Darwin-Day in Tokyo with several “Darwin Bouts” in store. Sekitori with 7 wins and on the cusp of kachi-koshi are pitted against each other for that pivotal winning record. “But, Andy, a 7-8 record is sometimes good enough to keep your rank. Why does it matter?” Along with their rank-based salary (and the potential for kensho-kin in makuuchi) there is a financial bonus paid to wrestlers based on several factors and the number of kachi-koshi tournaments is one of those factors. So, it literally pays to go “kachi-koshi.”
Before we get to Makuuchi, though, let’s take a look at Juryo action and learn who might be coming up. Takerufuji was all over Tokihayate from the tachiai. He locked on with a left-hand uwate and pressed forward, sending Tokihayate off the edge under the green tassel.
This win, combined with the outcomes in Makuuchi, will make Guess the banzuke very interesting. Chiyoshoma and Tokihayate are likely in. We’ll find out more today regarding Shishi. Did Takerufuji do enough to go up? I think so. What about Asakoryu?
I’m glad Hakuoho finished with a kachi-koshi, he’ll move closer to that border but I’m not sure that’s what he needs at the moment. Maybe he will have room to go kyujo in November? Onosho should be able to stay but Asanoyama will drop. Speaking of “The Drop,” Aoiyama will join Myogiryu heading for Makushita. Thoughts of retirement will weigh heavily on their minds.
Speaking of ex-Miyagino-beya, we receive our bi-monthly reminder that Miyagino-oyakata exists as he shows us who receives special prizes. Otowayama has shimpan duties now, so Miyagino is alone. I am sad. As for the prizes, none are conditional on todays’ bouts.
Wakatakakage won his first Outstanding Performance Prize (殊勲賞 – Shukunsho).
Onosato (3rd) and Nishikigi (1st) won the Fighting Spirit Prize (敢闘賞 – Kantosho).
Onosato won his third Technique Prize (技能賞 – Ginosho).
We’ve got the NHK links: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I and Part II.
Makuuchi Action
Shishi (Juryo 9-6) defeated Kinbozan (4-11). Kinbozan nearly threw Shishi at the edge but Shishi resisted well and maintained forward pressure on Kinbozan to drive him out. Likely exchange bout with Shishi headed up and Kinbozan retooling in Juryo. Yorikiri.
Onokatsu (7-8) defeated Sadanoumi (7-8). Once Onokatsu landed his left-hand overarm grip, he swung Sadanoumi around and really took control of the bout. Sadanoumi tried to improve his own grip but that let Onokatsu get his right hand inside. Once he locked on, he forced Sadanoumi quickly over the edge. With the win, Onokatsu is safe in Makuuchi. Yorikiri.
Kitanowaka (6-9) defeated Roga (8-7). Kitanowaka locked on quickly and pulled hard to throw Roga over the edge. Kitanowaka will be praying for Nishikifuji-style banzuke luck here. Even with the win, he should be going down. Uwatenage.
Ryuden (8-7) defeated Tamawashi (7-8). There was no way Tamawashi was going to let Ryuden anywhere near his belt. True to form, Tamawashi battered Ryuden and Ryuden had to find another way to attack. When Tamawashi launched forward to attack, Ryuden shifted left and slapped him down in the center of the ring. Hatakikomi.
Oshoma (10-5) defeated Bushozan (4-11). Oshoma had a firm left-hand inside and did not let Bushozan get much of an attack going. In fact, Bushozan turned and ran away. Hopefully he finds his sumo again in Juryo. Okuridashi.
Nishikifuji (8-7) defeated Ichiyamamoto (7-8). Solid oshi from Nishikifuji. Not sure if Ichiyamamoto was awake, yet. Tsukidashi.
Hokutofuji (8-5-2) defeated Midorifuji (7-8). Midorifuji kept testing Hokutofuji’s shoulder throughout the match but Hokutofuji pressed forward, hard into Midorifuji. Midorifuji may have tried a quick pull for a slapdown but Hokutofuji accelerated toward the bales and Midorifuji’s knee buckled and he went to ground. Thankfully he got back up so hopefully he did not injure his knee there. Oshitaoshi.
Takarafuji (10-5) defeated Endo (8-7). Takarafuji pressed Endo back to the bales and over the edge. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (10-5) defeated Nishikigi (11-4). Churanoumi got a quick left-hand uwate, shifted left and swung Nishikigi around. He then pounced on Nishikigi at the edge and pressed him out. Oshidashi.
Wakatakakage (12-3) defeated Takayasu (10-5). Wakatakakage simply overpowered Takayasu and drove him from the ring. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Kagayaki (3-12) defeated Gonoyama (6-9). Gonoyama stepped out as he pulled backwards. Oshidashi.
