We have yet another stable going kyujo because of a positive corona virus test. This time none other than Musashigawa, the former stable of Tachiai favorite Wakaichiro. Their withdrawal puts 16 more rikishi on the sideline, and raises the question of how many more stables already are incubating cases of corona virus and will have to withdraw from competition. In fact, the kyujo was not announced until later in the day, and several of the Musashigawa rikishi had already fought their matches.
And then there was one. Our first bout today is that of our final two undefeated wrestlers in Jonokuchi. After Takataisho’s defeat of Dairinzan and Takahashi’s win over Toshunryu, the two faced each other yesterday. Takahashi bullied Takataisho out for a very quick win. The yusho is now his to lose. If he does falter, we will have a playoff on senshuraku between any remaining 6-1 wrestlers.
Waiting in the wings would certainly be Toshunryu who seemed to want to take out his revenge on poor Kotofuno. The way he approached this tachiai, and hatakikomi attempt, it looked like he wanted to bury Kotofuno with the squid that’s buried in the middle of the ring. Yeesh. Fortunately for Kotofuno, Toshunryu’s attempt failed but he was sadly still no match for the tsuppari that followed.
So, what’s left? Well, we’ve still got a good deal of entertaining bouts. For the second and third videos, we’ve got Ikazuchido, fighting two nights consecutively. He’s got the athleticism and flexibility but not quite the form and technique, so his style’s a bit hectic at the moment and the bouts seem a bit disjointed but they’re certainly action-packed and entertaining.
First, he took on Toramusashi. The difference in styles here is apparent as Ikazuchido had little response to the forceful tsuppari of Toramusashi. Ikazuchido kept trying to power through and force a yotsu-style grapple, but he sure took a beating in this match. At one point, he got shoved half-way back across the dohyo. Toramusashi then rapidly moved in to finish him off with oshidashi.
Next, he faced Najima. Now this allowed for a very evenly-matched yotsu-battle as both men battled to get a solid grip on his opponent’s mawashi. In the end, Najima prevailed with an uwatedashinage, made more flashy by yet another Ikazuchido cartwheel. As he moved toward the edge, Najima nearly lost his balance but his foot plants along the straw bales. That may have given him the leverage to execute his throw. In both cases, their technique seems rather raw. A lot of shuffling around and I feel that both men missed a couple of chances to execute trips but both, along with guys like Gaia and Byakuen, make for fun bouts.
Lastly, we go up to Jonidan to watch Rinko take on Tatsuosho. Rinko and his brother Hayashiryu had high hopes in Jonokuchi but came up in a very challenging group. Up in Jonidan, Rinko’s form seems to be coming together nicely, as we see in this bout. We all love that forward-moving sumo, amirite?
Here we are at day 10, the last day of act 2. Act 2 is where we narrow the field to find out who has what it takes to compete for the yusho, and to start sorting the survivors from the damned. Not sure we actually have a good idea who is going to compete for the yusho yet, maybe by the end of today. Right now there is a broad front of 6 rikishi who have 7-2 records—the best that can be offered right now. The most likely candidate for the cup among that crowd is Yokozuna Terunofuji. It’s apparent that he is at less than full power, but at the moment it’s good enough. With the week 2 schedule kicking in, he will have to dispatch both Ozeki, and overcome the other 5 co-leaders to take home the hardware.
But that assumes that the Sumo Kyokai will be able to finish this basho. Yet another heya has gone COVID kyujo in the past 24 hours. The new Omicron variants have become very adept at infecting people. There is a legitimate chance that many of the kanban rikishi are incubating an active Omicron infection right now.
The Darwin funnel continues to do it’s work, with a ridiculous number of rikishi being pushed toward a 7-7 score at the end of day 14. Funnel scores at the end of day 10 will be: 6-4, 5-5 and 4-6. That could be more than half of all athletes in the top division.
In a final and sad note, the 45th Yokozuna, Wakanohana, died last week of kidney cancer, it was announced. He was 82. We thank the divine for his time on earth, and all of the joy he brought to his sumo. Details at the Japan Times.
Myogiryu vs Yutakayama – A prime funnel match, with scores of Myogiryu 5-4 and Yutakayama 4-5, Ideal outcome for the match in terms of Darwin would be a Yutakayama win, which may be a bit of a tall order given that he has dropped his last 3 in a row.
Chiyomaru vs Takarafuji – Takarafuji has a chance to pick up another win today, as his career 9-1 record against Chiyomaru would seem to indicate that Takarafuji is going to be able to shut down the “Round One” and take the win. Typical win in this case is Takarafuji captures Chiyomaru, stands around for a while wearing him down, then walks Chiyomaru out.
