Welcome to nakabi, the middle day of the tournament! Having had the privilege of being able to attend a middle Sunday in person, it’s usually a festive occasion with plenty of happy folks in the Kokugikan, sharing a love of sumo, and having a good time.

With Endo kyujo, we will no longer have Juryo visitors, at least until someone gets hurt or withdraws. With us reaching day 8, it’s time to look at the leaderboard.

Natsu Leaderboard

It’s our first look at the leaderboard, and it’s a 3 way tie among undefeated rikishi. We have two with prior yusho experience in the top group, and if they can hold on to the start of act 3, will be the favorites to take the cup. As mentioned earlier in the basho, Asanoyama has the easiest path at the moment, as i don’t think they will send him against higher ranked opponents until day 10 at the earliest.

They are trailed by 2 rikishi with one loss, and a group of 7 with 2 losses in the hunt group.

Leaders: Terunofuji, Meisei, Asanoyama
Chasers: Daieisho, Wakamotoharu
Hunt Group: Takakeisho, Kiribayama, Hoshoryu, Mitakeumi, Hiradoumi, Hokuseiho, Myogiryu

8 Matches Remain

What We Are Watching Day 8

Mitoryu (4-3) vs Myogiryu (5-2) – A head to head match up for two of the ‘ryu rikishi, both of them with winning records. They have never fought before in a basho, and I think that we are going to see Myogiryu have an early advantage, though Mitoryu’s enormity may prove to be enough to through Myogiryu off his match plan.

Chiyoshoma (4-3) vs Tsurugisho (4-3) – Tsurugisho as now won 3 out of his last 4, and I think is in about as good a fighting form as we are likely to see during Natsu. He’s up against Chiyoshoma who has won the last 4 in a row after a cold 0-3 start last weekend. They have a fairly even career record with a slight 6-5 lead for Chiyoshoma.

Aoiyama (2-5) vs Ichiyamamoto (2-5) – Matching 2-5 records for a pair of men I expect to favor a oshi-zumo battle. I am sure this is just fine for Ichiyamamoto who could not decide what to do with his hands during his day 7 loss to Asanoyama. The big question will be if he can land his double arm attacks early enough and strong enough to take advantage of Big Dan Aoiyama’s knee problems.

Oho (4-3) vs Kotoeko (2-5) – Now having won 3 in a row, maybe Oho is ready to settle in to some consistent sumo. I would like to think that Kotoeko, who has lost the last 3 in a row, is ready to break that streak. They have an even 2-2 record on the clay, so it should be possible for either man to dominate this match.

Hokuseiho (5-2) vs Asanoyama (7-0) – Well, now we get to the good stuff! Will Hakuho’s giant decide to be vigorous today, or just stand around and wait for sumo to happen nearby? If the only prior match between these two is any indication, Asanoyama will be driving this match, and Hokuseiho’s size may not matter that much. A win today for Asanoyama is kachi-koshi.

Kagayaki (2-5) vs Daishoho (2-5) – Both rikishi have bad 2-5 records to start today, and I think the best news is that one of them will find win number 3 today. Certainly Kagayaki has a 4-2 career lead, but out of those 6 matches, 4 of them happened in 2019. Daishoho won their only prior match this year.

Sadanoumi (3-4) vs Takarafuji (3-4) – Takarafuji holds a 15-6 career advantage, but don’t be surprised if he can’t stop lightning fast Sadanoumi today. His lower body just does not seem to be able to support his defensive style of sumo right now, and I think he will continue to struggle for the remaining week of the tournament.

Hokutofuji (3-4) vs Takanosho (2-5) – This one has the makings of a good fight, but for the fact that like Takarafuji, Takanosho’s lower body seems to be a limiting element to his sumo right now. I think that gives Hokutofuji a distinct advantage today, in that Hokutofuji’s lower body sometimes wins matches on his behalf, regardless of what the rest of him is doing at the time.

Ryuden (3-4) vs Tamawashi (2-5) – Also in the category of “this could have been a great match”, I don’t expect Tamawashi is going to have much to use in response to Ryuden’s sumo. The Iron Man is looking rusty and ready for recuperation right now, and I wish there was some way I could grant him that without damaging his amazing record of daily participation in sumo.

