The news from the infirmary today is that Kotoeko will be back tomorrow. He still needs a win or two in order to be safe from dropping to Makushita. If he is still hurt, this is not a good decision and I would rather see the Lavendar Leviathan fighting in a dull grey Makushita mawashi than fighting injured…but I am not his mom and he is going to do what he is going to do.
Back to the matter at hand: the Hatsu basho yusho race. There is a bit of a pause in the sanyaku action while the three erstwhile underclassmen are thrown into the ringer: Onosato, Onosho, and Oho. No one knows why Oho is here but I suppose his shikona just seemed to fit.
Makuuchi Action
Takanosho (8-3) defeated Kotoshoho (7-4). Kotoshoho drove forward into Takanosho, driving him to the bales. It took a few tries but Takanosho eventually shoved Kotoshoho out. Yorikiri.
Tsurugisho (5-6) defeated Churanoumi (5-6). A valiant effort from Churanoumi. He attempted to drive Tsurugisho out but Tsurugisho is a bit on the heavy side. So, that is hard. Tsurugisho countered and swung Churanoumi around to the bales and forced him out. Yorikiri.
Shimazuumi (7-4) defeated Sadanoumi (4-7). Sadanoumi tried to heft Shimazuumi up and out but Shimazuumi locked him in a bear hug, both hands inside, and drove forward. Yorikiri.
Meisei (7-4) defeated Endo (3-8). Meisei did what everyone is doing now, playing Throw the Endo. It’s a fun game. You just push and Endo goes flying into random people ringside. Oshidashi.
Hiradoumi (5-6) defeated Bushozan (4-7). Hiradoumi tried to get a belt grip but Bushozan blasted him with tsuppari. Bushozan was desperate to keep Hiradoumi off his belt so he pitched forward and kept hammering away. So Hiradoumi slipped to the side and shoved Bushozan down. Hatakikomi.
Ichiyamamoto (5-6) defeated Takarafuji (5-6). The Takarabune was battered by a fierce headwind today. He tried to tack and the powerful winds abated but the Takarabune got going to fast, slammed along the rocky shore and sank. Hatakikomi.
Tomokaze (3-8) defeated Shonannoumi (1-10). Some forward movement from Shonannoumi in this bout. He tried to bait Tomokaze into a charge but Tomokaze does not have the legs for it. He does have enough arm strength to shove you out, though, so he did. Shonannoumi is not here. He’s on a beach somewhere down near Zushi. Or maybe riding around on the Enoden. Whatever he’s doing, it’s not sumo. He’ll drop down the ranks in March but I think he is okay with that. Oshidashi.
Kinbozan (6-5) defeated Myogiryu (3-8). A fierce battle, wonderful slapfest. That is until Myogiryu left himself open to a mighty shove from Kinbozan. Myogiryu flew backwards and off the fighting surface. There should be one of those anime powerball explosion things from the force in that shove. Oshitaoshi.
Mitakeumi (5-6) defeated Nishikigi (5-6). Nishikigi! What are you doing? After an initial barrage of tsuppari, Nishikigi let Mitakeumi get inside and drive him back. Nishikigi resisted at the edge so Mitakeumi yanked on his belt, flung him the other way and bowled him off the edge. Oshidashi.
Halftime
(Sweep, Sweep, We’re in Too Deep…Andy Needs To Go To Sleep.)
Gonoyama (4-7) defeated Ryuden (3-8). Gonoyama assaulted Ryuden at the tachiai and drove him to the edge but could not get him over. He then pulled but Ryuden would not go down. As they settled in the center of the ring, Ryuden tried to get his right hand inside but Gonoyama fought hard to keep him off. Gonoyama then charged forward with excellent ottsuke, squeezing Ryuden’s right arm and holding it tight so that he could not get a grab of the belt. And he did not stop until he got to the bales and Ryden was out. Yorikiri.
Tobizaru (6-5) defeated Midorifuji (3-8). Tobizaru kept Midorifuji at arm’s length, careful to keep his opponent away from his shoulder. As he battered away at Midorifuji, Midorifuji kept trying to move inside. So, Tobizaru slipped to the side, let his opponent’s momentum carry him to the edge and shoved Midorifuji out. Oshitaoshi.
