Day Fourteen in Osaka. The final weekend is here. No new kyujo today among sekitori. Takayasu comes into today in sole possession of the lead. He will fight Churanoumi today. Onosato will take on Daieisho and then Kotozakura on Senshuraku. One thing seems certain, there should be quite a number of candidates for special prizes this basho.
Your NHK videos are here: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I and Part II.
Makuuchi Action
Onokatsu (9-5) defeated Ryuden (5-9). That might have been the slowest henka on record, Ryuden. Onokatsu adjusted well, locked in with a morozashi, and drove Ryuden over the edge. Yorikiri.
Midorifuji (8-6) defeated Sadanoumi (7-7). Initial tsuppari from Midorifuji led this viewer to think he would force an oshi-tsuki bout against the yotsu-specialist. Sadanoumi’s mistake was to go inside for a belt grip, nonetheless. That allowed Midorifuji inside and he quickly embraced Sadanoumi with both arms, then twisted and used that shoulder grab to drop Sadanoumi to the clay. Sukuinage.
Meisei (8-6) defeated Mitakeumi (6-8). Meisei drove Mitakeumi straight back. Mitakeumi got a left hand inside and squeezed it hard but Meisei walked him back and out. Yorikiri.
Nishikigi (3-11) defeated Shirokuma (5-9). Shirokuma allowed Nishikigi to get a belt grip and go on the offense. Nishikigi ushered Shirokuma back to the edge and over, in spite of the impotent twisting of his quarry. Yorikiri.
Shonannoumi (4-10) defeated Asakoryu (6-8). Shonannoumi nearly slapped Asakoryu down at the tachiai but somehow Asakoryu stayed on his feet. As Asakoryu retreated to try to regroup, Shonannoumi advanced and shoved Asakoryu to the ground. Oshitaoshi.
Shishi (9-5) defeated Endo (7-7). Shishi’s slapdown was potent but not decisive. Endo ran away and Shishi gave chase, catching him at the tawara’s edge. Shishi sent Endo sprawling backward with a shove. As Shishi walked back down the hanamichi, he passed compatriot Aonishiki, in silence. Oshita-ouchi.
Shodai (5-9) defeated Kotoshoho (7-7). Shodai grabbed Kotoshoho’s belt with his left arm, dragged him to the bales and laid him down slow along the tawara. His hand slipped from Kotoshoho’s belth but he continued to drag him by the shoulder. Kotenage.
Tokihayate (10-4) defeated Tamawashi (9-5). Tamawashi battered Tokihayate with tsuppari and forced him to the edge. When he went for the kill, Tokihayate suddenly disappeared and Tamawashi fell, alone, into the lap of Oshima-oyakata. Tsukiotoshi.
Aonishiki (10-4) defeated Takerufuji (9-5). Takerufuji tried a slapdown but Aonishiki charged forward through it and carried Takerufuji off the edge. Yorikiri.
Churanoumi (10-4) defeated Takayasu (11-3). Because, of course. Churanoumi went toe-to-toe with the Papa Bear and shoved him over the edge. He withstood the best blows Takayasu could give and forced Takayasu to retreat. Takayasu tried a last moment change of direction but Churanoumi kept up and shoved him into the arms of a startled Takekuma-oyakata. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Hakuoho (8-6) defeated Tobizaru (6-8). No henka. Hakuoho’s thrusts quickly dispatched Tobizaru. Oshidashi.
Gonoyama (6-8) defeated Takarafuji (3-11). Gonoyama blasted Takarafuji at the tachiai, drove him to the bales and then shifted to the side, putting the old man to bed without his usual dinner of mashed peas and carrots. Tsukiotoshi.
Chiyoshoma (6-8) defeated Takanosho (3-11). Lots of lateral movement from Takanosho in this bout. As he retreated, he shifted right and left, nearly catching Chiyoshoma. But Chiyoshoma kept pace and eventually drove Takanosho over the bales. Oshidashi.
Oshoma (9-5) defeated Wakatakakage (8-6). Solid tachiai. Oshoma retreated and pivoted as Wakatakakage gave chase. Oshoma shifted left and slapped WTK down. Golf claps. Hatakikomi.
Wakamotoharu (8-6) defeated Atamifuji (6-8). Hidariyotsu. WMH got Atamifuji off-balance with a sudden uwatenage attempt. Atamifuji stayed upright but he was unsteady and vulnerable to Wakamotoharu’s renewed charge. Wakamotoharu ran Atamifuji through the dohyo and over the edge. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Kirishima (7-7) defeated Kinbozan (5-9). Powerful thrusts from Kinbozan reset Kirishima’s jaw. But Kirishima retreated to his left and got behind the advancing Kinbozan. Kirishima then followed up with a good shove. Okuridashi.
