Day 11 in Kyushu. No change as far as kyujo goes. Given Yoshinofuji’s shock win yesterday, imagine what the kid could do if his right calf were at 100%! Fujiryoga defeated Kazekeno and improves to 10-1. Daiseizan lost to Hatsuyama, creating separation from the rest of the field. Fujiryoga now has a two-win lead over Daiseizan, Hatsuyama, Asanoyama, and Tamashoho. I don’t think we often get runaway yusho in Juryo.
Videos of today’s Top Division action are here, along with a bonus video of the Asanoyama/Kagayaki bout. Let me know if you have trouble finding the videos. They’re hidden when you go to the page and you have to click, “続き読む”, or continue reading. Yesterday, I’d mistakenly typed “continue drinking,” or 続き飲む. I still have my old “Weekend Forecast” T-shirt that calls for Whiskey and Sumo. Seems appropriate to pull that out.
Makuuchi Action
Oshoumi (3-8) defeated Ryuden (4-7). Henka! Desperate times call for desperate measures. Oshoumi leapt left at the tachiai and thrust Ryuden down. Tsukiotoshi.
Meisei (1-1-9) defeated Mitakeumi (5-6). Meisei picked up his first win of the tournament. Mitakeumi had been leading with a left hand nodowa. Meisei pivoted away from the bales and worked his right hand inside pulling on that left shoulder. Meisei successfully pulled Mitakeumi forward and down by that left shoulder. Katasukashi.
Tokihayate (8-3) defeated Gonoyama (6-5). Gonoyama forced Tokihayate to the bales but Tokihayate slipped to the left, grabbed Gonoyama’s belt and threw him forward over the bales. Uwatedashinage.
Tomokaze (4-7) defeated Sadanoumi (3-8). Tomokaze got his right hand up behind Sadanoumi’s head and slapped him down. Tomokaze staved off makekoshi for another day but Sadanoumi locked in his losing record. Will he earn a ticket on the barge to Juryo? Hatakikomi.
Nishikifuji (8-3) defeated Fujinokawa (6-5). Fujinokawa was fighting to get his right hand inside when Nishikifuji charged forward with his left-hand firmly wrapped around Fujinokawa, and forced him to the bales. Fujinokawa resisted going over but Nishikifuji shoved him over. Oshidashi.
Shishi (4-7) defeated Asakoryu (6-5). Shishi slung Asakoryu around by his right arm and shoved him over the edge. Oshitaoshi.
Midorifuji (6-5) defeated Shonannoumi (3-8). Midorifuji got his right hand inside Shonannoumi’s left shoulder and pulled the big man forward. Katasukashi.
Chiyoshoma (7-4) defeated Kinbozan (4-7). Chiyoshoma grabbed Kinbozan’s extended left arm and swung him around and over the edge. Tottari.
Ichiyamamoto (7-4) defeated Kotoshoho (6-5). Ichiyamamoto pivoted and pulled the hard-charging Kotoshoho down. Hikiotoshi.
Roga (7-4) defeated Abi (5-6). Abi charged forward but Roga slipped to the right and slapped Abi forward. Hatakikomi.
Churanoumi (6-5) defeated Daieisho (6-5). Churanoumi deflected Daieisho to the right at the tachiai and thrust him down. Tsukiotoshi.
Halftime
Onokatsu (5-6) defeated Tobizaru (4-7). Onokatsu got his left hand inside and just kept up the pressure. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji (7-4) defeated Tamaawshi (4-7). Atamifuji outlasted Tamawashi and forced him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Kirishima (7-4) defeated Shodai (4-7). Kirishima put his head down and forced Shodai backward. Shodai tried to shift to his right but Kirishima was wise to it and thrust Shodai over the bales. Tsukidashi.
Hiradoumi (3-8) defeated Wakatakakage (5-6). Henka! Hiradoumi shifted left at the tachiai and thrust Wakatakakage to the ground. That might be the first time I’ve seen Hiradoumi use a henka. It was very well executed. Tsukiotoshi.
Wakamotoharu (6-5) defeated Hakuoho (3-8). While Hakuoho fiddled around trying to get Wakamotoharu’s belt with his right hand, WMH locked on with both hands and drove Hakuoho back over the bales. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Ura (6-5) defeated Takayasu (5-6). Takayasu pulled and Ura ran him through the back of the dohyo, grabbing at Takayasu’s leg. Watashikomi.
