It is Nakabi in Tokyo which means Shinjo Shusse Hiro. These seven noobies are put on display in their master’s kesho mawashi because they have completed maezumo and will be in Jonokuchi for Nagoya. Kakizoe (Ikazuchi), Uza (Onoe), Ogawa (Tamanoi), Otsuna (Kokonoe), Tetsufuji (Isegahama), Ibata (Sakaigawa), and Haruto (Shikoroyama).
We talked about Chiyoshoma yesterday and Otsuna (far left front) is wearing one of his kesho mawashi. I imagine he might be Chiyoshoma’s recruit. Behind him, I think Haruto is wearing one of Abi’s. If that’s true, it should give you hints as to who is planning to join the ranks of the oyakata and who will likely inherit a stable or branch out on their own. Or I’m reading too much into things and they just grabbed one that was laying around.
In Juryo, Kazekeno shoved Toshinofuji from the dohyo to remain undefeated. With Daiseizan’s defeat at the hands of Kyokukaiyu, Kazekeno has opened a 2-bout lead over Daiseizan and Enho. For his part Enho beat Kayo, as expected. Nay, as we demanded.
Makuuchi Action
Sadanoumi (4-4 Juryo) defeated Wakanosho (4-4) That was the fastest and most aggressive move I have seen from Sadanoumi. He might have been irritated at the kachi-age from Wakanosho at the tachiai but he blitzed the shin-nyumaku, grabbed the front of Wakanosho’s mawashi and charged toward the front edge of the dohyo. He worked that right hand inside and finished Wakanosho off and drove him into the crowd. Wakanosho was just along for the ride. Yorikiri.
Fujiryoga (6-2) defeated Kotoeiho (6-2). Fujiryoga pressed into Kotoeiho and Kotoeiho slid back to the tawara, expecting to use the bales as a backstop. Fujiryoga kept driving him back though, and crushed him out. Watashikomi.
Ryuden (3-5) defeated Tamawashi (0-8). Ryuden worked to get both hands inside on Tamawashi’s belt. To me, it looked like Ryuden twisted and pulled Tamawashi forward, so I was expected a shitatenage. Maybe with the sudden shift of weight, Tamawashi fell forward. Instead, they’re saying Tamawashi basically took a knee. Tsukihiza.
Tokihayate (3-5) defeated Oshoumi (1-7). Tokihayate grabbed Oshoumi quickly, pivoted and pressed him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Tobizaru (7-1) defeated Ura (5-3). Tobizaru and Ura shoved each other around the ring. At the decisive moment, Tobizaru pulled and Ura drove forward. Tobizaru fell out of the dohyo as Ura fell down. Gunbai Ura. Mono-ii. The shimpan decided on a Torinaoshi (rematch). In the rematch, Ura pulled and Tobizaru kept his footing as he pressed ahead and shoved him out of the ring. Oshidashi.
Roga (5-3) defeated Kinbozan (4-4). Henka! Kinbozan fell for it. Hatakikomi.
Mitakeumi (4-4) defeated Hakunofuji (5-3). Mitakeumi was all offense today. He charged into Hakunofuji with a nodowa and continued to press forward while grabbing Hakunofuji’s belt. Hakunofuji used the tawara to stop Mitakeumi’s advance. Undeterred, Mitakeumi pivoted and pulled Hakunofuji down by that inside belt grip. Shitatedashinage.
Nishikifuji (2-6) defeated Shishi (2-6). Nishikifuji rammed his head into Shishi and bulldozed ahead. Shishi tried to avoid that head butt and turned away. Nishikifuji kept charging ahead and shoved Shishi out from behind. Okuridashi.
Asanoyama (5-3) defeated Oshoma (5-3). Asanoyama waltzed around the ring with Oshoma for a while before pivoting and using his left-hand over-arm belt grip to throw Oshoma into the middle of the ring. Uwatenage.
Asahakuryu (3-5) defeated Chiyoshoma (4-4). Asahakuryu outlasted Chiyoshoma in this lengthy grapple. Both men had left-hand inside grips and tussled for advantage. Asahakuryu forced Chiyoshoma back and over the edge. Yorikiri.
Halftime
Abi (4-4) defeated Fujiseiun (5-3). Abi Henka! Abi leapt to the left, reached over Fujiseiun’s back for a grasp of his belt and pulled him forward. Uwatenage.
Hiradoumi (4-4) defeated Churanoumi (5-3). Hiradoumi blitzed Churanoumi and drove him to the edge. Churanoumi tried to find a way to counter at the bales but Hiradoumi put his head down and blasted his way forward, shoving Churanoumi out. Oshidashi.
