It’s the final weekend of the Hatsu basho, and the crew that schedule and select the matches have done a masterful job of bringing everything together right at the end, with a high stakes battle for the cup that will unfold over the next two days. There is no way that anyone can take the yusho today, unless two of the three men leading the race go kyujo. That means two days of high stakes matches as they fight it out to see who gets to take home the hardware, and that giant macaron.

There are several rikishi to finish sorting into make and kachi-koshi, and we have the possibility for several Darwin matches on day 15, where two 7-7 rikishi face off to see who is kachi-koshi, and who is make-koshi. Right now there are 16 candidates, and we will see how many of them have 7-7 scores at the end of today.

Hatsu Leaderboard

All three leaders are in fights today against rikishi further back in the pack, with Onosho fighting Kiribayama and Kotoshoho fighting Daieisho. Should the two men from the chase group win their matches, it really would likely turn the final day into a multi-way brawl to end it all, which readers know I love. Then there is the most unlikely of outcomes – Azumaryu yusho… While confounding and outrageous, it would nicely represent the current state of sumo. I think we should have known, years ago, when Goeido won a zensho yusho that something had gone terribly wrong in the Matrix. May the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan shield us from such a result.

Leader: Takakeisho, Onosho, Kotoshoho
Chasers: Kiribayama, Daieisho, Azumaryu

2 Matches Remain

What We Are Watching Day 14

Tsurugisho vs Kinbozan – Hulking sumo battle platform Kinbozan comes to visit the top division, and with 11-2 at Juryo 5, I think he’s going to be a top division man in Osaka. This may, in fact, be an exchange match. Should he win today, he would serve Tsurugisho (6-7) his make-koshi, and possibly his boarding pass for the Juryo barge of the damned.

Ichiyamamoto vs Azumaryu – Azumaryu needs to win this one to stay with the pack that are chasing the three leaders. He beat 8-5 Ichiyamamoto their only prior match, on day 3 of Kyushu 2022. Both men are kachi-koshi, so this is really just to decide the level of boost going into the March banzuke.

Kotoeko vs Hiradoumi – A Darwin qualifier, winner is kachi-koshi, loser gets to join the 7-7 Darwin pool. Hiradoumi has won both of their prior matches.

Takanosho vs Mitoryu – At 6-7, Takanosho has to win both remaining matches to avoid make-koshi, and a further setback in his climb back to the top ranks. He’s only won one of his 6 prior matches against 5-8 Mitoryu, with the win coming day 9 of Nagoya, 2019 – almost 4 years ago. In fact, they have not had a head to head since Aki of 2019, and oh how so much has changed since then.

Hokutofuji vs Takarafuji – A second Darwin qualifier. Winner is kachi-koshi, loser joins the Darwin pool. I have a sinking dread that Takarafuji will be the Darwin nominee, as he has really faded into week two, and Hokutofuji holds a 9-3 career advantage.

Ryuden vs Chiyoshoma – These two are already sorted, with 8-5 Ryuden being kachi-koshi and 5-8 Chiyoshoma being make-koshi. When the schedule was drawn up, this was possible a “fail safe” in case they were both eligible for Darwin selection today.

Aoiyama vs Nishikigi – Both men are 8-5, and this is a nice battle of sumo styles. We have Nishikigi who will want to move in close and give Aoiyama a battle hug, and Aoiyama who prefers to beat his opponents to pulp from medium range. However, Big Dan has shown surprising flexibility in some matches this January.

Nishikifuji vs Oho – Both men are already make-koshi, with Nishikifuji at 4-9, and Oho at 2-11. As poorly as Oho is doing, he seems to be employed as a white-star donor at the moment, helping cushion the fall for other rikishi who face demotion. As my granny used to tell me “Its good to be useful”.

Chiyomaru vs Sadanoumi – Take care, Chiyomaru, sorry your trip back into the top division was so rough and did not last longer. I hope you can come back with your undercarriage rebuilt or at least working. I don’t expect that he will be able to put up too much of a fight today, and his “stand them up, pull them down” routine should be expected by Sadanoumi.

