On Day 13, the lower division yusho are either decided outright or playoffs are determined for senshuraku. The Makushita, Sandanme and Jonokuchi yushos were decided. Jonidan will have a playoff between two undefeated stablemates, Kakueizan and Ryuho.
Lower Division Titles:
- Makushita – Kazuma (7-0)
- Sandanme – Kaki (7-0)
- Jonokuchi – Goseiryu (7-0)
In Juryo, Fujiryoga beat Daiseizan with a sukuinage at the edge to improve to 12-1. He can run away with the yusho tomorrow.
Makuuchi Action
Gonoyama (7-6) defeated Meisei (1-3-9). Gonoyama drove into Meisei with a nodowa, driving him backwards. Meisei was able to get a hold of Gonoyama’s belt and resist at the bales. Gonoyama trapped Meisei’s right arm and pulled him forward and down. Oshitaoshi.
Oshoumi (5-8) defeated Tomokaze (5-8). Tomokaze tried to pull Oshoumi but stepped out before Oshoumi fell. Gunbai Oshoumi. No mono-ii. Oshidashi.
Sadanoumi (4-9) defeated Shishi (5-8). Sadanoumi put his arms up around Shishi’s neck, twisted and pulled Shishi to the ground. Sadanoumi is not having a great tournament but he’s putting everything he has into these bouts. Kubihineri.
Asakoryu (7-6) defeated Kotoshoho (7-6). Henka! Asakoryu absorbed a lot of Kotoshoho’s tsuppari as punishment. Kotoshoho then pulled but Asakoryu was ready and shoved Kotoshoho out. Oshidashi.
Daieisho (8-5) defeated Chiyoshoma (8-5). Daieisho thrust into an off-balance Chiyoshoma, who rolled backward onto his butt. Oshitaoshi.
Tobizaru (6-7) defeated Shonannoumi (3-10). Tobizaru allowed Shonannoumi to lumber forward. Tobizaru hooked his left arm under Shonannoumi’s right, pivoted and pulled Shonannoumi over the tawara. Yorikiri.
Mitakeumi (6-7) defeated Midorifuji (6-7). Mitakeumi pressed forward, forcing Midorifuji to the bales. Midorifuji released his grip and shifted left, hoping Mitakeumi’s momentum would carry him over the bales. Mitakeumi was ready and adjusted well, driving into Midorifuji and shoving him out. Oshidashi.
Ryuden (6-7) defeated Kinbozan (5-8). Ryuden got his favorite migi-yotsu hold on Kinbozan’s belt and spun him toward the bales. Kinbozan tried to resist but Ryuden ushered him over the edge. Kinbozan makekoshi. Yorikiri.
Ichiyamamoto (9-4) defeated Roga (8-5). Ichiyamamoto tried to drive Roga out with tsuppari but Roga grabbled Ichiyamamoto and pulled him at the edge. Ichiyamamoto stopped his momentum at the tawara and re-engaged Roga at the center. Ichiyamamoto then used his new yotsu-zumo weapon to drive Roga back and over the bales. A great win for Ichiyamamoto as he avoided Roga’s trickery and showcased his new yotsu skills. Yorikiri.
Fujinokawa (8-5) defeated Abi (5-8). Abi forced Fujinokawa to the edge but Fujinokawa twisted and thrust Abi forward and onto his stomach. Abi make-koshi. Tsukiotoshi.
Yoshinofuji (9-4) defeated Tokihayate (9-4). Tokihayate forced Yoshinofuji to the bales but Yoshinofuji was able to turn the tables and drive Tokihayate back through the dohyo with his hidari-yotsu grip and force him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Halftime
Hiradoumi (4-9) defeated Churanoumi (6-7). Hiradoumi blasted Churanoumi back to the edge and kept up the pressure, forcing Churanoumi out. Oshidashi.
Wakamotoharu (7-6) defeated Onokatsu (5-8). Wakamotoharu got his hidari-yotsu sashi and drove Onokatsu back and out. Yorikiri.
Kirishima (9-4) defeated Atamifuji (7-6). Kirishima got his left-hand inside to join his already established right-hand inside hold. With the morozashi grip he was able to lift Atamifuji back and drive him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Tamawashi (6-7) defeated Wakatakakage (6-7). Tamawashi slammed into Wakatakakage and drove him back and out. Tamawashi now draws level with the Great Takanohana with 701 Top Division victories, tied for 10th most all-time. Oshidashi.
