Ah what a day in sumo. The four men at the top of the banzuke all fell short, and we know that in 2022, anything can happen. But it was also gyoji auditing day it seems, as there was a flurry of monoii called. None of them overturned any decision in the ring, so maybe the shimpan just needed to walk about to stretch their legs.

Please, Japan Sumo Association, urge Terunofuji to get whatever treatment is possible for what is left of his knees. He’s not fooling anyone at this point, and we need him to hold the rope a while longer. Nobody wants to see this great man, this indomitable spirit lifted into that comically large wheelchair and carted from the Kokugikan in some career ending blow out of what is left of his lower body. On behalf of myself and probably a few other folks, I beg you to urge him to go kyujo now.

That being said, Hokutofuji and Tamawashi continue unbeaten, while Wakamotoharu and Oho pick up their first losses.

Highlight Matches

Terutsuyoshi defeats Tsurugisho – Terutsuyoshi tried for his obligatory leg pick. He managed to grab a hold and enter a spin cycle, but Tsurugisho just had his bearings replaced, and he turned smartly about to match. Fortunately for Terutsuyoshi, he also landed a left hand frontal grip, which he used in his second attack plan – lift and walk forward from below. Yorikiri win takes him to 2-4.

Tohakuryu defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma had the more aggressive sumo, but could not keep his feet under him. As Tohakuryu broke contact, Chiyoshoma turned to pursue, lost his balance and was wide open for a Tohakuryu slap down. Both men now 4-2.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Hiradoumi – Ichiyamamoto had a strong opening combo, and Hiradoumi never really was able to recover. The first “grab and twist” attack succeeded in getting him off balance, and the follow up resulted in a twirling uwatenage that put Hiradoumi feet first into the front row. Ichiyamamoto improves to 4-2.

Mitoryu defeats Oho – Oho picks up his first loss of Aki as Mitoryu continues his absolute domination in their matches. Mitoryu is now 5-0 against Oho, and appears to be able to put him on the deck any time he wants to. Today’s win was a slow motion, wide arc uwatenage that was more like a crash landing than a throw. Mitoryu now 3-3.

Ryuden defeats Yutakayama – Ryuden’s attempt at a left hand frontal grip at the tachiai missed by a mile, and Yutakayama countered, trying to bring Ryuden into a tsuki-oshi battle. Ryuden did not take the bait, got his hands around Yutakayama’s torso, and walked him out. Pretty sure Yutakayama’s injuries keep him from really fighting in forward gear most of the time. Ryuden improves to 2-4.

Kotoshoho defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu really does look lost these days. Sure, he tried some vigorous thrusting and slapping, but he kept his chest wide open, inviting Kotoshoho to just move right in and force him out. Tsukidashi in take Kotoshoho to 3-3.

Kotoeko defeats Okinoumi – Kotoeko finally gets his second win, by not settling into a single attack mode. Forced to respond to Kotoeko’s shifting hand placement, Okinoumi was unable to put up a strong defense. Kotoeko coupled that mixed mode offense with relentless forward motion, and his yorikiri win takes him to 2-4.

Takanosho defeats Tochinoshin – Takanosho rapidly moves into grapple Tochinoshin at the first moment that Tochinoshin’s chest was open. The resulting low hold opened the door for Takanosho to bunny hop forward, moving the former Ozeki out in a hurry. Takanosho up to 4-2.

Hokutofuji defeats Nishikifuji – Nishikifuji put a lot into this match, but looked like he had a few missed opportunities. I counted 3 times that he tried to pull on Hokutofuji’s arms or head, each time giving up forward pressure. Hokutofuji for his part stayed as low as he could, kept the pressure as close to center-mass as he could manage, and kept pushing to the front. Excellent footwork by Nishikifuji at the bales almost gave him the win, but Hokutofuji made sure he landed last. Hokutofuji remains perfect at 6-0. This is his best start since Aki of 2018 when he opened with 7 consecutive wins.

Myogiryu defeats Aoiyama – its clear that Aoiyama can’t hold ground at all. Any forward pressure and he starts to back away. He managed to try to slap Myogiryu as he was retreating, and it looked very close to me. A monoii gave the match to Myogiryu, even though I thought it should be a torinaoshi. Myogiryu now 4-2.

Wakamotoharu defeats Onosho – Onosho went for a left hand face slap at the tachiai that missed by a fair measure, and allowed Wakamotoharu to get his left hand outside grip. From there it took about one step for Wakamotoharu to break Onosho’s questionable balance, and run him immediately out. 5-1 now for Wakamotoharu, out-doing his brother’s score by a fair amount.

