The big news in this snoozer of a basho day is that Endo went kyujo, giving Takakeisho a much needed day off. The report cites ongoing trouble with a knee, requiring fluid to be drained from it repeatedly, and advising 4 weeks treatment. Takakeisho will face co-leader Shodai on day 13 for a match that may decide the Aki yusho. We saw Takakeisho struggle with his right arm / shoulder following his day 11 match against Takarafuji, so the time to recover was quite the gift from Endo (send him a couple of those Yoshinoya coupons).

With day 12 done, we can look ahead to the final 3 days of this basho. Should Shodai prevail on day 13, the subsequent match against Asanoyama will represent a narrow but real chance for the man that most sumo fans expected to be the yusho favorite to wedge himself back into the race. Should Takakeisho win the day 13 match against Shodai, the pivotal match will be the final, where Asanoyama and Takakeisho will face off at the end of day 15. Solid schedule building, and match making this Aki. My compliments to the NSK!

Highlight Matches

Kotoshoho defeats Ishiura – Ishiura’s dive to grab Kotoshoho’s mawashi at the tachiai missed, leaving Ishiura wide open for counter attack. It came swiftly, and overpowered anything else Ishiura may have wanted to do. That damaged right ankle really can’t take much pressure at all. That’s Kotoshoho’s 8th win, and he is kachi-koshi for September.

Kaisei defeats Shohozan – Also in the group that can’t generate much forward pressure is Shohozan, who picks up his 9th loss. Aki is pretty miserable for him, but at least Kaisei found win number 6.

Meisei defeats Chiyotairyu – One big hit at the tachiai from Chiyotairyu, and his follow up met Meisei’s step to the side. Chiyotairyu hits the clay. No exciting sumo so far today….

Shimanoumi defeats Kotoshogiku – Shimanoumi concedes to go chest to chest with Kotoshogiku. In days past this was a sure route to a loss. But the Kyushu Bulldozer can’t really push ahead like he once could, and Shimanoumi is able to stalemate him. Kotoshogiku rallies and moves Shimanoumi with extra effort, but that big push left him unweighted. Shimanoumi reads it well and swings him down for a much needed win.

Enho defeats Hoshoryu – Hoshoryu had the better of the tachiai, but found himself on defense, trying to keep Enho’s hands from getting inside and grabbing whatever they could reach. Hoshoryu now one loss away from make-koshi and a risk of dropping out of the top division.

Tokushoryu defeats Ichinojo – Ichinojo tried a pull early, it was poorly timed, and he was not at all set up to do it properly. In response Tokushoryu drove ahead against little resistance to avoid make-koshi another day. Ichinojo drops to 6-6.

Tobizaru defeats Wakatakakage – Co leaders in an elimination match? Oh yes indeed. The two are quite even in size, style and came into this with matching 9-2 records. This was their 6th match head to head, and it looked to me that Tobizaru anticipated each of Wakatakakage’s offensive moves. As a fan of the “Flying Monkey” for some time, I am delighted to see him doing well in his first top division tournament.

Aoiyama defeats Sadanoumi – It really seems to my eye that Sadanoumi’s knee is really limiting his sumo right now. He used a low velocity tachiai, and caught multiple volleys of Big Dan’s V-Twin. Sadanoumi held his ground for a few moments, but once Aoiyama gets that thing revved up, it’s really tough to overcome.

Myogiryu defeats Kotoeko – The “nap-time sumo” theme continues, as these two fail to make much of a fight out of it. It was Myogiryu overpowering a possibly injured Kotoeko. Both end the day at 5-7.

Ryuden defeats Terutsuyoshi – I do like that Ryuden did not advance in the tachiai – too many stunts by Terutsuyoshi this basho. As a result, Terutsuyoshi arrives low and a bit off balance. Ryuden gets a right hand outside grip, and carefully pulls Terutsuyoshi forward and down. More snoozy sumo, but very nicely executed by the already make-koshi Ryuden.

Hokutofuji defeats Tamawashi – Seriously, are all these guys so banged up right now that they are mostly going through the motions? Tamawashi has a solid opening gambit, but Hokutofuji rallies and pushes him out of the ring. It’s good to see Hokutofuji win one, but that Tamawashi seemed to throw in his best attack, and then give up. Both end the day 5-7.