Ura (7-6) defeated Hakuoho (4-9). Ura got a left-hand hold of Hakuoho’s belt, pivoted, and dragged Hakuoho over the edge. Uwatedashinage.
Sanyaku
Takayasu (6-7) defeated Nishikifuji (8-5). Nishikifuji blasted Takayasu to the edge but Takayasu escaped left and slapped Nishikifuji forward. Hatakikomi.
Takanosho (4-9) defeated Shodai (4-9). Shodai didn’t like Takanosho’s nodowa. Takanosho followed up with a shove and forced Shodai out. Oshidashi.
Oho (5-8) defeated Oshoma (3-10). Oho forced Oshoma to the edge and did not fall for his antics. Oho used his left-hand inside grip to contain Oshoma and usher him out. Yorikiri.
Hoshoryu (11-2) defeated Kotozakura (7-6). Kotozakura tried real hard. He had a few chances to win this bout but Hoshoryu was too strong and he had more stamina. Kotozakura seemed to wear out and tried a last-ditch pull at the edge. Hoshoryu forced him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Onosato (11-2) defeated Aonishiki (10-3). This was close. Aonishiki had his left hand on Onosato’s belt and pulled. As he approached the edge, he left his feet and drove Onosato to the ground before landing off the dohyo. Gunbai Onosato. No mono-ii. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
We will have replays and arguments about this Onosato/Aonishiki bout for ages, especially if Onosato rolls to a yusho and Aonishiki is not considered for promotion after this tournament. Without the mono-ii we don’t know the judge’s minds on this and whether Aonishiki was dead when he left his feet. Bimyo.
The bout listings are not out for tomorrow but it’s probably safe to assume Onosato will fight Kotozakura and Hoshoryu will fight Aonishiki. All other players are out of this.
There is a lot to fight for in this final weekend. Aside from the yusho Sanyaku position is on the line for Takayasu and Oho, as well as for several guys with designs on replacing Takanosho, at least. Promotions and demotions are still wide open in many cases. However, Meisei, Shonannoumi, and Sadanoumi have their tickets to Juryo.
Will Oshoumi or Asakoryu join them? And then, who will replace them? What’s a final weekend without drama? I would have liked a mono-ii.
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It looked a bit of a present to Onosato. They could at least have a monoii and take a look. For me Onosato touched the ground first.
Yeah, he definitely touched the ground first but Aonishiki may have been ruled dead when he left his feet, although he was actively slapping Onosato down.
He was off the ground, because he pushed Onosato down at the edge and didn’t wanted to touch the ground first. Ura does it all the time and always get the nod.
Yeah. It seems to happen a lot. I wonder how it may have changed if he had jumped farther so he’d be completely off the dohyo when he landed. “Extended plane of the dohyo” conversations come into play then. Not here, though.
Does Ura always get the nod? I think the vast majority of the time the rikishi in Aonishiki’s position is ruled dead.
Not sure how that rule properly works but to my amateur eyes Onosato looked ‘more dead’ than Aonishiki…
This rule definitely causes a lot of controversy. I would have called for a rematch simply because that rule is way too open for interpretation.
I think that’s a good choice.
Yeah. That’s how it looked to me, too.
It looked for al the world Tochinochin all over again.
The thought had crossed my mind. 😂
You can’t be “dead” when you are attempting a counter move. Aonishiki was trying something while being pushed out. As opposed to when Onosato beat Hoshoryu last tournament where Hoshoryu wasn’t doing anything.
Reminds me of when Takakeisho “beat” Enho in a similar manner. It’s always pretty obvious when they apply the rule in a convenient way. They wanted their Yokozuna’s to win and they screwed Aonishiki. At the very least a monoii was warranted.
Oh well sumo will be sumo
Thank you for this excellent summary.
It seems to me that Onosato was dead before Aonishiki left the ground. The decision is debatable and should have been verified.
The times I have seen someone declared dead, I follow Sumo since when Chijonofuji was just still active, he was always horizontally outstreched in the air, not while slapping someone down jumping in the air. In those situations I have seen rikishi done miracle saves to get their feet somehow on the tawara. Besides that in comparable endings it is always going slappies/jumpies way. Ura has won countless times that way, only when his foot was under the level of the dohyo, while the opponent touched the ground, it went the other way.
Chijonofuji got me hooked on sumo too .. but am still trying figure out sumo’s definition of “dead” .. fwiw .. it makes for fantasitic cocktail talk when trying to explain sumo’s nuances to the uninitiated ..