Ura (6-8) defeated Abi (6-8). It was as if Abi didn’t know what to do with Ura. My allergies are hitting me with more force than Abi’s tsuppari, today against Ura. Ura forced Abi back to the bales and shoved him over despite Abi’s half-hearted attempt to slip to his left. “I don’t wanna be in sanyaku.” Oshidashi.
Oho (6-8) defeated Ichiyamamoto (6-8). Now that he’s make-koshi, Oho is moving forward well and putting force behind those blasts. He shoved Ichiyamamoto from the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Onosato (11-3) defeated Daieisho (9-5). Onosato hit Daieisho with solid tsuppari, blocking what of Daieisho’s thrusts he could while moving forward. Onosato shoved Daieisho over the edge. Oshidashi.
Hiradoumi (8-5) defeated Kotozakura (8-6). Kotozakura got his kachi-koshi so he decided that he doesn’t have to move forward anymore. He let Hiradoumi drive him to the edge, twice. After the first time, he shifted back in toward the center of the ring. But the second time he tried to twist Hiradoumi over the bales but failed. Hiradoumi kept up the pressure and forced him out. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
This yusho was Takayasu’s to lose. So, he did what he does best and lost it. We didn’t have enough young guns in this race, so let’s add Tokihayate in there, shall we? I mean, why not? Let’s see if we can get an eleven-win yusho here in Osaka.
- 11-3: Onosato, Takayasu
- 10-4: Churanoumi, Aonishiki, Tokihayate
NHK was postulating Takayasu might face Aonishiki or Tokihayate on senshuraku. Hopefully, Senshuraku will not be as disappointing as today. At least Onosato and Shodai picked up wins! I predict Kotozakura goes kyujo and Onosato wins the yusho with a Senshuraku fusen. Wouldn’t that just be awesome? No? Well, whatever happens, let’s hope it’s better than that. Sorry, just bummed that Takayasu couldn’t get the job done today. Maybe tomorrow.
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“Oshita-ouchi“ … looks enough like Japanese that I was at a loss for a moment until I saw it. Nicely done
I’ve only seen Takayasu’s loss once so far just now in replay at the end of NHK World’s live 2nd-half coverage. It does seem like his ring sense may have glitched there, but Churanoumi gave as much as anyone could handle, and I’m not yet ready to say Takayasu is in the process of beating himself down the stretch yet again. It’ll be hard facing a first-time opponent tomorrow, which is apparently what’s in the cards, but I think it can still happen if Takayasu stays on target!
They also replayed Tokihayate-Tamawashi. There was definitely a role reversal of veteran and newbie in that one – tough to see Tamawashi stumble (literally) out of the yusho race that way.
If Takayasu can’t do it, here’s hoping for an Onosato loss and a battle royale among the lower rankers.
Takayasu 😫
excuse me while I go cry….
Oh dear, all the predictions about Takayasu were horribly accurate.
Quietly glad that Onosato is still in the mix, why DOES he do retreating sumo, he’s much better going forward. I am impressed with Aonishiki beating Takerufuji, I can’t remember who wrote about Aonishiki doing “fundamentals matter” sumo, but there you have it.
Ah, Takayasu versus Abi tomorrow. Onosato versus Kotozakura, and oh, Kirishima versus Tokihayate who has quietly worked away there to get to 10-4.
Another exciting final day in the basho!
Sorry, I forgot to say what a great round-up Andy, full of colour and life, plus good observation! Thank you.
I find it very hard not to see an Onosato win tomorrow against Kotozakura – the Sadatogake man’s only real concern is to not aggravate that knee before the train ride back to Tokyo. His effort today against Hiradoumi was rather lacking.
Meanwhile Takayasu gets to face his demons all over again, personified in this instance by our most evil available opponent – the man you love to hate himself – Abi. A strange choice when the 10-4 crew were available and Abi is make-koshi but the torikumi committee know a bit of psychological cruelty when they see it.
Churanoumi fought really well today though – his footwork was excellent – and so I guess this is just the way the cookie crumbles. And when I say cookie I mean Takayasu, the greatest nearly-man in sumo.
The pain is real.