Endo defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji still can’t find a win. Like Aoiyama he breaks his stance whenever his opponent sets up any kind of yori. Given that Takarafuji’s entire sumo existence is built on going chest to chest and outlasting his opponents, he is pretty much a sitting duck. Endo gets a quite welcome win and is now 3-3.

Nishikigi defeats Sadanoumi – Sadanoumi successfully shuts down Nishikigi’s opening attack, but as Nishikigi is still pushing ahead and working to get inside, Sadanoumi decides to try a pull. This fails as it so frequently does, and Nishikigi runs him out of the ring. Both end the day 3-3.

Takayasu defeats Midorifuji – Midorifuji is having a lot of introductory matches this basho, as he is finally ranked high enough to fight some of the top men in the sport. His first time against Takayasu today must have been quite the eye opener. That’s a lot of hairy rikishi to try to overcome. Midorifuji was mercilessly batted about and tossed over the east side. Takayasu up to 5-1 now, very nice.

Tobizaru defeats Hoshoryu – As sumo fans, we love to see the high rankers run up the score. I find it important for myself to remember that really what these top folks need is 8 wins. I continue to think that Tobizaru faces a strong chance of hitting his 8, and remaining at the top of the rank and file for November. Today he bested shin-Sekiwake Hoshoryu, when Hoshoryu refused to stop trying to pull. Tobizaru now 3-3.

Wakatakakage defeats Ichinojo – Starting to hope that Wakatakakage was only suffering from ring rust, and that he has managed to sandpaper that down. Meanwhile Ichinojo has reverted to form after his enchanted yusho run. His enormity presented it’s own challenges for Wakatakakage, but the Sekiwake was nothing if not relentless. Wakatakakage up to 3-3.

Kiribayama defeats Daieisho – Daieisho attempts to open a big thrusting war with Kiribayama, and lands a couple of solid hits. But Kiribayama’s balance was better, his targeting was superior, and he worked to get Daieisho off balance. With that in hand, a combo to Daieisho’s chest put him out of the ring. Kiribayama now 4-2.

Meisei defeats Shodai – I refuse to get too engaged in whatever hot steaming pile Shodai has going on these days, and it is a hot steaming pile. I mean, what was he trying to do? He looked completely lost, no offense, token defense, and simply waiting for Meisei to decide how he wanted to win. The one moment he showed any offensive sumo moves, they were underpowered and poorly coordinated. Lord, how he frustrates me. Meisei now 3-3.

Tamawashi defeats Takakeisho – One big hit at the tachiai, and a quick second clash that had Tamawashi pressing down on Takakeisho’s shoulders. Down goes the Ozeki, and Tamawashi remains unbeaten at 6-0.

Kotonowaka defeats Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi picks up a loss when he can ill afford to lose. This was a cheap, sloppy match that was composed of a big tachiai from Mitakeumi, and a rickety pull attempt from Kotonowaka that just barely worked. Fine guys, way to phone it in. Both are 3-3. Hope you enjoy the funnel.

Ura defeats Terunofuji – The Terunofuji comeback story is one for the ages. But even a man of such unstoppable will cannot make those damaged knees support Yokozuna class sumo this September. I urge Isegahama and whomever else to convince Terunofuji to seek medical treatment to patch things up as soon as possible. Take the rest of the basho, and maybe November too. As soon as Ura gets his arms around Terunofuji’s body, he goes soft and Ura runs him out. I note with great interest the care Ura took to not let him fall from the dohyo. I think it’s an open secret that Terunofuji is hurt, and everyone wants to try and keep him as whole as possible. Terunofuji drops another kinboshi (his 3rd this tournament), and Ura is up to 4-2 now. Terunofuji a miserable and painful 3-3.

With the start of day 6, its onward into act 2, which features the first real look at the leaderboard, the middle weekend, and the inflection point where rikishi realize just what kind of record they are likely to end up with. 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. We can already see that Yokozuna Terunofuji is struggling. Clearly his lower body is not up to the task of fighting as sumo’s top man. The question is: What to do about it? We can go kyujo, but Terunofuji seems to take his role as the lone Yokozuna quite seriously, and feels a responsibility to the fans and to sumo to show up every day he can. But each day he’s a bit worse.

I could talk about all of the 5-0 rikishi, but right now I would like to examine Oho. I have not paid much attention to him since he reached Juryo, as frankly he was not very inspiring at all. He had a couple of double digit records in Juryo, but since showing up in the top division in May, he was make-koshi and kachi-koshi one time each. His lower division records were strong, but not overwhelmingly strong. In spite of the noise around his entry into sumo and his climb up the banzuke, it was evident from 2018 that this young fellow might be able to have enough sumo talent to be a big deal. A 5-0 start is a good sign, but most of the opponents he has faced so far have (as of day 5) losing records – it could be said he has been squaring off against injured rikishi, and his real score could have been much lower. Again, I report that a rikishi can only fight the opponent he is scheduled to face.