They have just given Onosato a couple this tournament that should have at least been a conference. They really really really want a dominant Japanese born Yokozuna. (Not that Onosato needs the help, but eh)
Oho will get demoted out of sanyaku since he hasn’t done bupkis against guys at the top of the Banzuke, and Takayasu is gonna likely stay with a losing record yet again (if he loses out) unless Wakatakakage can somehow pull two more out of his hat. Kirishima is the only definite sanyaku promotion, though if Yoshinofuji wins his last two they’ll probably bump him up. Wakamotoharu probably needs 9 to get back in.
Kirishima deserves a promotion .. he is healthy, in form, and fighting aggressively .. Good to see … Yoshinofuji has a good opportunity to join him .. The rest of sanyaku deserve whatever falls to them .. btw .. to my recollection neither of them has thrown a henka this basho ..
Well, Aonishiki can take the blunder as a compliment. The JSA seems worried about him beating Onosato’s record(s). With a mono-ii they wouldn’t have been able to steal the possible yusho and ozeki promotion from the very young foreigner.
I do not think that they are worried about Onosato’s records here. Onosato started as Ms10TD, whereas Aonishiki has gone through all the divisions. It is not possible for Aonishiki to break Onosato’s records, but Aonishiki would probably set records for those who have gone through the whole schedule of divisions and JSA might well be worried about that.
True. But he could have equaled Onosato’s rises both from juryo and from makuuchi.
And he was/is awfully close when it comes to the best (most wins) makuuchi debut ever. Plus the Ukrainian is almost four years younger than the Japanese. Therefore the „danger“ exists that Aonishiki will overtake Onosato as Hakuho overtook Asashoryu.
Onosato only has those records, because Hakuoho and Takerufuji got injured after a flying start in Makuuchi. He has had luck on his side, staying healthy. Also Hakuoho is set back, because what was done to this oyakata.
Benjamin Funk wrote „Now that my Aonishiki bias has cooled off a bit“. I like it a lot. Therefore: Now that my Aonishiki bias has cooled off a bit, I wouldn’t formulate my comment as harsh as I did.
I still think that a mono-ii would have been mandatory. And I don’t understand why they would have said that Aonishiki wasn’t on an ozeki run. I think they should have said that 11 wins were not enough for the promotion, but that after an outstanding performance they would consider it.
These two mistakes seem obvious to me, but they are far from proving that the JSA is against Aonishiki and that they want to „protect“ Onosato from him.
Disappointed in JSA. Onosato match appears as predetermined as the London matches. Have lost faith
I‘m on the brink of losing faith, too. And that could mean bye-bye sumo, at least on a daily basis. In the end there wouldn’t remain much more for me than the banzuke…
Oof. But it was clearly a questionable call to not have the mono-ii, at least.
I was clueless for a few seconds on who won the Onosato-Aonishiki fight,
I don’t know enough about sumo to say if a mono ii call was needed
I would say I trust the integrity and the knowledge of the gyoji and the judges present / watching it from a few meters and from all 4 corners. If none raise a hand, it must be the right call
I personally don’t buy conspiracy theories of the JDA intriguing against foreign rikishi
I do hope very much that U are right.
But it doesn’t even need that unfriendly theory to be frustrated.
If the yusho is at stake it simply is unpardonable not to check the slow-mos in such a situation. I‘d have said so, if it had been the other way round, too. Though with less bitterness.
Yeah, I am not big into conspiracy, either. I don’t think this was predetermined, at all. I just think the closest shimpan made a mistake by not raising their hand on this one.
The gyoji has to point to someone and in doubt go with highest ranked one. The fault lies with the shinpan. By the way I once have seen Hakuho ask for a judgement, I didn’t know it then, but it seems to be in the rules, because they did it and changed the decision. So Hoshoryu could have asked for it. Can you imagine the scandal.
There’s also a notorious instance where Hakuho wanted a matta called versus Yoshikaze but they didn’t oblige him. You’ll occasionally see guys send subtle signals, like pulling at their topknot and such, but it doesn’t always work.
Disgraceful not to have a mono-ii considering what was at stake. Look at Onosato’s face afterward, HE doesn’t even know why he won. The two closest judges should hang their heads in shame… This decision has ruined the entire basho for me.
The funny thing is, when I was a football fan, this seemed to be the story every Monday and Tuesday. There was always a questionable pass interference or holding…or a missed call that cost some team a game. Missed calls like this in sumo seem to be, thankfully, so much less frequent.