Abi vs Endo – Endo, at 8-5, is kahci-koshi. He faced 7-6 Abi who will either find his 8th win today, or be joining the Darwin camp just down the road waiting for their doom on day 15. The good news for fans of Abi-zumo, he is 11-2 against Endo.

Mitakeumi vs Ura – This is one sad sad match for myself. We have an already make-koshi Mitakeumi at 5-8, with the option to relegate Ura to make-koshi as well if the former Ozeki can win today’s match. Ura is not moving well this tournament, and many of his standard crazy moves just are not executing crisply this time around. Should Ura win today, it’s off to the Darwin camp with him for day 15.

Tobizaru vs Kagayaki – In this match, we get to see if 6-7 Tobizaru can overcome his 2-4 career deficit to 7-6 Kagayaki and pick up a win today. Call this one a “mini Darwin”, if Kagayaki wins, he is kachi-koshi and Tobizaru is make-koshi. If Tobizaru wins, they are both put into the Darwin pool. Their last match was at Kyushu in 2021, and the win went to Tobizaru.

Kotoshoho vs Daieisho – First of the leaders to mount the dohyo, I don’t like 10-3 Kotoshoho’s chances here today. They last fought in November of 2020, when Kotoshoho was Maegashira 5. The match went to Daieisho, and Kotoshoho finished at 8-7. Given how well 9-4 Daieisho is fighting right now, it’s a long shot that Kotoshoho will prevail.

Kiribayama vs Onosho – As long as Onosho’s fighting spirit was not quenched by his loss on day 13 to Takakeisho, this will be one hell of a fight. With 10-3 Onosho having a narrow 4-3 winning record against 9-4 Kiribayama, the battle may be as potent as any so far this tournament. Of their two matches in 2022, both of them won a one and lost one, with Onosho having the most recent win, in Kyushu on day 14 as well.

Tamawashi vs Wakamotoharu – While the yusho race is worthy of a lot of attention, we still have some key rikishi to sort into make and kachi-koshi. Today its time to see where 7-6 Wakamotoharu ends up as he fights 8-5 Tamawashi. Wakamotoharu has lost 2 of the last three, and I am going to guess that it may be stamina starting to run low. Tamawashi has lost the last 2 in a row, and is already kachi-koshi.

Meisei vs Myogiryu – Both men are at 4-9, and this fight is really to see how far down the banzuke they will drop. We know what Meisei will be out of the named ranks, and hopefully he will be able to bounce back in better form and condition by March.

Midorifuji vs Kotonowaka – Another head to head, this time with both men at 6-7. The winner joins the Darwin group, the loser is make-koshi. Kotonowaka has won 4 of their 5 prior matches, and I think has a distinct advantage today over Midorifuji, who I suspect is feeling the effects of some injury this month.

Wakatakakage vs Shodai – It’s time for one last, rather high stakes mini-Darwin. We have 7-6 Wakatakakage up against 6-7 Shodai. One of them was hoping to become an Ozeki, one of them just got done being an Ozeki. Both of them have underperformed their abilities this January, and both need to regroup and try again. Shodai has won 7 of their 11 prior matches. A Wakatakakage win means kachi-koshi for him, and make-koshi for Shodai. A Shodai win, and they both get to be part of the Darwin group.

Hoshoryu vs Takakeisho – This match is a heavy burden to place on a man with an injured ankle. Hoshoryu is a lot less mobile than he normally is, and he struggles to keep his body in a fighting stance. On day 13, that bum ankle could not support much defensive sumo, and he took a disappointing loss. He has only won 2 of the prior 8 matches against the lone surviving Ozeki, Takakeisho, who must win this match to keep the lead in the race for the cup.

Today was anticipated to be a day of big sumo, and it was all of that and more. There were a host of good matches, from the brilliant opening win by Endo to the brutal tadpole brawl to end the day, some top flight performance from everyone, event hit or miss Chiyoshoma showed us good sumo today.

