No new kyujo here on senshuraku, thankfully. There is more than our share of walking wounded, though. I really would not have minded if Meisei had decided to watch today’s action from home.
In Juryo, Mita won the yusho despite being slapped down for a loss in his senshuraku bout against Shonannoumi. Both Daiseizan and Kōtokuzan lost to their opponents so neither could force a playoff. Eleven wins was enough for an outright yusho with six guys just behind.
Your lower division yusho winners are here:
Your NHK videos of today’s action is here: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I and Part II.
Special Prizes
With Hakuho gone, former Ozeki Takakeisho took over the role of displaying who earned special prizes on the Kyokai’s Twitter feed.
Outstanding Performance: Tamawashi, Whomever is Yusho-winner
Fighting Spirit: Kusano, Kotoshoho, Fujinokawa (with a win today)
Technique: Aonishiki, Kusano
Turning our attention to the top division yusho race, Kotoshoho and Aonishiki control their own destiny while Kusano must beat Takayasu and needs Aonishiki to beat Kotoshoho for him to have a spot in the playoff. If Kotoshoho beats Aonishiki, he claims the yusho outright. If Aonishiki wins, we will have a playoff and it will be an extra-interesting three-way battle if Kusano earns his spot.
Top Division Action
Shishi (7-8) defeated Asakoryu (6-9). Shishi wrapped up Asakoryu with a right-hand inside and steadily drove him to the edge and over. Yorikiri.
Mitakeumi (10-5) defeated Tokihayate (6-9). Mitakeumi got his right hand inside but Tokihayate pulled away to the left. Mitakeumi stuck with him, though and shoved him out easily. Oshidashi.
Takanosho (9-6) defeated Shodai (9-6). Shodai forced Takanosho to the edge but Takanosho slipped from his grip to the left and then hit him with a nodowa. Shodai pulled away but Takanosho chased and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Atamifuji (11-4) defeated Churanoumi (9-6). Atamifuji worked his right hand inside and tried to use gaburi-yotsu hip thrusts but that was slow going with only one hand on the belt and his left awkwardly wrapped around Churanoumi’s right arm. Churanoumi resisted well but eventually pulled, allowing Atamifuji the momentum he needed to force Churanoumi out. Yorikiri.
Kotoeiho (6-9) defeated Chiyoshoma (1-14). Chiyoshoma gave it his all and tried to throw Kotoeiho with his right-over arm grip, then his left-hand under arm. Kotoeiho’s excellent footwork allowed him to keep Chiyoshoma in front and he toppled Chiyoshoma over the edge with his own uwatenage.
Fujinokawa (10-5) defeated Ichiyamamoto (9-6). Ichiyamamoto charged forward behind his standard tsuppari but Fujinokawa slipped to Ichi’s right and slapped him down to claim his Fighting Spirit prize in his top division debut. Hatakikomi.
Kayo (4-11) defeated Meisei (3-12). With Meisei’s thigh injury, we saw some offense from Kayo. Instead of jamming his gear into reverse, he stood and brawled then shoved Meisei to the ground when Meisei pulled. Oshitaoshi.
Hiradoumi (8-7) defeated Roga (7-8). Hiradoumi charged straight into Roga who tried a twisting utchari at the edge. Both men tumbled down. Gunbai Hiradoumi. No mono-ii. It was close. Yoritaoshi.
Kinbozan (4-11) defeated Sadanoumi (4-11). Kinbozan hit Sadanoumi with several powerful thrusts to the face and thrust him out quickly. I think Sadanoumi tasted blood after that beating. That felt like the quickest first half in recorded history. Tsukidashi.
Halftime
Hidenoumi (2-11-2) defeated Onokatsu (6-9). Onokatsu assaulted Hidenoumi with nodowa then buried his top-knot in Hidenoumi’s chin and pressed forward. Hidenoumi resisted the best he could and worked his way back to center, even forcing Onokatsu to the bales. Onokatsu then pulled and Hidenoumi punished him by driving him over the edge for his second win of the tournament. In his haste to get back to the shitakubeya, Hidenoumi nearly forgot to pick up his kensho. Yorikiri.