Atamifuji (5-6) defeated Shodai (4-7). Atamifuji forced Shodai out of his comfort zone by making the big man move forward. As Shodai’s legs churned, Atamifuji slipped to the side and dumped Shodai on his butt. Tsukioshi.
Wakamotoharu (8-3) defeated Tamawashi (7-4). Tamawashi seemed defensive today. Rather than attacking WMH, he seemed to focus on deflecting Waka’s tsuppari. Wakamotoharu bulled him to the edge and Tamawashi tried a twisting throw/shove thing but Wakamotoharu shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Sanyaku
Abi (5-6) defeated Ura (2-9). Abi-zumo. Abi assaulted Ura, over and over, then yanked him down to the ground. Ura is not having a good tournament. He was unable to connect with any of his own tsuppari and I couldn’t even tell if he tried to get inside to negate any of Abi’s slaps. Hatakikomi.
Kotonowaka (10-1) defeated Oho (6-5). Kotonowaka flung Oho to the side, absorbed some tsuppari, got bored and flung Oho again. This time, he followed through and shoved Oho off the edge. Oshidashi.
Kirishima (9-2) defeated Daieisho (6-5). Kirishima assaulted Daieisho. Daieisho came at him with his usual powerful tachiai. For an instant, Kirishima reached in for a belt grip but thought better of it and took Daieisho on with his own tsuppari. One sidestep and slap whipped Daieisho to the side and then a 1, 2, 3 combo left Daieisho outside the tawara. Keep in mind, that “three” was bold-faced, italicized and underlined. Quite the shove. Tsukidashi.
Hoshoryu (9-2) defeated Onosato (8-3). Hoshoryu locked up the big prodigy at the tachiai and in one, clean motion, flung him out of the ring. He took himself out, too, but where’s the fun in staying on your own two feet? Onosato clearly lost and clearly still has work to do and is not quite Ozeki material. After the bout, he stood at the side of the ring like, “what just happened?” Shitatenage.
Terunofuji (9-2) defeated Onosho (8-3). When I say Terunofuji disposed of Onosho, I mean he took a big plastic bag out of the pantry, stuffed Onosho in it, tightened the drawstring and threw him in the bin. It was routine. He took out the trash just like it was any other Wednesday. Terunofuji woke up, checked the refrigerator for the “To-Do” list: 1) Absorb Onosho’s “charge,” 2) grab his right arm with one arm, mawashi with the other, and 3) dump him in the gutter. Done. Sorry fans, ending the day on that note. You love to see a challenging bout for the musubi-no-ichiban but this left you less satisfied than a henka. Yorikiri? That could have been Okuridashi but whatever.
Wrap-up
The Sanyaku chewed up the trio of Onosato, Onosho, and Oho. But rather than spit them out, they’re apparently cows and have regurgitated them and want another go. Well, Oho got spit out but they’re seasoning the other two with a dash of Takanosho. I blame Takakeisho. There is an Ozeki-sized hole in this torikumi and it needs to be filled. So, let’s let these three battle in sanyaku for another day. Tomorrow we’ll get back to regularly scheduled programming and Kotonowaka, Kirishima, Hoshoryu and Terunofuji will finally be able to go head-to-head-to-head-to-head. Now Andy will go off to bed.
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Interesting next few days for sure. Kotonowaka is currently at 30 wins in the last 3 basho and needs 3 out of 4 to earn ozeki outright, with maybe a decent shot if he gets 2 and beats Terunofuji and one ozeki. He’ll have earned it if he does get it though, because those wins would likely mean he’s won the basho.
Kirishima also has a shot a yokozuna still as well, and he’ll have to earn things the hard way too. Winning out and possibly even winning a playoff is what it’s going to take. Exciting few days ahead!!
I need my Michael Jackson eating popcorn meme.
Every time I see these two getting ready for a match I start talking to the screen: “You want that Rope, earn it.” “You need double digit wins”
Yes, we have high hopes for Kotonowaka. We’re looking forward to the day he changes his shikona.