A strange choice indeed, I thought. Maybe the problem is they couldn’t arrange two contenders matches, because Aonishiki, Churanoumi and Tokihayate have met each other already. Maybe they are hoping for five-way playoffs?
Onosato‘s head-to-head against Kotozakura is 3-4, Takayasu‘s against Abi 6-8, while Churanoumi vs Daieisho and Aonishiki vs Oho have not happened before. Therefore everything seems still possible though like U I don’t see Onosato lose against that version of Kotozakura.
There is no way they are hoping for a 11-4 playoff. It’d de-legitimize the yusho to a degree that nobody in the world of sumo wants.
A 12-3 playoff though, would be a nice career yusho for Takayasu.
Interesting view: 12-3 good, 11-4 de-legitimizing. Are there any facts which sustain your theory?
I’d go further and say 12-3 meh, 11-4 de-legitimizing, especially with 3 guys from the bottom rungs of the banzuke.
“i don’t want to be in sanyaku” 😂🤣😂 this was my thought exactly watching that Abi Ura bout. I think he was already wanting to play a spoiler on senshuraku without his own rank on the line. Good for Ura. It’s impossible not to love that guy. Anyone who doesn’t might be a sociopath.
Oh man, aonishiki has really impressed. He was a deer in the headlights on day one, and then locked in since. We’ll see tomorrow, that is gonna be another really tough test, but even getting to mix it up with the big boys is impressive as hell in his debut.
Counter-question: Which facts sustain your supposition that they could possibly want a huge playoff at a low score?
In any case, NHK no likey when the sumo runs into their other scheduled Sunday programming, and that’s bound to happen with unexpectedly long playoffs. The NSK generally tries very hard to not annoy NHK.
The thing is, if it was a massive playoff with Yokozuna and Ozeki, that’s one thing. A massive playoff with such vulnerable, beatable, low rankers… it’s an interesting time and the Kyokai may even want to rethink their standard scheduling.
In other sports playoffs are very attractive and grant good ratings.
I thought that would apply for Sumo, too.
Ratings matter for boosting advertising rates. NHK doesn’t have advertising. As Asashosakari mentioned, they’ve got the 6pm news afterwards and won’t want to eat into that.
That was disappointing watching Takayasu have no answers after the tachiai. He’s the Buffalo Bills of sumo until proven otherwise, but I want to see him with a yusho.
You got me with that comment. I don’t really care about football, but I grew up in Buffalo, and I don’t know anywhere with more loyal fans. They even sent a former quarterback to Congress (Jack Kemp). It would mean SO MUCH to Buffalo to win a Super Bowl. Go Takayasu!
I’ve always though of him as the Chicago Cubs of Sumo.
I’ll try to grow more body hair overnight in support.
Ah, Senshuraku waiting! Now we got to decide: do we want to see Kirishima at Sekiwake again or do we want to see Tokihayate staying in the crowded Yusho race? Very funny of the torikumi to link these both things to each other. Face it, you get only one of it in the end! But sure it will be an interesting bout.
If I had a beard I would grow it now to show my respect to all you Takayasu fans. Be real fans, come rain or come shine!
Takayasu has faltered in the past, but today was just avery strong showing by Churanoumi. That guy is no walkover. He is a bit streaky, but this tournamenthe is actually on a hot streak. It was a really good fight. Takayasu was on offense first and Churanoumi just narrowly evading a pushout after the tachiai, but with very good footwork and unrelenting trusts while also avoiding Taka’s grappling attempts, he turned defense into offense. The bout was lost when Taka stepped back fro a pull attempt. I think he just realized that he was slowly running out of steam, while Churanoumi clearly wasnt.
Today’s first half had a number of bouts, where one rikishi should already be resting at home. but there where a bunch of nice bouts too, like Shodai vs. Kotoshoho.
Takerufuji is getting a lot of praise here, but today Aonishiki had his number. Quite impressive performance for his debut, which earns him a match with Oho tomorrow, who wants to defend a sanyaku spot. He probably gets a fighting spirit prize, but wonder if there is another one in store, if he wins tomorrow.
Tamawashi should have won his bout with Tokihayate, but whffed that at the edge, so he is out of yusho contention.
Oshoma might not get a lot of claps, but he beat Wakatakakage in a very calm fashion today, who was on a very hot streak too (both had won 8 of 9). I didn’t follow the allegations against him, but his sumo after the first 4 losses (which did not look good) took quite a turnaround this basho.
