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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Tamawashi–thought he would take it easy, get KachiKoshi, collect a fee Kensho, avoid injury and work on breaking records. Instead he competed like a youngster. I’ll have what he’s having.
Glad to see the Koto brothers do so well. Baby brother got a lot of excellent experience, and, a few Kensho. Happy parents.
Gonoyama seems to have gotten his sea legs finally.
Poor Ichy, didn’t have what it takes to finish the job. Makes you applaud those who compete until day 15! Did enjoy his NHK interview, very personable chap.
Bad tournament for both Taker and Takar – afuji. Funny, didn’t miss Endo. Think he will return? Would love to see Assurayana back but I have my doubts.
Aonoshiki will make a great Ozeki st some point. I’ll hold off thoughts about Kusano’s future until he competes in a few mire basho. Thought WMH would be an Ozeki by now.
Cheers until September
Great point about Ichiyamamoto. Almost forgot about him but he was in the yusho race…again! I wonder if he’ll pull it off sometime?
I am so happy to see Takayasu blasting out. It was my favorite part of the basho. Who knows? We may even get the gorilla shrug again!
Yeah, and he started by getting absolutely dumped by Hoshoryu on Day One. I mean that looked rough. From there, though, he remained steady and he will stay in Sanyaku.
Thank you to Andy, Leonid, and all commenters .. Sumo + this site is special ..
A really neat basho ..Plot lines kept moving til a very appropriate climax was written ..
Kotoshoho, Aonishiki, Kusano, Fujinowaka, Atamifuji, + Hakuoho displayed an infusion of youth, talent + diverse styles that make the future bright for sumo fans .. Shishi showed some bounce to his sumo + hopefully avoided the juryo barge .. Mitakeumi, Takayasu, and Tamawashi showed the senior rikishi can till bring strong sumo .. WTK is flashing his pre-surgery movement .. Onosato lost focus for a few matches, but bounced back for a respectable finish .. September’s basho already has too many plots to count ..
Thank you! Very kind words and looking forward to September. Don’t forget, we’ve got Jungyo, too!
From my experience in Japan .. Long ceremonies + lots of speeches (that many attendees ignore while chattering away) are very common .. Sumo falls in line w that custom ..
Andy, great analysis as always even with your own kyujo. I’m not going to claim I saw it coming, but if you recall I commented on Kotoshoho’s impressive return from injury during the last basho. I question his consistency but there may not be a more perfect physical specimen for the sport.
My favorite part of the interviews was Fujinokawa saying he was going to put on more weight. Finally an honest and informative response, other than the typical “do my own brand of sumo”.
Keep up great work!
Thank you! Helps make it worthwhile!
Someone should do a strength-of-schedule analysis of the three yusho contenders from Day 15. What were the combined win totals of their opponents?
It seems that Aonishiki had the toughest schedule, having to wrestle many sanyaku competitors early on; whereas Kotoshoho and Kusano didn’t face highly ranked opponents until it became clear that they had serious chances of winning the basho.