In maezumo, Hikarumusashi picked up his first win against Akinoyama (安氣乃山). Two powerful shoves and Akinoyama was forced out. Hoshoryu’s cousin Tenrosei had a tougher time with Nishikio but got the job done with a brutal takedown.
Good news from the infirmary as Roga will return to the line-up and face Endo. With an odd number of Makuuchi fighters, Sadanoumi will visit from Juryo and face Tokihayate.
Today’s NHK videos are available here: Juryo Part I and Part II, Makuuchi Part I and Part II.
Makuuchi Action
Tokihayate (3-1) defeated Kagayaki (0-4). Kagayaki charged forward and forced Tokihayate to the edge. At the edge, Tokihayate shifted left along the tawara and pulled Kagayaki to the bales. Tokihayate followed up with some gaburi yotsu to force Kagayaki over the edge. Yorikiri.
Kitanowaka (2-2) defeated Nishikifuji (2-2). A quick shift to the right at the tachiai granted Kitanowaka a deep righthand belt grip. He pivoted and shoved Nishikifuji to the edge. As Nishikifuji spun around to engage, Kitanowaka followed up and forced Nishikifuji over the tawara. Yorikiri.
Kinbozan (4-0) defeated Tamashoho (1-3). Tamashoho double false start put Andy on henka alert…but no henka was coming. He was just jittery as Kinbozan quickly shoved Tamashoho out. Oshidashi.
Shonannoumi (1-3) defeated Hakuoho (3-1). Shonannoumi pressed Hakuoho backward to the edge of the ring and then quickly slapped him down. Huh, Shonannoumi having some success moving forward. Who’d have thunk it? Hatakikomi.
Nishikigi (3-1) defeated Kotoshoho (1-3). Kotoshoho got a quick jump at the tachiai but Nishikigi immediately pulled to his left and Kotoshoho fell forward to his knees. Hikiotoshi.
Onokatsu (2-2) defeated Midorifuji (1-3). A patient Onokatsu held Midorifuji at arm’s length at the beginning of the bout with tsuppari but he could only get Midorifuji to the edge. He moved in to grab a Midorifuji’s mawashi, with a left hand outside grip. He was able to slip his right hand around Midorifuji’s trunk and then charge forward, forcing Midorifuji back and out. Yorikiri.
Tamawashi (4-0) defeated Takerufuji (3-1). Tamawashi blasted Takerufuji backwards and followed up with steady tsuppari. Takerufuji tried a poorly executed pull because Tamawashi pursued quickly and shoved Takerufuji off the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (2-2) defeated Meisei (1-3). Meisei charged forward, mindlessly. Churanoumi slipped to his right and shoved Meisei down. Tsukiotoshi.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…. Come on guys, I could have slept through this. Cut it out with the sloppy sumo.
Oshoma (2-2) defeated Mitakeumi (2-2). Mitakeumi charged forward and reached inside to try to get at Oshoma’s belt with his left hand. Oshoma pulled left and slapped Mitakeumi down at the edge. Hatakikomi.
Ichiyamamoto (2-1) defeated Takarafuji (0-4). Ichiyamamoto defeated Takarafuji. Ichiyamamoto sumo drove Takarafuji back. Takarafuji tried to shift left but seemed to slip and Ichiyamamoto finished him with a shove. Hatakikomi.
Halftime
Chiyoshoma (4-0) defeated Endo (1-3). Who is going to henka? Chiyoshoma false start. No henka. That’s kind of disappointing, actually. I was hoping for that elusive double-henka. Endo charged forward but Chiyoshoma used his left hand to shove Endo’s elbow, forcing Endo left. Chiyoshoma bowled Endo across the dohyo and Endo took out Kandayu as he careened off the dohyo. Strike! Tsukidashi.
Ura (2-2) defeated Takayasu (2-2). Ura woke us up with a nice finishing move to defeat Takayasu. Ura released with his left, twisted and pulled Takayasu down with a tsutaezori.
Gonoyama (3-1) defeated Hiradoumi (1-3). Gonoyama battered Hiradoumi as Hiradoumi tried to keep his hold of Gonoyama’s belt. Oshidashi.
Sanyaku
Wakatakakage (2-2) defeated Atamifuji (0-4). Wakatakakage secured a double-inside grip and tried to drive into Atamifuji. Atamifuji resisted and tried to pitch Wakatakakage to the side. Wakatakakage released with his left hand and pulled Atamifuji down by the shoulder. Katasukashi.
