Given the limited number of kanban rikishi in this tournament, the scheduling team has really done a masterful job of creating something out of almost nothing. They were helped by Shimanoumi’s hot streak, and a resurgence from Terunofuji. We head into the final weekend with an interesting run to the finish, and quite a lot is at stake. For Shimanoumi, it would be the latest rikishi to challenge for the cup going into the final weekend from the bottom of the banzuke. In fact, each basho this year has had someone below M12 in serious contention going into day 13.

For Terunofuji, he has stated in all seriousness that he is aiming to return to Ozeki. He has already taken a first step by hitting 10 wins by day 12, and can only improve from here. A yusho would likely be in the 12-13 win range, and that is quite the start to an Ozeki run. If he can pull off a return to sumo’s second highest rank, it would be one of sumo’s great stories of this era.

Lastly, for Takakeisho, a yusho in November adds a thick layer of savory curry to what is already shaping up to be a brutal and intense Hatsu basho. An Ozeki yusho for him would put him on the launch pad to become the 73rd Yokozuna. I know the YDC seems eager to force the aging, Mongolian Yokozuna intai, but frankly the current Ozeki corps is in tatters, and it would be unwise to push Hakuho or Kakuryu towards the barber before the NSK can resume normal training operations.

November Leaderboard

Leaders – Takakeisho, Shimanoumi
Chaser – Terunofuji
Hunter – Ryuden

3 Matches Remain

Selected Matches

Aoiyama vs Hoshoryu – A win today for Hoshoryu would seal his kachi-koshi. It’s his first match against Aoiyama, and that initial encounter has proven brutal for other rising stars. But Big Dan is not quite up to his normal levels of power and fight this November, so it’s anyone’s guess how this will go.

Takarafuji vs Daieisho – Both are kachi-koshi, so this one is all about rank. The career record is 6-6, and this is a big battle of styles. Daieisho is going to move and strike, and Takarafuji will defend and extend. I am looking for Takarafuji to tangle up one of Daieisho’s arms early.

Tobizaru vs Takayasu – I can see Tobizaru’s dissapointment daily as he mounts the dohyo. He had a lot of hopes for his first visit to a much depleted joi-jin during this basho, but most rikishi get torn up and thrown out sideways. So his experience is no surprise. I am expecting Takayasu to do more “wild man” sumo, and I would really like to see Tobizaru exploit some large movement of an arm or leg from Takayasu to drop him to the clay. More likely, Takayasu is going to knock him into next week. This is their first time meeting.

Terunofuji vs Ryuden – Oh yes indeed. It’s time to test kaiju powers vs whatever happened in Ryuden’s butt. My money is on the kaiju, but I do worry about Ryuden’s shiri-zumo, which as already claimed a number of scalps. A win by Terunofuji today would shunt him into the group that will battle it out for the cup this weekend. I can’t wait to see how that goes. This is, in fact, their first battle.

Mitakeumi vs Takanosho – Both Sekiwake at 6-6, kind of miserable given that there is just the one Ozeki to rough them up. But they are going to fight for win #7 today, and both need to win 2 out of the next 3 to survive at this rank. It’s almost assured that Terunofuji is going to take one of their slots, or force a 3rd come January.

Takakeisho vs Shimanoumi – The big match we are all eager to see. Its going to be the first step that decides this one in all likelihood. If we see Shimanoumi get that left hand close to Takakeisho’s belt, its going to be his match to control. But I am looking for Takakeisho to hit him with both arms at the tachiai, and possibly put him into a ballistic trajectory toward the Sumida river.

We have have a third tournament this year (out of only 5) where a Maegashira 17 is challenging for the yusho late into week 2. Chalk it up to an odd year, or just the relative strength of the entire Makuuchi cohort, but it’s odd to see this play out time and again.

The yusho race is still between Takakeisho and Shimanoumi, with Terunofuji only rikishi still in position to challenge should both leader take a loss. While I was hoping for a day 13 Takakeisho-Terunofuji match, we will get Takakeisho-Shimanoumi instead. At minimum, there will be a special prize or two in Shimanoumi’s immediate future. For those not familiar with Shimanoumi, he had a back to back pair of Juryo yusho at the start of last year, and earned the kanto-sho (fighting spirit) prize in his top division debut.

In a match with Takakeisho, it has been a long 4 years since the two had their only prior fight, and a lot has changed since then. Sato became Takakeisho, put on about 100 kilos, changed stables, and became an Ozeki. Takakeisho is dialed into his sumo right now, so as long as he can keep Shimanoumi from setting up any kind of mawashi grip, he should be able to control the match. Whomever wins this match, I expect them to face Terunofuji on day 14 to complete the 3 way mini round-robin.

