Kusano picked up his kachi-koshi today with an Oshidashi win over Hitoshi. Tomorrow, he will fight Daiseizan. Tohakuryu will take on Shimanoumi for his kachi-koshi.
The NHK videos for Day Nine are here: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I & Part II.
Makuuchi Action
Tamashoho (4-5) defeated Kayo (4-5). Kayo was doing great when he was moving forward, for the first three seconds of the bout. Once he started to pull for his slapdowns, Tamashoho pressured him, worked his way inside to his belt and drove him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Asakoryu (7-2) defeated Ryuden (4-5). Asakoryu stood up Ryuden at the tachiai. None of the evasive stuff you often see from smaller wrestlers. He reached inside with his left hand, deep on the back of Ryuden’s mawashi and pulled him down. Shitatenage.
Kotoshoho (3-1-5) defeated Nishikigi (5-4). Abi-sumo from Kotoshoho today. He blasted Nishikigi at the tachiai with tsuppari to the face and upper body. As Nishikigi pressed forward, Kotoshoho pulled back on Nishikigi’s left arm and thrust him down. Four straight losses from Nishikigi. Tsukiotoshi.
Sadanoumi (6-3) defeated Tochitaikai (3-6). Tochitaikai refused to allow Sadanoumi inside to get his preferred belt grip. Sadanoumi pressed forward and Tochitaikai backed away to the side, allowing Sadanoumi to fall to the ground as Tochitaikai fell off the dohyo. Gunbai Tochitaikai as his foot appeared to still be on the tawara as Sadanoumi landed. Mono-ii. Video replay showed Tochitaikai’s heel appeared to touch outside the ring before Sadanoumi fell forward. Gunbai Sashi-Chigae, Sadanoumi was ruled the winner. Oshidashi.
Takanosho (5-4) defeated Shonannoumi (3-6). After a long grapple and lean, Takanosho suddenly pressed forward and shoved Shonannoumi out. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji (6-3) defeated Roga (6-3). Both men locked in for a belt battle. Atamifuji pressed forward with gaburi leg thrusts. Once he finally got that left hand grip, he hoisted Roga over the bales. Yorikiri.
Tokihayate (4-5) defeated Shishi (1-8). Shishi lumbered forward and Tokihayate slapped him down. Shishi just seemed off balance the entire bout, ready to fall forward. He eventually did. Hatakikomi.
Onokatsu (5-4) defeated Endo (5-4). First time meeting between Endo and Onokatsu. As long as Onokatsu has been here, these guys haven’t met? This is his fifth tournament in the top division so, I find that surprising. As Endo backed away, pulling on Onokatsu’s left arm, Onokatsu shifted his weight slightly and pulled Endo down. Hikiotoshi.
Meisei (6-3) defeated Churanoumi (1-8). Meisei tried for a quick slapdown. If failed but seemed to get Churanoumi completely off balance. Meisei followed up quickly and drove forward, forcing Churanoumi off the dohyo. If you shove a guy off a cliff, you should at least check on him to make sure he’s okay. And Meisei did, he’s a gentleman. Oshidashi.
Hakuoho (8-1) obliterated Shodai (3-6). Hard hit at the tachiai, quick left hand inside, three pumps of gaburi yotsu and Shodai was out. The bad news is, Hakuoho’s right arm is not 100%. He chatted with Hakuho in the hanamichi on his way to the shitakubeya. Yorikiri.
Tobizaru (5-4) defeated Midorifuji (0-9). Midorifuji’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Basho continues. Tobizaru attacked Midorifuji’s face before grabbing his belt with his right hand. Once Tobizaru got his left hand overarm grip, he pressed forward and threw Midorifuji onto the bales. Uwatenage.
Halftime
Oshoma (6-3) defeated Kinbozan (6-3). Kinbozan charged forward but Oshoma slipped to the side and got behind Kinbozan, shoving him out. Okuridashi.
Aonishiki (8-1) defeated Chiyoshoma (2-7). Aonishiki hit Chiyoshoma with a steady flurry of tsuppari, allowing Chiyoshoma no chance to get inside. Aonishiki worked Chiyoshoma to the edge where he reached in with his left and grabbed Chiyoshoma’s belt and ushered him out. Oshidashi.
