Whew. We made it. Nakabi…the sumo equivalent of hump day. But without Kotoshogiku, it just won’t be the same. Our fearsome leaders, Ozeki Takakeisho and former the Ozeki, Terunofuji, are tearing up the competition with seven straight wins. Unfortunately, neither are on my Kachi-Koshi bingo card. Nevertheless, I hope a lot of y’all will pick up your first checkmarks tonight.

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Three maegashira are in the hunt if either stumbles, led by Uncle Takarafuji. I know Aminishiki was Uncle Sumo but I swear, Takarafuji looks like my Uncle. Chiyonokuni is also having a great time in his first tournament back in Makuuchi. Shimanoumi was starting to give me concerns about another makujiri yusho and he stays in the chase but this week will get more difficult for him if his success continues unabated.

Lower Division Yusho Races

If you enjoy the early matches, there are some real treats tonight. The lower division yusho races will tighten as some of the part-timers go for their fourth wins and kachi-koshi, Darwin-style. In Jonokuchi there’s one such bout between Wakakaneko, a young rookie from Kochi-ken, and Adachi, a Jonidan regular. There are five such 3-0 matches in Jonidan, one of which features Naruto-beya rookie Ofukasawa versus Kasugano’s Tochinoshima. And a little further up in Sandanme, Oguruma’s Takeoka will face seasoned vet Chiyotenfu. Taiyo is one of Takeoka’s maezumo classmates and will feature in his own bout with Daihisho, a promising young grappler from Oitekaze stable.

The big bout may well be Hakuho’s prospect, the undefeated Hokuseiho versus Nihonyanagi. The two-meter tall Hokuseiho already has two consecutive zensho yusho under his belt and is working on his third. He’s honing his yotsu- chops but Nihonyanagi is a pretty good pusher-thruster. Will he be able to keep the young giant off his belt?

Of the five 3-0 bouts in Makushita, Roga will hope to reinvigorate his hopes of making it into Juryo. Like Hokuseiho, he started his sumo career with two consecutive lower division yusho before his winning pace slowed. After a few setbacks earlier this year, he did quite well in September. He will face Nakazono from Nishonoseki. Both men favor yotsu-zumo so this will be a great match.

Juryo, as usual, is setting up to be a barnstormer. Six men with five wins and another eleven men are one loss off pace, including Ura. His bout with Chiyootori will certainly be a great one to watch as both – and Jokoryu – are solid makuuchi wrestlers who suffered through serious injury.

What We Are Watching In Makuuchi

Shimanoumi vs Chiyomaru: Chiyomaru visits from Juryo today. Two avid pusher-thrusters means there will be some fireworks. Expect a brawl, especially since both are fighting well and are fiercely motivated. Shimanoumi, from his position on the last rung of the makuuchi ladder, is fighting to stay out of Juryo while Chiyomaru will want to come back.

Hoshoryu vs Ichinojo: These two grapplers should be performing better if there weren’t the rumored injury problems. Hoshoryu still has the speed and is the favorite in this match up.

Yutakayama vs Kotonowaka: I’m leaning toward Kotonowaka in this bout. Yutakayama is an oshi-tsuki wrestler while Kotonowaka prefers the belt…but Kotonowaka is no slouch when it comes to pushing and thrusting. I presume Yutakayama’s injury from last tournament is still nagging him.

Chiyoshoma vs Kaisei: Henka

Akua vs Enho: Enho doesn’t seem to just be lacking confidence and hiding injury. He also seems to be desperate. His desperation is leading him to take risks when I wish he would slow down and think things through. He should be able to beat Akua because I don’t think Akua has been exposed to these pixies.

Ryuden vs Chiyotairyu: The Twerker or the Bowling Ball? I think Ryuden will get inside Sumo Elvis’ head. While living rent-free upstairs, he’ll establish a solid belt grip and roll the bowling ball off the dohyo.

Aoiyama vs Sadanoumi: Big Dan’s V twin appears to be in the shop for repairs. Sadanoumi’s not been having a stellar tournament but unless Aoiyama can get his engine off concrete blocks, Sadanoumi’s yotsu should be favored here.

Tochinoshin vs Meisei: Tochinoshin will pull here and Meisei will fall to hatakikomi. It won’t be a henka, but critics of the Georgian’s recent tactics will not be happy.

Chiyonokuni vs Endo: The standard thinking here would be if Endo gets the belt, it’s over. However, Chiyonokuni is fired up and won’t let Endo anywhere near it.

Takarafuji vs Kotoeko: I’m going with lavender here. Kotoeko is steadily improving and is pretty versatile on the belt AND in a brawl. I don’t think he’ll let Takarafuji inside and Uncle Takara will fall a bit further off pace.