Highlight Matches

Kotonowaka defeats Chiyonoo – Juryo visitor Chiyonoo did not present too much challenge for Kotonowaka. A fine example of keeping your cool, even when your opponent can get both hands inside. Kotonowaka improves to 7-5.

Ichinojo defeats Enho – Points to Enho for blasting off the shikiri-sen into the wall of flesh that is Ichinojo. I don’t think I have seen that level of intensity out Ichinojo in some time. But it’s all for naught as Enho gets buffeted about and heaved out with arms and legs traveling in random directions. Enho down to 2-10 now, and in real danger of dropping out of the top division.

Shimanoumi defeats Ryuden – Co-leader Shimanoumi keeps up the pace, now at 11 wins. Shimanoumi certainly had better body position, and was able to stay lower than Ryuden throughout the match. That closing through, magic stuff. The schedulers have had enough of this, Shimanoumi faces Takakeisho tomorrow.

Meisei defeats Chiyoshoma – Two matta, and then a quick loss for Chiyoshoma as he stepped out less than 4 seconds into the match. One of the matta was in fact a flying henka attempt, so I am a bit sad that we did not really get to see that one play out. Meisei up to 7-5.

Tokushoryu defeats Chiyotairyu – Tokushoryu hirate? Ok, fine. Then both of them chest to chest? Err… right. Not sure where this match came from, but it was as unexpected from start to finish. Both end the day at 7-5.

Kaisei defeats Kotoeko – Kaisei used his size advantage to contain and expel Kotoeko before he could generate any offense, or get in motion. Both end the day at 6-6.

Yutakayama defeats Aoiyama – Yutakayama delivers Big Dan Aoiyama a steaming hot fresh bowl of make-koshi. Aoiyama thrusting attack is not even close to its normal power level, so I hope he comes back in January in better condition. Both end the day at 4-8.

Hoshoryu defeats Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi put all of his hopes in a big nodowa, and it was a mistake. While it raised Hoshoryu up, he was able to advance against Terutsuyoshi, and force him out with a belly flop. Hoshoryu improves to 7-5.

Akua defeats Endo – Where has this version of Akua been? He completely dominated Endo today. After a shaky 1-4 start, he seems to have gotten his sumo together, improving to 7-5 and surprising Endo.

Chiyonokuni defeats Myogiryu – Chiyonokuni retaliates against Myogiryu’s strong opening combo to quickly pick up his 8th win. While I would rather see him win fighting forward, it’s still kachi-koshi for the grumpy badger. Welcome back to the Makuuchi sir! Looks like you may be staying a while.

Hokutofuji defeats Tochinoshin – It was fun (to me anyhow) to see Tochinoshin open with a nodowa against Hokutofuji. Frequently that is Hokutofuji’s go-to weapon. But lookie there, Hokutofuji took all of that to set up a position where he could block Tochinoshin’s left hand outside grip. Tochinoshin put so much effort into getting that left hand grip that he was unprepared for Hokutofuji’s counter-attack. You don’t see Hokutofuji go chest to chest too frequently, but maybe he should resort to it more often. That’s kachi-koshi for Hokutofuji.

Kotoshoho defeats Okinoumi – Kotoshoho collapsed his tachiai, leaving Okinoumi too far forward. A simple hand shift to the back of Okinoumi’s neck, and push. Kotoshoho improves to 7-5.

Kagayaki defeats Onosho – Kagayaki’s defensive foot placement and initial arm-pit attack carried this match. He’s not a flashy fighter, but once he is dialed into his sumo, he can be tough to overcome. Both end the day at 5-7.

Kiribayama defeats Sadanoumi – Kiribayama picks up a much needed win. Nice attempt at a leg hook throw (kakenage?) by Kiribayama. Sadanoumi attempted to counter with a belt throw, but he was out as he started the pivot. 2-10 for the struggling Kiribayama.

Wakatakakage defeats Tobizaru – Tobizaru was completely overwhelmed by Wakatakakage, and rapidly found himself tossed out of the match. That’s loss 8 for the flying monkey, and he’s make-koshi for November.

Takayasu defeats Daieisho – More wild, chaotic sumo from Takayasu today. It brought him a 7th win of the tournament, but each time I see him go on a rampage like this, I just think about how poorly he moves. Thankfully for him, the rikishi who exploit that aspect of his sumo are all sitting this one out. He improves to 7-5.

Terunofuji defeats Mitakeumi – Low speed tachiai from Terunofuji, and straight into his power stance. Mitakeumi took just a moment to defeat, and seems to have only offered token resistance. The look on Mitakeumi’s face as the gumbai when to Terunofuji was along the lines of “What…?”. Terunofuji now 10-2.