Wakamotoharu (11-4) defeated Ura (9-6). Wakamotoharu kept Ura in front of him and blasted him from the ring with powerful tsuppari. Oshidashi.
Oho (9-6) defeated Shodai (10-5). Hidari-yotsu. Oho pressed forward and good things happened. He drove Shodai to the edge and when Shodai twisted to throw Oho forward, Oho slid his right foot to the other side of Shodai, in effect putting Shodai between him and the floor. As he fell forward, he crushed Shodai out of the ring. Yoritaoshi.
Atamifuji (7-8) defeated Shonannoumi (3-12). Atamifuji used his left-hand overarm grip to drive Shonannoumi to the edge. Shonannoumi twisted and pitched forward to try to throw Atamifuji but Atamifuji forced Shonannoumi out. Gunbai Atamifuji. Mono-ii. Atamifuji’s toes were over the tawara, perilously close to touching. Video review showed it was close but did not touch. The judges confirmed the gyoji’s call and Atamifuji let out a visible sigh of relief. Yorikiri.
Meisei (5-10) defeated Tobizaru (5-10). Meisei prepped Tobizaru for take-off. Tobizaru pulled and Meisei sent him flying into the fans below. Oshidashi.
Kotoshoho (7-8) defeated Takanosho (4-11). Kotoshoho shifted to the side and threw Takanosho forward. Tsukiotoshi.
Sanyaku
Hiradoumi (7-8) defeated Mitakeumi (4-11). Migi-yotsu. Mitakeumi does not move forward anymore so Hiradoumi walked him back to the edge. Mitakeumi tried to resist and shift but Hiradoumi was too powerful and drove him over the tawara.
Kore-Yori-Sanyaku (I always loved this. Final six guys, synchronized shiko, evil spirits vanquished.)
Kirishima (12-3) defeated Daieisho (8-7) and was awarded the arrows. Daieisho pulled and Kirishima drove him out. Tsukidashi.
Abi (4-10) defeated Onosato (13-2). Abi-zumo took out Onosato on his big day. Because of course he would. Firm tachiai, tsuppari to the face, quick shift left and “Timber!” Hikiotoshi.
Hoshoryu (8-7) defeated Kotozakura (8-7). Shonosuke’s final bout so it’s an extra special occasion, the fans rejoice and send him into retirement with flowers and banners. As for the bout, Hoshoryu was on the attack from the tachiai. Migi-yotsu. He tried a trip but Kotozakura kept his balance. So, Hoshoryu pounced again and drove Kotozakura out. Oshidashi.
Wrap-up
Onosato Yusho plus more hardware in the form of two special prizes. We will bring you more in the coming days as we get official news on Onosato’s promotion to Ozeki. The era of Shikimori Inosuke has begun.
It is sad to see Takakeisho go but he will remain on staff as Minatogawa-oyakata and will likely inherit Tokiwayama-beya in a little over a year. It will be interesting to see him develop as a coach, especially starting so young. He’s not even 30 yet.
But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. There is still so much coming up before Kyushu. There might be a few more retirements in the coming days. We will be reporting on Shin-Juryo announcements this week and a likely official opening of Kotoshogiku’s Hidenoyama beya with his first four deshi, and next week the Jungyo will start winding its way to Kyushu! The jugyo is back in full swing with 25 tour dates. Then, the banzuke will finally come out on October 28. So much in store!
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Two Ozekis barely escaped kadoban with 8-7,
Two young guns, who will replace them soon, all got yushos.
this may be another case of Wacky Basho.
That sight of relief by Atamifuji, when they announced that his toe didn’t touch ground …
Today was the day that reminded us, why conditional prices aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Nishikigi wasn’t even in the building let alone on the dohyo for his fight and Onosato dropped his bout in about 1second to the most standard Abi–zumo one could imagine. Only Wakatakakage performed, although that was helped by a Takayasu pull attempt who then failed to find the brakes again.
Today was also the day when rikishi tried to give banzuke guessers the most difficult job. Everyone safe Nishikifuji, who could go down, lost and everyone in Juryo with even the tiniest chances to go up won. Also all 3 exchange bouts were won by Makushita.
I’m really happy about Kirishima this basho. He is technically on a Ozeki run in November now, but will likely need 13 wins. I’m also super happy with Oho. I think he didn’t pull once this basho and went 9–6 at his highest rank ever, beating two Ozeki and two Sekiwake on his way. I’m pretty sure he will make his Sanyaku debut next basho, but the Komusubi west and the first 3 Makuuchi ranks could go in various orders.