Tokushoryu vs Tamawashi: Even without that fearsome kotenage, Tamawashi’s thrusting attack is quite the challenge. Of these yusho winners, I’d have to give the nod to Tamawashi. He won’t let Tokushoryu in the same zipcode as his mawashi.

Terutsuyoshi vs Kotoshoho: This will be a very interesting oshi battle. These two have faced off once before, with Terutsuyoshi taking the win. He’s got a serious weakness in his susceptibility to fall for hatakikomi and Kotoshoho knows how effective those pulls can be. Will he time it right tonight?

Kagayaki vs Okinoumi: Kagayaki’s not having a bad run in the joi. Okinoumi has been quite the yo-yo, capable of securing a position in sanyaku only to have poor runs like he had in September. With two straight losses, I’ve got a feeling Okinoumi’s on another schnide. Kagayaki wins by oshidashi.

Kiribayama vs Wakatakakage: Personally, I’d like both of these wrestlers to use a win today as a turning point and start the next week on a positive note. Sometimes it seems stressors at home affect performance at work. I think Wakatakakage will keep Kiribayama distracted and unable to secure a grip.

Terunofuji vs Daieisho: BEAST-O MOD-O!

Onosho vs Takayasu: Takayasu’s still in the hunt! I swear! And he’ll pick up an easy win off this whipper-snapper. Takayasu knows how to wield hatakikomi as an effective weapon but he’s got his own problems getting pushed around.

Mitakeumi vs Tobizaru: A first time meeting between Mitakeumi and Tobizaru. Mitakeumi is the dark horse in this tournament, yet to face either Terunofuji or Takakeisho and he will have designs on winning both of those meetings. If he wants to pick up a third yusho or get off to another Ozeki run, he’s going to need this win. With solid footwork and a calm pace, he should have no problems sending the flying monkey, well, flying.

Myogiryu vs Takanosho: I expect a brawl here, with youth winning over experience. Takanosho has been doing well of late and I think it’s about time I start taking him seriously.

Takakeisho vs Hokutofuji: People whine at me about spoilers but Hokutofuji revels in BEING a spoiler. He’s got the ability to beat all the top players but lacks the consistency to get him to the next level. I gotta say, this will be one heck of an upset and one heck of a payday for the man in grey.

With the rest of the Ozeki benched, a rampaging kaiju and a lone grumpy badger tied up for the lead going into the middle weekend, we could see a major slug-fest brewing. There are 3 undefeated (6-0) tied for the lead, 3 one win behind at 5-1, and a broad pack at 4-2. This is a fine shape for our first look at the yusho race tomorrow. Out of the six that are in the top group, only Terunofuji and Takakeisho have prior yusho experience. It does indeed make a difference in some tournaments, as the mental pressure can become a rising distraction into the latter half of the second week.

If I had to pick my favorite match of the day, it would be Hoshoryu vs Chiyonokuni, which may not be as awesome as it might sound, mostly because Hoshoryu is not fighting up to his potential in most of his matches right now. Maybe he can rally and give the Grump Badger a good fight.

What We Are Watching Day 7

Ishiura vs Kotonowaka – We get another look at Ishiura today, who was booted down to Juryo after being injured and finishing Aki with a 4-11 record. He won the single prior match with Kotonowaka in March. They both have 3-3 records going into day 7.

Hoshoryu vs Chiyonokuni – This is a great match, and the only discouraging aspect of this is that it’s clear that Hoshoryu is hurt, and we won’t get to see the full throttle battle between these two that might have been. This is their first ever match (yes, really). Chiyonokuni is fighting like a man possessed, and I would give the advantage to him.

Shimanoumi vs Kaisei – Shimanoumi took his first loss on day 6, and hopefully it did not dent his fighting spirit too much. They have split their 4 prior matches, and I am looking to Kaisei to leverage his tremendous size advantage in the early moments of this match.

Yutakayama vs Chiyotairyu – In better days, this would be a bash-a-thon to look forward to. But Yutakayama is no better than 80% of his genki form, and I expect Chiyotairyu will dominate this match. His new low-velocity tachiai seems to be working fairly well, as he is at 4-2 heading into the middle weekend.

Sadanoumi vs Chiyoshoma – Sadanoumi’s damaged knees are his story this basho. He’s not finding himself able to generate much forward power, and it has greatly restricted his maneuverability. Without his speed on the dohyo, Sadanoumi is a fairly easy mark, and his 1-5 record shows this.

Ichinojo vs Meisei – On day 6 we finally got to see Ichinojo really stick with and push through a tough match. I hope that he’s going to carry that into today. Some good news is that Meisei’s not quite right this tournament, so Ichinojo should have a bit of an advantage today.

Ryuden vs Akua – Will Akua be distracted by Ryuden’s new bounce? How much longer is he going to do this? Should his opponents bring ¥500 notes to stuff in his mawashi? There are just so many questions now.