Meisei (7-0) vs Hiradoumi (5-2) – I have to wonder when Meisei is going to pick up his first loss. I suppose it is possible we could see him have a Goeido like moment and turn in the first zensho anyone has seen in a while, but I do think it’s unlikely. Hiradoumi has a solid winning record at 5-2, but is not really someone you would expect to be able to beat a genki Meisei. A win today for Meisei is kachi-koshi.

Onosho (4-3) vs Mitakeumi (5-2) – Battle of the big pushers. Both of them seem to have shaken off whatever ring rust or impediments were holding them back earlier, and are in fine fighting form. If the “good” Mitakeumi takes the dohyo today, this win belongs to him. But I think that Onosho knows that there will be an opening for him to win this one the moment that Mitakeumi makes a mistake

Kinbozan (3-4) vs Nishikifuji (1-6) – Direct from facing the Yokozuna, Kinbozan recycles to the lower parts of the banzuke to recover. He has Nishikifuji, who has only managed to win one match so far this tournament. This should be a straightforward Kinbozan win.

Abi (3-4) vs Tobizaru (3-4) – I think this has a chance to be a near perfect match. Both of them are prone to spontaneous high energy, off axis sumo. They are not afraid to step to the side, or use an unusual combination to try and with a match. They both have matching 3-4 records, so the winner today will be breaking a bit of a tie.

Daieisho (6-1) vs Midorifuji (2-5) – I don’t expect Midorifuji to offer Daieisho much of a challenge. There have been 3 prior matches, that have broken 2-1 in Daieisho’s favor. Furthermore, Daieisho’s sumo has been close to his optimum, and Midorifuji is at 2-5.

Kotonowaka (3-4) vs Hoshoryu (5-2) – Hoshoryu holds a 9-3 career advantage over Kotonowaka, plus he got a day of rest on day 7 after Endo withdrew from competition. Short of some disastrous bumble, I don’t see Hoshoryu losing this one.

Kiribayama (5-2) vs Ura (3-4) – On any given day, Ura can beat whomever he is paired against if the stars align for him to do something crazy. We have yet to see him really bend space-time this basho, so maybe he’s saving it for this middles Sunday. Kiribayama took his second loss on day 7 to Shodai, and I am quite sure he’s hoping to bounce back strong in his effort to drive to double digits.

Nishikigi (1-6) vs Wakamotoharu (6-1) – I think we can be fairly sure that these two will setting into a yotsu-zumo fight by the second step, and that which hand is inside will determine who controls the match. But all of that being true, I don’t see Nishikigi overcoming Wakamotoharu right now, who I think has a solid chance of competing for the cup in act 3. Wakamotoharu has a 5-1 career lead.

Shodai (3-4) vs Takakeisho (5-2) – Much like Ura, you can’t really ever count Shodai out. Yes, I give him a lot of grief here, and he deserves most of it. But if he somehow accidentally switches into “good” mode, he can and will beat anyone, including Terunofuji. We just don’t get to see that mode nearly enough. This would suit Takakeisho just fine, as he needs 3 more wins to reach the safety of 8.

Terunofuji (7-0) vs Kotoshoho (1-6) – Kotoshoho, even if he were genki, is completely out-matched here. I expect Terunofuji to pick up his 8th win and his kachi-koshi today. He has never lost to Kotoshoho in 4 prior matches.

Some time in the early hours of Saturday, the memo went out – day 7 is hatakikomi day, make sure everyone at least tries to win by hatakikomi. Before the hatakikomi fest could get started, it was announced that Endo had withdrawn from the Hatsu basho with injuries to both knees. He had been winless up to today, and was in no condition to compete. Hoshoryu gets the default win, which oddly enough is a problem for him. Yes, it improves his score, but as a rikishi looking to make the case for Ozeki promotion, the “quality” of the wins matter in the deliberations to recommend promotion to Ozeki. Hoshoryu is now 5-2.

Highlight Matches

Myogiryu defeats Enho – I do hope that nobody was hoping that Enho was going to win. He decided to go straight on against Myogiryu, and he’s not able to push back against Myogiryu’s forward pressure. Its quite sad to see him one loss from an 0-8 make-koshi, but that’s where he is. Myogiryu improves to 5-2.