Yoshinofuji (5-3) defeated Fujinokawa (4-4). Yoshinofuji did a great job of keeping Fujinokawa in front of him, though he earned a bloody nose for his efforts. As Fujinokawa flailed around, Yoshinofuji used his excellent balance and footwork to stay centered and steadily work Fujinokawa to the edge. Fujinokawa tried to trip him and change directions. Yoshinofuji eventually shoved him over the bales. Oshidashi.
Ichiyamamoto (3-5) defeated Takanosho (3-5). Ichiyamamoto grasped the big onigiri in both hands, like a minister holding up a wafer for communion, and then — exactly like a minister during communion — Ichiyamamoto shifted right and dumped Takanosho on the floor. Hikiotoshi.
Sanyaku
Wakatakakage (7-1) defeated Oho (3-5). Wakatakakage pulled Oho forward toward the edge, cycled along the tawara in order to regain an advantageous position while forcing Oho to the edge. While he couldn’t execute an uwatenage, he followed up by pressing forward into Oho and driving Oho over the bales. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji (4-4) defeated Shodai (2-6). Shodai’s ACME-brand gear shift was stuck in reverse. Atamifuji jumped all over him, grabbed the front of his belt with his left hand and shoved him over the bales. Oshidashi.
Kotoshoho (5-3) defeated Wakamotoharu (2-6). Wakamoto-henka jumped to the left. Kotoshoho adjusted and charged ahead, shoving Wakamotoharu from the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Daieisho (3-5) defeated Kotozakura (2-6). Kotozakura didn’t have any offense today. Daieisho Dai-ei-Showed him to the exit with his tsuppari (as depleted as it has been the past few basho). Kotozakura is on a Path to Kadobanship. Oshidashi.
Gonoyama (6-2) defeated Kirishima (7-1). After Kirishima’s throw attempt failed, Kirishima seemed to just run out of ideas and strength. Gonoyama pressed forward and ushered the Ozeki over the bales. Oshidashi.
Wrap-up
Gonoyama denied Kirishima his kachi-koshi. Kirishima falls back into a share of the lead with Wakatakakage and Tobizaru, way down in the rank-and-file. On 6-2 we have Gonoyama, Kotoeiho, and Fujiryoga.
- 1-Loss: Kirishima, Wakatakakage, Tobizaru
- 2-Losses: Gonoyama, Kotoeiho, Fujiryoga
Kirishima will fight Wakamotoharu tomorrow. Wakamotoharu has looked completely lost this tournament but I’d expect him to be able to find focus against an Ozeki, especially one battling his brother for the title. Gonoyama will get a crack at Kotozakura, aka the lost Ozeki wandering around in the wilderness. Atamifuji will fight Daieisho and Kotoshoho will fight Wakatakakage. Tobizaru will fight Kotoeiho as the Kyokai begins to put an end to these rank-and-file yusho runs. Fujiryoga will fight Mitakeumi.
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The good? ship Kadoban is bound to get a new passenger, Koto-hachinana, aka the Sta-puft marshmallow man. Wandering in the wilderness, indeed. And without a compass and map he’s gonna get got.
Henna day today, and it worked 2 out of 3 times, Roga and Abi surprised their opponents bigly.
That was a good torinaoshi call for Ura-Tobizaru. Replays showed me that they were both getting dirt together.
Autocorrect got henna instead of Henka!?!
Perhaps it’s a case of me seeing the result I want, but I saw Ura flying and Tobizaru going out at same time with Tobizaru stepping outside the ring before Ura belly flop landed inside the ring…so I agreed with the gyoji call to give win of this initial match to Ura. Ura’s disheartened look when mono-ii called for a Re-do matched my disappointment. Darn it that he lost in the end…. Bottom line, I think I need (like us all) the JSA double secret Rosetta Stone for permutations and combinations surrounding the dead body rule, to know what trumps what, flying inside, flying heading outside, etc… or is this a wish too big for any given Sunday, let alone Nakabi?
I saw it exactly like U, only I think the gunbai went to Tobizaru not Ura after the first bout. But though I thought that Ura had won, I was okay with the rematch, too.
You’re right herbern. Gyoji awarded to Tobizaru on first bout. I got turned around.
Ura‘s toe flipped before the belly landing. Torinaoshi was the right thing
Noticed some fan reached over the fence and patted Wakatakakage on the shoulder as he was leaving the stadium. Obviously no harm done but in this day and age they need to do something to prevent this stuff. If well wishers have this kind of opportunity, so do the criminally insane. Maybe I’m concerned about nothing here but concerned I am.
No, it’s a good point. Your concerns are well placed. There was a fan who patted Hoshoryu on the back. He got admonished and fans were reminded that the rules say not to touch the wrestlers. Until fans get punishment, it will continue.
Tamawashi to Juryo?
Unless he gets a win or two, yes. Which seems more and more unlikely each day.