Enho vs Kotoeko – Will Enho be able to get any wins this tournament? An ugly question, but its becoming a bigger worry every day he mounts the dohyo and cannot produce even token offense. Kotoeko is fighting quite well right now, and I doubt an injured Enho is going to be able to offer much resistance. ouch.

Tochinoshin vs Endo – Their career 7-6 record cannot tell the story of the technician (Endo) vs the strong man (Tochinoshin). We know Tochinoshin lacks a working right knee, and that is all you really need to know. Endo just needs to be patient and pick his moment to strike.

Terutsuyoshi vs Tamawashi – Tamawashi is bigger, stronger and at least as fast as Terutsuyoshi is. So this match is quite possibly going to be one sided, unless Tamawashi decides he won’t use a kotenage today.

Takarafuji vs Tokushoryu – Their matches feature a lot of careful work to place hands and bodies in their desired position, then a contest of strength and guile. They are pretty evenly matched in terms of career records (7-6) and scores 5-1 vs 4-2, so this one will come down to if Takarafuji can get into his defensive mode before Tokushoryu can get him off balance.

Aoiyama vs Kotoshoho – With only one win thus far, its a cinch that Aoiyama is not his normal burly, brawling self. So instead he is going to have to try and endure the remaining matches of this November tournament, and pick up what wins he can. The bad news is that if he drops too far down the banzuke, this opponents at Hatsu are going to get a tough introduction to his brand of sumo.

Myogiryu vs Daieisho – I add Myogiryu to the list of “Underperforming, likely due to undisclosed injury”. Daieisho comes in with a 7-2 career advantage, and I think he is going to dominate this match, or just rapidly dispatch Myogiryu with little trouble.

Onosho vs Tobizaru – Its pretty clear that Tobizaru is going to follow a typical pattern for folks in their first trip to the joi-jin. A lot of matches where they are out-gunned, a boot down the banzuke, and a chance to regroup. I am not quite so certain that Onosho is going to be able to add to that trend. He has taken in 4 losses in the first 6 days, and really needs to start finding white stars.

Kiribayama vs Takayasu – Today is Takayasu’s chance to work closer to the kachi-koshi trend line, and he needs to temper his habit of engaging in wild and untamed sumo. IF he can keep his feet heavy, and keep his body movements strong and under control, this is an easy match for him.

Terunofuji vs Wakatakakage – Although they have met before, and Wakatakakage even one a match (Juryo, March), this version of Terunofuji is on a mission from the Great Sumo Cat itself. The question is what kimarite….

Kagayaki vs Takanosho – Kagayaki, hang up the black mawashi. It’s obviously haunted, and I am not talking manga style “spirit of the ancient world here to give you unstoppable power”. More of a “ghost of a confused granny trying to find her way to the pachinko parlor” effect.

Mitakeumi vs Hokutofuji – This is one I have been looking forward to – both of them are going to blast off the shikiri-sen and crash into each other like run-away freight trains. They have matching 4-2 scores, and they have a 9-7 career record. So it should be quite the battle.

Takakeisho vs Okinoumi – If Okinoumi can get a grip on Takakeisho’s mawashi, he has a win and can knock the lone surviving Ozeki out of the lead slot he shares with Chiyonokuni and Terunofuji. I expect a big opening tsuppari blast in an attempt to keep Okinoumi far enough away to prevent any attempt at yotsu-zumo.

We are down to three undefeated rikishi at the end of day 6, with the match between Takakeisho and Terunofuji, somewhere in week two, as the showdown that will likely decide the yusho. They have fought twice before, and Takakeisho has taken them both. The first was in 2017 when Terunofuji was an injured Ozeki. A then Maegashira 1 Takakeisho powered up the wave action tsuppari and blasted Terunofuji with it on day 1 in Nagoya. The second was just last tournament, again on day 1, when a now Maegashira Terunofuji could not find a hand hold and succumbed to Takakeisho’s thrusting attack. We know their third career match is coming, and it should be a big one.

Highlight Matches

Chiyotairyu defeats Shohozan – What would a match like this be without Shohozan taking an early, cheap shot? He tried the same combo when they were able to start together, but his pull down idea was ineffective as Chiyotairyu seems to have given up the cannon ball tachiai. Chiyotairyu advances to 4-2.

Ichinojo defeats Shimanoumi – Shimanoumi takes his first loss of the November tournament. He went for Ichinojo’s armpits, and raised him up. This is puzzling, because Ichinojo is fairly “raised up” even when he is seated. They broke contact, and re-engaged with Ichinojo getting a fierce mawashi grip. After locking up and catching their breath, Ichinojo marched forward and took Shimanoumi over the bales. Very nice to see Ichinojo stick with this match.

Yutakayama defeats Chiyoshoma – Yutakayama picks up a much needed win. He edged out Chiyoshoma at the tachiai, and then just ran him off the dohyo. Short, brutal, done. Yutakayama improves to 2-4.