Asanoyama defeats Ichiyamamoto – Poor Ichiyamamoto does not even know where to start. He tries a grapple? Then changes his mind and puts both hands on Asanoyama’s face, and then it’s time to step out. Asanoyama remains unbeaten at 7-0.

Chiyoshoma defeats Mitoryu – Chiyoshoma does struggle for a moment with Mitoryu’s enormity, but quickly gets a right hand frontal grip. Attempts to lift the bulky Mitoryu are largely pointless. until Chiyoshoma hooks his left leg outside for a sotogake, bringing Mitoryu down. Both end the day 4-3.

Kagayaki defeats Kotoeko – Kagayaki lines up well be hind the shikiri-sen, it looks like to give a bit more room to launch into Kotoeko. That big first step pays off by breaking Kotoeko’s balance, allowing Kagayaki to move him back and eventually out. Both end the day 2-5.

Tsurugisho defeats Hokuseiho – In this battle of the mega-fauna, Tsurugisho takes the fight to Hokuseiho, and I think surprises him. Maybe Hokuseiho is not used to another rikishi being able to move him, or break his stance. Tsurugisho’s big belly does make for an effective ram. Once Tsurugisho gets Hokuseiho in motion, he walks him back for a yorikiri, and improves to 4-3.

Oho defeats Takarafuji – Another day where we see Takarafuji struggling to hold ground. We also see Oho struggling to generate much forward pressure or move ahead in an aggressive manner. But it looks like for at least today, Oho is in slightly better condition, and he gets Takarafuji out by oshidashi to advance to 4-3.

Daishoho defeats Ryuden – Daishoho gets an arm bar hold at the tachiai, and there was nothing Ryuden could do but go for the ride as Daishoho puts him out Terunofuji style. Daishoho finds his second win and is now 2-5.

Hiradoumi defeats Aoiyama – Aoiyama had about 8 seconds of power in his body, where he was able to attack. Once that was exhausted, Hiradoumi rallied and drove him back. These guys with damaged legs really make for poor matches. Hiradoumi now 5-2.

Onosho defeats Hokutofuji – It is an odd day indeed when Hokutofuji is more off balance than Onosho. Typically Hokutofuji’s lower body acts almost independently to keep him in the match, but not today. Onosho applies a quick thrust and an immediate pull, sending Hokutofuji to the clay by hatakikomi. Onosho improves to 4-3.

Mitakeumi defeats Takanosho – Another day that we get to see classic Mitakeumi sumo. This form, with much higher power output, is what took him to Ozeki. It’s a shame that whatever is out of order for Takanosho prevents him from really generating the power needed to overcome this kind of situation. Mitakeumi now 5-2.

Meisei defeats Sadanoumi – My compliments to Sadanoumi for showing excellent balance in the face of serial tsukiotoshi attempts by Meisei. But one of them finally took care of business and Sadanoumi rolled to the dohyo. Meisei remains perfect at 7-0.

Tamawashi defeats Kotoshoho – I saw one big hit from Tamawashi today, but it was enough to knock Kotoshoho off his balance and set up the hatakikomi that followed. Tamawashi finds his second win and is 2-5.

Tobizaru defeats Nishikigi – Nishikigi is quite predictable, he will maniacally drive to get some kind of body or belt hold from the tachiai. Tobizaru uses this well known preference to his advantage, first blocking Nishikigi’s efforts to reach in, and then when Nishikigi leans in to make it more pronounced, brings Nishikigi down by hatakikomi, improving to 3-4.

Midorifuji defeats Abi – Abi sidesteps the tachiai, and tosses Midorifuji down. A monoii ensues and calls for a rematch as both men went out together. Abi tries to sidestep the second tachiai, but this time Midorifuji is better positioned, and is able to connect to Abi’s body, sending him out by oshidashi three steps later. Midorifuji finds his second win and is now 2-5.

Shodai defeats Kiribayama – Was Kiribayama somehow surprised by Shodai’s tachiai? Maybe he thought it was a matta, but the fight was on, and Kiribayama found himself without any positioning, defense, or options. He did try a rescue hatakikomi (he did get the memo, you see), but Shodai had him bracketed and ready to go out. Kiribayama picks up his second loss to drop to 5-2 while Shodai advances to 3-4.

