Let me give a huge, “Thank You!” to Leonid for stepping in with coverage while I was out. I had hoped to provide a few days of updates from France but that obviously did not happen. He did a great job of covering for me.
Things certainly look a bit different here today from when I left on Day 5. Daiseizan leads in Juryo and…checks notes…Ichiyamamoto is our sole leader in Makuuchi. “What did you do?” I feel like a resident who returns home to find they do not recognize the place. After stepping in the front door, I lean back outside to double check the street number on the front door. “Am I in the right place?”
Picking up as I usually do, with kyujo news, on Day Eleven we see that Nishikifuji has gone kyujo. Hidenoumi has been back for a few days, pulling out a metaphorical umbrella to help steady his fall down the banzuke. He did get one win yesterday but as gingerly as he walks up and down the steps to the dohyo, I am not hopeful for many more.
While I try to find my bearings and a new place to put my luggage, let’s turn to today’s action.
Your NHK videos for Day 11 are here: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I and Part II.
Makuuchi Action
Oshoumi (6-4) defeated Kayo (2-8). Kayo immediately put things in reverse. Oshoumi tripped him up. One more loss and Kayo is on the barge to Juryo. I would say he is pre-booked, checked-in and ready to board. Sotogake.
Kusano (9-2) defeated Mitakeumi (8-3). Kusano pivoted and threw Mitakeumi and Mitakeumi chugged toward the bales. Beautiful uwatenage.
Midorifuji (7-4) defeated Hidenoumi (1-8-2). Midorifuji hit Hidenoumi hard at the tachiai and bulldozed him from the ring. Yorikiri.
Tokihayate (5-6) defeated Kotoeiho (4-7). Kotoeiho charged forward aggressively but Tokihayate was able to pivot and used his left-hand inside to throw Kotoeiho into a pile outside the dohyo. Sukuinage.
Kotoshoho (9-2) defeated Takanosho (7-4). Kotoshoho blitzed Takanosho at the tachiai and chugged forward, ushering Takanosho over the bales. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji (8-3) defeated Shodai (6-5). Shodai stepped left to get a good hold of Atamifuji’s belt. He got his right hand inside but made no forward progress. It was Atamifuji who was able to charge forward and drive forward ushering Shodai over the edge, avoiding Shodai’s impotent attempt at a throw. Yorikiri.
Shishi (4-7) defeated Chiyoshoma (0-11). Chiyoshoma wrapped himself around Shishi, driving toward the bales and desperately charging toward the edge. Shishi squatted slightly to get low, pivoted, and threw Chiyoshoma with a sudden beltless throw at the bales. The way he slipped from Chiyoshoma’s grip there made it seem he had been greased up with some of the finest French butter. Sukuinage.
Ura (7-4) defeated Fujinokawa (6-5). Both men slammed into each other, over and over after the tachiai, like rutting goats. Ura pivoted left and pulled Fujinokawa forward, then followed up with a shove to propel Fujinokawa off the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Asakoryu (3-8) defeated Sadanoumi (2-9). Henka! Sadanoumi charged past Air Asakoryu, slamming on the brakes as he reached the edge. Asakoryu pursued and blasted Sadanoumi off the dohyo and into the couple sitting on the far right of the front row. Okuridashi.
Roga (7-4) defeated Tobizaru (3-8). The best bout of the first half was this last bout. Tobizaru gets spicy with his leg trip as Roga stumbled but maintained his balance. Tobizaru tried to drive forward with both hands inside but Roga was determined and seemed to crush Tobizaru where he stood, driving him to the ground with both arms wrapped around him. Kotenage.
Halftime
Churanoumi (6-5) defeated Gonoyama (6-5). Churanoumi reached outside with his left hand and stepped to the left as Gonoyama pressed forward. This allowed Churanoumi to slip in behind Gonoyama and shove him out. Okuridashi.
Onokatsu (5-6) defeated Takerufuji (5-6). Takerufuji hit Onokatsu hard and drove him to the bales but Onokatsu resisted well. Takerufuji pulled but his knee buckled as he tried to force Onokatsu to change direction. Tsukihiza.
Oho (4-7) defeated Meisei (3-8). Oho hit Meisei with a flurry of blows and tried a slapdown. Meisei grabbed around with the right hand. Oho then pressed forward and drove Meisei into the ground outside the bales. Yoritaoshi.
Wakamotoharu (3-8) defeated Hiradoumi (5-6). A dizzying bout here as both men rotated. Wakamotoharu pulled and slapped Hiradoumi down before his momentum carried him off the dohyo. Hatakikomi.
Aonishiki (9-2) defeated Abi (6-5). Abi tried to slap Aonishiki down but Aonishiki’s excellent footwork allowed him to keep his balance and drive forward into Abi, launching Abi into the crowd. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Takayasu (8-3) defeated Ichiyamamoto (9-2). Ichiyamamoto charged forward behind a hail of tsuppari but Takayasu got his right hand inside, pivoted, and threw Ichiyamamoto violently to the ground at the edge. Despite the loss, I liked what I saw from Ichiyamamoto. He used his tsuppari effectively to counter Takayasu’s own blasts. When he pulled, he did so quickly and briefly, paired with that important pivot. He won great position and did well to force Takayasu to the edge. But damn, what a throw from Takayasu. Northern Japan has had a spate of bear attacks lately. Here was one in the middle of Nagoya. Shitatenage.