Kaisei defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka opened strong, but I think he’s not used to someone the size of Kaisei. Kotonowaka backed him to the bales, and probably thought that one shove finished him. No, Kaisei was happy to return the gesture, and plowed Kotonowaka back across the dohyo and out. Both end the day 3-3.

Akua defeats Sadanoumi – An Akua false start caused a series of explanations and awkward resets, and they never quite got the timing down. Sadanoumi started strong but Akua overcame Sadanoumi’s superior position to get an uwatenage loaded to pick up his second win of the tournament.

Chiyonokuni defeats Enho – Chiyonokuni stays perfect after he dominates Enho and tosses him across the tarawa. I have seen Scottish farmers use that same techniques to get young sheep back in the pen.

Tokushoryu defeats Hoshoryu – Hoshoryu smashes into the wall of flesh that is Tokushoryu, and finds there is little he can do. I have seen discussion online that Hoshoryu’s back is in pain, and that would explain much of what is happening with him. Tokushoryu gives him a rag-doll oshitaoshi, and he’s out.

Aoiyama defeats Meisei – Big Dan finally picks up his first win, and his fans around the world breath a sigh of relief. We didn’t quite see the “V-Twin” today, but he was able to get good hand placement and convert that to a win.

Ryuden defeats Terutsuyoshi – Ryuden continues to have (as Eddie Murphy would say) “The boogie in his butt”. But it seems to be working. It quasi mesmerized Terutsuyoshi, who charged ahead, but in a state of hesitant confusion. I may need to consult the ladies on this one.

Tochinoshin defeats Kotoeko – Tochinoshin put a lot of energy into the tachiai, and I was impressed that Kotoeko absorbed it, and was able to rally. Tochinoshin powered into what could have been winning positions, but his body is just too damaged for him to be able to channel power the way he once did. Kotoeko hung in tough, but eventually Tochinoshin was able to at least partially lift Kotoeko, and slowly bring him to the clay. Tochinoshin improves to 3-3.

Tamawashi defeats Myogiryu – Myogiryu just seems to have no forward power at all, and he collapses back under Tamawashi’s initial charge. Tamawashi improves to 4-2.

Kotoshoho defeats Endo – I am impressed that Kotoshoho took a win from Endo. In fact he effectively shut down or disrupted every attack that Endo could muster, and in the end pushed him out with a powerful forward lunge. Kotoshoho improves to 3-3.

Takarafuji defeats Tobizaru – Tobizaru’s first match against Takarafuji went about like one would think. Tobizaru was a bundle of energy, his hands in constant motion searching for grip or applying thrust. Takarafuji just kept on defense and methodically working away, his feet steady, controlling the center of the ring. He wore Tobizaru down and then tossed him out following a failed Tobizaru kick. I feel a bit sad for Tobizaru, he is facing a different grade of rikishi now, and he’s going to need to elevate his sumo if he wants to be part of the joi. Takarafuji improves to 5-1.

Onosho defeats Daieisho – Onosho picks up his second win, and genuinely had better balance and foot position today. Daieisho was fighting strong, but once he was shoved into motion by Onosho, he could not recover his footing.

Terunofuji defeats Kiribayama – Kiribayama conceded to a mawashi battle against a former Ozeki who is clearly back at near that level of sumo. I had a good grip and solid body position, but Terunofuji was unimpressed. He lifeted Kiribayama and put him across the tawara to remain perfect at 6-0. I genuinely think he is the front running for the yusho headed into the middle weekend.

Takayasu defeats Wakatakakage – Takayasu found he could not overpower Wakatakakage, and resorted to a pull. This was a risky move, and nearly cost him the match. But he had enough territory to pull it off, and Wakatakakage hit the clay. That was Takayasu’s second win for November, and he has a fair sized hole to climb out of if he wants a kachi-koshi.

Mitakeumi defeats Okinoumi – That early Mitakeumi make-kai was the defining element in this match. Okinoumi found that he was poorly positioned to defend once Mitakeumi was able to change up his grip. Both end the day at 4-2.

Takanosho defeats Hokutofuji – I marveled at Takanosho’s defense today. Really top notch in the face of all of the power that Hokutofuji can muster. After Hokutofuji’s opening flurry of attacks, Takanosho was able to statelmate him and they locked up with Takanosho controlling the center of the dohyo. Over time he wore Hokutofuji down, and took him to the clay. Great effort from both, but excellent strategy and patience from Takanosho. They both end the day at 4-2.

Takakeisho defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki was never able to get his feet set up into any kind of defensive stance, and Takakeisho applied a “wave action” attack combo. That sent Kagayaki staggering away, and he never recovered his footing. Takakeisho remains unbeaten at 6-0.