I’m also pretty happy with Onokatsu. He started 2–5 then 4–8 and matched to win out for just a minimal makekoshi. Yes, he was often too passive and didn’t always look best prepared, but he turned things around from Nakabi on.
Hoshoryu just loses way too many bouts he shouldn’t. Someone like Kotozakura with no tachiai whatsoever was the perfect opponent to secure his kachikoshi. It will be interesting to see if now, that there are no expectations on him anymore, he will be able to compete for the Yusho again. His records over the last year weren’t that bad, but he also wasn’t really in contention for the Yusho either.
I’m pretty sure we will have 5 promotions to Makuuchi. Kagayaki, Bushozan and Kinbozan all did their best to make room (Kagayaki actually winning his last 2 bouts should be too little too late). Takakeisho intai was early enough and Shirokuma goes down for sure. I guess the coin toss will be between Bushozan and Kitanowaka. They could correct the Nishikifuji incident by bringing up 8–7 Hakuoho and sending all 6 down.
I guess the promotion order will be Chixoshoma, Tokihayate and Shishi followed by Takerufuji and Asakoryu and light years behind that Hakuoho. If we don’t see Takerufuji back in Makuuchi next basho, then I don’t know …
Not the most exciting sumo of all time, but a lot of interesting stories to follow. Quite enjoyed this basho.
I am not bullish on a Kirishima Ozeki run in November. Even if he manages 13 wins, I don’t think he will be promoted.
I do wonder where Oho was in the Special prize conversation. As you said, wins over two Ozeki and two Sekiwake. The Ozeki were passing out wins like Halloween candy, though.
I’m calling Kagayaki as Makujiri. He has received extraordinary banzuke luck in the past. I would not be surprised if Bushozan survives.
A new era begins in Kyushu.
It seems pretty clear to me that he is technically on an Ozeki run and I also think that a 13 win Yusho would be sufficient, but for practical purposes those 12 wins make for a very good first leg for a new attempt at Ozeki. To make that clear, I would be positively surprised, if he gets to 12 or even 13, but the opportunity is there and this basho we saw Ozeki Kirishima again. I hope whatever held him back is a thing of the past.
As for Oho, I think he flew under the radar all basho after starting 1–3 and then lost to Wakamotoharu in a good fight and Nishikigi in a complete failure right before the nominations. One win more and I could see myself considering him;–)
Tbh, I wouldn’t have given Wakatakakage the price unconditional, but there was simply a lack of worthy performances. Most of the double digit performers were veterans. It’s a bit hard for me to understand though, how under those conditions Nishikigi gets the price unconditional and Wakamotoharu gets none. Both veterans, former Sanyaku same record, but one fighting the bottom of Makuuchi and the other the full Sanyaku schedule.
“Hoshoryu loses bouts he shouldn’t” is close to becoming a running gag. Perhaps he’s in fact losing exactly as many bouts as he should and he’s simply one of the enigmatic wrestlers where it’s particularly difficult to say which specific bouts they will be?
You can of course judge his skills however you want, but as an Ozeki and even more by his own ambitions he shouldn’t lose that many bouts to Maegashira. This tournament he managed to gift wins to Takanosho and Tobizaru, who had terrible tournaments and Atamifuji didn’t have a great tournament either. That Onosato threw his bout with Abi auswellt, might console him a bit, but Abi didn’t have a good basho either. The rank of an Ozeki comes certain expectations.
Hoshoryu is also very exciting to watch for me. His uwatenage is currently second to none. He obviously has other throws in his repertoire as well and he frequently applies or at least tries for leg techniques, which is rather rare. On the belt he is strong as well. But he also loses a lot of bouts at the tachiai atm.
He averages over 9.5wins as an Ozeki and has no makekoshi in 7 basho. The last Ozeki to manage that were probably Kisenosato and Kakuryu. Terunofuji never had 7 straight kachikoshi, neither Goeido or Giku and certainly no other Ozeki in the post Hakuho era. His last makekoshi was in November 21. I don’t know if enigmatic is the right term.
Anyways, I’m not particularly a fan, more of an observer.
With 66 wins in the seven basho since his promotion to Ozeki, Hoshoryu is in sixth place of the 23 rikishi who reached the rank in this century.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this basho, learned loads (thanks to all here for insights and information imparted), am relieved Hoshoryu won today, sorry Onosato lost today (to Abi?! sumo eh?!) and pleased that Wakatakage won a Special Prize.
Looking forward to November already.
Glad my man Hoshoryu pulled off a kachi koshi.
