Day Seven. No kyujo announcements. The Emperor will be in the house tomorrow. Fujiseiun and Kayo won their bouts to stay in the lead at 6-1. Fujiseiun will fight Takerufuji tomorrow while Kayo will face Hidenoumi.
NHK Video link is here. It includes a look at Kazuma defeating Kazekeno. Kazuma was a Nihon University prospect for Kise-beya who earned a Makushita debut in 2024 but was injured in that debut tournament. After falling into the bottom division, he is back after winning three yusho in the lower divisions, including the Makushita yusho in Kyushu. He’s had a rough start this tournament as sekitori. But he might be overcoming his promotion jitters as he threw Kazekeno to the side.
Makuuchi Action
Ryuden (3-4) defeated Hatsuyama (0-7). While trading tsuppari, Hatsuyama tried to pull. This brought him perilously close to the edge but the two kept trading tsuppari until Hatsuyama tripped on the tawara and fell. Oshidashi.
Oshoumi (6-1) defeated Tomokaze (3-4). Oshoumi shoved Tomokaze back to the bales with steady hazuoshi, At the bales, Tomokaze decided to go out with some flair as he jumped up and attempted a pirouette before tumbling into the crowd. Oshitaoshi.
Asakoryu (3-4) defeated Tobizaru (1-6). Tobizaru had Asakoryu on the ropes and pulled. Asakoryu then chased Tobizaru across the ring and shoved him off the dohyo. Oshitaoshi.
Asanoyama (5-2) defeated Abi (6-1). Abi lashed out at Asanoyama with tsuppari and pulled to his right. Asanoyama turned and continued to counter with his own slaps. Abi had his weight pretty far forward so Asanoyama shifted right and pulled Abi forward. Hikiotoshi.
Asahakuryu (5-2) defeated Midorifuji (2-5). Midorifuji tired after a lengthy Coneheads makeout session and Asahakuryu forced him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Shishi defeated Chiyoshoma. Shishi got his left hand firmly planted on the front of Chiyoshoma’s belt (mae-mitsu) while pressing forward. Once he got his right arm inside he got the leverage he needed to drive Chiyoshoma back. Chiyoshoma tried a last gasp twist and throw at the edge but Shishi had good footwork today, kept his balance and forced Chiyoshoma out. Yorikiri.
Tokihayate (4-3) defeated Mitakeumi (3-4). Tokihayate quickly got a hold of Mitakeumi with both hands inside Mitakeumi’s arms and drove him back over the bales. Yorikiri.
Nishikifuji (4-3) defeated Roga (3-4). Nishikifuji tried to swing Roga around by his left arm but Roga freed himself and shoved Nishikifuji. Nishikifuji decided to follow Tokihayate’s lead, got both hands inside and drove Roga through the ring and over the bales. Yorikiri.
Kotoshoho (5-2) defeated Kinbozan (2-5). Kotoshoho grabbed Kinbozan’s belt with his right hand inside, twisted and threw Kinbozan forward. Shitatenage.
Gonoyama (2-5) defeated Oshoma (5-2). Oshoma braced against the bales and seemed to be preparing for a pull-down attempt but he never got the chance. Gonoyama planted his right hand in Oshoma’s chest and blasted him off the dohyo. I’m surprised they didn’t call it tsukidashi. Oshidashi.
Hiradoumi (4-3) defeated Shodai (3-4). Hiradoumi blitzed Shodai and forced him back to the edge. Shodai tried to twist and shove Hiradoumi to his right but Hiradoumi just kept up the pressure and shoved Shodai out. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Churanoumi (4-3) defeated Fujinokawa (5-2). Churanoumi shifted left to try to get Fujinokawa’s belt but Fujinokawa’s tachiai blasted him backward. “Plan B it is then.” Churanoumi planted his right mitt in Fujinokawa’s left shoulder and shoved. Hard. This made Fujinokawa stumble to the side. As Fujinokawa tried to put on the brakes, Churanoumi followed up with a shove from behind. Okuridashi.
Atamifuji (5-2) defeated Onokatsu (3-4). Atamifuji put his right forearm under Onokatsu’s chin and churned his legs until Onokatsu stepped out. Oshidashi.
Takanosho (1-6) defeated Tamawashi (2-5). Takanosho waited until Tamawashi pressed too far forward, then pulled and slapped him down. Takanosho picks up his first win of the tournament. Hatakikomi.
Ura (1-6) defeated Ichiyamamoto (1-6). Ura pulled and when Ichiyamamoto chased, Ura reached out for that right leg. Ichiyamamoto tried to pull the back of Ura’s belt but he was off balance as Ura blasted forward and shoved him down. Ichiyamamoto was a little slow to get up and seemed to be favoring his ankle. We’ll see. Oshitaoshi.
Sanyaku
Takayasu (5-2) defeated Oho (2-5). Oho pulled and tried to shove Takayasu to the side but Takayasu pursued and shoved Oho over the edge. “That’s it?!?! That’s all you’ve got?!?!” Tsukidashi.
