Month: May 2024

Natsu 2024 Day Two Highlights

Andy Natsu 2024, Natsu Basho

Just before action got underway on Day Two, news came in from the infirmary that Terunofuji and Takakeisho would be kyujo. The news should not surprise anyone who saw how easily both were beaten in their fights on Day One. We hope both rest well and come back when they are healthy. The only big question left at the moment is, “Who’s next?”

I also want to touch on Juryo for a moment. I’d neglected to include Shimazuumi and Kitanowaka in my kyujo list yesterday. They have been absent from Day One but their kyujo were not declared in time so their opponents got Day One fusen-sho. Shimazuumi dropped out of Haru early with injury while Kitanowaka’s terrible performance hinted at an underlying injury. So in both cases, I suspect those injuries were aggravated or had not quite healed well enough to make the first day of action. Given the late kyujo, though, I will keep my eye out for them to show up eventually. Both will be in danger of demotion with full-tournament kyujo, or even significant make-koshi.

Highlights

Tsurugisho (1-1) defeated Tomokaze (0-2). Tsurugisho reversed immediately and tried to pull Tomokaze down. Tomokaze kept coming forward, though, so Tsurugisho had to slip to the side and with impressive strength from his left arm, threw Tomokaze down for the win. Sukuinage.

Takarafuji (2-0) defeated Tokihayate (0-2). Before the tachiai it was interesting to see the size disparity. Takarafuji took full advantage. He wrapped up Tokihayate at the tachiai, drove him backwards and out. Yorikiri.

Tsurugisho will face Tokihayate tomorrow. Tokihayate will get a chance to leverage his mobility and pick up that all-important first win.

Oshoma (2-0) defeated Roga (1-1). A startling tachiai here that may have stunned Roga even more than the assembled crowd. Everyone reacted with an “Oh.” Oshoma had shifted slightly to the right, possibly lessening the blow, and easily walked Roga out. Okuridashi.

Presuming Roga knows what day it is, he will face Takarafuji tomorrow. Oshoma will take on Tomokaze.

Ryuden (2-0) defeated Mitoryu (0-2). Ryuden really likes that deep grip but Mitoryu was wary. Mitoryu batted his hand away and circled backwards. Frustrated, Ryuden attacked in “oshi” mode, head down and driving Mitoryu further back. As Mitoryu reached the edge, Ryuden’s forward pressure forced him upwards, granting Ryuden access to the front of his belt which he then leveraged to heave Mitoryu out. Yorikiri.

Churanoumi (1-1) defeated Nishikifuji (1-1). As Nishikifuji charged forward, Churanoumi swung him around and shoved him to the edge. Nishikifuji used a last-ditch attempt to topple Churanoumi at the edge but Churanoumi kept his footing and kept up the pressure, forcing Nishikfuji to step out. Oshidashi.

Mitoryu will face Churanoumi in search of his first win. Ryuden will take on Nishikifuji.

Ichiyamamoto (1-1) defeated Sadanoumi (0-2). Ichiyamamoto plowed forward but kept his balance when Sadanoumi shifted direction, and he also avoided the slapdown attempts. He squared up to Sadanoumi who was at the edge and hit him with two powerful shoves to finish him off. Oshidashi.

Kinbozan (2-0) defeated Hokutofuji (1-1). Hokutofuji’s slapdown attempt was read beautifully. Kinbozan just secured him in front and walked him out. Hokutofuji needed to hit him with some tsuppari or some misdirection or something, really anything but that pull. Yorikiri.

Sadanoumi will try to turn things around against Hokutofuji while Kinbozan and Ichiyamamoto will face off in an interesting style contest.

Shonannoumi (2-0) defeated Tamawashi (1-1). Just as Tamawashi got his head down and those legs churning forward, Shonannoumi slipped to the side and slapped him down. Hatakikomi.