Abi (9-6) defeated Midorifuji (9-6). Midorifuji henka and pull but this is Abi. Abi knew what was up and he shoved Midorifuji out. Quiet crowd tonight. Taps the microphone. “Is this thing on?” Oshidashi.
Oho (7-8) defeated Hakuoho (8-7). Oho battered Hakuoho with tsuppari and thrust him out. Tsukidashi.
Gonoyama (9-6) defeated Wakamotoharu (6-9). Gonoyama was all offense as he hit Wakamotoharu with repeated thrusts, effectively keeping him off his belt. Gonoyama kept pounding him back toward the edge and thrust him over. Tsukidashi.
Kotoshoho (13-2) defeated Aonishiki (11-4). Kotoshoho hit Aonishiki hard at the tachiai and began gaburi bunny hops and drove Aonishiki back toward the edge. Kotoshoho was trying to work both hands inside for a morozashi and Aonishiki pressed forward but Kotoshoho quickly pulled and thrust Aonishiki forward to the ground. Kotoshoho Yusho. Mom is crying, Dad is proud. Tsukiotoshi.
Sanyaku
Takayasu (10-5) defeated Kusano (11-4). Takayasu battered Kusano with a steady torrent of tsuppari, backing the rookie to the bales and out. Kusano tried to keep up with the tsuppari by blocking his arms but far too many blows hit their mark. You could see several head shots land which put Kusano in a bad way, then a body shot at the edge seemed to take the wind out of him. Finally safe at the foot of the dohyo, Kusano seemed to be questioning his life choices. Poor kid. Tsukidashi.
Tamawashi (11-4) defeated Oshoma (3-12). Both men gave their best today but the Iron Man out-lasted Oshoma. An early shift and pull-down attempt by Oshoma gave Tamawashi a good deal of trouble but Tamawashi recovered and countered. As he charged forward, he found himself too close to Oshoma for tsuppari so he grabbed Oshoma’s belt and drove him to the edge. Oshoma resisted along the bales and tried to escape but good ole Tom O’Washi bellied O’Shoma over the edge. Yorikiri.
Wakatakakage (10-5) defeated Kirishima (8-7). Wakatakakage hit Kirishima hard then batted him to the left while grabbing at his thong. Everyone wants to get their hands on Kirishima’s thong. Maybe he’s particularly vulnerable to wedgies. Anyway, while Kirishima tried to turn back around and avoid being okuridashi’ed, WTK kept up the attack, wrapped him up and pressed forward, forcing him off the dohyo. Yorikiri.
Onosato (11-4) defeated Kotozakura (8-7). Onosato, steady on his feet, faced Kotozakura well and pressed Kotozakura out. Kotozakura had tried to escape to the left and execute an uwatenage but Onosato moved laterally to keep Kotozakura in front of him. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
Kotoshoho was able to put together a fantastic 13-win performance while the best anyone from sanyaku could manage was Onosato’s 11. Still, Wakatakakage’s 10 wins is good enough to put him on a reasonable path to Ozeki promotion in September, which is excellent news. Kirishima’s five straight losses to end the tournament will effectively put him back at zero. The biggest story, though, is this host of young guns making their presence known and who will probably find themselves in sanyaku very soon.
Well, that was an interesting two weeks. We were certainly hit with more than our share of injuries, especially at the top of the division. There are a lot of walking wounded, too, as I mentioned above. I know Hoshoryu tried to make good on the promise of a Yokozuna duel on senshuraku. But he will stay kyujo for the first part of the Jungyo tour and hopefully his broken toe will be healed next time he mounts the dohyo.
Onosato gave up four kinboshi and must feel disappointed in his debut given the hype coming into the tournament. But the man still has not won fewer than 9 bouts in a tournament. He got eleven wins here and this should be considered a pretty successful result. He is not going to win them all but he will want to perform better against the rank-and-file. Well, at least the Kyokai accountants would be appreciative of extra effort in those bouts.
Anyway, If people were expecting the second-coming of prime Hakuho, well, give the kid a few tournaments. What is clear is that both Hoshoryu and Onosato are feeling the full weight of the expectations of their office even though both guys just got here. Let’s see where things go.
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That was a very disappointing weekend for Aoniski as he stayed on his 11 wins.