Takanosho defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi decided he was going to try to pull following the opening combo. It’s clear that Takanosho was ready for it, and blasted forward against Tamawashi’s chest for the win. Both end the day at 6-6.

Takakeisho defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji was completely disrupted at the tachiai, could not set up any kind of defense, and was out before he could take a second step under his own authority. Takakeisho maintains his share of the lead at 11-1.

Day 11 of the November Tokyo basho is in the history books, and the top end of the leader board remains intact. But unless the NSK want the real chance of a bottom of the banzuke yusho yet again (it would be the 3rd time this year), it’s time for Shimanoumi to face some stiffer competition. Looks like that is in store for day 12 as the schedulers begin to shape the yusho race. November’s Cinderella candidate, Shimanoumi, will face 9-2 Ryuden and his jiggly bottom. Elsewhere in the yusho race, we get to see how silly it is to try and get morozashi against the kaiju. Did these folks neglect to watch old footage of this guy in his heyday? He’s tempting you to put both hands inside so he can just immobilize you! Ugh, so frustrating.

Highlight Matches

Chiyotairyu defeats Ishiura – Straight ahead “my brand of sumo” from Chiyotairyu today, with Ishiura jumping like a drop of water on a red hot skillet. Chiyotairyu improves to 7-4.

Shimanoumi defeats Hoshoryu – I give a lot of credit to Hoshoryu, who opened strong and put a lot of force into trying to move Shimanoumi around. But Shimanoumi figured out that as long as he kept Hoshoryu away from his belt, and kept his feet planted that Hoshoryu was not going to be able to do too much, and he waited. Hoshoryu stopped his pushing attack, fumbled for a hand hold, and received a potent shove combo from Shimanoumi, which turned him to the side and launched him into the timekeeper. that’s win number 10 for Shimanoumi.

Akua defeats Kaisei – The match started with a soft tachiai from Akua, who shifted to his left. The move gave him good hand position on Kaisei’s mawashi. Akua lifted and stepped forward, and could in fact move nearly 200kg around the dohyo. A much needed win brings Akua to 6-5.

Ichinojo defeats Yutakayama – Someone was going to take home a make-koshi today, and that was Yutakayama. Yutakayama’s tachiai bounced off of Ichinojo, and Yutakayama went for some manner of grip. Ichinojo was having none of it, he tangled up Yutakayama’s arms, and discarded him over the bales. When Ichinojo decides its time to do sumo, you are going to lose. Ichinojo advances to 4-7, and staves off make-koshi for another day.

Sadanoumi defeats Enho – Enho tried his leap to the side tachiai, but Sadanoumi was ready. Sadanoumi applied the battle-hug, and dove for the edge of the ring. Both men landed with a booming report next to the nearest shimpan for Enho’s 9th loss. Enho looked a bit winded / dazed after that drop.

Meisei defeats Chiyonokuni – I was disappointed that Chiyonokuni could not pick up win number 8 today, when Meisei unleashed a smooth henka to drop him at the tachiai. I Chiyonokuni he may be starting to fade. He is 1-4 out of the last 5 matches, and is clearly struggling.

Tokushoryu defeats Chiyoshoma – Tokushoryu suspected a Chiyoshoma henka, and he chose not to move forward at all in the tachiai. But no flying Chiyoshoma henka today, instead he worked to reach in against Tokushoryu. Tokushoryu latched onto an arm and pivoted to swing Chiyoshoma out. Both end the day 6-5.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka spent the early moments of the match batting Terutsuyoshi around, but Terutsuyoshi worked to get his hands inside and found a spot to push. Kotonowaka twice tried to pull on Terutsuyoshi’s neck, and the second attempt cost him the match, with Terutsuyoshi rushing forward and boosting Kotonowaka out. Terutsuyoshi improves to a humble 3-8 for November.

Aoiyama defeats Kotoeko – Aoiyama stood Kotoeko up, and swatted him down. Very much in “his brand of sumo”, and improves to 4-7.

Ryuden defeats Takarafuji – Ryuden’s boogie remains firmly within his butt for another day, and you know it seems to work, even against Takarafuji, who gave us yet another endurance match today. A long is always a risk when your strategy is to make sure the bout goes on as long as possible, waiting for your opponent to make a mistake. Ryuden finished him by getting a bit to the side and behind Takarafuji, and driving him forward and out. That’s win number 9 for Ryuden, and he remains one behind the leaders.

