Day 8 in Tokyo
In the lower divisions, Hikarumusashi lost to Amane, picking up his first loss of the tournament and falling out of the Jonidan yusho race. He will be joined in Kyushu by Sunamusashi who debuted in this maezumo cohort. He’s second from the right, next to the 57kg Shinmichi.
In Jonokuchi, Kotofuno and Joshoyu are the lone undefeated. Joshoyu is definitely the favorite for the title. I’ll dig a bit more into the Jonidan and Sandanme races as the field narrows and we get closer to the yusho.
Up in Makushita, Tenshoyama (Tamanoi) defeated Osanai, picking up his kachi-koshi and remaining in the yusho race. Ryusho (Oitekaze), Inami (Onoe), Haruyama (Onoe), Aratakayama (Minatogawa) and Yumenofuji (Isegahama).
Kagayaki thrust Tokifudo from the dohyo to stay undefeated. He’s now the sole leader in Juryo since Kayo lost to Ryuden and Kitanowaka lost to Tomokaze. Video of this bout is on the NHK video page, underneath all of the top division action.
Makuuchi Action
Toshinofuji (6-2) defeated Mitakeumi (3-5). Hidari-yotsu. Mitakeumi gave everything he had. It wasn’t enough as Toshinofuji crushed him out. Yoritaoshi.
Tokihayate (5-3) defeated Tobizaru (3-5). Tobizaru tried to pull but Tokihayate kept Tobizaru in front of him and rode him down to the clay. Yoritaoshi.
Asakoryu (5-3) defeated Chiyoshoma (4-4). Chiyoshoma also tried to pull but Asakoryu shoved him out. Yorikiri.
Shonannoumi (2-6) defeated Asahakuryu (4-4). Migi-yotsu. Shonannoumi pulled up on Asahakuryu’s belt and forced him back and over the bales. Yorikiri.
Abi (5-3) defeated Wakamotoharu (4-4). Abi-zumo got the better of Wakamotoharu today. Abi battered Wakamotoharu with tsuppari and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Shodai (2-6) defeated Asasuiryu (4-3). Shodai cut Asasuiryu’s left hand grip with a forceful shove down, and then slapped him down. Hatakikomi.
Kinbozan (6-2) defeated Fujiseiun (5-3). Kinbozan overpowered Fujiseiun, blasting him with tsuppari and then bear-hugging him to force him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Oho (3-5) defeated NIshikifuji (2-6). Oho 2.0 charged ahead and quickly shoved Nishikifuji out. Oshidashi.
Asanoyama (6-2) defeated Shishi (3-5). Migi-yotsu. Asanoyama showed off his Ozeki strength and forced Shishi back and out. Yorikiri.
Ura (6-2) defeated Ichiyamamoto (1-7). Ichiyamamoto adapted his usual attack. Instead of whaling on Ura with tsuppari, he shoved Ura and held him at arm’s length. It was Ura’s pull, rather than Ichiyamamoto’s shove, that drew Ura to the edge. At the bales, Ura shuffled right and pulled on Ichiyamamoto’s outstretched left arm, forcing him to fall forward over the bales. Tottari.
Halftime
Hiradoumi (4-4) defeated Roga (5-3). Hiradoumi wrapped up Roga with a bear-hug and drove him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Takerufuji (5-3) defeated Oshoma (4-4). Oshoma pulled and Takerufuji kept him centered plowing through him and shoving him to the ground at the edge. Oshitaoshi.
Fujiryoga (3-5) defeated Gonoyama (2-6). Fujiryoga shifted left and shoved Gonoyama hard in the right shoulder while Gonoyama’s weight was already driving forward. This caused Gonoyama to stumble ahead. Fujiryoga followed and shoved him over the edge from behind. Okuridashi.
Yoshinofuji defeated Kotoshoho. Yoshinofuji used his left hand over arm grip to topple Kotoshoho over the edge. Kotoshoho tried to use his right leg to force Yoshinofuji over first. Both men fell over the side. Gunbai Yoshinofuji. No mono-ii. Kotoshoho landed just before Yoshi. Uwatenage.
Sanyaku
Atamifuji (6-2) defeated Kotoeiho (2-6). Kotoeiho had a strong migi-yotsu hold and forced Atamifuji back to the edge. However, Atamifuji rotated and shoved Kotoeiho down over the tawara. Tsukiotoshi.