😭 I could feel for him today. It seemed rough.
“like a minister holding up a wafer for communion…”
Ha!
Ura match. Back to the slinky analogy when Ura bends back, almost forming a complete circuit. Man, that guy is flexible.
No argument with the torinaoshi decision. I watched the numerous replays and…yeah, too close to call.
Kotozakura. Yet another one where his name will always be prefaced with “Former Ozeki.”
Asanoyama: I think he’ll methodically work his way upwards…but he’s not dominating (like I wish he was!).
Kirishima: I thought he was going to win with that strong tachiai. He was beat fair and square.
The Ura backbend was amazing. First time I saw it work as an escape from the edge.
“especially one battling his brother for the title”
I’m lost here: Kirishima and Wakamotoharu are brothers. Aren’t they forbidden to face off unless it’s a tiebreaker? Or what joke am i not getting?
The way I understand it is:
Both Kirishima and Wakatakakage are 7-1 (battling for the title). Wakamotoharu is Wakatakakage’s brother so may try harder to defeat Kirishima to give his brother a leg up in the tournament race.
No, Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu are brothers. Since Wakatakakage is doing so well and in the yusho race, his brother Wakamotoharu will be motivated to beat Kirishima.
Thx, Andy, now reading again it makes perfect sense…
According to Nikkan Sports the nine new rikishi are: Kakizoe (Ikazuchi), Uza (Onoe), Kyokuhayate (Oshima), Ogawa (Tamanoi), Otsuna (Kokonoe), Kotetsufuji (Isegahama), Ihata (Sakaigawa), Wakasa (Dewanoumi), and Haruto (Shikoroyama).
But their picture still shows only seven rikishi. Can U explain the difference? (It seems that Kyokuhayate and Wakasa are concerned.)
As now the SumoDB is back from maintenance I have found out that Kyokuhayate and Wakasa are banzuke-gai and not mae-zumo, but that is also the case with Ibata…
Oh, that’s because Kyokuhayate and Wakasa are not new recruits so they’re not “新序”. They’re 再序. They had injuries which made them fall off the banzuke. You’ll see this character (再) when a wrestler returns to a rank, like Enho returning to Juryo, or Ryuden returning to Makuuchi or Kirishima returning to Ozeki. The character 新 is only for when they are new to the rank.
Ah, yes, that makes sense.
And Ibata is almost the same case, but as his injury prevented his mae-zumo bouts in March, he still counts as new recruit?
Today the forth round of the sandanme tournament was completed.
Before the basho the two rising hopes Asahifuji and Tenshoyama plus the two former juryo wrestlers Kiryuko and Mita after their injuries dominated the headlines.
And with good reason: they are all 4-0 and in the much anticipated „quarterfinals“.
I think they won’t meet each other yet, because they are spread all over the banzuke.
Asahifuji will probably be paired against „beautiful“ Omori, the 4-0 makushita tsukedashi.
No, torikumi shows Asahifuji vs Fudoho, a tsukedashi from last basho.
(There had to be a switch, because Tatsubayama and Fudoho are from the same heya.)
It looks like Mita has bulked up over his absence. Maybe it’ll help him to stand firm against tougher opponents. He still seems to be as fast on his feet and fast with his thinking.
I’m betting Sadanoumi treated his bout today against Wakanosho like an exchange bout. If he’s 8-7 and sitting at J2 at the end of the basho, he’ll have this win to help his case for promotion. Smart thinking, honestly.
I agree with the official kimarite that Tamawashi’s leg buckled and he fell. He was trying to put all of his weight on his back foot for at least half of the match. I don’t see how he’s going to get any wins at this point.
I understand why the torinaoshi was decided for Ura/Tobizaru, but it really is unfortunate that the win for Ura didn’t stand. That was an amazing escape.
Apparently, Mitakeumi isn’t even bowing when he wins these days. I wonder what’s up with that.
A win for Nishikifuji! Good to see that happening.
It looks like Chiyoshoma has some kind of foot injury. He’s wearing a sock and he was grimacing a lot during his match today (which I’m assuming was partially due to most of his weight being on that foot). The only reason I can think of to wear a sock is to keep some kind of open wound like a cut or blister clear of dirt. Hmmm.
Definitely a back injury for Wakamotoharu in my book. He barely had the oomph to jump to the side for that henka attempt. His legs are fine, so that means his back isn’t operating properly. I hope he heals up soon.
Ah, now we have Kotoza-Shodai mounting the dohyo. “Yes, Sir. I see the exit. I’ll move that way. Thank you.”
I was waiting for Kirishima to run out of luck and here we are. Not for lack of trying at the tachiai, though. We’ll see how he does tomorrow. Wakatakakage currently looks like a stronger Cup contender, but we’ll see what the next week holds since he also has struggled for some wins too.