Actually my favorite move today was Kayo’s remarkably nimble flying henka down in Juryo. He floated up like a bubble.
Is there any news of when Hakuho/Miyagino will be off probation and get his heya back?
Congratulations to Onosato, even if Abi clouded your big day a bit.
Interesting times! Thanks so much for your coverage, Andy and all of Team Tachiai!
I have heard that the reopening of Miyagino beya would be by July but that is unconfirmed speculation. Isegahama retires then. Succession plans for the heya will need to be in place. That might involve Terunofuji and possible retirement and trading of kabu so he could inherit the heya. Then Terunofuji would be a rookie master in charge of Hakuho, a veteran master… which would be weird as all hell.
Time for a stupid question from me.
Is there a limit to the number in each Sanyaku rank? I have searched on this however I get conflicting information.
Also, as a Hoshoryu fan, but a relative newbie to sumo, Savaros, what did you mean when you wrote (above); “It will be interesting to see if now, that there are no expectations on him anymore, he will be able to compete for the Yusho again. His records over the last year weren’t that bad, but he also wasn’t really in contention for the Yusho either.”
Why and by whom were expectations being put upon Hoshoryu, and why have they now gone?
Thanks
Not a stupid question. The number of wrestlers in Makuuchi is 42. So I guess that’s a firm upper limit. As far as Komusubi and Sekiwake, they like to have 2. Occasionally there are circumstances where there will be more but I’ve never seen there be less. On rare occasions there has been one Ozeki but then a serving Yokozuna becomes the second Ozeki. I guess right before the apocalypse they might promote everyone to Yokozuna? But that would be ridiculous. So the real answer is there are two Komusubi and Sekiwake unless there’s a special case for a third or fourth. As far as Ozeki, there must be two in order to have a hon-basho. There can definitely be more. So far the max has been 6 for very brief periods. Ozeki are expected to perform at a high level and win. In this (approximately) zero-sum sport, you can’t have everyone with winning, promotable records. So while there’s not been a stated maximum anywhere that I have seen, in practical terms we are probably looking at like 16.
That said, promotion is a subjective thing. If there are 4 Yokozuna and 6 Ozeki, and some does blisteringly well, the powers that be might think, “We have too many, so we don’t want to promote anyone else until someone retires.”
There is no limit to the number of ozeki and yokozuna, but promotion standards do seem to shift a bit depending on whether there are “enough”– two ozeki and one yokozuna firing on all pistons seems like the minimum satisfactory complement.
There is also no rule limiting the number of komusubi and sekiwake but two of each is the normal amount and only under exceptional circumstances will there be more. The “bad” way is if both sekiwake get kachi-koshi and an ozeki is demoted — there will be more than two sekiwake on the next banzuke. The “good” way to force extra slots is if the two standard sekiwake slots are accounted for and a komusubi gets 11-4 or better — that komusubi gets a promotion. Likewise, if there’s a traffic jam stalling all of sanyaku and an M1 gets 10-5 or better then that wrestler gets a supernumerary komusubi slot.
These rules aren’t written down anywhere — they just seem to be how things have worked since around 2007 or so. (Aminishiki earned promotion to K2e with an 11-4 at M3 at Aki 2006 even though there were maegashira ranks to which he could have been promoted; by my less-than-perfectly-thorough searches on sumodb that seems to have been the last time the above rules were not followed.)
I can’t speak for what Savaros meant, and people who have watched sumo longer could answer this part better, but no one else has, so I’ll give it a try. In terms of expectations being put on Hoshoryu – for a long time he was often just referred to by some fans as “Nephew”. His uncle is Asashoryu, who was a very dominant Yokozuna, before my time, but overlapping with early Hakuho. Asashoryu was/is a super-skillful, rowdy, brash, not at all polite or demure Mongolian. He won 25 yusho but was kicked out of Grand Sumo for injuring someone in a drunken fight outside a bar, having previously had suspensions or disqualifications for other reasons. His reputation may have affected how other Mongolians were perceived in sumo afterwards – like Hakuho’s behavior always being scrutinized.
Anyway, when Hoshoryu entered sumo, everyone was looking at him as Asashoryu’s nephew. Is he going to become a super skillful Yokozuna? Is he going to be an arrogant jerk who starts brawls? And then every time he made a mistake or lost a match, his uncle would criticize him very publicly on social media. Lots of stress.
And then as there was a lack of healthy Yokozuna, there’s the question of who could quickly rise to Yokozuna and fill that gap, which could add more stress. I remember when Asanoyama made Ozeki and was talked about as the next Yokozuna – he lost his “happy rikishi” look and seemed doubtful and stressed, which might have led to his misjudgment at breaking COVID curfew and getting suspended/demoted. A lot of mental pressure at Ozeki level.