Yoshinofuji (8-3) defeated Aonishiki (9-2). Well then. Yoshinofuji blasted Aonishiki with powerful thrusts and forced him back and over the edge. You can still see Yoshinofuji can’t bear full weight of both wrestlers on his right leg but that didn’t stop him from charging forward and picking up his kachi-koshi. Tsukidashi.
Kotozakura (6-5) defeated Oshoma (3-8). Kotozakura pulled Oshoma down. Hikiotoshi.
Hoshoryu (9-2) defeated Oho (4-7). Oho tried to twist and pull Hoshoryu to his right. Hoshoryu was having none of it and used his right hand inside to throw Oho backward. Yoritaoshi.
Takanosho (3-8) defeated Onosato (9-2). Takanosho thrust into the Yokozuna with a right hand nodowa and it seemed like Onosato’s right foot slipped as he pressed forward. Takanosho backed away and, “Timber!!” Onosato fell forward. Well, it’s not a kinboshi. Tsukiotoshi.
Wrap-up
Aonishiki will fight Oshoma tomorrow. He still needs to fight both Yokozuna and Kotozakura. I think the Association are setting him up for a fight with Kotozakura on senshuraku with Ozeki promotion on the line. He still needs two wins to reach the 33-win mark. That would mean beating Oshoma and Kotozakura or at least one of the Yokozuna. What’s certain is this loss to Yoshinofuji makes his path more difficult.
However, Onosato’s sudden two-loss streak makes the yusho race much more competitive. We now have a three-man tie at the top with Onosato, Hoshoryu, and Aonishiki at 9-2. Yoshinofuji, Tokihayate and Nishikifuji chase at 8-3.
Hoshoryu will fight Takayasu. Onosato will fight Oho. Kotozakura will fight Yoshinofuji. As I mentioned above, Aonishiki will fight Oshoma and Takanosho will fight Tamawashi. I swear Yoshinofuji’s right calf is still ailing him, making today’s win even more impressive. Watch how he has to shift his weight to the left foot as he advances because he can’t quite put all of his weight on that right side.
In the hiramaku, M6 Atamifuji will fight Tokihayate. Atamifuji is looking for kachi-koshi and the Association likely wants to put an end to Tokihayate’s role in this yusho race. Likewise, Nishikifuji moves up to fight M8 Ichiyamamoto, who’s also seeking kachi-koshi.
So, if Aonishiki cycles through the Yokozuna on Day 13-14 along with Kotozakura, there will be a massive fracas with the three leaders and hopefully one will stay on top. While Aonishiki and the Yokozuna have the yusho on the line, Kotozakura has kadoban on the line.
Kotozakura needs two more wins and at least one will have to come from one of the guys leading the yusho race. If he loses all of those bouts, he will be kadoban and that could be really good news for Aonishiki’s Ozeki run.
Well, what’s for sure is there is a lot on the line in these closing four days.
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Wow! Can’t wait for the highlights this evening. Never a dull moment in sumo, never. I gasped out loud when I read that Takanosho had a victory over Onosato! Yoshinofuji continues to be exciting! What a time to be watching sumo!
Your excellent summaries keep me going all day Andy. Thank you! ‘Whisky & Sumo’? It’s a bit early for me, but a nice Talisker would be most pleasant later on, Slàinte. :D
On Leo’s channel I read: JSA stated that Aonishiki isnt on ozeki tun, we wanted to test him more… is there any truth behind this statement?
I wouldn’t doubt it. I’ll dig into it. With WTK, there was a bunch of press reports. With this, not anything. But if Aonishiki wins a yusho or gets into a playoff? I think there are a lot of scenarios where they might have to take another look.
I don’t understand. He’s at sekiwake with 22 wins over the last 2 basho. If he gets 11 or more now, wouldn’t it be grossly unfair to deny him? That has been the standard, I don’t know how far back, but certainly over the last 4 years since I’ve been watching the sport.