In Juryo, top division aspirant Asanoyama narrowly won against the hulking Kazakh Kinbozan. A tough match from start to finish, the win gives Asanoyama sole possession of the lead in the Juryo yusho race. The question on many fan’s mind – will he be posted back to the top division for March?

The crowning element of this excellent day of sumo was the final battle, the musubi-no-ichiban, we saw Onosho and Takakeisho beat each other bloody in a battle where the lone surviving Ozeki to clawed his way back into co-leading the yusho race. We ended the day with a 3 way tie for the lead between Takakeisho, Onosho, and Kotoshoho, who also won his day 13 match. We have 2 days of regulation remaining, and how this ends up is going to be a lot of fun figure out, as events unfold.

Highlight Matches

Enho defeats Mitoryu – It’s been a while since people who watch the NHK dailies got a chance to watch Enho, and some folks new to the sport may have never seen him before. It was fantastic that he brought his “A” game today, with some magnificent, well executed sumo. Mitoryu had the size, weight and maybe a few more advantages, but Enho had the technique. Once Enho was inside Mitoryu’s defenses, it was quick work to push his wide body out. Enho returns to Juryo 7-6, with my hopes he can be promoted for March.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Kagayaki – In a match where the winner would be kachi-koshi, and it’s not unexpected that Ichiyamamoto might win. But when he stoped his double arm thrusting attack, and grabbed Kagayaki’s mawashi, I think he had an element of surprise against his opponent. It sure surprised me. Nice work by Ichiyamamoto to claim his 8th win, with a yorikiri, now 8-5.

Azumaryu defeats Chiyoshoma – A fine example of tsuki/oshi work from Chiyoshoma today. With those kind of chops, I wish he could deliver about 15% more power, he would be winning matches left right and sideways. I love that he never stops attacking in this match, but Azumaryu seems to be incredibly patient today, wearing Chiyoshoma down. Eventually Azumaryu gets a throw in, taking Chiyoshoma out, he’s make-koshi now at 5-8, while Azumaryu improves to 9-4.

Aoiyama defeats Endo – Aoiyama fired up the V-Twin today, and ran that hog over Endo like he was a pothole. Endo missed his early attempts to get a belt grip, and decided he would just duke it out with Big Dan. “Bold move Cotton, let’s see how that works out…” Endo takes the oshitaoshi express into one of Sadanoumi’s salt baskets. Aoiyama now 8-5 and kachi-koshi.

Takanosho defeats Chiyomaru – Another example of Chiyomaru’s injury removing almost all forms of sumo from his fight menu. All he could try was a quick blow to stand Takanosho up and a pull back / down. Takanosho knew it was coming. The gyoji knew it was coming. The gal at the combini in Kinshicho who does not even like sumo knew it was coming. Takanosho motors ahead and drives Chiyomaru out, improving to 6-7.

Kotoeko defeats Ura – Ura had a significant advantage, but then decided a pull was in order to finish Kotoeko off. When those things fail, the do tend to fail in a big way. Kotoeko powered forward, blasting Ura out with a yoritaoshi into that same poor salt basket, improving to 7-6.

Tsurugisho defeats Myogiryu – I think Tsurugisho’s “stand up, put both arms out” tachiai surprised Myogiryu. I think while Myogiryu was trying to think of what to do next, he was not quite ready to defend against Tsurugisho’s hatakikomi, and hit the deck. Tsurugisho advances to 6-7, in a smart bit of match strategy there.

Nishikigi defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji has now lost 4 of the last 5, and I worry this could be it for him. He still just needs one more win to reach kachi-koshi and a life line to stay in the top division. But as we are aware, Nishikigi is greatly improved this basho, and when Nishikigi got hidariyotsu right at the tachiai, I knew it was going to be trouble for Takarafuji. Credit to Takarafuji, he tried a couple of throw attempts, but their failure left him with poor footing, and wide open to Nishikigi’s sukuinage, which dropped Takarafuji near the other salt basket this time. Nishikigi improves to 8-5 and is kachi-koshi.

Oho defeats Sadanoumi – Oho still has some sumo left in him, it seems. He gets Sadanoumi too far forward and slaps him down with a hearty hatakikomi, picking up his second win of January, now 2-11.