Hokutofuji defeats Endo – Endo with a solid hit at the tachiai, forcing Hokutofuji to take a step back. Hokutofuji got a right hand into Endo’s armpit, and before he could do much else, the two locked up. A long leaning match ensued, ended by a Hokutofuji pull. It failed, and Endo rushed forward to drive Hokutofuji out, but failed as Hokutofuji stepped to the side, sending Endo stumbling. Hokutofuji improves to 7-4.

Daieisho defeats Tamawashi – I am impressed that Daieisho was able to overpower Tamawashi, who seems to be about 70% of his top form. That’s an 8th win for Daieisho, and he is kachi-koshi for November.

Onosho defeats Okinoumi – Okinoumi gave Onosho a firm, stable place to lean against, and that was his undoing. Without the risk of losing his balance and falling forward, Onosho was free to attack at will. Okinoumi held his ground for a time, but was driven out under a storm of oshi. Both end the day at 5-6.

Wakatakakage defeats Kagayaki – Wakatakakage opened strong, but ran squarely into Kagayaki’s fundamentals. Kagayaki was attacking slightly better than he was defending, but he let Wakatakakage break contact. Wakatakakage re-engaged with a lunge, with put Kagayaki in motion backward, and cost him the match. Wakatakakage improves to 3-8.

Tochinoshin defeats Kiribayama – At this point, Kiribayama’s dismal 1-10 record is quite the eye-sore. He was out for part of Aki, but returned from injury to pick up a trio of wins, and seal his kachi-koshi (plus one). Now it seems that he just can’t win a match at all, and will be dropping a fair amount down to the lower reaches of the Hatsu banzuke. We did get to see a bit of the Tochinoshin sky-crane today, when Kiribayama decided to let the former Ozeki get a left hand outside grip against him. Tochinoshin improves to 6-5.

Terunofuji defeats Myogiryu – Myogiryu is a long serving veteran, and should know better than to let Terunofuji clamp his arms down. But it was a good day to be kaiju ballast, and Myogiryu found himself squeezed, lifted, and removed from the match. Terunofuji stays one behind the leader pair, improving to 9-2.

Tobizaru defeats Takanosho – Much better from Tobizaru today, he put a good amount of force forward against Takanosho, then released to bring Takanosho off balance. Finish with a slap down, and it’s win number 4 (4-7) for Tobizaru.

Takayasu defeats Mitakeumi – Another day, another chaotic, flailing match from Takayasu. Yep, he won today after he was able to put a surprising amount of disruptive energy into Mitakeumi’s body. I have not seen the original tadpole move that much in a couple of years, I am sure he was sore afterwards. Takayasu improves to 6-5.

Takakeisho defeats Kotoshoho – I smiled to see Kotoshoho on the receiving end of Takakeisho’s wave-action tsuppari. We have not seen Takakeisho’s famous combo in a while. Kotoshoho decided to amplify his response with each wave, and he must have been the only person to not see Takakeisho’s side step coming. Takakeisho retains his portion of the lead, improving to 10-1.

Here we go! Final act of the November Tokyo basho is ready to start. In the final five days, we sort the make-kosh from the kachi-koshi, and we crown a yusho winner. Right now the race for the Emperor’s Cup is between the top, and the bottom man on the banzuke. Ozeki 1 East Takakeisho, and Maegashira 17 East Shimanoumi. As odd as that may read, it’s not atypical for sumo this past 18 months, as we see the Yokozuna slowly fade away, and it seems that nearly anyone can credibly compete for the yusho right now. Given the spate of wins from the bottom recently, I do expect the scheduling committee to gradually turn up the intensity on Shimanoumi’s schedule if he continues to win. Frankly, I am hoping he draws Terunofuji soon.

On that subject, as act 3 wears on we will see increasingly large rank gaps in the torikumi, as they pair rikishi with similar records, or with interesting history up to round out the schedule. Let’s take a look at the leaderboard!

November Leaderboard

Unlike Aki, the leader group is fairly narrow, and well formed going into act 3. There is a chance of a big brawl at the end of both Takakeisho and Shimanoumi hit the clay between now and the final day.

Leaders – Takakeisho, Shimanoumi
Chasers – Terunofuji, Takarafuji, Ryuden
Hunt Group – Chiyonokuni

5 Matches Remain

What We Are Watching Day 11

Chiyotairyu vs Ishiura – Ishiura comes back from Juryo for a one-day visit. If he can keep the winning record, he just might find himself back in the top division just in time to be part of Hakuho’s dohyo-iri troupe. Chiyotairyu has been doing a tremendous job of creating off-speed (for him) sumo this basho, and I suspect this could be a fun match.