It’s often cited but it’s not an official criteria. Wrestlers have been denied before. We’re not sure if the Nagoya tournament is being included, for example. He was still a rank-and-file wrestler. Also, other factors might play into it, like whether they won a yusho or jun-yusho, etc. Given the hype around WTK and Kirishima and Daieisho’s recent failures, they might be more cautious about laying a line in the sand, publicly. But if he wins the yusho, I think it would be very hard for them to turn him down. First, he needs to win 11. That will require beating an Ozeki and/or a Yokozuna. Those are other factors which might come into play.
I think those are reasonable points. Another might be that although 11 wins is the “Ozeki average” you’d probably want proof that he could win more than that, which Aonishiki hasn’t done. I think we are rushing him. I’d be quite happy to see him establish a firm hold on sekiwake, unlike so many other woud-be ozeki recently.
Somehow we got two henkatakakage in today’s basho..? One got henkaed, while the other rolled over Hakuoho.
Or was it a drunken Andy..? haha.
Sleepy Andy strikes again. Thank you for catching that. Fixed.
Is Onosato injured or just suddenly clueless?
Seems more a mental challenge to me. I had a coach once tell me “a relaxed performance is the best performance”….Onosato looked anything but relaxed. I think Hosh has the edge when the pressure cooker heats up.
Seems indeed be the way to top performances. Look at top sprinters always a relaxed jaw. The moment you tighten up fysicaly or mentally you are doomed. But too relaxed is also not good, you should be concentrated from moment zero, it would be nice if in the rest of his career Hoshoryu would have learned that lesson and he don’t needs a henka against him anymore to fire him up.
Totally agree A3. My coach at the time was for equestrian. If you are too relaxed you would fall off the horse! Not a good look!!
Yes. As someone that does a lot of public speaking / performances, one way or another, I believe you need an edge of tension; not so much that it debilitates, but without it, certain performances/ deliveries will be or will seem lacklustre and indifferent. Just as being too relaxed means you’ll have no control of the horse!
Today’s bout has me wondering a bit but that was a weird step. Maybe there’s an injury but it might have just been a slip.
I saw a left foot double slip indeed
Hakuoho other Waka. First month long nothing from Midorifuji and now two days after each other his signature kimarite.
For Takayasu it was not a pull but critical miss, when he tried to push the air. The bout was lost at that point, pull didn’t matter.
It seems that the way to beat Aonishiki is just lifting his upper body, Yoshinofuji is doing this and Onosato also. It looks that Aonishiki cannot do anything when he is not curled up. All the rikishi that fight against him with straight legs are at disadvantage. Also I never thought about his style as “fundamental” as many here refers. He is very unconventional and relies on clinging to the opponent.
Ura still lost to him, and he was even lower.
Yes, Ura is low, but he doesn’t try to lift the opponent’s upper body up.
Onosato looked like he slipped with both feet trying to go into Takanohana as Tak stepped back. With nobody to lean on and the roller skates well behind his center of gravity a face plant was inevitable.
Gonna be a verrrrry interesting yusho chase for the final 4 days. Must see Sumo indeed.
Takanosho, darned auto-suggest got me!
I would like to see a match between Onosato and Takanohana in his prime…
Onosato in that period…. maximum sekiwake. Takanohana was a beast. He made me watching sumo. We are comparing mortals with demigods….
And he would have had Akebono and Wakanohana to deal with… Good luck with that.
Well, isn’t nostalgia a wonderful thing…
Realistically it could be the other way round, or, my favorite scenario, those would be great bouts.
Midorifuji won his bout today by dropping his center of gravity almost to the floor at one point. He went from that position to attacking for his signature kimarite. A fascinating thing to watch in slow motion, for sure.
Onosato has “the yips” to use a baseball term. He’s mentally shaky, so he’s vulnerable.
The yips is also a golf thing. I think they talk about it in hockey, too. Sports is totally mental and Ian Baker Finch had it hit him hard.
Watched Aonishki’s match 4x and it seems a combo of Yoshinofuji’s speed, a well placed nodowa at a critical moment and the inability of Aonishki to anchor his left foot seconds after the tachiai (he slides back considerably) were the main factors in the loss. He never had the time to go on offense… something tells me a hatakikomi may be on the menu for his next match with Yoshinofuji.
I think I’ve seen Aonishiki lose in a similar way before. He relies on not taking the full force of frontal attacks (mostly by staying low), and this match showed just how tough that can be. Yoshinofujii was able to get him more upright into his power wheelhouse, and Aonishiki wasn’t able to escape from it.