Kotoshoho defeats Abi – How remarkable is this basho for Kotoshoho? His best top division performance ever was at 10-5 result from Aki in 2020. He could lose every match from here on out and equal his best. The chances are more likely that he will get one or two more wins in the final days, and this will be his personal best. Abi gets a bit too wild after Kotoshoho does not yield to Abi’s double arm pounding, and Kotoshoh sets him up for the side step and tsukiotoshi that followed. I would love to think that this is Kotoshoho’s “new normal”, but that will best be judged in March. Kotoshoho stays on the leader board at 10-3

Daieisho defeats Hiradoumi – Who doesn’t love a mutual windmill thrusting battle? These two guys were full throttle from the tachiai, and had no restraint. Daieisho had a bit more power, and chipped away at Hiradoumi’s position, until he had him at the bales and thrust him out. Excellent sumo action, Daieisho now 9-4.

Tobizaru defeats Mitakeumi – Oh Mitakeumi, what the hell was that? You thought you would be cheeky and try to henka the flying monkey? No sir, not a working plan. Tobizaru captures Mitakeumi in mid flight and runs him to the exit. Mitakeumi now make-koshi at 5-8, Tobizaru improves to 6-7.

Wakamotoharu defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji was over eager to start the fight, and we had a series of matta. The fight itself saw Hokutofuji unable to exploit his narrow window of advantage to finish Wakamotoharu, instead leaving him with his heels on the tawara, and ready to rally. Wakamotoharu did rally, and drove forward without pause to force Hokutofuji from the ring. Both men end the day 7-6.

Nishikifuji defeats Meisei – A battle of the make-koshi, Meisei had the advantage early, and got his chance when Nishikifuji executed a poorly considered pulling attempt. Rather than drive it back down Nishikifuji’s throat, Meisei counters with his own pulling attempt, and finds himself defenseless to Nishikifuji attack. A quick sukuinage finishes Meisei off, and both me end the day 4-9.

Kotonowaka defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi may have had a bit too much focus on Kotonowaka’s head and face, and missed a big opportunity to apply force to Kotonowaka’s chest. This give Kotonowaka all of the room he needed to get his offense started, which turned out to be quite effective today. When Tamawashi moved to drive forward, Kotonowaka had the body position to back away and drop Tamawashi to the clay. Tough outcome for Tamawashi, but Kotonowaka picks up a most welcome win and is 6-7.

Kiribayama defeats Midorifuji – An impressive display from Midorifuji today. He attacked from underneath, and was able to confound and then stalemate Kiribayama’s attempt to draw him attacking his upper body (which would have raised him up). He was able too stalemate Kiribayama near the center of the ring for a time, but chose to break contact and attempt a throw. It was instantly shut down, and Kiribayama tossed him at (yes, it’s true), that same poor salt basket. Kiribayama now 9-4, the salt basket is in the ICU.

Wakatakakage defeats Hoshoryu – I get the impression that Hoshoryu’s ankle is degrading day to day, as each day he mounts the dohyo, he has a bit less power transmitted to ground. A prime example today is the moment before Wakatakakage crushes Hoshoryu to the clay, he has that left leg nearly straight, and is deflecting pressure that would normally put lateral stress on that ankle. This leaves him unable to react to Wakatakakage’s winning move. Both men end the day 7-6, and Wakatakakage may squeeze out a kachi-koshi yet.

Ryuden defeats Shodai – Brilliant match from Ryuden today. Shodai was all defense, as he could not find a way to get Ryuden raised up. Once Ryuden gets that right hand outside, he has control of the match. Three steps later he walks Shodai out, and earns kachi-koshi for January, at 8-5.

Takakeisho defeats Onosho – This is in fact what the fans all wanted to see. Two tadpoles beating each other senseless with everything on the line. Highlights for me? Onosho’s use of “wave action”, Takakeisho responding with a round house slap to the face. That slap set up the dive into Onosho’s chest from Takakeisho that blasted him out of the ring. Great oshi-zumo today from both men, brutal, fast effective, and potent. Both are now 10-3, creating a 3 way tie for the cup to start day 14.