Shodai (1-3) defeated Wakamotoharu (1-3). Shodai pressed forward. (This is new.) Shodai seemed to sense Wakamotoharu was seeking out that stability from the tawara so before they reached the bales he quickly twisted and drove Wakamotoharu to the ground. Tsukiotoshi.
Oho (4-0) defeated Daieisho (3-1). Oh! Oho! That looked like another boring bout as Daieisho chugged his way into Oho and Oho rode his way back to the bales. But at the edge Oho suddenly seized Daieisho’s left arm and yanked him forward. Hikiotoshi.
Abi (3-1) defeated Onosato (2-2). Abi-sumo defeated the Ozeki with one of his quick pulls. Hikiotoshi.
Hoshoryu (4-0) defeated Takanosho (0-4). After a fast-paced brawl, Takanosho charged forward and drove Hoshoryu to the edge. But Hoshoryu twisted to his left and thrust Takanosho out with his left arm under Takanosho’s shoulder. Tsukiotoshi.
Kirishima (1-3) defeated Kotozakura (1-3). The rope run is over. Kirishima used his right-hand inside, left-hand outside grip well. Kotozakura had no effective counter attack as Kirishima drove him back and out. Yorikiri.
Tobizaru (3-1) defeated Terunofuji (2-2). Terunofuji hit Tobizaru hard and drove him to the edge. Tobizaru quickly slipped to the left and reasserted position at the center of the ring. Tobizaru kept up his tsuppari and this prevented Terunofuji from corralling the monkey and enveloping with his usual kimedashi hold. Tobizaru kept up the assault, shoved the Yokozuna hard with his right, forced Terunofuji to his left. Tobizaru then followed and shoved Terunofuji out from behind, and a few cushions fly. Okuridashi.
Wrap-up
On to Day Five! With Daieisho’s slip up today, Hoshoryu is the lone sanyaku wrestler with an undefeated record so far. Oho’s charge continues along with Chiyoshoma, Tamawashi, and Kinbozan as the undefeated rank-and-file.
Kotozakura doesn’t look like he wants a belt. It looks like he wants to join Kirishima, Mitakeumi and Shodai as the next former Ozeki. Onosato also needs to turn things around. Aside from Hoshoryu, this was a terrible day for the top-ranked wrestlers. Well, Kinbozan looked great today. I don’t want to encourage Oho’s tactics from today. I like his forward-moving sumo better. Shodai looked positively brutal. I have no idea where that came from.
Looking at tomorrow’s bouts, I think Terunofuji vs Gonoyama will be decisive regarding Terunofuji’s continued participation in this tournament. If he loses, I think he will sit out. He cringed when he fell off the dohyo today, as if his knees were torturing him. He has not demonstrated the dominant power of the past with his upper-body.
Hoshoryu will face Atamifuji, who is having a terrible tournament. Onosato will try to turn things around against Oho. This is why I usually have no loyalties. As soon as I begin to favor a couple of wrestlers, they get pitted against each other. Someone, whose shikona begins with “O” and ends with “o” will win this bout. Finally, Kotozakura has to get it together against Shodai. This will be a fun one.
Chiyoshoma will face Takayasu, Tamawashi will get his turn against Meisei and Kinbozan will face Nishikifuji.
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I wonder if Terunofuji is paying a price for that long match against Kirishima on day 3, even though he took the win it probably wasn’t what his body needed.
Hoshoryu looks in great form. Do you think he’ll definitely get the rope if he wins the tournament, regardless of the score?
Or could Tamawashi beat his own record and win the basho at 40?
Agree on Terunofuji – hope he beats Gonoyama tomorrow and stays in.
Ura’s move was great! Got to love him
Pretty likely only a strong yusho, 13-2 at the least but ideally 14-1 or zensho will do it for Hoshoryu. A 12-3 might look a little bit sketchy. Fortunately the way he’s fighting it looks like a strong yusho is much more likely than not.
12-3 Y is a really good question whether that is enough for Hoshoryu or not. Last Yokozuna promotions with 25 wins happened at 1987 before Futahaguro was expelled. Starting from 1988 all the Yokozuna promotions have happened with 26+ wins.
I can see your sleep cycle, literally, from zzzzzz to ichiyamamoto match that you repeat sentences.. until Ura’s eye opener. lol.
The second half was pretty exciting though.
Kotozakura’s loss was pathetic. He just allowed Kirishima to push him out. No resistance at the tawara – nothing. It certainly wasn’t ozeki level sumo. let alone Yokozuna level. I hope you aren’t right about him following the other former ozeki. He fooled me in November into thinking he really wanted it. Very disappointing.
Go Hoshoryu!
Ura pulling a tsutaezori! Only the 27th time it’s happened and he has done 3 of them.