Wakamotoharu defeats Nishikifuji – A surprisingly sloppy match, where it looked to me that Wakamotoharu lost track of where he was in the ring, and assumed his shove was potent enough to send Nishikifuji out. It was not, and Wakamotoharu had to re-engage and finish the job. It was good enough to improve his score to 6-1, but quite out of character for his normally very careful sumo.

Daieisho defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka opened strong, capturing Daieisho and getting a working hand hold straight from the tachiai. He moved Daieisho back but could not finish him. Daieisho took control with a series of counter attacks, using oshi to get Kotonowaka turned, moved back and out. Daieisho stays near the leaders at 6-1, and some nice recovery.

Takakeisho defeats Ura – Not quite the orchestration and arrangement that we might see from a fully healthy Takakeisho, but he brought a lot of intensity. I think the plan was to make contact before Ura could position himself for his opening gambit. It worked well and Ura was left trying to react, which failed and Takakeisho pushed him out two steps later. Takakeisho improves to 5-2.

Terunofuji defeats Kinbozan – Sadly, it seems that Kinbozan was in fact defeated before the tachiai by the novelty of fighting the Yokozuna. His first step was soft, and he allowed Terunofuji unfettered access to attack in any form he chose. The choice of the day was hearty uwatenage, and it propels Terunofuji to an unbeaten 7-0 to end the day.

Welcome to the middle weekend, one of my favorite parts of the 15 day honbasho cycle. There are a number of high interest match ups in the torikumi today, and out would be fun to see a bit of a shuffle take place prior to our first look at the leaderboard with tomorrow night’s preview. I think the rest of sumo fandom are starting to wonder when they are going to give Asanoyama some matches against the joi-jin, and I expect those to start in act 3. He continues to have the easiest path of the three perfect record leaders to the yusho. If he should manage to prevail, it would be his second. Sadly there won’t be a US president there on the final day, though it seems US president Joe Biden is in Japan right now. Yeah, not going to happen.

What We Are Watching Day 7

Enho (0-6) vs Myogiryu (4-2) – Fan favorite Enho visits from Juryo, sadly he brings his rock bottom 0-6 score with him. Enho has been a wreck for past couple of years, and I am not sure he will ever get back to the point he can compete in the top division. At least we know that Myogiryu will get his 5th win…

Asanoyama (6-0) vs Ichiyamamoto (2-4) – First ever match between Ichiyamamoto and Asanoyama. It’s like someone is sending a plucky green infantry unit up against Rommel. That’s not to say that Ichiyamamoto can’t possibly beat Asanoyama, just that he may be in for some surprises on the first step.

Chiyoshoma (3-3) vs Mitoryu (4-2) – Six prior fights, and Chiyoshoma has won them all, including two in this year alone. I am not sure if it’s just that Mitoryu is a big rubbery dollop of creme brulee trying to execute oshi-zumo, or if Chiyoshoma has some special advantage in the form of black sorcery, but it would be fun to have the creme brulee win one today.

Kagayaki (1-5) vs Kotoeko (2-4) – Kagayaki enters the middle weekend with but a single win to his name. The only solace he might take from this match is that Kotoeko has been fighting well, looking fabulous, and losing matches with just 2 wins to his name. Kagayaki holds an 11-9 career advantage, but who knows which one of these scratch and dent refugees will come out on top here.

Hokuseiho (5-1) vs Tsurugisho (3-3) – A new age battle of the mega-fauna. Gone is the time when Kaisei would square off against Gagamaru, but instead we can get the absurdly thick Tsurugisho up against our favorite Miyagino apartment block. Hokuseiho won their only prior match, which was day 8 of Kyushu 2022. Given how well Hokuseiho is doing right now, I think that its his match to lose.

Oho (3-3) vs Takarafuji (3-3) – Normally this would be a high interest match. But both of them are fighting well below their ability when healthy and ready to go. So it’s a pair of 3-3 guys just trying to get to day 15 in one piece.