Shodai (1-1) defeated Kotoshoho (0-2). Kotoshoho’s strategy today was “run away.” Shodai punished him for this cowardice by chasing him around the ring and throwing him out. Oshidashi.

Shodai will face Tamawashi while Shonannoumi will face Kotoshoho.

Nishikigi (1-1) defeated Takanosho (0-2). Nishikigi locked up Takanosho’s right arm in retaliation for an early nodowa. He then used backed around the ring, dragging Takanosho with him and slung him out into the crowd. Amiuchi.

Halftime. Shimpan shuffle. I wonder when we will see Kakuryu.

Mitakeumi (2-0) defeated Midorifuji (1-1). Wow, Midorifuji was 100% determined to drive Mitakeumi out. He got the former Ozeki to the edge and kept churning his legs forward. Mitakeumi tried to drive Midorifuji backwards but when that failed to yield breathing room, he slipped to the side and shoved Midorifuji down. Kotenage.

Mitakeumi will face Nishikigi and Midorifuji will fight Takanosho.

Onosho (1-1) defeated Oho (0-2). Oho resisted Onosho’s forward pressure to start the bout and actually worked Onosho backward a bit. However, rather than keep pressing forward, he tried a pull. Onosho adapted well and kept Oho in front of him and drove him out of the ring. Yorikiri.

Ura (2-0) defeated Meisei (1-1). Solid tachiai. As the two locked horns in the center of the ring, Ura slipped to the side and then quickly pounced as Meisei tried to keep his balance, driving Meisei down. Oshitaoshi.

Onosho will fight Ura and Oho will fight Meisei on Day Three.

Sanyaku. Do we really want to watch?

Takayasu (2-0) defeated Onosato (1-1). Some great initial charges today. Onosato tried to retreat but Takayasu stayed with him. As Onosato hit the bales, he stumbled back into the middle of the ring. Oshidashi.

Wakamotoharu (1-1) defeated Tobizaru (1-1). Another retreat gone awry. Tobizaru pulled and tried to twist at the bales but Wakamotoharu bulled him out before landing in the crowd, himself. Oshitaoshi.

Tobizaru will face Onosato tomorrow in a very compelling first-time meeting.

Abi (1-1) defeated Hoshoryu (0-2). Abi obliterated Hoshoryu. Hoshoryu seemed like he was attempting a pull but Abi had it timed perfectly and bum-rushed Hoshoryu out. It’s not looking good for the Ozeki-tachi. Oshidashi.

Abi will face Takayasu in an even, 5-5 rivalry. I’m willing to bet this bout will not be decided on the belt.

Kirishima (1-1) defeated Hiradoumi (1-1). Kirishima freaked me out by retreating at the start of the bout. Hiradoumi nearly drove him out. But then Kirishima switched and pressed forward. He then laid into Hiradoumi with powerful tsuppari and Hiradoumi backed out. I thought I saw Hiradoumi adjusting his jaw after the bout. Oshidashi.

Gonoyama (2-0) default win over Takakeisho (0-2-?)

Daieisho (2-0) default win over Terunofuji (0-2-13?)

Kotozakura (1-1) defeated Atamifuji (1-1). Just before the bout, the NHK broadcast showed the results from the previous bouts between these two, with the kimarite. That presented an interesting story which actually played out in the bout. Kotozakura had beaten Atamifuji three times: hikiotoshi, katasukashi, and hatakikomi. These are all slapdown/pulldown techniques. Today, Atamifuji went in hard at the tachiai and Kotozakura yanked him down at once. Katasukashi.

Gonoyama will face Wakamotoharu. Kotozakura will take on Hiradoumi for the first time. Hoshoryu will try to pick up a win against Daieisho. And Kirishima will face Atamifuji.

Wrap-up

Well, from that last bout we can see that Atamifuji needs to work on his balance. He needs to avoid being caught out ahead of his feet. Kotozakura will not be the only one who will be happy to slap him down. Kirishima and Kotozakura have put an end to the Ozeki slide, but can they start picking up white stars, daily? They need to right this ship and start dominating. I really hope Kirishima was paying attention today. He hasn’t wanted to move forward lately and Atamifuji is a good candidate for a pulldown.