I would label today “pull day”, as so many matches were decided by one man pulling on another man’s neck. Most of the ones doing the pulling went on to lose their matches, but a couple actually made it work. I think much of the top division are growing tired after 12 days of non stop battles against the best in the world, and we are starting to see some sloppy sumo.

The leader board has shifted, as the Junior Tadpole, Onosho, has his moment in the sun. Onosho won his day 12 match against Tamawashi, when (you guessed it) Tamawashi decided to pull, and found that Onosho was ready to run him out in response. In the final match of the day, Takakeisho failed to keep a working distance between himself and Kiribayama, found himself in a shoulder hold, and quickly tossed to the deck. That leave Onosho all alone at 10-2, leading the yusho race for Hatsu with just 3 days to go.

Highlight Matches

Tohakuryu defeats Chiyomaru – Chiyomaru goes for his favored “stand them up then pull them down” technique, while backing away quickly, and gets Tohakuryu face down in a hurry. But a mono-ii is called, and Chiyomaru is disqualified for a top knot pull. Tohakuryu returns to Juryu with a kachi-koshi, and is now 8-4.

Kagayaki defeats Takarafuji – Well, at least there was no henka. Takarafuji does an artful job of keeping Kagayaki’s hands away from his chest for a time, but is unable to have enough defensive power through his feet to the ground to stand fast. Kagayaki pushes him back, and out by oshidashi. Both end the day 7-5, and Takarafuji will have to try again tomorrow to come up with that 8th win.

Aoiyama defeats Kotoeko – Aoiyama was off to a good start, firing up the V-Twin and pushing Kotoeko back. But Kotoeko managed to capture Aoiyama, and it quickly transitioned into a mawashi battle. Both men attempted a throw, but Aoiyama had mass and leverage on his side, and dropped both himself and Kotoeko with that kotenage. Aoiyama up to 7-5.

Azumaryu defeats Hiradoumi – A glorious day at Tamanoi heya, Azumaryu, after several attempts, finally has a kachi-koshi in the top division. It was a fast grab and throw match against Hiradoumi, who ate the uwatenage at the bales. Azumaryu 8-4.

Tsurugisho defeats Takanosho – Well, it was too much to hope for, wasn’t it? Tsurugisho steps to the side, gets behind Takanosho and pushes him out from the rear. Now, at about 200kg, I am not sure you could call what Tsurugisho did a henka, but it was crap sumo no matter what its name. Both end the day at 5-7.

Endo defeats Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto never really got his offense coordinated, so I am not surprised that Endo took him apart and shoved him out as rapidly as he did. Congrats on your kachi-koshi Endo, please practice not using a henka now. He is 8-4. Yes I am still annoyed at all the henka.

Mitoryu defeats Oho – The sadness that is Oho’s record just keeps going on and on. Today Mitoryu spun Oho around, and pushed him out from behind. We are at the point of a tournament where a handful or rikishi have so many losses, I wonder daily what has happened. The Hatsu winner of that race has to be Oho. Mitoryu now 5-7, and avoids make-koshi.

Hokutofuji defeats Chiyoshoma – Well, at least there was not a henka. Chiyoshoma was not quite as potent at Hokutofuji at the start, and he gave up early and tried to pull. It almost worked, but Hokutofuji was able to keep his feet thanks to that independently operating lower body assembly. Chiyoshoma hits the deck before Hokutofuji is out, and Hokutofuji moves to 7-5, one win away from kachi-koshi.

Kotoshoho defeats Nishikigi – He may have gotten knocked out of his share of the lead, but Kotoshoho is headed for double digits, and nothing is going to stop him. With one more win he will tie his best ever result in the top division, and there 3 days to go. Today he showed some impressive agility in pushing Nishikigi to the side and out, just as Nishikigi was pressing forward to finish Kotoshoho off, Kotoshoho now 9-3.

Abi defeats Ura – Well, at least.. oh damn. Abi 7-5.