Tamawashi can‘t use this leg any more. He‘s moving like Captain Ahab with it. I wish he wouldn‘t stay much longer in the game from now on, better keep his legend unstained.
I guess he can’t, as his legend is exactly to never have missed a bout!
A fun fact from the jonokuchi basho: Moriura is only the second man who partakes in his 100th tournament there. Today he had his first win, therefore his hopes for the first kachikoshi after 40 (!) losing bashos, are yet alive…
I miss Hattorizakura.
I can see why: 3 (three) wins in 244 bouts!
A funny detail: he was promoted to his highest career rank Jk9 after a 0-7 performance… that jonokuchi division is very strange indeed.
The only reason he got promoted was because new guys coming in had to be ranked below him.
Yes, that is exactly one of the strange things. A positive result in mae-zumo is certainly better than a 0-7 in jonokuchi, isn’t it?
He also had several 0-8 tournaments.
The case of poor old (yet beloved) moriura is like schadenfreude realized against himself… it’s beyond me why someone would stay in ozumo for decades without realization of wins and advancing up the divisions (even one in his case). I guess he’s part of the fabric of sumo heya living and doesn’t seek to move on to a post-sumo life.
Just before the tournament, there was an interview video circulating where he’s giving a bit of a tour of Otake beya. He seems like a nice dude. Frankly, I think this is why there’s not much appetite for large numbers of foreigners in the sport. If you’re 15 and don’t want to do more school and don’t know any skills, sumo is actually a way to earn a living. It’s kind of a work placement program, in my humble opinion. No society wants streams of foreigners coming in to live on their social programs.
Yes I guess there’s the roof over your head and meals. The pocket money they get is not something that will be funding a retirement fund. Heaven help them when they do need to eventually to intai, and leave sumo.
Regarding the seven new recruits, I have always seen newbies for Shikoroyama wearing one of Abi’s keshomawashi. I have never seen a past one wear an old one of Terao’s, or nowadays one of Homasho’s. Abi is their only current sekitori, so that for me is the logical and only option. Am I right, or just further confusing myself?
You’re probably right. It makes sense because some of the old ones are probably collecting dust elsewhere or in long term storage. Using a “fresh” one makes sense.
I have a language question: is there a term that covers the “non-techniques” (tsukihiza, isamiashi, etc.) collectively?
Non-techniques: 非技 higi
Thank you. Kanji gives me fits.
Thank you
Yeah, the non-techniques are higi (edit). 非技. You might see a category called, 勝負結果.
I am jealous of all those who can read/ understand Japanese characters, I’m sure this broadens your enjoyment of the sport.
Well, since I got it wrong, it’s clear I’m still learning. It’s higi…not hiwaza. Kanji kills me. I think I know it, and then I don’t.
Thank you
Entymology is always illuminating .. However, with English the entymology of a word is often/usually opaque .. In conrast, from what little Kanji i have learned, it appears the entymology of a word is obvious .. Which is a really great way to embed an appreciation of the language & culture ..
Despite all the injured riskhi + Yokozuna, this basho is offering up some good sumo ..
Asanouyama flashed really good foot work for his win today ..
Tobizaru v Ura was a flashback to the Flying Monkey era .. Tobizaru is not a slippery as he once was .. but for a change looks healthy + has not lost his sumo heart ..
Fujiriyoga as a great forward gear .. Kotoeiho should have looked for an escape route sooner ..
Chiyonofuji was my first sumo hero .. I now have a much better appreciation of Chiyoshoma’s sumo .. fwiw .. He seldom looses for lack of a good plan or poor foot work .. ie he maximizes his inherent strengths/skills .. Which is not always the case .. e.g. Artamifuji, Hakunofuji, KTZ
Yoshinofuji seized the intitiative + kept the pressure on Fujinokawa, which was a good way to prempt his “hyper-caffeiinated” funny business ..
WTK is fundamentally sound + healthy .. He too is not as slippery as he was .. but he is smarter .. It’d be great to see him run off a few double digit bashos .
Kirishima must have thought he had Gonoyama beaten 2 or 3 times .. Give Gonoyama credit for staying aggressive + getting under Kiri’s arms .
I have to write the following, as my inner pedant won’t let me read Kyotoguru’s post without Kafka-esque images forming.
etymology = study of origin and development of words
entomology = study of insects
Question – although nice to see Takerufuji winning in his foray up to Makuuchi today, looking at his recent record in Juryo. (8-7, 8-7), is he taking it easy, has he lost his edge, or are his fellow rikishi just better than when he went rushing through Juryo on his way to winning the Emperor’s Cup?
Thanks for the great updates Andy and for the delving into the somewhat impenetrable lower divisions Iksumo!