Kotoshoho vs Oho – Another funnel match, no matter who wins here today, both will remain in the funnel. Kotoshoho has won 3 of his last 4, and Oho continues to be fighting somewhat less than he should. Both start the day at 5-4.
Onosho vs Midorifuji – A second consecutive 5-4 match up, this time it’s a first ever fight between Onosho and newcomer Midorifuji. I am interested to see if Midorifuji attempt to absorb Onosho’s big opening attack, or tries to make use of Onosho’s notorious early match balance problems.
Nishikifuji vs Meisei – A Nishikifuji win today is kachi-koshi for him, and a Meisei win would leave him at the upper edge of the funnel. This is their first ever contest, and I think that Nishikifuji will have an easier time anticipating Meisei’s sumo choices than the other way around.
Shimanoumi vs Daiamami – Two make-koshi rikishi that start the day with one win each. The good news is… one of these lucky guys will have their second win once the match is over. I personally think that Daiamami is too banged up (ankle) to be fighting right now, and should probably just eat the kyujo and take the demotion back to Juryo.
Tsurugisho vs Kotoeko – Kotoeko was wearing a lot of tape day 9, and I hope he is not trying to overcome some new injury to his arm or upper body. This is another funnel match with Tsurugisho at 4-5 and Kotoeko at 5-4. Ideal outcome would be both of them at 5-5 at the end of the day. They have a balanced 7-8 career record, with Kotoeko taking the last two matches.
Tochinoshin vs Terutsuyoshi – A traditional big man / little man match, that is actually fairly evenly matched. Terutsuyoshi holds a narrow 5-4 career lead over the big Georgian, thought I would think that Tochinoshin may a huge strength advantage if he can keep Terutsuyoshi from getting underneath and causing problems. Tochinoshin starts the day at 5-4, Terutsuyoshi at 3-6.
Chiyoshoma vs Nishikigi – This is probably meant as a bit of a hurdle for Nishikigi to clear to reach his 8th win and kachi-koshi. I think that Chiyoshoma is not fighting anywhere close to his intensity he had earlier this year, so this fight will likely to to Nishikigi. Chiyoshoma, at 4-5 to start the day, would put himself back to the middle of the funnel with a win today. He has a 8-4 career advantage.
Aoiyama vs Hokutofuji – Both men are 4-5 to start the day. The winner will keep pace in the middle of the funnel, the loser will go to the bottom edge. Hokutofuji has a 12-2 career advantage, and tends to take his frustrations out on “Big Dan” in any way he wants. Aoiyama has not won against Hokutofuji since 2019.
Chiyotairyu vs Tobizaru – A Tobizaru win today would be kachi-koshi, and I think not only is that likely to happen, but I think that the Flying Monkey is going for double digits this time. His sumo really seems to be working well for him, and we may see him near the top of the Maegashira ranks in September. He holds a 4-2 career advantage over Chiyotairyu, who can beat Tobizaru when he can launch his overwhelming cannonball tachiai.
Wakamotoharu vs Okinoumi – Another funnel match, both are 4-5 to start the day, and both need a win to stay in the middle of the funnel. While I would normally think that Okinoumi’s vast experience and technique library would make him an easy favorite, he has not once beating Wakamotoharu. That 2-0 for the Onami brother.
Tamawashi vs Ichinojo – Over their 19 career matches, they have split them 9-10, so this is an even fight with all things being equal. But I note that Tamawashi won his first 3, then has dropped 6 in a row. As Kintamayama noted, he is likely injured, and trying to maintain his record of never missing a match. I applaud the dedication to his craft. An Ichinojo win would be kachi-koshi for him today.
Hoshoryu vs Kotonowaka – Hoshoryu, at 5-4, is in the middle of the funnel group, and a win today would move him to the top edge. But I think it’s far more likely that we will see Kotonowaka take the win today, hit his 8 and be kachi-koshi. Right now Kotonowaka is having a bit of a “break out” tournament, and like Tobizaru, I think he is going for double digits.
Kiribayama vs Abi – Kiribayama comes into day 10 with a fairly sad 3-6 record that does not show the fact that he has been fighting well. It’s simply a case that he has not been winning. He is up against 5-4 Abi, who needs 2 consecutive wins to escape the funnel right now. They have only fought twice before, and they are split 1-1.
Wakatakakage vs Endo – In some ways a bit of a sad match here. At one point many years ago, Endo was viewed more or less how fans view Wakatakakage today. A hotshot young rikishi who is destined for big things in the sumo world. Now we have this match where today’s “new thing” gets to deliver yesterday’s “new thing” his 8th loss and a make-koshi.
Takakeisho vs Daieisho – The big statistic that leaps out at me is that Ozeki Takakeisho has a 13-7 career lead over Daieisho, and that he has a good formula for winning these head to head matches. In fact, their first competition was in November of 2016 when both were ranked in Juryo. They are both power-forward thrusters, though we have seen less of that from Takakeisho as of late.