Kinbozan (3-8) defeated Oshoma (2-9). Kinbozan got his right hand inside grip and when Oshoma charged ahead, Kinbozan twisted and hurled Oshoma to the ground with a powerful shitatenage.
Wakatakakage (7-4) defeated Hakuoho (6-5). Hakuoho tried to bull his way forward but Wakatakakage changed direction and pulled Hakuoho with a solid maemitsu. Wakatakakage’s shift allowed him to get Hakuoho off balance and in danger at the edge of the ring. Wakatakakage then pressed forward and forced Hakuoho out. Yorikiri.
Kotozakura (6-5) defeated Tamawashi (8-3). Tamawashi seemed to slip as he charged forward and Kotozakura picked up a fortunate pulldown victory. Hikiotoshi.
Onosato (8-3) defeated Kirishima (8-3). Kirishima resisted Onosato’s charge well by getting both hands inside. Kirishima hugged Onosato, pivoted and forced the Yokozuna to the edge. Kirishima really wanted that right hand belt grip to go with the left so he could pull up with more power. Onosato used his left hand ottsuke to keep pulling Kirishima’s hand off and he shuffled along the bales to the left, then pulled right. Finally, as he stepped forward with his left he broke Kirishima’s hold and Kirishima fell backward. Uwatehineri.
Wrap up
Well now, we still have a bit of a free-for-all at the top of the leaderboard. A group of four rank-and-filers are tied for the lead now with nine wins and two losses. With Ichiyamamoto’s loss, he is joined by Ajigawa-beya’s Ukrainian sensation, Aonishiki, Isegahama’s latest “one-to-watch,” Kusano, and Sadogatake’s #2 man, Kotoshoho.
Onosato escaped today and stays in the chase group, pulling Kirishima down with him. Takayasu, Tamawashi, Atamifuji and Mitakeumi round out the group with three wins. The rank-and-filers are being pulled up from tomorrow so we will whittle this group down through attrition.
Ichiyamamoto will face Onosato tomorrow and Kirishima will fight Kotozakura. Kusano will jump all the way from M14 to fight Sekiwake Wakatakakage, who will be eager to secure a kachi-koshi. Takayasu will fight Kotoshoho. Aonishiki has already fought everyone at the top of the banzuke so he will fight Tamawashi. Mitakeumi and Atamifuji will face off against each other with the winner likely jumping up to fight sanyaku opponents on Thursday.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s bouts as I am more looking forward to some sleep. I will catch you all tomorrow after a few hours of staring at the back of my eyelids.
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Welcome back. Leonid kept us informed nicely in your absence. Looking like a super exciting final few days are in store for us. Pleasant dreams.
I hope the wine-imbibing went as planned, Andy! Great to have you back and thanks to Leonid for filling in! I loved the bear attack turn of phrase for Takayasu’s win over Ichiyamamoto.
It looks as though Kirishima let Onosato win that one
And the other six before too?
Seems U are a little conspiracy theorist.
In my humble opinion, if people want to find guys taking dives, they’ll find it. That bout would not have been at the top of my list, fwiw. I thought it was a great bout.
As Jeff is mentioning one of the great bouts of today, here is my favorite: Ichiyamamoto was fighting as for his life, but Takayasu stayed calm and ended the fight with a great throw at the edge (as he had done before against Aonishiki). If it wasn’t the Ukrainian, I‘d like the bear to get the honey pot.
Yes. Ichiyamamoto really impressed me today and I think he had Takayasu until Papa Bear got that grip.
That was an awful day for many rikishi, been violently throwing around, landing hard, being slow to get up again. Mitakeumi was crushed onto his fragile bodyzone again. I expect to see tapes tomorrow. The only one I did not really feel with was Tobizaru, after he stomped on Roga‘s bandaged toe with purpose.
Kirishima was fighting hard to become finally Yokozuna-proof in his carreer, was looking quite good at it, but neither today it was crowned with success.
My sunshine moment of Day 11 was Daiseizan taking the leadership in Juryo.
Welcome back home, Andy, have a good rest!
Have to add that Kirishima actually got a win (out of several) over Hoshoryu when he was already Yokozuna. Last basho in May.
It really seems like it’s anyone’s title to win this weekend… I’ve been especially impressed with Aonishiki this time around… he will be very deserving of San’yaku status come September (I’m surprised the committee kept Takayasu at Komusubi for this bashō, though his performance has rewarded them).
I will agree with everyone else that even the rikishi that lost today fought with vigor and determination. There is literally nothing else we can ask for and I appreciate all of the effort on the dohyo today.