Gonoyama (2-7) defeated Hiradoumi (3-6). Hiradoumi launched out at the tachiai. Gonoyama pivoted and pulled, shoving Hiradoumi down with his right hand. Tsukiotoshi.
Wakamotoharu (4-5) defeated Oho (3-6). Oho blasted away with a flurry of tsuppari, then tried a slapdown which Wakamotoharu resisted. Oho seemed tired and out of ideas so he slowed things down with a grapple. When Oho reached in and got hold of Wakamotoharu’s trunk, he stopped, asking his opponent, “what do I do now?” Wakamotoharu demonstrated by bulldozing Oho and throwing him to the ground along the bales. Uwatenage.
Sanyaku
Abi (5-4) defeated Wakatakakage (7-2). Indigo Abi shoved Wakatakakage’s face then stepped to the side and pulled him down. Wakatakakage yelled loudly, within himself, “Goddamnit!” Hikiotoshi.
Kirishima (6-3) defeated Takerufuji (3-6). Takerufuji charged forward but Kirishima wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled him down the the ground. Kirishima landed face first outside the dohyo. Gunbai Kirishima. Mono-ii to confer and confirm the gyoji’s ruling. Meanwhile, Kirishima was slow to get up. Finally standing with a massive scrape on his right temple, he thought, “Please make this quick, I don’t feel so good.” Tradition dictates the winner must stand there to provide chikaramizu to the next wrestler, pondering the mistakes of his life. For Kirishima, that mistake includes The Most Painful Kubinage Ever.
Tamawashi (3-6) defeated Daieisho (6-3). Daieisho launched out with his tsuppari and met a face full of Tamawashi. This threw Daieisho’s attack into disarray as he short-circuited and moved backwards, pulling aimlessly. Tamawashi pursued and shoved him out. Tsukidashi.
Kotozakura (6-3) defeated Takayasu (2-7). Kotozakura shifted to the right at the tachiai, grabbed Takayasu’s belt and pulled him down. Uwatedashinage.
Onosato (9-0) defeated Ura (2-7). After a few volleys of tsuppari, Onosato went for a slapdown. That knocked Ura forward but Ura stopped right at the bales. Onosato charged forward and finished Ura with a shove from behind. Okuridashi.
Hoshoryu (7-2) defeated Ichiyamamoto (4-5). Hoshoryu hit Ichiyamamoto’s left arm and slapped him forward to the ground. Hatakikomi.
Wrap-up
Onosato’s rope run continues. Tomorrow, he will face Ichiyamamoto, then he will close out the tournament against the meat of his schedule: Sanyaku. But when you look at this sanyaku, they’re cracked, broken, defeated. So far, Onosato’s wins have been dominant. But as we saw today with Kirishima, these guys will throw everything at him to check for any cracks in his defense. With they find any this tournament? Or will Onosato cruise to his fourth yusho?
Hoshoryu will take on Ura. Kirishima will face off against Kotozakura. Onosato will fight Ichiyamamoto, as I mentioned above. Hakuoho will move up to fight Daieisho. Aonishiki will take on Wakatakakage. Welcome to the meat grinder, boys. I can’t wait.
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Will Onosato really close out against the Sanyaku? There are the two 21-year-olds who might be a greater danger. At least the JSA thinks it possible and has already taken them up to fight the big boys on day 10. I can‘t wait for the Wakatakakage vs Aonishiki bout!
Unless something changes drastically, the only san’yaku who is having an awful tournament is Takayasu so they might skip him on Onosato’s card to throw Hakuoho or Aonishiki at him. He definitely won’t be skipping Wakatakakage or Kotozakura based on their records to this point.
With regards to today’s matches, Tobizaru tried to crush Midorifuji’s head like a melon. That was the biggest thing of note to me.
Onosato already fought Takayasu, on Day 2. Otherwise, it’s been all maegashira so far. I think they won’t want to skip any of the remaining 5.
Tradition dictates the winner must stand there to provide chikaramizu to the next wrestler, “pondering the mistakes of his life”.
haha, lol!!!
How do you get ideas to write such funny lines.
Nice, Andy!
Feeling sad for Takerufuji, when you have lot of expectation on you, it might create mental pressure.