Onosho defeats Terunofuji – Time to wake up! Onosho had one of his better tachiai this basho, getting his hands inside of Terunofuji’s defense by the second step. Terunofuji focused on getting that right hand outside, but Onosho went for morozashi. With his hands well planted on the front of Terunofuji’s mawashi, he advanced and threw the former Ozeki to the clay. Win #9 for Onosho.

Takanosho defeats Kagayaki – Dear, another snoozer. Maybe Kagayaki is hurt as well. He gets one good forward move in against Takanosho, and then Takanosho just overpowers him. Win number 8 for Takanosho, and he will be a candidate for San’yaku in November.

Okinoumi defeats Tochinoshin – More sleepy sumo as Tochinoshin works for a left hand outside grip, can’t maintain it, can’t maintain any forward pressure against Okinoumi, goes soft and gets escorted over the bales.

Takayasu defeats Mitakeumi – A much needed tonic as these two well-rounded fellows decide they actually care to battle. It seems that now that he is less hurt, we can once again count on Takayasu to slam into things with a fierce grunt and maximum force. Today that was Mitakeumi, who took it fairly well. Mitakeumi looked like he changed his mind on attack strategy at least twice in the opening moments of the match, something that is tough to do while Takayasu is hitting you. The result was Mitakeumi losing his balance, and Takayasu swinging him down. Both men went twisting to the dohyo, but Mitakeumi rolled first. Both are now 7-5.

Shodai defeats Takarafuji – Back into snooze mode again, as even Takarafuji’s reactive / defense heavy sumo can do much against Shodai. Shodai looks focused but uninspired. But that’s win number 10 and he stays in the leader group.

Asanoyama defeats Daieisho – There was no chance that Daieisho was going to phone in a match, especially once against Asanoyama, whom he has a track record of beating, at least before Asanoyama entered the San’yaku. Daieisho had the offensive edge until he decided to try to pull the Ozeki down, and as we have seen too many times this September, that loss of forward pressure invited Asanoyama to overwhelm Daieisho, driving him back and eventually down. Win number 9 for Asanoyama, and he has to hope for an unusual series of events to take place over the final 3 days to give him any hope of still challenging for the cup.

Welcome to the first day of act 3, where we sort everyone in to make/kachi-koshi group, and someone wins the Emperor’s Cup! The leader crew have yet to fade, and it may be the case that the only way to thin the pack is to have them fight each other. But in that leader group, it’s become a ritual of “what body part will Takakeisho grip while wincing in pain today”. For fans that like having the top division inhabited by named ranks and ultra-dominant rikishi, its a bit nerve wracking. But it may be the case that in the post Yokozuna era, the top division may (for a few tournaments) end up as Juryo Plus. We already see that with “any man can win” bashos , and rikishi at the bottom of the banzuke taking the cup.

Highlight Matches

Kaisei defeats Ishiura – Once Ishiura decided to go chest to chest with Kaisei, there was really only one way it was going to turn out. A great deal of respect for Ishiura’s optimism in that move, but physics is not interested in your hopes. Ishiura drops to 2-9.

Shohozan defeats Kotoshogiku – These two are hurt enough, that they are more or less going through the motions at this point. There was not a lot of energy from either Shohozan or Kotoshogiku. They are both injured veterans who are struggling to muddle through their last few basho. Shohozan improves to 3-8.

Ichinojo defeats Kotoeko – Ichinojo demonstrates the power he can bring to a match when he’s on his sumo. There was little that 116kg Kotoeko could do except try to pick a nice place to land.

Meisei defeats Sadanoumi – Sadanoumi takes early control, but can’t keep it as Meisei backs him up to the tawara, and gives him a firm shove to the middle of his chest. At this point both men are just hoping to find a route to 8.

Tobizaru defeats Onosho – Some poor form from Tobizaru at the tachiai, his head is down and he’s on his toes as Onosho makes contact. This opened him wide up to a hitakikomi, but Onosho was looking to do straightforward power sumo today. But while Onosho was working to apply maximum force to Tobizaru’s face, Tobizaru got his right hand inside and under Onosho’s left arm, forcing Onosho to break off and defend. An Tobizaru attempt at a leg trip was and inspired choice, and it set up the combo where Onosho found his left arm pulling him forward and down. Never the master of his own balance, Onosho could not keep his feet. Onosho is knocked from the leader group, and Tobizaru improves to 9-2.