Ura vs Shodai – If anything can put Shodai’s resurgence and attempt to snatch kachi-koshi from almost certain demotion, it would be a match against Ura. Shodai tends to shamble about the ring quite a bit in his matches, and that’s just pure bait for Ura’s grab-and-tug brand of sumo. In fact he has dominated the Ozeki 3-1 across all career matches. Shodai, at 5-4, needs just 3 wins out of the last 6 days to reach the safety of 8, so he can probably manage if he finds himself teleported into a different universe by Ura’s sorcery.
Terunofuji vs Sadanoumi – Some symmetry today, as it’s likely that Terunofuji will take his 8th win and kachi-koshi as he delivers an 8th loss to Sadanoumi for his make-koshi. They last fought in 2020 when Terunofuji was making his incredible run at the yusho from the bottom of the banzuke, having just battled his way back into the top division. The last time that Sadanoumi won was when Terunofuji was in Juryo, on his way down the banzuke.
Another heya is out due to a positive COVID test, this time Hanaregoma which is the home of Ichiyamamoto. This is a real shame, as he had racked up an excellent score this basho, and was likely headed for double digits. It seems their oyakata turned in a positive test, and now the entire stable gets to sit out the rest of the basho. Given how virulent Omicron variants are, it may be the case that several more positive tests will show up in the next day or two. With Ichiyamamoto out, Nishikifuji improves to 7-2 and maintains his position in the leading group.
On the clay, the group in the lead has narrowed to six rikishi with 7-2 scores, spanning a range from the Yokozuna down to Maegashira 17e.
Chiyomaru defeats Hidenoumi – I will hand it to Chiyomaru – when he decides on a match plan, he seems to be willing to try it over and over without variation until it actually produces results or he hits they clay. He alternates a double arm nodowa and pulling against Hidenoumi. I think I counted two and one half cycles of that. The half was because Chiyomaru just got the nodowa part in, and shoved Hidenoumi out. Chiyomaru at 3-6 now by oshidashi.
Tsurugisho defeats Myogiryu – This match started with both men attacking high; faces, necks and shoulders. As is frequently the case, there was not much effect except to annoy their opponent. Myogiryu had his hands near Tsurugisho’s neck and decided “Hey, let’s pull him forward”. I think it was one big hopping step for Tsurugisho to blast Myogiryu straight into the front row. Tsurugisho up to 4-5 by 190kg of oshitaoshi.
Chiyoshoma defeats Yutakayama – I really like Chiyoshoma’s tachiai today, he hit hard with his shoulder and went straight into a combo attack against Yutakayama’s neck and face. There did not seem to be any intent to move Yutakayama back, it was just to make Yutakayama respond in kind. As Yutakayama reacted, in went the left hand under Yutakayama’s defense. Yutakayama was not just caught, he was in no position to counter with any kind of grip of his own. Chiyoshoma kept it that way, not letting Yutakayama have kind of offense at all. Yutakayama tried to change his grip, and at that moment Chiyoshoma surged forward and finished him, improving to 4-5 by yorikiri.
Takarafuji defeats Oho – We get a big strength and endurance match from these two, and that is how it should be. Oho tries to dial up the power for a win in the first few moments, but he finds that he has been captured and is stalemated in the center of the dohyo. This is Takarafuji’s brand of sumo – “Defend and extend”. Wear the other guy down moment by moment. But eventually Takarafuji decided he had worn Oho down long enough. He raised Oho up, changed his grip, and walked him out to end the day 4-5 by yorikiri.
Terutsuyoshi defeats Daiamami – With his sixth loss on the dohyo and the 2 days he missed, Daiamami is now make-koshi, and at Maegashira 16w, is almost certainly headed back to Juryo. Given that his sumo has been poor since returning from kyujo, I wonder why he did not just rest up his injury and fight his way back in September. Terutsuyoshi decided to give us a show as well, picking Daiamami’s leg to win by ashitori, increasing his score to 3-6.
Kotoshoho defeats Onosho – Onosho was on the offense, and was having his way with Kotoshoho up to the moment where Onosho pushed forward to take Kotoshoho out of the ring. With an arm hold, Kotoshoho pivoted into a kotenage, and managed to keep his feet long enough to see Onosho hit the clay. Both end the day at 5-4.
Nishikigi defeats Midorifuji – Midorifuji showed a lot of energy and drive today, but simply could not move Nishikigi in any way. He could not move Nishikigi back, or find a way to get any kind of mawashi grip. Points to Nishikigi for reducing this to a simple mass vs mass contest, which greatly favored himself. With Midorifuji’s arm barred, Nishikigi walked Midorifuji back and threw him out of the ring by kimedashi, improving to 7-2 and maintaining his position in the leader group.