Natsu 2024 Day One Highlights

Andy Atamifuji (熱海富士), Daieisho (大栄翔), Natsu 2024, Natsu Basho

Happy Mothers’ Day to all of the SuJo Mothers out there.

No Juryo visitors today because Asanoyama is joining Takerufuji sitting at home. Hopefully, both men are resting those legs properly and will be able to rejoin us in July. Until then, we have a yusho that’s up for grabs and a host of guys in sanyaku ready to fight for it. It’s a busy day today, so, let’s get to the action.

Highlights

Takarafuji defeated Tsurugisho. Oof, Tsurugisho’s first tachiai of the tournament and he already looks to be in too much pain to back out. Takarafuji gingerly ushered him back for the quick yorikiri win.

Roga defeated Tomokaze. Tomokaze moved forward well and drove Roga to the edge. However, Roga shifted back inside and dumped Tomokaze in a heap. Uwatenage.

Oshoma defeated Tokihayate. Solid tachiai. Oshoma yanked hard on Tokihayate, pivoting to the side. Tokihayate stayed upright but he was now fighting right at the edge. No real estate to do anything and Oshoma pressed him hard so he was standing far too high to counter. Yorikiri.

Ryuden defeated Churanoumi. Ryuden got that right hand deep down Churanoumi’s back and walked him out. Yorikiri.

Nishikifuji defeated Mitoryu. Mitoryu didn’t seem to have a great plan. Nishikifuji hit him hard at the tachiai and it looked like Mitoryu wanted to pivot and try to slip out of the way. Instead, he got caught off balance and pushed forward by Nishikifuji. Oshitaoshi.

Hokutofuji defeated Ichiyamamoto. Hokutofuji attacked Ichiyamamoto as if he had been preparing for this day since March. Calm, collected, dominant. He charged forward at the tachiai and blasted Ichiyamamoto back and over the edge. Oshidashi.

Kinbozan defeated Sadanoumi. Solid tachiai. Kinbozan gunned straight for Sadanoumi’s head and Sadanoumi swatted Kinbozan’s arm away. But he didn’t follow up with a counter-attack quick enough. Kinbozan thrust forward and shoved Sadanoumi into the spectators. Oshidashi.

Shonannoumi defeated Shodai. Shodai backed away, trying to force Shonannoumi down but Shonannoumi turned the tables and drove Shodai to the ground. Hatakikomi.

Tamawashi defeated Kotoshoho. If anyone forgot why Tamawashi is still around and how he won two yusho, they were reminded of it today. He gave Kotoshoho no quarter. That fierce oshi game is hard to stop. Oshidashi.

Mitakeumi defeated Takanosho. Takanosho seemed to want to bait Mitakeumi into driving forward too hard. Instead, Mitakeumi pulled, Takanosho’s momentum carrying him into the middle of the ring. Takanosho tried his own slapdown but was rewarded with Mitakeumi thrusting his left arm into his face. Takanosho probably could have escaped but thought he was done and tapped out rather lamely. Oshidashi.

Halftime

Midorifuji defeated Nishikigi. Midorifuji drove Nishikigi to the edge after the tachiai. Although Nishikigi wrapped up both of Midorifuji’s arms, he could not generate any forward progress. Maybe he was hyper-vigilant for the katasukashi and didn’t want to eat clay? That is not a good sign for this basho, much less this particular bout with a much smaller opponent. Anyway, Midorifuji wriggled his arm out and drove Nishikigi over the bales. Yorikiri.

Meisei defeated Onosho. Onosho drove forward into Meisei, facing a torrent of tsuppari and thrust-down attempts. As he tried to slip inside and grab hold of Meisei’s mawashi, Meisei kicked his offense into overdrive and pulled Onosho down. Katasukashi.