This is still the second best makuuchi debut after 3 basho. Only a certain Onosato was even better then follows a certain Hakuho:
https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=3&n_basho=3&show_total=on&sum_wins=24&form1_year=%3E1956&form1_m=on&form1_debutd=on&form2_m=on&form3_m=on&sort_by=sum_total
Bad two days for the one Ukrainian, good ones for the other. I‘m glad that Shishi (very probably) has prevented demotion with a final sprint.
Thank you Andy, Iksumo, and the Tachiai team for all the coverage, commentary, and insights. An interesting tournament, with all the usual ups, downs, and unexpected shenanigans.
Well done Kotoshoho, soon Aonishiki,soon, and I am looking forward to seeing Hoshoryu again, hopefully literally fighting fit.
Thanks also to all commentators on here who have kept me entertained and informed! See you in September!
Thank you Andy, Iksumo, and the Tachiai team for all the coverage, commentary, and insights. An interesting tournament, with all the usual ups, downs, and unexpected shenanigans.
Well done Kotoshoho, soon Aonishiki,soon, and I am looking forward to seeing Hoshoryu again, hopefully literally fighting fit.
Thanks also to all commentators on here who have kept me entertained and informed! See you in September!
I hate my phone, it always does this double post thing. Sorry
Thanks for all of the excellent commentary Andy and all of you Sumo fans. During the NHK grand sumo preview program Hiro Morito picked Kusano to win the Basho. I didn’t buy it at the time, but the young man sure gave it a shot. The young guns are paying their dues and giving notice that there’s some exciting Sumo to come. We need an Ozeki, are you listening WTK? If not you, who?
I expect Aonishiki and Kusano to overtake Wakatakakage.
But U never now of course and the Onami Benjamin realized back to back double digits wins in sanyaku for the first time in his career after all.
Takayasu didn‘t stop beating Kusano-boy, even when he was halfway down to the floor. This is Takayasu. Next time you pay him back.
Kanto-sho for Fujinokawa, amazing performance all the way!
Kotoshoho got it done! Why not, he once nearly had a win over Terunofuji on his dai-yokozuna-turn. ‚If nobody else wants the Emperor‘s Cup, I‘ll take it. Arigatou gozaimasu!‘ – I think he didn‘t believe it what was going on, when all the trophy and the interview came. Later in the Toyota tears seemed to come out finally. Congratulations!
Thanks from the depths of my heart to you Andy and Leonid for writing such lovely and great reports all the basho long. I enjoyed it so much! Thanks to all you nice people commenting here, I read it with pleasure!
What a curious basho it has been for Aonishiki. Finishing bouts against the sanyaku ranks with a 5-2 record, including a kinboshi, and 6-0 against top rank-and-filers, only to then lose to M14 and M15 rikishis.
Thanks very much to the Tachiai team and community! Looking forward to the next banzuke and September basho.
Thanks for the great coverage of the basho. Much appreciated! But, honestly, who had Kotoshoho on their bingo card to take the yusho? Props to him for taking full advantage of the opportunity that presented itself this basho. Kudos to the up-and-coming young guns and the grizzled veterans like Tamawashi and Takayasu who still have some gas in the tank!
The absence of Kotoshoho at the start of last basho was maybe one of the most successful kyujo in recent history. He was 0-5 before his first bout and could still prevent demotion.
That seems to have given his confidence a boost. And now he is the not undeserving yusho winner! His second week was fantastic.
“Finally safe at the foot of the dohyo, Kusano seemed to be questioning his life choices. Poor kid.”
Very funny description.
I have high hopes for Onosato as he moves so well, perfectly grounded and balanced.
Mixed results from my favorites. Takayasu, Onosato on the plus side. Kirishima, Wakamotoharu on the not-so-good side.
Can’t wait until September!
I often wonder if they ponder their life choices after particularly punishing bouts!
Wonderful pre-match call by Murray on Oho’s winning strategy… Kirishima injured? Today’s match looked like a give up to me, he barely used his right arm and went out in the same direction as yesterday’s match… Kotoshoho def learned from his prior losing match to Aonishiki, it was clear Aonishiki was expecting more of a thrusting attack… very nice to see some of Onosato’s sumo style return in his last match… Aonishiki was clearly unhappy and perhaps even angry at himself in the interview, wonder whether this translates into him getting to 12 wins in the next basho
It looked as though Kirishima might have taken a headbutt right to the bridge of his nose at the tachiai. That’ll wreck yer rhythm, and yer focus. And yer nose.