What a move!
Packed day, eh. — 1) Does Atamifuji possess any core strength at all? 2) After yesterday’s loss, I’d thought Kotozakura had the chance to show what he is made of. Maybe next time. He’s broken. 3) Still furious at Takanosho and his lack of spacial awareness; how could he not have felt the bale yesterday. Today, Oho demonstrated the opposite. 4) When Ura’s head appeared under Takayasu’s armpit, even I (as sometime viewer) knew what was coming. Pink panda strikes again.
Man, what a day. Was hoping for that double Yokozuna promotion. Definitely not happening with Kotozakura’s results. For Hoshoryu, the poor performances up top may work against him. If Teru drops out, Kotozakura and Onosato continue to look mediocre, and so many other top rankers not doing so hot, he may have to run the table to have a chance.
Or the JSA will be so desperate to have another White rope out there that a Championship at any record will do it for the Golden Boy.
I hope we get Abi vs. Tamawashi.
Shodai doesn’t really need the belt. When he can keep his aite off his, as he managed today with WMH, I suppose he has an advantage.
I think Terunofuji should stick with it for the whole fifteen days and let the chips where they may – or if he really has to withdraw, then take that as a retirement signal. As good as he has been, I don’t see him as a Hakuho who has the uncanny reserves of power, skill, and luck to somehow emerge from more kyujo with a future farewell zensho: if Terunofuji can still win, he has to find that out in the ring.
Enjoyed today’s bouts, the good, the bad and the ugly.
I’ve been doing some de-cluttering at home and have two books I’d like to donate to someone on the Tachiai Team if interested. 1) Grand Sumo from 1989, 1st edition in very good condition. 2) Takamiyama: The world of Sumo. Decent condition. Anyone interested?
If not, I see if a used book store is interested. Thank you.
Onokatsu showed very good skill in the Midorifuji danger zone, simultaneously fending off Midorifuji’s attempts to latch on while moving forward himself.
Kintamayama reports that Chiyoshoma is on an 11 win streak.
I bet the zzz stopped when Ura got his limit break.
Shodai just walking off like Jan-Ove Waldner blocking Timo Boll, so easy.
I used to really dislike Oho’s clownish sumo but today he became my new favorite (filling the empty place left by Takakeisho of blessed memory). Most improved rikishi — his ring sense has gone from laughable at top divison debut to razor sharp.
Tamawashi once explained that the way to perform a nodowa without creating an opening is to send it up the middle with elbow tucked in and forearm pressing against the opponent’s chest; today we saw what happens when this principle is neglected. Hoshoryu’s flubbed nodowa attempt created the opening for Takanosho to move forward but Takanosho’s own nodowa came in from the right instead of up the middle, leaving it vulnerable to Hoshoryu’s picture perfect exploitation of the exposed armpit.
Tobizaru beat Terunofuji with very clever footwork, hopping in and out of the pocket (mostly out but not always).
Nice little breakdown of the nodowa, I will need to find that.
If I recall correctly (not a solid bet alas) it was during one of those technique segments that Hiro used to do on NSK’s grand sumo preview vids.
That nadowa primer was part of the Sumo PrimeTime Episode “Meeting Sumo’s Iron Man,” after Tamawashi won his last Basho in 2022, here it is:
Good episode. Hiro is a corndog, but you gotta love his enthusiasm for Sumo and his consistency as a corndog.
Can’t wait to go home and watch Day 4! Thanks Andy and Team Tachiai!!!
The nodowa tutorial commences at about 4:22 into the video if anyone wants to skip ahead.
Also, nodowa is very effective against hyper and overly affectionate dogs. Of course I don’t advocate animal cruelty or squeezing their throats while utilizing it, but I’ve had success getting a couple of large dogs to chill out when jumping and going overboard by following the Iron Man’s instructions and placing the palm firmly below the chin with forward motion.
The dohyo seemed more slippery today than normal. Quite a few rikishi suddenly ended up on their knees.
I’ll be surprised if Terunofuji fights Gonoyama tomorrow. He’s visibly wincing just walking around.
Hoshoryu seems like the real deal, but he still has 11 days to go. I hope he keeps it up.
Kotozakura was dead weight. No plan, no offense, no nothing. Legitimately gave up after Kirishima wrapped him up. I hope he gets over whatever mental hurdle he’s dealing with.
Abi’s strategy was a “Haramafuji Hit-And-Shift” just in reverse. Very odd and I don’t expect him to do that often. We’ll see, I guess.
Abi said in the interview that he planned his moves according to the slippery dohyo which he explained with a lot of salt. Clever man.