I think that is the case with both Takerufuji and Hoshoryu.
Fortunately Hoshoryu over came the difficulties and is now going good.
This week he may have slightly tough schedule, fighting Sanyaku
Honestly, I just write what I observe and when I saw Kirishima’s bloodied face while he was standing there with the ladle in his hand…
Midorifuji’s vermillion mawashi lasted only 24 bouts and he switched to black today. Meanwhile, Kotozakura is unlikely to return to blue-green; he had turned black after his fifth straight loss in January, 33 bouts ago.
Kirishima’s right arm landed on the bales just before Takerufuji’s shoulder touched the clay. To be able to calculate that move in a split second is quite impressive –good for Kirishima. Though it could have easily resulted in a much worse injury –bad for Kirishima.
Nishikigi was lumbering around like an injured person in today’s bout. That would explain his cold streak if that’s the case.
I noticed the respectful pat that Chiyoshoma gave to Aoniskihi after their bout. Love to see that sort of thing.
What do we even say about Oho at this point? Do we hope he’s injured?
I am continually disappointed in rikishi who allow Abi to win in under 2 seconds. I’m glad to see Wakatakakage agrees with me.
Glad to see that Kirishima got his arms down when he landed. Ow, ow, ow, ow.
Goodbye to Daiesho’s Ozeki run courtesy of Tamawashi. I’m assuming it’s the mental pressure that gets to him each time he gets close.
We are definitely rumbling towards a number of exciting matches at the end of the week. Onward!
Thanks for the lively write-up and write-up Andy. Such a pain being a day behind on the highlight show. I still worry for Hoshoryu; head wounds bleed copiously so hope it’s nothing more serious for Kirishima. Excited for Onosato, and for Aonishiki. Still, 6 days to go, all sorts of things can happen with the yusho race.
I have a question. It might seem a bit stupid, but here goes. If one was to meet a rikishi from Makuuchi, do you address them by their ring name, or their given name? Does it depend on where you meet them? Their rank? If they’re Sanyaku or Yokozuna, do you use their title? Thanks.
It’s not stupid because it might happen. I bumped into Endo last time I was in Tokyo, and on another day I met Shohozan at his restaurant. Then, there was the Jungyo event. Lots of people would gather outside the venue along the path to the busses to get pictures and selfies with the wrestlers.
Use the ring name, although I have definitely heard people shout “Ozeki” or “Yokozuna” when meeting an Ozeki or Yokozuna. I often hear people using the -seki suffix. Like, “Endo-seki” when they see Endo, NOT “Endo-san”. I base a lot of this on what I heard at the Jungyo event that I went to.
Honestly, sometimes, if we’re gaijin, it seems they’re happy if we can string together coherent words. But definitely ring name, not real name and use the -seki suffix, instead of -san. If you see an Ozeki or Yokozuna, I have definitely heard both.
Thank you so much Andy !
It isn’t “-zeki”?
(I know it’s the same kanji for both pronunciations, but I thought the honorific got the “z” version.)
I’ll check. It sounded like “-seki,” when I heard it, similar to -san or -sama honorifics. It’s not the second character of a word when a lot of those seem to change, like “Ozeki” or “Tochiozan.” But I will see if I can find the furigana.
You are right! I will post a picture of my source in my Day 10 post. I’ll be damned. Right there in black and white.
Awesome. Thanks for checking. I hope I get to meet one someday
I do not know why that posted twice. Sorry.
No worries, I removed the second one.
Today, I want to focus on a trio of younger wrestler.
Oho feels like one of the most self-defeating rikishi I can recall watching. Between his bad tendency to pull, sometimes sloppy footwork, or only having one plan and not knowing how or when to switch to another, his physical talent is being hampered by what’s between his ears. He clearly wants to do well, and his training/skill level can’t support his dreams yet.
Takerufuji, conversely, always seems to give it his all (even that henka was a full-fledged effort), but his lack of “weight” (having sticking to the dohyo power) trips him up. He’s got a lot up his (non-existent) sleeves, but his relatively skinny legs do him in when he tries to execute some of his repertoire. He’s won a yusho, but he also is vulnerable to the more massive of his opponents.