Ryuden (3-3) vs Daishoho (1-5) – This one looks like it’s set up to give Ryuden a much needed win for his 3-3 record. He has lost 2 of the last 3, and needs to be careful as he’s right on the center line between make-koshi and kachi-koshi. Daishoho is in the single win group, and may be a white star donor today. Ryuden leads their career record at 5-2.

Aoiyama (2-4) vs Hiradoumi (4-2) – Mirror image scores seem to point toward a bit of funneling this weekend. The ideal outcome would be for Aoiyama to get his 3rd win, and Hiradoumi his 3rd loss to bring them into any funnel group that the schedulers may decide to set up. Aoiyama holds a 3-1 career lead over Hiradoumi, and won both prior matches against him this year.

Hokutofuji (3-3) vs Onosho (3-3) – After a rough start, I think Onosho has finally shaken off his ring rust and is starting to fight closer to his good form. If that holds true today, this will be a high interest match. They have had 16 prior matches, that they have split 8-8. They both like to launch hard off of the shikiri-sen, and they can both hit like a runaway truck. The formula for a good fight.

Takanosho (2-4) vs Mitakeumi (4-2) – Another match with mirror image scores that make me think that the scheduling team might be moving to set up a funnel. They have an even career 7-7 record, both are fighting quite a bit less than what they are capable of, and both want to earn a win today.

Meisei (6-0) vs Sadanoumi (3-3) – Meisei comes into the middle weekend part of an elite 3 person group that are thus far unbeaten. Don’t ask me when he will lose his first match, I am impressed he got this far! In a normal basho, this would be a solid, even fight. But with Meisei being on a hot streak, I worry that Sadanoumi will extend his 2 match black star run.

Tamawashi (1-5) vs Kotoshoho (1-5) – Both are 1-5, having a crummy tournament, probably want to just go to the bar and have a drink. Suggest this is the best time to get up and use the toilet.

Tobizaru (2-4) vs Nishikigi (1-5) – Back from your bio break? Good! This one has fun written up one side and down the other. We have high mobility Tobizaru against near sighted battle hugger Nishikigi. Tobizaru is not too worried when he gets into a yotsu match, so if Nishikigi gets a hold, it’s not the end of Tobizaru’s fight today. Expect some crazy monkey sumo in this one.

Abi (3-3) vs Midorifuji (1-5) – I don’t think this one is going to be much of a contest, as Midorifuji has only a single win thus far. Abi is not really running up the score at this point, but he’s still in good enough fighting form to be the favorite in this match.

Endo (0-6) vs Hoshoryu (4-2) – Hey, Hoshoryu! Free win!

Kiribayama (5-1) vs Shodai (2-4) – You may look at this and decide that it’s a cream puff for Kiribayama today to help him reach for double digits. But in reality Shodai has a 9-5 record against him on the clay. Given that Shodai is really hit or (mostly) miss this May, it may in fact be a “gimmie” for Kiribayama, or we may get to see Shodai rally and make Kiribayama’s road to double digits a bit uglier.

Nishikifuji (1-5) vs Wakamotoharu (5-1) – I don’t anticipate Nishikifuji putting up too much of a fight today, so I look for Wakamotoharu to continue with the 1 loss group into day 8.

Daieisho (5-1) vs Kotonowaka (3-3) – Kotonowaka has racked up 3 straight losses. It’s tough to know if he just lost focus, or hurt something. But when facing someone like Daieisho it’s best to make sure your health insurance is paid up, and your dental fillings are firmly cemented. Right now Daieisho is a man on a mission, and Kotonowaka is his next hurdle.

Ura (3-3) vs Takakeisho (4-2) – Any match with a non-crippled Ura in it has potential for fun and mystery-sumo. But I think when the day ends that we will get to see Takakeisho win win #5 as he guts out his grind to 8 to clear kadoban. He has an 11-3 career lead over Ura.

Terunofuji (6-0) vs Kinbozan (3-3) – Oh now this IS a high interest match, and could be quite the fight. It comes down to how much Kinbozan is intimidated by the Yokozuna, or if he’s just going to fight him like he would Tamawashi. I am fairly sure he is likely to lose, but if he does not let himself be overcome by the perception of Terunofuji, he could give him a stiff fight. Of course, he might be just snag his first kinboshi if the stars align.