Enho defeats Shimanoumi – A welcome, small, but effective improvement in Enho’s sumo today. He was able to get in low, and keep Shimanoumi’s hands and arms busy. As is the case with some rikishi fighting Enho, they get so focused on hands and arms that they don’t really focus on moving forward or foot placement. In a moment, Shimanoumi remembers he should use his superior mass to win, and rushes ahead. Enho dodges and Shimanoumi rolls off the dohyo and into a shimpan, picking up the 3-8 spare.

Wakatakakage defeats Chiyotairyu – Wakatakakage deflects Chiyotairyu’s tachiai to the side, but maintains contact. Chiyotairyu responds by grabbing Wakatakakage’s face and pulling him forward. But he did not have nearly enough room on the dohyo to execute, and Chiyotairyu is driven out by Wakatakakage’s foward lunge. Wakatakakage maintains his spot in the leader group.

Tokushoryu defeats Hoshoryu – Hoshoryu goes chest to chest with Tokushoryu at the tachiai. Love the optimism and enthusiasm out of Hoshoryu, but again physical reality asserts itself and the mechanics of 107kg vs 170kg make themselves apparent.

Kotoshoho defeats Aoiyama – Aoiyama tries a slap down, loses his balance and staggers forward off the edge of the dohyo. They gave Kotoshoho a hikiotoshi kimarite, but at the moment Aoiyama lost, Kotoshoho was practicing good social distancing.

Hokutofuji defeats Ryuden – A direct hatakikomi at the tachiai saw Hokutofuji step to the side, and in the blink of an eye, Ryuden picks up his 8th loss.

Takanosho defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi launched a moment early, but he gained no real advantage. Takanosho got his hands inside and underneath Tamawashi pushing volley, and took control of the match. Tamawashi’s feet were not set to defend, and he was forced back, and unable to reset. Takanosho was able to keep the pressure on, and the match ended in the blink of an eye.

Terunofuji defeats Myogiryu – Not sure I am digging Terunofuji’s late pushes this tournament. I get that he is fired up, but lets try to keep it clean, kaiju. It is good to know that Terunofuji did not take the moment of his day 10 loss to lose his composure and enter a losing streak. Instead to overpowers Myogiryu and gets his 8th win for September.

Tochinoshin defeats Endo – Tochinoshin applied a double hand pull on the back of Endo’s head, and Endo had no way to recover. Not really awesome sumo, but I am guessing Tochinoshin is just working on survival at this point. If this is going to be Tochinoshin’s “brand of sumo”, from here on out, I say “no thanks”. Endo make-koshi for September.

Shodai defeats Takayasu – Has Shodai become that strong, or has Takayasu gotten that weak? He was frankly overpowered by Shodai today, and more or less beaten at his own style of sumo. Shodai seems to have perfect the skill of absorbing a large amount of attack energy and keeping himself upright, on balance and in the fight. I think it was world war I German Admiral Scheer who declared that the first job of a warship is to stay afloat. Shodai has adapted this axiom for sumo, and I think it’s paying off.

Daieisho defeats Terutsuyoshi – Daieisho shows that you can defeat someone by repeatedly striking them in the face, and delivers Terutsuyoshi’s 8th loss in a painful manner. There is that one left hand jab / thrust to the chin that Daieisho applies just as Terutsuyoshi falls out of the ring that is particularly brutal.

Mitakeumi defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki really had nothing in terms of offense, and rapidly found himself unable to defend against Mitakeumi’s forward pressure. Mitakeumi does appear to have gotten his traditional week 2 fade out of the way early, and is back to some solid sumo. Double digits are still possible for him, if he can keep his sumo focused.

Takakeisho defeats Takarafuji – Takakeisho got an open route to Takarafuji’s chest immediately at the tachiai, and never slowed down the attack. Of course Takarafuji attempted to defend, but could not find a way to keep stable under the blows to his chest. Of course there was that “what is going on with his right arm” moment as Takakeisho went to stand up following the win.

Asanoyama defeats Okinoumi – Asanoyama went for right hand inside at the tachiai, and was able to sneak that hand inside Okinoumi’s defenses. A heartbeat later, the Ozeki rolled into the throw and got 150kg worth Okinoumi airborne. Is it just me, or was that reminiscent of Hakuho’s flying lessons?