In general, there were a lot of loud BONKS this time around, it seems to me.
It seems to be rather effective. There are definitely a lot of guys who use the old noggin in some way. Often I see it jammed into the opponent’s throat or face. Must be uncomfortable.
When they started in the top division I really thought Kotoshoho was better than Kotonowaka. He just got a bad deal on his injuries I think. His sumo is not flashy but he seems to get things done when he is healthy. I am sad that Aonishiki wasn’t able to pull it off since he is such a dynamic fighter and just a compelling story line.
Shishi’s second week was the biggest turn around this tournament. I was certain he was going to be halfway down the Juryo banzuke next basho after the first week. Now it’s possible he might even be able to stay in the top division.
At least there won’t be any “ugh who can we over promote to fill the komusubi slot” decisions for September. It will be a pretty talent-stacked joi for certain.
Tamawashi pulling out TWO yotsu wins in 4 days is probably more yostu than I have seen him try in the last 4 years.
Yeah, I remember Kotoshoho and Kotonowaka seeming pretty even, and then Kotoshoho disappeared with injury and I kind of forgot about him. Good for him for a fabulous comeback! He seemed to be able to stay calm, not like he expected all those victories but more like he could take them in stride and see how far he could go. “Hmm. That was satisfying. Let’s see how long I can keep this ride going.” I hope his brother can stay in or soon return to the top division too.
I thought my boy Oho was going to go down big league but he pulled it out at the end and limited the damage (and he did beat Onosato).
Kotoshoho may have had a bottom-of-the-banzuke schedule for most of the basho but he beat three of the five runners-up including a yokozuna and the two who were actually in contention at the end of the tournament as well as a well-performing (i.e., 10-5 finish) komusubi-ranked Takayasu. I call it legit.
I finally watched live with the extended NHK world coverage on the app, and the fact that I’m off from work and able to stay up (well I tried to stay up, i was having trouble at the end). They started at the second half, which is annoying since I’m used to seeing all makuuchi bouts in the highlights show, but beggars can’t be choosers. I have zero japanese language literacy so these are my only real options.
All of the above to make a comment that is a bit separate from commentary about the sumo itself (i have plenty of thoughts there too, but mostly smiles of being entertained).
For the uninitiated, the presentation of trophies was…. I hope I don’t offend anyone… comical and utterly bizarre. I’ve only ever seen the highlight of the yusho winner getting handed the emperor’s cup, which looks like a trophy ceremony in any other sport. But then there was the “prime Minister” one, which was physically larger (?), and THEN the presentation of half dozen, a dozen (?) more large objects of varying design. I mean, that’s when i realized i had nodded off on the couch and they were still going, Kotoshoho wiping off the sweat in between giant tea cups that he held for 1.4 sec before handing them back, presumably to go right back into a display case.
Japanese culture is foreign to me. I’m so confused. Is it that so much of the JSA and the events in general are supported through gifts from corporations rather than US style marketing contracts? The broadcast itself is not a source of revenue, I seem to gather. No “Toyota halftime show” or “ford f150 replay” (not that I don’t loathe the US style).
Anyhow, thanks for the coverage as always, I’ve learned more and deepened my enjoyment of sumo directly through this blog in the last few years, appreciate the community.
Till September when I’m looking forward to a WTK Oseki run, serious talk of the Takayasu ozeki run (!!), Aonoshiki at (hopefully) sekiwake, and a JOI filled with healthy hungry rikishi. Oh, and two healthy ego bruised yokozuna destroying everyone until senshraku.
I can’t speak to the intricacies of the awards, but some of it is international diplomacy – the giant teacup is a gift from the Hungarian embassy, for example, I believe. United Arab Emirates gives a coffee pot and a year’s worth of gasoline. And there is a whole lot of food given by Japanese prefectures. So the winner’s stable gets huge amounts of beef, fruit vegetables, etc. And companies can also give awards. See Wikipedia, “List of sumo trophies.” But yeah, the presentation is not so exciting.