Kirishima’s bout showed that everyone else is paying attention to how Onosato has been defeated and is working to exploit those holes in his sumo skills. Ichiyamamoto’s bout shows that he, and other rikishi, are diligently working to improve their skills. All around, these are good signs and promises quality sumo in the future.
The one person I feel bad for today is Tamawashi. It really did look like he was betrayed by the dohyo instead of made a mistake himself. Incredibly unfortunate luck for him.
I was wondering if it was Tamawashi’s taped toe that did him in today.
Taped toe meeting painted line equals no grip, and thus, probably no fairytale ending for Tamawashi. But it has added to the chaos of the basho, for sure.
Onosato showed it is possible to just bulldoze Aonishiki, and Tamawashi may be just the man for the job. I don’t know who else can stop him at this point.
If I got it right there are four rikishi who have beaten him before and who he hasn’t met in this basho: Asakoryu, Churanoumi and Kotoeiho are all struggling, therefore he won’t fight them, but the fourth is Kusano! He won their only bout in May last year, then still down in Makushita.
Cool! That matchup will probably happen, right?
I‘d guess if Kusano won tomorrow it would be very likely, but I‘m no expert. Andy or Iksumo could tell better.
A lot of options for the schedulers, depending on tomorrow’s outcomes and whether they prefer giving the challengers high-ranked opponents (though of course they’re out of them for Aonishiki) or pit them against each other.
…and he hasn’t met Ichiyamamoto yet…
Hello Andy, j’espère que vous avez apprécié tout le champagne!! Taittinger, Veuve, Lanson, Ruinart? Je suis jalouse!😁
Tamawashi was up on his toes when he just lost grip with his left foot, it’s so clear on the replay. Such a shame as he was driving forward. Kirishima nearly had Onosato, who looked a little shaken afterwards. Good to see Kirishima bringing it this basho, even if he lost this match.
If the last 4 days are anything like the previous 4 we’re in for a other exciting finish!
Thanks again Iksumo, you’ve done a sterling job keeping us sorted for data and insights!
Je ne comprends pas un mot de votre première phrase, sauf „hello“. Quel étrange anglais!
But with the rest of your comment I fully agree, especially with the Iksumo part.
I wish we had been able to see and taste all of those! Unfortunately, we only went to two of the big houses, Mercier and Ayala. They were really good, though. We went to a tiny, family-owned one, too. That was my favorite. It’s like his man-cave is a real wine cellar that he digs by himself with a chainsaw. It was called Lancelot-Royer. It was awesome and the champagne was great, too.
Yesterday’s sumo was pretty good, too. I’m still waiting for Kotozakura to show up, though.
Low point of the day was Abi grabbing Aonishiki’s mawashi from behind and intentionally showing him down after the bout was practically over.
It’s close but I think Abi was just trying everything he could to win. After a lifetime of hearing, “play to the whistle,” and “protect yourself at all times,” I don’t find fault with Abi for that.
Abi had hold of the knot on Aonishiki’s mawashi as he was falling past the dohyo level to the ground. Abi hitting the floor basically gave the last, dramatic downward tug to make sure Aonishiki face-planted right next to him. If Abi had let go when he became a dead body out of the ring, he probably would’ve been able to position himself to land better as well. Basically, he caused a possible concussion concern to a rising star, which I can in no way support. It’s just more Abi shenanigans. I figured as Abi gained more weight (and tenure in the top division), his style would diversify because he physically could pull more off. But instead, he leans into his schtick, often to his detriment. Abi ozeki was a consideration in early 2022; now he occasionally puts up a double-digit basho when he locks in. Kinda like Shodai, in that.
Watching it several times, it could have been a reflex in anger, but how can you tell? He bowed friendly to everyone after landing in the crowd and assured with Aonishiki if he’s being OK. Abi basically is a nice guy, you often see him preventing his opponents from falling off the dohyo.
My first thought when I saw the scene, was „is that Abidiot going to prevent Astonishiki‘s yusho off the dohyo now?“, but I guess one really can’t tell for sure.
Though the friendly bowing afterwards doesn’t prove anything in his favor…
I thoroughly hope that there is no delayed problem with Aonishiki‘s head or neck!
Great stuff today. Couple of thoughts from these quarters:
My Metakiumi dreams were not satisfied today, but hats off to the rookie, that was a beautiful throw.
Was it just me, or was WTK staring at Kotozakura as he hurled Hakuoho into his lap?. That had a “watch out, I’m coming for you Mr Risk of going kadoban again”. Okay, maybe just my imagination going wild but man do I love me some WTK ver 2.0 after the injury.
The JOI is getting quite the shakeup come sept.
Day 11! Andy is back from Kyujo :)
And thank you Leonid for filling in for Andy.
Takayasu bout was really amazing, that throw shows his sheer power.
If my friends ask me to introduce to sumo sports, I would like to suggest such bouts.
Kirishima fought good, It looked like he had the upper hand most part of the bout.
I would say that Onosato was lucky to escape another loss.
Asakoryu Henka was disappointing.
And pushing Sadanoumi so hard was not required, as he was already near the tawara and might have got injured.