Chiyotairyu defeats Tochinoshin – Last night in the preview, I guessed that Chiyotairyu’s tradition “stand him up / pull him down” may not work against Tochinoshin, given how many times he has faced Chiyotairyu. Well, I was wrong. it worked a treat. Chiyotairyu picks up a much needed win to advance to 6-3 by hatakikomi.
Okinoumi defeats Meisei – That looked more like a sloppy practice match than honbasho. Meisei seemed to have just given up on the third exchange, and just said, “well balls, I will just give him a lame pull”. Okinoumi was happy to absorb that and push Meisei out. Okinoumi now at 4-5 thanks to the resulting oshidashi.
Tobizaru defeats Shimanoumi – I am impressed with how much fight Shimanoumi brought to this match, given how poorly he has been doing for most of the July tournament. Sadly there is no way he was going to “out frantic” Tobizaru, who matched him move for move and absorbed it all. Shimanoumi tired, resulting in the two leading against each other in the center of the ring. Tobizaru got bored with that soon enough, and out came the leg sweep for the second day in a row. It did not completely connect, but disrupted Shimanoumi’s balance enough that he could bring him down. Shimanoumi now make-koshi at 1-8, Tobizaru maintains his position in the leader group with 7-2.
Kotoeko defeats Aoiyama – TIMMMBERRR! Kotoeko makes just a minor shift to his left following the initial contact at the tachiai, and catches Big Dan surging forward. With that much mass in motion, it is a tough to change direction mid stride. Aoiyama toppled forward as Kotoeko seemed disappointed to not being able to continue the fight. He wins by tsukiotoshi and is 5-4.
Hokutofuji defeats Sadanoumi – A good initial hit, but both men lost traction and fell together, with Sadanoumi touching down first. They decided to call it oshitaoshi, and Hokutofuji gets the win to improve to 4-5.
Ichinojo defeats Kiribayama – It does my heart good to see Ichinojo bounce back and win again. He took the fight to Kiribayama, who quickly got an up close experience of just how much trouble an enormous and genki Ichinojo can be. Kiribayama tried a few offensive moves, but Ichinojo is just too big, and has good hand placement today. Ichinojo engages forward PTO and drives Kiribayama out by yorikiri to hold position in the leader group at 7-2.
Hoshoryu defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi missed his mark at the tachiai, and found himself defending against Hoshoryu’s sumo. Hoshoryu caught Tamawashi out of position, and established control of the inside and went to work. Hoshoryu was hitting well, and the third combo sent Tamawashi out by oshidashi. Hoshoryu improves to 5-4.
Daieisho defeats Ura – Daieisho was no going to rush forward against Ura, and that was probably a wise move. So the tachiai was an odd one (usually is against Ura), and we did not see the big push inside to set up any thrusting attacks. Staying at distance, Daieisho nipped and picked at Ura until he got him off balance, and employed a hatakikomi to finish Ura off. Daieisho improves 5-4.
Kotonowaka defeats Wakatakakage – Wakatakakage got the better of the tachiai, and went on the attack. Kotonowaka did mange to get his right hand inside, and deep on Wakatakakage’s belt. Wakatakakage surged forward, broke Kotonowaka’s grip and looked to be setting up a throw. Kotonowaka rallied, shut down that throw and surged forward to send Wakatakakage out by yorikiri. Kotonowaka takes the win in this “battle of the waka” to improve to 7-2,s staying with the leader group.
Shodai defeats Abi – We saw it again today, Shodai gets in trouble, something switches on, and he’s an Ozeki again. I almost think there are two Shodai (Shodais? what is the plural of Shodai? Suggestions in comments pleasE) in there, a lesser Shodai and a greater Shodai. We saw the lesser one quite a bit in the first week, and he started this match (and yesterday’s too) before the Uber-Shodai came in and won. Abi was attacking in his traditional style, and a sudden power move pushed Abi aside and down to give Shodai the match. Both end the day at 5-4, and remain squarely in the funnel.
Takakeisho defeats Wakamotoharu – Ozeki Takakeisho made fast work of Wakamotoharu, as he could not risk having Wakamotoharu set up any kind of mawashi grip. Takakeisho improves to 6-3 by tsukiotoshi.
Terunofuji defeats Endo – Endo really put maximum effort into this match, and took the fight to Terunofuji. But watch the Yokozuna break Endo’s double inside grip moments after he set it up. With his hold on Terunofuji trashed, the Yokozuna counter attacks and bodily gives Endo the jolly heave-ho off the side of the dohyo. It’s clear Terunofuji is hurt, but you have to admire his brass to mount the dohyo each day and beat all comers. Oshidashi win and Terunofuji remains the strongest bid for the Emperor’s cup on Sunday at 7-2.