face, forcing Daieisho’s head back. But that was all that moved back, Daieisho’s head. His body remained firm, resolute in the center of the dohyo. Daieisho used his left hand to shove Abi to the side and then pursued with his own, more powerful shoves. Oshidashi.

Daieisho will fight Hokutofuji tomorrow.

Kirishima (2-0) defeated Takayasu (1-1). Plan A, deflection and slapdown, didn’t work. So Kirishima followed up with Plan B, raw power, as he drove Takayasu backwards and out of the ring. Oshidashi.

Takayasu will take on Gonoyama on Day 3.

Takakeisho (2-0) defeated Atamifuji (0-2). Oof. Atamifuji put up a valiant effort. He forced T-Rex into Plan C. The tsuppari and headbutts didn’t work. The pull and slapdown didn’t work. So, Takakeisho launched forward into Atamifuji with everything. Atamifuji tried a slapdown of his own but ran out of real estate as he retreated over the bales. Yorikiri.

Atamifuji will face Kirishima on Day 3.

Hoshoryu (2-0) defeated Midorifuji (0-2). Hoshoryu went for a spin with Midorifuji, wrapped up his arm, and then cast him into the crowd. Oshidashi.

Midorifuji will face Kotonowaka and Hoshoryu gets Ura.

Wakamotoharu (1-1) defeated Terunofuji (1-1). After the initial flurry, Terunofuji was unable to mount an offense against Wakamotoharu. He was not able to counter; it took enough strength just to resist going out. The initiative was all WMH. I am not sure what attack Terunofuji had in mind once the bout settled into a grapple because it seemed like he was only reacting to WMH’s charges. The final charge forward and WMH was finally able to work the Yokozuna over the tawara. With Covid and Kyujo, the crowd was clearly out of practice when it came to zabuton tossing. Yorikiri.

Wakamotoharu will need to rest soundly tonight as he will face Takakeisho mañana. Terunofuji will face Abi.

Wrap-up

Well, we have to start our wrap-up with how the match day ended there. Wakamotoharu is a solid, sanyaku-quality wrestler, though he’s down at the top of the rank-and-file. He has earned his first kinboshi. Congratulations! My concern here is not so much that he defeated the Yokozuna. My concern was that I’m not sure what Terunofuji had in mind beyond, “survive.” If any of you saw differently, please feel free to note it in the comments. But in my mind, Terunofuji seemed gassed after that initial flurry. He was not able to overpower Wakamotoharu at the very start and it took all of the energy he had to keep himself in the match.

It is only Day Two. After six months of leave from work, I would be quite rusty, too. I was (and still am) hopeful that the Yokozuna can come back from his kyujo, dominate, and win another yusho. Hopes are still there but the probability of that occurring has taken a real hit. We’ll just have to take this day by day. Even if he finishes 7-8, to be honest, I think the most important thing would be to see him compete and finish a tournament after that time off. If his record is that bad, I’m sure he will pull out long before he is makekoshi but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.