Aonishiki still has a puncher’s chance at yusho. History shows him with the edge over both Hoshoryu and Kotozakura (2-0 & 2-1 respectively). Along with Hoshoryu’s edge over Onosato in regulation, the Ukrainian could grab the cup, but I don’t think it will be so.
Would love a 3-way playoff!
BOLD PREDICTION: Takayasu’s Sanyaku luck will run out, he will lose at least one more match and the will not be lenient this time.
the committee will not be lenient
First, nod to the mention of Tochi’s disgraceful run of poor calls to keep him
down this does reek of that.
Second, clearly Nishonoseki is leaving duffels of cash outside certain Heya for these judges. He’s the new Isegahama.
This feels similar to the last playoff where Hoshoryu ended the bout in a very similar manner and was handed the loss.
What more does Onosato need to be propped up? Avoids a scandal that should have sent him down based on recent trends. Has very little in the way of style and gets caught retreating often – he’s got a huge frame he could leverage that into a Kaiju style like Teru or pick up some technique from his master who was excellent at angles. It feels bad when they dont even talk about it. At least make a show of a fair review especially with San’Yaku matches.
Just an opinion- won’t stop watching, just adds to the soap opera drama that’s is Sumo’s world.
Can this be treated as another case of, “move forward” bias?
Horrible non-monoi call. Unbelievable. Does anyone know what the Japanese sumo writers are saying about this? Are eyebrows being raised?
My view? Either an Aonishiki win or a do-over. As is, an unjust result.
I totally agree, I thought this went Aonishiki’s way, and if not should have been mono-ii to call for a Re-do. I was completely shocked with eyebrows raised to the max. This leaves us all with a sour taste in our mouths for sure.
Aonishiki had several bouts where his winning move brought him to the brink of defeat –probably more often than other wrestlers. In the previous tournament, his win over Atamifuji on day 2 came after mono-ii and re-match. In this tournament, day 2 win over Wakamotoharu was a close call, day 3 win over Hakuoho required mono-ii confirmation, day 7 win over Takayasu was another close call.
In today’s bout, again, it was Aonishiki who made the decisive move. After the initial charge, Onosato looks passive throughout. Though the frame rate and quality in NHK’s highlight video is not ideal, when played frame-by-frame, it looks too close to be certain. Who knows what the ring-side judges saw with naked eye. Seasoned viewers might have witnessed mono-ii calls in far less ambiguous endings.
No kachi-koshi for Moriurara this time. But there’s always the next 3-3.
So if I have it right, if Aonishiki wins against Hoshoryu and on day 15 and Onosato beats Kotozakura, then Hoshoryu beating Onosato in their scheduled match would trigger the three way playoff with them all at 12-3? That would be pretty wild to watch. My gut says Onosato would be advantaged in the stamina department, but then Hoshoryu did win a 3-way playoff for his title so he can dig deep for stamina if he has to. And I don’t know how to evaluate Aonishiki in that regard.
Yoshinofuji’s left foot or ankle seems to be seriously hurt. He already has 9 wins but is practically out of the yusho race. They should really let him sit out the rest of the basho and start on rehab.
Left, or right? I’ll rewatch. I thought his right was taped and barely able to hold weight.
It is his right that is taped, but it was that leg he hoped on with amazing balance and strength to turn the tide and win. If it is hurt, he can shut out the pain, and I’m sorry psyched to see him on healthy legs next basho
The refusal of the mono-ii was a shock, Aonishiki‘s „loss“ a great disappointment.
But now it’s time to look forward and see the positive.
– The Ukrainian is still in the yusho race and 12 wins (his new best) are still possible.
– He‘s beaten the yokozuna, who had overwhelmed him twice before) for the first time on the dohyo (though not in the books).
– There remains only one nemesis (Yoshinofuji) and the way to future yusho and promotions seems much freer than before the match.
This is the way.
Thanks herbern, I needed to read that.
The drama is building for their next re-match .. I agree w comments above re Onosato’s limited repertoire of sumo moves + “forward movement” was in his favor + the announcer quickly called it for Onosato w a “in full control” tossed in ..
But curiosity prompted my replays .. Next to the dohyo may have felt clear cut .. But that is why the judges are “pro’s” .. one of them should have raised a flag ..
btw .. Anonishiki needs flying lessons from Ura .. some athletes have amazing “hang time” .. if he could have bought a fraction of a second .. Onosato’s face in the clay would have sealed the deal ..