Atamifuji, though, seems to have turned a corner… or has fallen far enough down the banzuke so the competition he’s facing is clearly inferior to what he brings to each bout. I thought Atamifuji was gun-shy before, but he was just getting his tempering in the joi. Now, he’s becoming a more fully-rounded (in more ways than one) rikishi, who I think will be a sanyaku mainstay this time next year. Oho and Takerufuji should be there with him, but they’re in their lump-taking phase, it seems.
I’m wondering why Kirishima was awarded the win, when his forearm clearly touched the bales before Takerufuji struck clay…
It will be a real challenge for Hakuoho, with that injured right arm, to withstand Daiesho’s full frontal assault.
I think they blew the call, unless they decided Takerufuji was “dead” first. Would love to hear a translation of the monoii explanation.
My wife and I discussed the call and rationalized it as follows:
You are out when you touch the dirt, but Kirishima’s elbow hit the tawara, not the dirt.
Is that a possibility?
Ow, ow indeed!
there’s a lively discussion of that over on sumo forum, general opinion seems to be the tawara is the ground as far as touching with anything other than your foot is concerned, but there are dissenters
You are not the only one wondering why Kirishima was awarded the win. In the Sumo Highlights show they said that the reason was that Takerufuji touched down first, which is obviously wrong. I could understand as a reason that Takerufuji was completely in the air when Kirishima’s forearm touched the bales, but that was not given as a reason.
I didn’t listen to the explanation but I assume they decided that Kirishima won because his arm touching down first was an intentional protective act, kabai-te
Long time reader, first time poster.
From what I remember when this has happened before, rikishi making a throw that would win can brace their own impact with their hand or arm to protect themselves from injury (kabai-te).
Kirishima initiated the throw, put Takerufuji into a shini-tai (dead body position) and not putting his arm down would have resulted in a serious injury to Kirishima. So despite touching first, Kirashima wins.
I bet this was their ruling.
I’m no Onosato fan and it isn’t his fault but his opponents this basho through day 9 are a true underperforming bunch. They’re a collective 27-54 (33% wins) and the only one with a winning record is M2 Abi at 5-4.
By Day:
M1 4-5 Wakamotoharu
K 2-7 Takayasu
M2 5-4 Abi
M1 3-6 Oho
M3 3-6 Tamawashi
M2 2-7 Gonoyama
M4 3-6 Takerufuji
M3 3-6 Hiradoumi
M5 2-7 Ura
Then today on day 10 he gets the other M5 Ichiyamamoto who’s 4-5. Again, it’s not Onosato’s fault but the optics are terrible and they need to feed him all Sanyaku for days 11 through 15.
Day 11 Komusubi 7-2 Wakatakakage
Day 12 Sekiwake 6-3 Kirishima
Day 13 Sekiwake 6-3 Daieisho
Day 14 Ozeki 6-3 Kotozakura
Day 15 Yokozuna 7-2 Hoshoryu
A collective 32-13 (71% wins) as of now.
Yeah, this is the way it is for Ozeki and Yokozuna, which is why I get worried when they have 3-4 losses in Week One. (I’m looking at you, Kotozakura.) They should be hitting the meat of their schedule in Week 2.
Another way to look at this is to say that Sanyaku is performing the way they should. If the top of Maegashira face the Sanyaku within the first week, this is pretty much the way it should look like if the rankings are to mean anything. If their records were to be better, the record of Sanyaku would be worse.
Yes, the non-Sanyaku joi (and Takayasu) get a beating so far. The top dogs have done their job very well. And btw the other Ozeki and the Yokozuna have met almost exactly the same rikishi as Onosato.
Here‘s a look at his achievements not of half a basho but of the provisional year in Makuuchi:
https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=6&n_basho=6&show_total=on&sum_wins=0&sum_first=4&show_sum=on&form1_year=2024&form1_month=7&form1_m=on&form2_m=on&form3_m=on&form4_m=on&form5_m=on&form6_m=on&sort_by=sum_total
The Sanyaku except Takayasu are doing well; hard times for the other joi so far, but it will get easier for them from now on.
The Yokozuna and the two Ozeki had almost exactly the same opponents: Kotozakura 6-3, Hoshoryu 7-2, and Onosato as U mentioned a flawless 9-0. Great.
But what really counts is after 15 days, of course.