Hoshoryu vs Shimanoumi – Co-leader Shimanoumi goes up against Hoshoryu, who has only fought him once before, and lost. Hoshoryu has been fighting better since the start of act 2, and I am hoping he can give Shimanoumi a hard fight today.

Akua vs Kaisei – First time ever match, and I hope that Kaisei can get a proper tachiai in today. The matta-tachiai from day 10 is a clear and obvious dud. Both are 5-5, and I suspect at least one fo them may end up in danger of a day 15 “Darwin” match.

Yutakayama vs Ichinojo – Can you sense a theme here yet? They have matching dismal 3-7 records, and the loser is going to get a fresh, new make-koshi to take home at the end of the day. I am not sure who I favor here, as both men are fighting well below the abilities.

Sadanoumi vs Enho – Again matching records at 2-8, so both are make-koshi. I would defer to lksumo for any forecast on if either of them are at risk for demotion, but I think they need every win they can manage right now. I am hoping for a continued Enho resurgence.

Chiyonokuni vs Meisei – Chiyonokuni has absorbed 3 losses thus far, but he’s not completely out of the yusho hunt. He has to continue to win, and today’s match against Meisei would be kachi-koshi should he prevail.

Tokushoryu vs Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma holds a 8-2 career advantage over Tokushoryu, who showed on day 10 how once you get him off balance, he’s falls to pieces. We have not had a Chiyoshoma henka in a few days, maybe today is the day…

Kotonowaka vs Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi is now make-koshi, but now he needs to rack up wins to prevent too large of a drop down the banzuke. Kotonowaka lost their only prior match, and it may be a good day for some spicy, small-man sumo.

Aoiyama vs Kotoeko – Big Dan is one loss away from a make-koshi. He’s looked a bit flustered and helpless for many of his matches this November. I think that he is ripe for another loss if compact powerhouse Kotoeko can keep outside of Aoiyama’s bludgeon zone.

Takarafuji vs Ryuden – Both are just one win behind the leaders, and both are kachi-koshi. But only one of them will still be in striking range for the yusho at the end of this match. Takarafuji holds a 6-1 career lead, but this was all before Ryuden unleashed his shiri-zumo. Will Takarafuji be able to defend against Ryuden’s “four way hips”?

Hokutofuji vs Endo – Back to the today’s theme – matching scores. We have both rikishi at 6-4, and both of them are going to at it with gusto. I have a new appreciation for Hokutofuji’s stamina following his day 10 double header against Takarafuji. The career record of 8-6 slightly favors Endo.

Tamawashi vs Daieisho – Daieisho is one win away from a kachi-koshi, and even though his opponent Tamawashi is nowhere near his former power, he is still a tough opponent. Tamawashi holds a 8-5 lead in the series, and I think we may see both rikishi end the day at 7-4.

Onosho vs Okinoumi – Onosho has battled back from a cold 0-4 start to have a shot at a kaich-koshi, if he an win 4 of his last 5 matches. Okinoumi only needs 3 of his last 5, but he’s still going to need to push to get there. He is on a cold streak, losing 4 of his last 5 after a strong start.

Kagayaki vs Wakatakakage – Wakatakakage is already make-koshi, and I think there may be a chance for him to make a point about being a serious contender for the future if he can put Kagayaki on the clay today. Wakatakakage will need to overcome Kagayaki’s excellent defensive footwork, but for attack power, Wakatakakage has an advantage.

Kiribayama vs Tochinoshin – Kiribayama is at a horrible 1-9 right now, and he’s ripe for a big, potent boot down the banzuke. Tochinoshin can still make it to 8, if he wins 3 out of his last 5. The two have split their prior matches (1-1).

Terunofuji vs Myogiryu – Terunofuji can hand Myogiryu his make-koshi today with a win, and I think it’s a pretty likely outcome. The Kaiju holds a 10-3 career record over Myogiryu, and Terunofuji is in his best fighting form in years.

Tobizaru vs Takanosho – Tobizaru came into the November basho, full of bravado and lofty goals. I think the first 10 days have been quite the reality shock for the flying monkey, and he is now at the doorstep of a make-koshi. Takanosho holds a 5-1 career record over Tobizaru, so I wish him a good first step, and an opportunity to strike.

Mitakeumi vs Takayasu – What to make of this match.. Ugh. Both of them are under-performing, and I think that I slightly favor Takayasu, but neither one of them are fighting particularly well this November. Takayasu leads their career series 14-6.

Takakeisho vs Kotoshoho – First time match between these two, and I am going to guess that it will be Takakeisho’s to control. I urge him to be patient and cautious and pick up his 10th win.