Hoshoryu is the nephew of Asashoryu. One of the greatest Yokozuna of all time by record (not so much by behaviour). He entered sumo at the age of 18 (together with Oho, grandson of Taiho, the greatest Japanese Yokozuna ever). By the age of 21 he had made it to Makeuchi with only two makekoshi on his way. 9 tournaments later he made his Sanyaku debut and he didn’t have a makekoshi since. He had his first (and only Yusho) in Nagoya last year and got promoted to Ozeki for the Aki tournament.
We currently live in a pretty long transition period since the Hakuho era. There has not been a consistent Ozeki since Kisenosato has been promoted to Yokozuna in early 2017. Either they peaked just shortly, got suspended or had their Ozeki careers prematurely terminated by injuries.
Terunofuji our lone Yokozuna since Hakuho‘s retirement, is sitting out more basho than he is participating and with all his health issues was never meant to be the new era.
For the last 5 years people are waiting for someone to take over the reigns from Hakuho and with his background, his steady rise and the absence of any serious injury, a lot of people (including Hoshoryu himself) have expected Hoshoryu to be that one.
Over the past 3 years or so Hoshoryu has been by far the most consistent Sanyaku rikishi and obviously he has the best track record as an Ozeki since Kisenosato, but he has plateaued a bit. He never reached more than 12 wins and in fact hasn’t even been able to repeat the 12 wins from his Yusho since. His record is Ozeki worthy, but most basho he dropped out of Yusho contention in week 1. so far he has failed to make the next step and failed to deliver to the expectations that many here on tachiai had/have for him.
And now Onosato stepped into the spotlight and if he is fully healthy again, Takerufuji is very likely to follow. Both Japanese rikishi after about two decades of Mongolian dominance.
Hoshoryu’s expectations may not have changed, but the public expectations have shifted (at least outside of Mongolia and his uncle).
The only thing I would add is that in the last 4 tournaments, Hoshoryu has basically fallen out of the yusho race on Day 1, meaning he has lost on Day 1 in each of the last four tournaments.
Thanks Andy ! Appreciate you taking time to reply. 🙂
Just watched the Onosato interview and it was more to the point than typical rikishi interview. Definitely he is more intelligent than his face expression would suggest.
By the way, looking from far abroad it always caught my attention that for a society that is such systemed and stripped of any manifestations of individuality, most rikishi interview questions are about feelings. I can’t imagine asking such questions (are you happy?, are your parents with you? etc.), e.g. to champions league winners. Sumo wrestlers are really treated like children.
It’s not a matter of treating them like children imo, but Japanese celeb and sports interviews tend to be very safe/wholesome, so topics are limited to the strictly non-controversial most of the time.
Two questions:
Could they promote Wakamotoharu (11-4 at M3) to Sekiwake over Daiesho (8-7 at K)?
Who will get the other Komusubi spot: Wakatakakage (12-3 at M7) or Shodai (10-5 at M4) or Oho (9-6 at M2)?
Thank you both for your great replies! I really appreciate it 😀
I have to admit that I shed a tear for the departure of Kimura Shonosuke when I saw his dignified exit from the dohyo today. Not that he was a great gyoji, but it brought back all sorts of complex memories from my own retirement (from IT, not sumo!)
I raise my glass of Senshuraku sparkling wine to the happy winners and lucky losers of this tournament. Thanks to everyone writing and answering questions! Andy, so many thanks for reporting -and including the tassels! Don‘t forget to reset the scandal counter ;)
Move of the day: Tamawashi nearly standing on his hands. ‚No dirt on me!‘
Oh, shoot! You’re right! I gotta do that when I get home. I’ll actually set an alarm on my phone right now.
I‘m flabbergasted by Hiradoumi’s makekochi.
After day 10 he was 6 to 4, looked very strong and, most important, had fought all the Sanyaku already. But then he lost four in a row against rank and filers. What a pity! I would have liked him to become a mainstay in the named ranks.
Yeah, just when it looked like he had made it.. Maybe he made the same error
I will have my usual early look at the next banzuke up later today, but for now I will just say that there are more than the usual question marks at pretty much all key decision boundaries: san’yaku promotions, juryo-makuuchi exchanges, and makushita-juryo exchanges. Some “obvious” demotion candidates in both of the top two divisions will probably get to stay.
Yeah, this one seems really fun. I think there will be a wide variance in the guesses.
just posted!
Oh wow, thank you all so much for the responses re Hoshoryu, that makes sense now. 👏