Thoughts so far:
Hoshoryu is earning my respect. I’ve been a longtime detractor of his, but this basho shows him at full potential realized. He wants that rope, and being locked in leaves no room for his usual immature petulance. Now, if only Hoshoryu maintains this level of skill AND decorum going forward, he’ll fully win me over.
Terunofuji is a fearsome Yokozuna… if healthy. But that is a ship long ago sailed, and I think he wholeheartedly would welcome a Hoshoryu yusho (and subsequent Yokozuna promotion, record be damned). Ten yusho is such a nice number to retire on, but you can tell the desire on his part is waning. He’s accomplished all he’s wanted; now Terunofuji just wants to exit with diginity.
The Shodai that showed up on day 4 is terrifying. So confident in his size and skill, which has been one of his big weaknesses over his career. If it weren’t for his garbage tachiai, Shodai would’ve been a Yokozuna sometime after Hakuho’s retirement. But that horrible initial start kept Shodai losing, and that kept him mentally rattled. But now, all the pressure is off, and I dearly hope we can see Shodai finally unleashing what he’s been capable of.
The higher ranks, in general, are underperforming. I think Onosato is finally hitting that wall, where he needs to up his repertoire to take the next step. I see him taking the first hit at the tachiai and just feel he will lose if he’s not the one making first contact. Atamifuji has the Maegashira 1 curse, where a brutal week 1 schedule is blunting his potential ceiling. And Kotozakura seems flat out of shape after his first yusho last time out. At least Daieisho and Abi are looking lively.
Final point: I don’t think Hoshoryu will actually win this yusho. Both Oho and Kinbozan look hungrier, and healthier. The top ranks are cannibalizing each other, which means this basho is ripe for another first-time, Maegashira, winner. My money would be on Kinbozan, if only because I think he’d face a weaker schedule for longer.
I hope strongly that will have paired the Kinbozans, Tamawashis, Takerufujis and Hakuohos with each other. In that case there probably won‘t be a sole frontrunner which will improve the chances of the Sanyaku, namely Hoshoryu, for the yusho.
On the first day of recap videos Murray Johnson made a comment that Onosato had been criticized before the tournament for being lax in his training and preparedness for the tournament and it sure looks like it. He looks sloppy in a way that he hasn’t before. I wonder if he started to buy into his hype a little too much as Sumo’s next megastar and like Murray said went lax in getting in shape. On Day Four here, he left his legs behind in a way very uncharacteristic of him when charging forward.
Kotozakura just looks broken. I don’t think it’s a talent issue or a question of his drive; I think like a lot of guys who get shot up the rankings or get the shot as Yokozuna that it’s more of a mental issue. I’m no sports psychologist but from the very get go he didn’t look confident and basically is giving up when things aren’t going in his favor right now. I think he’s mentally crushing under the pressure, and time will tell if he can recover from it or not. He might start to have a turnaround now that the pressure is off, or it might leave a lasting impact on his psyche as a top file wrestler. It’s really hard to say.
Hoshoryu has had his shaky moments in the past as well, but he looks largely over them. I don’t think it’s a question of “if” Hoshoryu wants the promotion but what he’s going to have to do to earn it. Unlike the other two, Hoshoryu is digging down deep to counter and evade losses and looks strong in doing do but he may have to win this tournament and the next. And if so, who knows what could happen in that time span? Sumo’s a volatile sport; someone else might make runs at the tournament titles or Hoshoryu could suffer an injury. After his neck derailed Takakeisho’s entire career you can’t take anything for granted in sumo.
Had to catch up and watch a few days in a row. Today was interesting.
Today: URA – OUTSTANDING! TOBIZARO -OUTSTANDING!
A few days ago:
When I watched Oho beat WTK – Outstanding! Gonoyama beat WMH – Outstanding!
Hoshoryu is ON FIRE! (but so is Tamawashi and Kinbozan)!
Onosato is making the same mistakes as last basho – he is suffering from Onosho Syndrome: Leaning way to far forward. Why isn’t he watching and self-correcting?
Aren’t the rikishi able to watch the video replay later? Just curious if they can.
I agree with you Andy – Kotokazura looks like he wants to join Kirishima, Shodai and Mitekeumi – very sad. And yeah, I like the two rikishi that start with O and in with O too! I see your loyalty point clearly! I like them all, just some more than others.
Yes, they can watch videos – sometimes the camera follows a rikishi after the match, when they go into the hallway, and you will see them stop to watch the replay on video.
Thanks. I have seen several look at the video in the hallway – I was wondering if once they get back to their Heya if they have access to the videos. Thanks for replying!