Onosho defeats Tamawashi – Impressive fight, Tamawashi delivered some power in his thrusting volleys, and Onosho returned in kind. For the first few exchanges, they were dead even. It all went wrong when Tamawashi made the mistake we know everyone else learned in week one. Don’t pull Onosho right now, it’s not going to work and you will lose. Onosho 10-2.

Tobizaru defeats Myogiryu – It looked like Myogiryu was not really sure what to do with Tobizaru’s sumo today. So he settled for keeping him at distance, and just batting his hands back every time Tobizaru tried to reach in. Myogiryu got bored with this quickly, and tried a pull. Of course this gave the match to Tobizaru who pushed him out in response, improving to 5-7.

Daieisho defeats Mitakeumi – I, for one, am weary of these stalemate matches where the rikishi that should be trying doubly hard to win gives up and pulls their opponent. So far all of those “pullers” have lost. Here it was Mitakeumi, who was losing ground to Daieisho, and lost his nerve. Daieisho gladly accepted the gift, and is now 8-4.

Sadanoumi defeats Meisei – Sadanoumi decides to share the make-koshi joy by (oh yes, I know) pulling down Meisei. A mono-ii is called, and we all assumed it was another hansoku (top knot pull), but they decided everything was close enough, Sadanoumi at 4-8 now, as is Meisei. With his make-koshi, he will be vacating on of the numerous san’yaku ranks for March.

Midorifuji defeats Wakamotoharu – After so many of these matches failed to push their competitors to a 6-6 outcome, it was a good sign that this one turned out right for getting at least a few rikishi ready for a Darwin finish on day 15. Wakamotoharu had all he could manage trying to contain Midorifuji, and keep his balance at the same time. Really an impressive ottsuke from Wakamotoharu, and I hope he uses that all the time from here on out. Reminds me of Kisenosato with that move. But Midorifuji never fought Kisenosato, and once being shut out by that marvelous ottsuke, goes “kitchen sink” and tries about 3 things in the space of two seconds, ranging from a shoulder grab to a leg pick. This leaves Wakamotoharu completely bamboozled, and an easy mark for the oshidashi. Both are now 6-6.

Wakatakakage defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka blew the tachiai, giving Wakatakakage a good position attacking from below, with both hands inside. Not many routes you can come back from that one, Kotonowaka. Wakatakakage battle hugs and stomps ahead, placing Kotonowaka out by yorikiri, and improving to 6-6.

Shodai defeats Nishikifuji – Ok, well – maybe Shodai kachi-koshi? It’s so frustrating with this guy, as he has the sumo chops to be a winner, but somehow can’t always put it together. Nishikifuji starts out the aggressor, but again today we get to see a half hearted use of Shodai’s “Wall of Daikon” sumo style. As flaccid as his signature move is right now, it’s still enough to hustle Nishikifuji out for his fourth consecutive win. Shodai is now 6-6.

Ryuden defeats Hoshoryu – Both of Hoshoryu’s opening gambits failed, and he settled for a right hand inside mawashi grip. This is not what he was looking for, as that left hand was pretty deep, and he could not really use it to move Ryuden around with it. Ryuden countered with a much more shallow left hand outside grip, that did seem to give him some leverage. The result was a see-saw battle with Ryuden the aggressor, and Hoshoryu trying to stay stable on that damaged ankle. Excellent work by Ryuden, forcing Hoshoryu to defend from the left, putting increasing pressure on that ankle, until Hoshoryu could not hold ground any longer. Brutal and effective, both are now 7-5.

Kiribayama defeats Takakeisho – There was a time, a few days ago, when sumo fans were hoping for a 14-1 Takakeisho yusho, and a Yokozuna dohyo-iri at the Meiji shrine later this month. But 2023 in sumo is starting a lot like 2022 in sumo, with no real champions, and no consistent performers. Takakeisho gets one good volley in just after the tachiai, but is too close to Kiribayama. Kiribayama captures him and immediately spins up a sukuinage, which puts the Ozeki face down on the clay. Takakeisho vacates his share of the leader group, and is now 9-4. Kiribayama is 8-4 and kachi-koshi for Hatsu.