Kirishima (6-1) defeated Yoshinofuji (4-3). Kirishima got a double-inside grip and forced Yoshinofuji back. Yoshinofuji tried to change up his grip and forced his right hand inside but Kirishima kept pressuring him back. Kirishima then toppled Yoshinofuji with a hard pull on his belt from his left hand. Uwatenage.
Aonishiki (6-1) defeated Wakamotoharu (1-6). I always cringe at these endings. Aonishiki had a firm hold with both hands on Wakamotoharu’s belt. Wakamotoharu braced against the bales and tried an utchari throw but Aonishiki pressed ahead and toppled both men off the dohyo. Wakamotoharu seemed to be favoring his jaw. Better that than landing like Kizakiumi. (I posted a picture in the comments from the other day. I’ll not post it again. But we were talking about how recently a lot of guys have gotten the hint that if they’re at the edge and all is lost, stepping out is an option which keeps oneself from injury. Kizakiumi’s injury was from a bout like this one, where he dug in at the bales. Yikes.) Yoritaoshi.
Kotozakura (5-2) defeated Wakatakakage (3-4). Kotozakura pulled and Wakatakakage stumbled forward as Kotozakura shoved him down. Kotozakura is picking up these important Week One wins. Will wonders never cease? Hatakikomi.
Onosato (6-1) defeated Daieisho (1-6). Onosato escaped by the skin of his teeth here. Daieisho pulled and had Onosato stumbling to the edge. Onosato recovered a bit and stumbled back across the dohyo. Like Tamanosho the other day, Daieisho’s eyes got big and he charged ahead, only to get a piece of Onosato as the Yokozuna backed away and Daieisho stumbled forward. Hatakikomi.
Hoshoryu (6-1) defeated Hakunofuji (4-3). Hoshoryu threw Hakunofuji at the edge. Gunbai Hoshoryu. Mono-ii. “When in doubt, do it again, boyz!” Hoshoryu did not look pleased as he wiped blood from the deep scrape on his forehead. No doubt this time as a pissed off Hoshoryu grabbed Hakunofuji’s belt with his right hand, flung him around the dohyo. Hakunofuji tried to dig in at the bales but Hoshoryu forced the pair to fall out. Yoritaoshi.
Wrap-up
Well. Our Yokozuna lead a group of six guys with one loss. There are nine guys chasing with two losses. This is turning out to be a heck of a tournament with the Yokozuna, Ozeki and Sekiwake in the thick of it.
Asanoyama did his job and got dirt on Abi. Tomorrow he will fight Nishikifuji while Abi will take on Tokihayate. Up in sanyaku, Takayasu will fight Ichiyamamoto, Kotozakura will fight Oho, Aonishiki will take on Kirishima, Hoshoryu against Daieisho and Onosato will close things out against Hakunofuji. Ten’no is in for a treat, that’s for sure.
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Can someone explain me, why Hiradonoumi against Shodai wasn’t matta.
I watched the replay because I thought same thing, but it was a matter of Hiradoumi being very fast out of the blocks and Shodai very slow. You can see on the replay that four fists were down so no matta.
They went at the same time, Hiradoumi at full speed, Shodai at full convenience. The release point was equal.
Shouldn’t both wrestlers hands be on the ground. That was not even close for Shodai.
I‘m not sure if he wanted his hands on the ground. In slow motion you can see the sudden tension in his thighs – that’s what Hiradoumi reacted to, while he was waiting for long in his position.
But what Shodai evidently was doing was getting ready to put his hands down and seemed totally surprised. When Hiradoumi lifts his hands from the clay and thrusts forward, Shodai is still on his way down to touch, and was caught completely off balance. I was very surprised this wasn’t called a matta (and since I only have the brief clip of the bout from the NHK site, I didn’t catch any commentary to this effect – anyone who watched it either with Japanese or English commentary know what was said, if anything?)
Totally agree with you, to my eyes this was a matta and bad-on gyoji for not calling it. I have seen this with Hiradoumi multiple times where matta does not get called when he jumps the gun if you will, and he ends up winning with this unfair advantage.
I have in those cases seen a shinpan calling it. I really do not know why it was permitted to go on. I really want to know why. Andy?
They must have missed it or deferred to “mutual consent.”
“Shodai at full convenience.” 😂😂😂
Why o why wasn’t it called a matta? The hands of Shodai were at least half a meter from the ground.
I was very pleased with Kirishima‘s excellent performance. Absolutely dominant.
Kirishima is back to fighting beautifully. I was wondering who I’ll cheer tomorrow when he fights Aonishiki, as I enjoy both men doing well. I think I’m in camp Kirishima this time around.
We‘re talking about the Kirishima vs Yoshinofuji bout of today, aren’t we? Kirishima won of course, but absolutely dominant? Imo there were two or even three situations when it could have gone the youngster’s way.
Yes, Yoshinofuji did something on the dohyo, but it wasn‘t successful.
Yeah, Yoshinofuji had a few moments but he was on the defensive. I loved how Kirishima lifted Yoshinofuji’s arm in the air.
I’m with herbern, Kirishima won with authority at the last move, but I came here to talk about how good the young man formally known as Kusano looked today.