Chiyoshoma is now at 6-8, which probably noone saw coming before this basho. Today’s bout was also exemplary for why this is probably his ceiling. He is great at the belt with his throws and stuff, but lacks a bit of power. Takanosho was in a dead position a few times, where one good shove would have ended things quickly, but the dance continued for a while.
Wakamotoharu finally secured his kashikoshi against Atamifuji and that was a nice bout too. Atamifuji was strongly in the offense for most of the bout without completely getting the upperhand, until Wakamotoharu offset his balance with a throwing attempt and then quickly converting that into a yorikiri.
Kinbozan’s sumo is just a bit off this basho. All the little things that went right last basho go wrong this time and so Kirishima quickly got behind him to stay alive. He is defending his Sanyaku spot and probably a Sekiwake promotion against Tokihayate tomorrow.
Abi really didn’t know what to do against Ura and opens up one Sanyaku slot for sure.
Oho got pushed back to the bales by Ichiyamamoto and it looked grim for a moment, but he resisted well (something that wasn’t there all basho) and changed direction to push Ichiyamamoto out. Tomorrow he fights a thruster in Aonishiki again to soften his demotion to Komusubi only.
Onosato didn’t move an inch backwards today and that got him a decisive victory against Daieisho, who wants to take revenge for Papabear tomorrow against Churanoumi to keep chances of an Ozeki run alive.
It would probably need a miracle for Onosato to lose against Kotozakura tomorrow, but then again, if that gets into your head that can be poison. Kotozakura has improved over this basho, but it’sstill hard to see him win withour a massive plunder by Onosato.
Takayasu can force a playoff by beating Abi, who might or might not become all the more dangerous now that this last bout doesn’t matter anymore at all for him.
It is hard to see a 4-loss playoff, but if it were to happen, they made those guys earn it. Kirishima and Oho fight to remain in Sanyaku against Tokihayate and Aonishiki, while Daieisho wants to start an Ozeki run with a win over Churanoumi. Those will also be the last 5 bouts unlike today, when Papa Bear was fighting before halftime.
At the bottom Shirokuma should have loged in the second spot on the Juryo and I think there is no saving for Takarafuji either. bother Kayo and Roga won today and should be guaranteed promotion. After that it gets tricky. a win by Tochitaikai against Shimanoumi, who already has his kachikoshi, could endager Mitakeumi or Nishikigi if they lose. It is hard to see Mitakeumi win against a dynamic guy like Midorifuji. He looked okay for the first 5 days, but very much got his powerplug pulled after that. Nishikigi fights Shodai and you never know what happens with Shodai. If both lose, I think Mitakeumi goes down.
The other rikishi still with a potential promotion case is Fujiseiun. He could finish 10-5 at J5w with a win over Kusano, which is probably a tough task to begin with. In the past I would have thought this to be enough, but with the recent bias towards makuuchi, I’m not sure.
I think Fujiseiuns case will rank behind Tochitaikai if both win, although by a slimmer margin than Mitakeumi ranking ahead of Nishikigi in the demotion race. Not sure if both would get brought up.
Sadly Mudoho lost in Makushita today. Otsuji will fight Mita on Senshuraku. Not sure if a win can save his rank, but it would help Mudoho in the promotion line. Hokutofuji fights Daiamami, which is probably an exchange bout. Kitanowaka is the unknow, but I think he will go down, so with Ishizaki losing today, I think Mudoho is probably going up in any case.
Abi was bamboozled by Ura because he didn’t expect forward moving sumo. Brilliant stuff from Ura today!
Today really seemed like Tokihayate’s “arrival party” for the top division with his win. We’ll see if that’s the case in the next basho. Quite a few younger rikishi are making the step up right now.
Otherwise? Well, let’s hope things go better for Takayasu tomorrow. On the plus side, Abi’s already makekoshi.
Rooting for Papayasu.
I would have liked to see a little concern from Shishi after knocking Endo off the dohyo when it’s been clear for days that something is wrong with Endo that is exacerbated by that kind of fall. Would have been a very good time for safety sumo.
Wakamotoharu gave Atamifuji a long look after their match, not sure what that was about.
I think Wakamotoharu was checking to see if Atamifuji was ok after being dispatched. Atamifuji responded with a nod.
Abi on the senshurak has been brutal to Takayasu. In 2022, Taka’s yusho runs were stopped twice by Abi on the last day(haru, kyushu), once by henka!
I can see the Kyokai’s wicked smile when they put Abi as the sensurak opponent of yusho racing Takayasu.