Great post. I laughed and I learned.
I understand it’s a mark of respect to Tamawashi at #10 that they’re matching him with Kirishima tomorrow, but I hope they toss him a tomato can or two in the remaining days to smooth his way to kachikoshi.
Would edit to say: if Tamawashi can’t handle Kirishima, of course.
Win or lose Tamawashi’s remaining matches will be down at the bottom of the banzuke as he already has 4 losses.
Onosato vs. Hoshoryu
Before the bout –
Onosato: Hi Hoshoryu, I’m Onosato and I could care less that you’re some kind of Ozeki tough guy. My Japanese female fans refer to me as Big Sexy and as the latest Japanese hope and prodigy, I’m here to claim my stake in the big game. I know I lost yesterday but that was a one-off and today I’m going to kick your ass.
Hoshoryu: Yea, ok. Whatever.
After the bout –
Hoshoryu: 3 seconds? Really? I hope your mother wasn’t watching. By the way, how did that can of Ozeki Whoop-Ass taste? Understand this, I’m not just some “Ozeki tough guy” as you put it, I’m The MFing Evil Nephew and you ain’t in my league. Go back to those female Japanese fans and see if they have some bandages and ointment for that shredded ego. See you in March, until then piss-off!!
Hoshoryu literally said ‘Get chucked Son.’ And it was over. Saw that throw getting loaded up off the hop and had fond memories of Uncle just tossing people.
All the ‘prodigies’ have run into quite the genki San’yaku and got wake up calls.
Nice to see Teru doing what he does.
If only Shodai could get his mind in order he’s gone the Takayasu route of wild man sumo.
Just need to see Nephew toss a few more people starting with K and ending with wakashima
After Oho for Kotonowaka today, two freebies for the Ozeki tomorrow while Daieisho is wasted vs Ryuden… If they gave Kotoshoho to Terunofuji the day after, everything would be quite in order again with a present for each of the contenders!
What are Kirishima’s chances of getting Yokozuna promotion if he doesn’t win the cup?
Would he has a chance if he ends up with a 13-2 or 12-3 score and gets into a play-off and loses it?
or is at this point wining the Yusho his only hope to get the white ropes
Takakeisho has already been denied with a 12/13 so don’t see why Kirishima should get promoted with a 13/12. Would be the weakest promotion since before the Futahaguro scandal.
A 13-2 playoff loss maybe but idk how they’d feel about him losing the yusho to a lower ranker.
Kitanoumi was promoted to Yokozuna in 1974 with 13-2 Y and 13-2 D, but Takanohana was not promoted in 1993 with 14-1 Y and 13-2 D, neither was Hakuho in 2006 with 14-1 Y and 13-2 J. On the other hand Kisenosato was promoted to Yokozuna with 12-3 J and 14-1 Y in 2017. So who knows what happens to Kirishima with 13-2 Y and 13-2 D. If the thinking now is closer to pre-Futahaguro, 13-2 D should be enough, but is it?
Mordor threw a cave troll at Frodo, but Nephew wants the ring!
Sickening head butt from Meisei on Endo in the tachiai clash. How do these guys have any brains left?
That was some trauma inducing force for sure, watched the highlight show late last night, and had to rewind that one a couple of times to see if Endo or Meisei had noticeable swelling, kind of shocked neither did. But, that’s the dangerous part about head trauma, you don’t know what you can’t see. Meisei has a great tachiai, but so many head butts are bound to have some consequences down the line. Hakuho used to lead with his shoulder/forearm like Jack Tatum used to do it in the NFL (the famed forearm shiver), seems like a healthier alternative to the head butt. Sumo is different for sure and these athletes are definitely built different so I doubt Meisei is going to waiver from doing “his brand of Sumo.”
Man, they are doing everything they can to assist and lift Kotonowaka to Ozeki and pad his wins before he faces the 2 Ozeki and the Yokozuna. Today it’s an M14 West offering in Onosho and while Onosho has had a good basho this is just another gift match and more pathetic manufactured crap.