He lost, but he was not outclassed by the former Ozeki who is in top form. He will be in sanyaku soon, and he will do damage.
Kirishima must be in very good shape. Yoshi is one of the strongest rikishi, and attacked Kirishima with all his might, but Kirishima was able to keep it under control, pressure Yoshi back and eventually throw him. Excellent bout!
Tomorrow will bring the definitive test of Kirishima‘s shape.
He is 0-3 against Aonishiki. Will he be able to beat the shin ozeki for the first time.
As I stubbornly still think that the Ukrainian isn’t at his best yet in this basho, I‘d guess the odds at 50:50.
Aonishiki was just a tad slower on the tachiai today. Not going to let Wakamotoharu henka him again, ha… Daieisho is going to review the match and regret not fully executing that nodowa at the edge, he really had Onosato beat… Hosh still using his right leg to power most of his movement. Whether it is the heavyweights who will require him to brace with both legs or the smaller guys who can get low and attack knees cough uchimuso fan Aonishiki, I can easily see 3+ losses next week for Hosh.
What a déjà vu with Onosato. He was beaten by Daieisho as he had been by Takanosho, but again the pusher and thruster was a little bit to slow to push and thrust decisively. But I‘m sure it won’t go on like this for the yokozuna. The next defeat seems to wait for him just around the corner. I‘d almost go as far as to declare Hakunofuji the favorite for tomorrow!
Onosato has evidently been working on his ballet moves in preparation for this basho… holy pirouettes, Batman!
He has definitely been watching old Shodai matches, yes!
What are we to make of Atamifuji? Did he figure out what has been eluding him the last year? Is his promise back or is this just a flash in the pan?
Could it be the Terunofuji effect?
Would be great if he finally reached sanyaku, which I expected two years ago. Though now the competition is much harder.
As to Hoshoryu I see three possibilities.
The first is the one U mention with a few losses in the second week.
The second is, as Andy suggested, that he‘ll retire from the basho after the emperor’s visit.
The third is that he’ll win the yusho as he always seems at his best when he is with his back at the wall (his yokozuna run wasn’t the only such occasion).
I would prefer scenario two to save his knee.
Hoshoryu deserved a long soak in the big bath today post winning twice and suffering bloody gash in his forehead. This dead body rule is applied so indiscriminately imho, sorry but it really bugs me…. To my eyes Hakuhofuji was dead at the edge on bout 1 when he was fully airborne, and unrecoverable as Hosh was executing his throw, despite Hosh’s hand going down first. I see this one as similar to the Aonishiki win over Yoshinofuji in week 1, yet there was no Re-do on that one and rightly the win awarded to Aonishiki….
Haha, funny typo that would no doubt piss off Isegehama oyakata (Teru no Fuji) no end… Hakuhofuji. Lol.
To my eyes the rematch was the right decision; as Hakunofuji‘s foot still touched the ground he can’t have been „dead“.
Aonishiki has had a lot of bouts like this in this basho. He moves his opponent toward the edge, and they either kindly let him carry them over the edge, or they choose pain. But Aonishiki wins either way.
Onosato is babying his injury and this is giving him lots of opportunity to learn the essential skill mastered by all top-level rikishi of finding a victory from a really bad position. Like, really bad. Prior to now his matches were basically go straight for the densha-michi victory or (rarely) a toss-up from some other posture.
This is one of the best basho’s in recent memory .. no kyujo’s in sanyaku .. high energy young talent .. older rikishi being challenged to raise their sumo ..
Thank you Andy for the great breakdowns and offering a place for those who savor sumo to share their appreciation ..
One more vote for Kiribayama’s resurgent sumo .. aggressive, patient, smart and strong .. Given Yoshinofuji’s recent success in blasting top rikishi, Kiri’s win was very impressive .. What a difference from his nadir a year ago or so .. good health + new coaching? ..
Hosh is impressing me w his speed, resourcefulness + strength on one knee .. his core strength must be off the charts .. Looking like a true warrior .. Has he grown in his new role? .. Now hoping he hangs in there + does some magic .. his sumo skills are still unmatched ..
Oho has days he would rather not do sumo .. but has to show up at the dohyo .. maddening .. must have spent too much time studying Shodai’s sumo ..
Aonishiki v WMH reminded me of High Noon .. two rikishi face off .. both quick draw + reach in w the left hand for the belt .. Aonishiki got the drop on WMH ..
Meanwhile Takanosho beat Tamawashi in a battle of nodowa’s ..
Still looking for that double henka match ..
„Oho .. must have spent too much time studying Shodai’s sumo“ – so funny and so true!
Is it my imagination or is this tournament kicking butt? I mean more than usual. I can’t remember anticipating a Day 8 with as much impatience as I do this one. I’ve given up worrying about the judges but I do wonder if those judging Ura vs Onosato received a few vague notes or comments from upper management, who know what kind of financial augmentation Ura’s fans bring to the current organization, its ability to increase salaries etc.
It is not your imagination .. Handicappers must have heartburn .. Two wounded Yoko’s .. Two Ozeki’s looking susceptible .. Kiri? .. or he whose name shall not be spoken .. A–? … or ?