Ura defeated Oho. One imagines Ura practices sumo by carrying massive bales of rice around the dohyo. He’ll hoist them onto his back, stagger around the keiko-ba, and then yeet said bale into the wall. Oho was yeeted thusly. Yorikiri.

Sanyaku. Let the bloodbath commence.

Tobizaru defeated Abi. “Abi move forward. Abi not stop. Abi fall forward.” Hikiotoshi.

Takayasu defeated Wakamotoharu. Did Takayasu have this blue mawashi last tournament? I think Raja mentioned liking this shade of blue on him but I may be mixing up my bouts. Regardless, I like this blue mawashi especially if it gives Takayasu superpowers. After a great back-and-forth, Takayasu decided he’d had enough and attempted to pry Wakamotoharu’s head from his shoulders. Wakamotoharu preserved the position of his melon by stepping out. Oshidashi.

Gonoyama defeated Kirishima. There’s nothing to say here. Kirishima went straight back and started looking for places to land. This may be an early indication of a similar performance to Osaka, which means we will have three Ozeki in Nagoya. If that’s the case, he should have been kyujo weeks ago, preparing to barnstorm Nagoya for 10 wins. That’s the example set by Takakeisho upon his initial Ozeki promotion and kyujo. The current trajectory seems to be the rapid orbital decay we saw with Covid-addled Mitakeumi. Let’s hope this was a one off and he can pull things together. Oshidashi.

Hiradoumi defeated Takakeisho. Raja said that Hiradoumi* likes to be in front of the shikirisen at the tachiai. His feet made it there and he laid into Takakeisho as if T-Rex had stolen all the purple Skittles. Such abuse of your superiors should not be tolerated but Takakeisho landed in a heap off the dohyo. Oshidashi. *Thank you for the correction, kukufuji.

Daieisho defeated Kotozakura. Daieisho just stayed on his feet this bout. That’s half of the battle. The other half is getting forward momentum. As he drove Kotozakura out, sumo fans around the world started to freak out about the state of their Ozeki cohort. Oshidashi.

Atamifuji defeated Hoshoryu. Atamifuji locked on with a left-hand outside at the word “jump.” From there, Hoshoryu did his best to pry himself away from Atamifuji’s right. But Atamifuji stayed with him and kept coming back with that right hand under Hoshoryu’s shoulder. Then at the edge, Hoshoryu tried to slip away one more time but spun himself down to the ground. Code Blue. Code Blue. We have a code Blue. Uwatenage.

Onosato defeated Terunofuji. Terunofuji tried to hoist Onosato and yank him over his shoulder. But Onosato is a big boi and not some zambara-wearing rookie now. Onosato pressed forward and let Terunofuji fall to the ground. Sukuinage.

Wrap-up.

To all of the Mothers out there, I hope you had chaos top of your list today because that’s what you got. Who knows where this yusho will go? The good thing is that we have such a huge crop of exciting youngsters…and apparently Takayasu and Tamawashi…rip-roaring and raring to go. The bad news is once they get somewhere, they get broke.

Natsu 2024: Shonichi Preview

Andy Natsu 2024, Natsu Basho

The Japan Sumo Association released the torikumi-hyo (bout list) for shonichi (Day One), and with it the names of kyujo sekitori. Takerufuji and Asanoyama are injured and will not compete from Day One. Though we do not anticipate either man participating in this tournament, we will keep our eyes and ears open for any news. Takerufuji will need a few wins (likely 2 or 3) to be safe from demotion to Juryo in July.

Coming into March, we were anticipating strong performances from our top guys, particularly Terunofuji and Kirishima. That got flipped on its head during the tournament as the Yokozuna left early from injury after picking up a string of losses, and Kirishima struggled to find wins. The fact that Kirishima showed up each day meant that he was able to attend Senshuraku activities and participate in the danpatsushiki of his long-time tsukebito, Yuki. We are eager to see if he can turn his fortunes around at Kakuryu’s Otowayama-beya.