They could have at least paired him with Tamawashi but the old man would have kicked his ass in a straight up match so that’s a no go. I just hope the Mongolians drop kick him and he doesn’t make Ozeki after this basho.
I think scheduling Onosho against Kotonowaka has more to do with eliminating him from the Yusho race than gifting Kotonowaka, who already won Onosato, too. Terunofuji won Onosho today and tomorrow has a match against Onosato. This way Onosho and Onosato are just eliminated from the 4-way Yusho race between Y, 2xO and S from Friday to Sunday.
You could be right Askof, but it just smells bad to me.
Maybe I’m just too old (grumpy old man stuff?), as I’ve been a sumo fan and watching all the way back to my youth in Tokyo when I saw grandpa Yokozuna Kotozakura live and in person with my family.
Oh Lord, save me. Am I turning into my father?
I would be careful to criticize too much Onosato in the first outing against the big boys. Just a few bashos ago hokuseiho had his first macuuchi outing and established rikishis were having problems with him. They could not quite figure out how to get rid of nearly 200 kg of not collaborating , unmoving flesh. The (very) big boy got matched against the sanyaku and some of them took more than expected to get rid of him. Then people figured him out and he got settled in the mid maegashira. Onosato comes at you with ample pounds and quite a lot of momentum. The big boys are waiting for him and are quite prepared to handle just that. And they do it, comfortably. But Onosato is big, healthy, inexperienced but sound and he will improve. I would not be surprised to see him give Teru quite the challenge tomorrow. Conversely, no one these days is expecting too much from Hokuseiho. Another interesting parallel between the two new kids is their respective masters. Good old Kisenosato wasn’t known for winning mentality, conversely Hakuho is the personification of it. And yet Onosato jump at adversaries with everything he as. Hokuseiho… well, he does not. And what about Atamifuji? Red hot right now, but in the first makuuchi sting he went 4-11 and looked hapless. Give Onosato time, He will deliver. Personally, the image of Onosato, Hakuoho, Takerufuji (may I hope for Kototebakari as well?) throwing the kitchen sink at each other to overthrow kirishima, hoshoryu and kotonowaka is blissful heaven.
I totally agree with U. Onosato was very shy and clumsy against Kotonowaka, but already showed much better body language against Hoshoryu. I wouldn’t be much surprised if he surprised Terunofuji tomorrow and even made the jun yusho behind Hoshoryu, whose right knee seems quite well again.
I totally agree. Against Kotonowaka Onosato fucked up the Tachiai and it was a done deal. Can happen to anyone or how again did Hoshoryu pick up his loss vs. Gonoyama?
Today’s bout vs Hoshoryu was a quick one, but just a little bit less rotation to the throw and it’s actually Hoshoryu hitting the ground first. I bet he doesn’t have that much experience at getting thrown, so he will learn from it. Ozeki material now? Not yet, but with a few more basho under his belt, we will reevaluate.
As an M15 to get a Sekiwake, an a Ozeki and a Yokozuna on your scorecard is quite unfair. It is only the third time ever that an M15 is paired with a Yokozuna and is has never happened on day 12 before. The first case was in 1940 and I believe can’t count here, as looking on the scorecard back then the Yokozuna West was fighting all the east banzuke. The other time was Kyushu 2021 on day 13, when Abi was 12-1 and Teru 13-0, which is a different situation than Onosato already being 2 behind the lead.
I know people are complaining about low rangers getting a Yusho without facing proper competition, but if the Sanyaku can’t beat a 12-3 record, they don’t deserve a Yusho anyways. No need to punish lower ranks for having a good tournament.
Pulling up Oho that much is evenly unfair. He doesn’t even have a kachikoshi yet.
Gee Andy, I hope you get some sleep! I am very thankful to you and anyone else who doesn’t get much or any sleep during the Yusho! 15 days would make me Super Cranky! You, on the other hand make me laugh because you rhyme when you are tired! Hope you have pleasant dreams! (like Hukoho staging a comeback!).
Has the wreckage of the Takarabune been sighted yet? Sad face emoji.
As I understand it, there’s a search area of 502400 miles.