Thanks, it makes sense, I’m just new to the idea that the winner would stand there all alone and accept one after the other in an endless stream. Of course one needs to be gracious, but it’s quite protracted and seems a bit random.
NHK world service used to only show 50minutes of live coverage on Day 1 and Day 15, the popularity of Sumo internationally has caused them to add additional live coverage on Day 8 and 14 and they extend it on a couple of the days to be a little over an hour. If you want to watch the whole thing live with english commentary you need to have a subscription to the jme.tv streaming service which is $25 a month and doesn’t have a whole lot of English subtitled content as it is mainly aimed at Japanese ex-pats who live in the US and Canada (or crazy sumo fans like myself.) I wish jme had an option to watch the juryo matches live but they only re-broadcast what is on the main NHK over the air broadcast and not the alternate satellite broadcast that they have in Japan that covers the end of Makushita and all of Juryo (Japanese commentary only.)
The trophies, when not being handed to the winner at the end of a tournament or being used in events after the tournament where the champion is being feted are kept in a giant trophy case in the Kokugikan lobby. Only a few of the trophies in that case are given out every tournament (the two you mentioned, the Emperor’s and Prime Minister’s cups being the main two) and others are just there like the dust collecting trophies in every high school in America.
And yes, the Prime Minister’s Cup (bowl) is definitely heavier than the Emperor’s Cup. I was there in January on Day 15 and it was one of the rare occasions where the actual prime minister was present to give out the trophy. He needed help to lift the thing and still almost fell over as he gave it to Hoshoryu.
It would be great if jme had Juryo and the lower divisions. I completely agree.
The awards are amazing and frankly, one of the great things about watching at the venue. NHK usually cuts off and goes to news at some point, Abema cuts back to Wakanohana, so you don’t see all of them. There are several regional awards, corporate ones, like you mentioned, then there are “friendship” awards from various countries. The best part is that the trophy usually has a prize that’s even better…like a trophy of a cow corresponds to actual beef and produce to promote Miyazaki beef. There’s the shiitake mushrooms, a year’s supply of gas, a year of beer (from Mexico), another year of beer (from Czechia), I think a year’s supply of sake, the Herend tea set, the macarons…it’s fantastic.
Thanks all. I think it being almost 2am local time, me wanting my pillow, and Kotoshoho looking stunned still and unsure of exactly what to do added to the surreal sense of the proceedings. Like, an official showed him how to hold his hand when accepting a flag pole.
I really enjoy being able to watch the actual pace of things, something one misses entirely with the highlight show where they edit out mata even. I often read pre tachiai details here and get grumpy that i wasn’t shown part of the drama. It was cool, for example that I got to see both Kotoshoho and Aonoshiki before they came down ringside, and a little of their non interaction pre bout from their seated positions.
Maybe with an English printed banzuke, I can manage a japanese recorded broadcast, I recognize all the rikishi now by sight if they’ve had a bout in makanuchi in the last 4 years. I’ll rarely be awake for things live, but maybe i can catch up earlier in the day PST.
To keep track of which match is up, I usually google “torikumi” and get to the “matches & topics” page here: https://www.sumo.or.jp//En/
You can see who’s up against who, wins/losses each day, record so far, who’s kyujo.
Yeah, i keep those pages book marked, I’m on them all the time, the issue is information embargo before I’ve seen the matches. I want to watch it unfold, so i have to avoid any sumo Internet until NHK finishes it’s production work on the highlight show, usually not until 7 or 8pm my time, which is like 16hrs after the matches actually happened.
No matter what i watch, it’s gonna be after all the days action is decided. Maybe I’ll screen shot the days matches the night before when there are no results yet, have it like my program to refer to when I’m watching my personal tape delay.
First world problems of watching sports from the other side of the planet 😂🤣
Its widely believed that the main reason rikishi slap and beat themselves just before a match is to remind themself that what’s at stake is the giant macaroon.
https://mobile.x.com/tachiai_blog/status/1858251447579668529
Ha! An important public service announcement indeed!
A very entertaining basho despite my man Hoshoryu being out – lots of other inventive sumo on display! Yay for so many lively up and comers! Thank you so much, team Tachiai and the Tachiai community, for your insights and fellowship.
Thank you all for your great participation and comments! Makes me want to keep it up!