Fujinokawa (6-2) defeated Takayasu (3-5). What a brawl. The two men battered each other with tsuppari with each man trying to use mis-direction, slapdowns, and raw power to gain advantage. Fujinokawa leapt forward to put Takayasu in a bear-hug. This triggered Takayasu’s flight response. Takayasu pulled and tried a last second throw or slapdown but Fujinokawa thrust him out. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (6-2) defeated Kirishima (5-3). Oshi battle here as neither man wanted the other on his belt. One would reach in and come close to a grip but get slapped away. Kirishima pulled and tried to escape to Churanoumi’s left. However, Kirishima lost his balance and stumbled backward, falling on his butt. The lesson from this bout was more along the lines of “if you have good footwork, good things happen.” Oshitaoshi.
Aonishiki (5-3) defeated Daieisho (2-6). Aonishiki weathered Daieisho’s torrent of tsuppari. When Daieisho tried his slapdown, Aonishiki moved in for the kill. He wrapped up Daieisho with a firm left-hand grip and he got that right arm inside as well. Since Daieisho was already moving backward, Aonishiki applied pressure to keep him going back to the edge and over. Yorikiri.
Hakunofuji (2-6) defeated Kotozakura (6-2). Kotohachinana is back. “Pull at your peril.” I should print up some more T-Shirts but this advice doesn’t have many practical applications outside the sumo world. People like having Japanese or Arabic tattoos, so maybe that’s a better route? Get this phrase tattooed: “引き技で墓穴を掘る” It roughly translates to, “Pulling methods dig your own grave.” The context of the article is critique of Onosato’s tendancy to pull. Another phrase is a bit more straight-forward. 引いたら負け, meaning “You pull, you lose.” It’s an axiom that Hiradoumi apparently lives by. Kotozakura needs to learn this lesson. Today, he pulled and Hakunofuji charged forward, shoving him out of the ring. Oshidashi.
Onosato (7-1) defeated Takanosho (3-5). Another day at the office for the Yokozuna. Maybe he actually, finally learned the lesson about pulling? He got his left hand inside and drove Takanosho to the edge. Takanosho flailed around at the tawara, allowing Onosato to grab hold with his right, as well. Once Onosato got the morozashi, he was able to power his way through Takanosho. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
Onosato is in control. He has sole possession of the lead. However, there’s a crap-ton of guys waiting to pounce, one loss back. BTW, a “crap-ton” is officially bigger than a US short ton (2,000 lbs) and a metric tonne (1000 kg). The combined weight of the 8 guys behind Onosato is 1300+ kg, even with Fujinokawa and Ura weighing on the average. Jesus, I crack myself up at this ridiculous hour.
- 1-Loss: Onosato
- 2-Losses: Kotozakura, Atamifuji, Fujinokawa, Churanoumi, Asanoyama, Ura, Kinbozan, Yoshinofuji
I have too much fun with these narratives sometimes. Before your collective eye-rolling begins to lead to serious vision loss, I will turn to the Day 9 match-ups.
Onosato will fight Fujiryoga to maintain his lead. Aonishiki will fight Yoshinofuji, Kirishima will take on Daieisho, and Kotohachinana will hopefully not run away from Fujinokawa. Atamifuji gets Takayasu and Hakunofuji will fight Kotoeiho.
In the rank-and-file, Churanoumi fights Roga, Asanoyama fights Takanosho, Ura versus Oshoma, Kinbozan against Chiyoshoma and Toshinofuji vs Wakamotoharu.
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Fujinokawa equaled his best mid-tournament record with 6-2. In January, again with 6-2 but at M7, he’d ended up with 10-5. Since then, he had 3-5 twice, 4-4 once. Promotion to sekiwake seems to have inspired him. Way to go.
I hope that Kotozakura will enjoy his week and end up with 7-8. If all goes well, he will face the five from the ranks of sanyaku, starting with Fujinokawa tomorrow. One of the other two opponents might be Asanoyama.
Whoever they had doing analysis during the replays on the broadcast made that tedious and frustrating. Just replay the bout. Don’t draw lines on something called an F-Screen.