From a slow motion replay, Yoshinofujii got one solid connection with a thrust to the throat area that got Aonishiki slightly up and slightly off balance. Props to Yoshinofujii for being able to bring that thrust from low enough to lift Aonishiki (rather than just slide him back) and then follow up quickly to finish the match.
This is the sort of drama I love as a viewer.
At the risk of playing armchair psychologist it seems like there might be a mindset difference in the yokozuna. Maybe Onosato got rattled from being in retreat from Ura and Tamawashi. And Hoshoryu seems more driven to try for that first yusho after he got henka’d.
Is there a statistic on number of henkas in a basho?
Takanasho’s nodowa was unique in that his lower body backed away as he lifted Onosata’s chin .. Onosato resisted/leaned in/walked into it .. a very clever twist on Takanasho’s typical nodowa .. customized for the young semi .. who had to be ready for a nodowa .. just not this variation .
Nishigifuji is having a nice basho .. that’s about to change
I have not seen a dataset on henka. It’s a bit subjective sometimes because many are arguable or borderline henka. It’s not often there’s a leap that avoids all contact. Sometimes simple shifts can reduce contact or deflect an opponent significantly.
It should be a kimarite.
The thing is, the actual method of winning can be quite different, like uwatenage if they grab the belt and pull forward, or hatakikomi if there’s a slap down. A lot are tsukiotoshi. Those actually seem more appropriate calls than, “henka”.
If such a statistic existed, who might be the king of henka? Chiyoshoma?
Aminishiki. Which makes it even more glaring/hilarious when Aonishiki falls victim.
Or simply amazing, that the young -nishiki never has used one as far as I know.
Didn‘t spend enough time in the lower divisions
I love how things boil up for the last basho days. Yoshinofuji makes it exciting!
Kirishima is looking very solid for a quite long streak of days now. I bet he‘s not given up for returning to Ozeki.
For Sadanoumi it might be the last Makuuchi basho? When I saw him sitting on the edge of the dohyo after getting off, I heard some ‚I‘m too old for this sh** ringing in the air.
This title ukiyo-e is beautiful! Some ‚burning down the house‘-vibes. Do you know what story this is telling? Some ancient tale or historic matter?
I’ll check on the art. I am getting nostalgic about Sadanoumi. He’s the longest tenured wrestler in the top division. While Tamawashi is older and has more tournaments in the top division, Sadanoumi had his debut about a year earlier.
I found it! “甲州流武田幕張” Koshuryu Takeda Makubari by Toyohara Kunichika. It’s a representation of the climax of a Kabuki play.
Great, thank you! Yes, it has the air of a Kabuki face.
Aonishiki will have to develop a counter move to the tactic Yoshinofuji employed .. Kinbozan used it earlier this year .. it is an obvious approach to his style + smaller size .. Ura/Midorifuji are prototypes for under sized rikishi using their opponents momentum (+ leading arms, etc) at the bales .. He has the wrestling skills … Just add some ballet + pivots on the bales ..
Kirishima is leading w his head on his attacks/tachiai’s .. when his sumo is reactive, he avoids that .. (a la Shodai) .. I think mention was made earlier this year of neck problems .. Hopefully that is healthy now ..
One wonders if there is a “back story” to some of these henkas.. Hiradoumi pulling one on WTK sure looks like somebody whispered a suggestion in his ear .. It is out of character + pulled in his “hometown” basho .. Looks like a lot of payback .. or doing something for a friend ..
If it was a henka at all.
And I would think twice before I henkad one of the Henka Brothers; they are two to take revenge…
I was thinking the same thing… is not Hiradoumi often Hoshoryu’s swordbearer? Hoshoryu: “O you’ll have your brother revenge henka me? I’ll have my swordbearer revenge henka you!”
Is there a statistic on number of henkas in a basho?
Takanasho’s nodowa was unique in that his lower body backed away as he lifted Onosata’s chin .. Onosato resisted/leaned in/walked into it .. a very clever twist on Takanasho’s typical nodowa .. customized for the young semi .. who had to be ready for a nodowa .. just not this variation .
Nishigifuji is having a nice basho .. that’s about to change