So, coming into April, the story is completely different. And that means the bout list itself is chock-full of interesting match-ups. These early bouts carry a bit more weight than one would anticipate, leading up to an absolute banger: Terunofuji vs Onosato in the musubi-no-ichiban. While that is certainly the biggest bout tomorrow, the entire slate has promise. Before Terunofuji’s bout we will have Hoshoryu against Atamifuji, Kotozakura and debuts his new shikona against Daieisho. Takakeisho will face Hiradoumi and Kirishima will take on Gonoyama in a pair of bouts where the Ozeki should be heavy favorites to win. Should. Emphasis added there.

I will be watching the Wakamotoharu/Takayasu bout with keen interest and Tobizaru facing Abi should be a highlight, even if it shouldn’t feature into the yusho race. Now, outside of the sanyaku, Oho will take on Ura, Onosho takes on Meisei and Nishikigi will start his tournament against Midorifuji. The full bout list is here but I have a particular feeling about Ichiyamamoto and Hokutofuji. I think the two of them could light it up this basho.

New Ad-free Streaming Sumo Option for Natsu

Andy Japanese Language, Japanese Society, Television ,

Jme.TV (pronounced Jay-mee), the exclusive North American streaming provider of NHK content, will offer a fourth channel exclusively for sumo content just in time for the May tournament. Two hours of live sumo will be available via the NHK World Premium channel and repeats of that sumo action (with English audio) will be streamed four times daily on the new channel. The service is described the image to the right. Tachiai welcomes this development from NHK Cosmomedia and their NHK parent company, unreservedly.

In the past, JapanTV was the only legitimate source of live sumo coverage in North America. That service required a cable subscription. In my experience, if you wanted TV in High Definition, that required extra bundles beyond the basic cable. Ultimately, I would be left subsiziding 500 channels I’d never watch just for one show or one channel.

JME was launched this year to replace the old JapanTV option with a streaming capability, direct to consumers at $25/mo. This effectively shutdown JapanTV at the beginning of April 2024. I don’t use Roku or Amazon Fire and I don’t watch via apps on my phone but those options are available. I have heard some users have complained about the fact that the new service is streamed and is not their usual cable package. To those who complain, I ask how many of their three remote controls do they use? And do they hate it when luddites like myself come over to visit and push the wrong “ON” button on the wrong remote to turn on the TV? (My daughter usually has fix my parents’ cable set up after I destroy it.) All of those remotes and all of those buttons when you probably use five, max.

There are three streaming channels as well as an “on-demand” option for various Japanese television series. Two of the channels are in Japanese and the third is the “NHK World” service that we were most familiar with. Jme Select is NHK content shifted for North American timezones. NHK Premium is Japanese with some programming (including live sumo) having English audio available. NHK World is…well..NHK World, the NHK’s English language channel. Until recently that had been available via broadcast in the MHZ networks. The new, sumo only channel is a welcome development!

For cord-cutters like myself, this has been quite the encouraging development, especially since the content is AD-FREE. We will continue to advocate for more sumo coverage. That case will be made easier with rapid uptake of the new streaming service. Let’s face it, if they see impressive viewer numbers on the exclusive sumo channel it’s my hope that they expand viewership to Juryo and the lower divisions and maybe even “off-season” special events, like retirement ceremonies and Jungyo.

I encourage viewers to comment here with their unfiltered reviews of the service. I started watching on senshuraku in March. Senshuraku offers 2.5 hours of live coverage which is a bit more than the 2 hours of day-to-day coverage. That is enough to watch makuuchi, no VPN or illicit stream needed. I’ve been a casual viewer of the service in the off-season, mostly of the news. But I have definitely found a few Japanese dramas and comedies to watch as I try to improve my own language skills. There have been a few bugs and glitches, generally quickly resolved. Earlier this week, the schedule for one of the channels was unavailable in the usual location but that was fixed. What has been your experience so far?