I am keeping an eye on him. Maybe he’s made a step change and will be a solid mid-Maegashira rikishi for a time.

What We Are Watching Day 6

Terutsuyoshi vs Tsurugisho – Its a pair of Maegashira 15’s with dreadful 1-4 records to start the day. May as well get down to act 2 business straight away. Both of them are in real risk of being flushed to Juryo given their current trend. This match ensues that one of them gets a life line, and one of them gets a shove further down the tubes. Tsurugisho has a moderate 9-6 career lead. Both are looking a lot less capable than they did at their best.

Chiyoshoma vs Tohakuryu – Juryo vistor Tohakuryu comes to the top division for a visit to fill Abi’s banzuke gap. He went COVID kyujo in July after establishing a 3-8 score in Nagoya. The banzuke committee gave him a 1 full rank demotion, which is about as gentle as you might ever see. He has his first ever match against Chiyoshoma, who I hope uses some kooky sumo against him.

Ichiyamamoto vs Hiradoumi – Matching 3-2 records, but I have more concern around Hiradoumi. He won his first 3 in convincing fashion, and how has two losses. Granted, one of them as a Chiyoshoma henka, but he should not have let that impact him for his day 5 match against Mitoryu. Ichiyamamoto won their only prior engagement. In May of 2017 when they were both in Jonidan. I know for a fact I saw this match in person at the Kokugikan…

Mitoryu vs Oho – Now that Oho has gathered some attention for starting the basho 5-0, I want to see if maybe he starts over-thinking his matches. We will be able to tell if he tries “big sumo” things that are out of his usual catalog of moves and techniques. We can also tell if he flubs the easy stuff. I hope this does not happen, and he instead sharpens his focus going into act 2. He has never won against Mitoryu (0-4), so this match is an excellent gauge to judge if Oho has made a step change in his sumo.

Yutakayama vs Ryuden – Matching 1-4 records, both of these rikishi look like they need a cruise around Okinawa and a week of relaxation more than they need to fight each other. But here they are, ready to see which one of them might have a chance to climb back to 8 wins and the safety of kachi-koshi. They have a 5-6 career record that favors Ryuden by 1, and Ryuden has won every match since January of 2020.

Kotoshoho vs Chiyotairyu – I think Chiyotairyu looks lost right now. He is trying some sumo things, most of which are not working, and that is reflected in his 1-4 score starting act 2. At Maegashira 11, he would need a pretty deep make-koshi to be at risk of demotion. But right now it’s kind of tough to watch. His henka attempt was especially bothersome, but then again I am not a sumo legend as he is. He has 2-3 Kotoshoho, who is also struggling quite a bit this September. He has a narrow 3-2 career lead, but it’s anybody’s guess what happens today.

Okinoumi vs Kotoeko – Kotoeko sometimes has tournaments where he struggles for every win. An example of that is Nagoya 2021, where he finished 2-13, or the 3-12 from Kyushu 2021. His performance right now reminds me of those tournaments, and it’s no fun at all (less so for him). I think Okinoumi will be able to dispatch him today with minimal fuss.

Tochinoshin vs Takanosho – I was very amped for Takanosho’s Aki for the first 3 days, and now he has dropped 2 in a row (3-2). This would tend to indicate that he’s continuing to have problems with whatever knocked him out of competition in July. He has a 4-1 career record over 2-3 Tochinoshin, but if Takanosho is hurt, that may not matter.

Nishikifuji vs Hokutofuji – I have a lot of interest in this match, as they were supposed to fight day 15 of Nagoya, but Nishikifuji got a fusensho thanks to Hokutofuji being kyujo. This call the a do-over of that day 15 match. Mass favors 5-0 Hokutofuji, but I think he will not have an easy day against 4-1 Nishikifuji.

Aoiyama vs Myogiryu – 26 match history between these two veterans, and it narrowly favors 1-4 Aoiyama at 14-12. Aoiyama continues to not have any forward power, perhaps indicating problems with his gear train or universal joints. So I think 3-2 Myogiryu has a good chance to pick up a win today.

Wakamotoharu vs Onosho – I think 4-1 Wakamotoharu is going to dominate the unbalanced 2-3 Onosho today. It’s time for Onosho to have one of those tournaments where he can’t quite keep his feet, as we have seen since Saturday. He won their only prior match, but when Onosho is on a cold streak, it’s tough to get him out of that rut.

Takarafuji vs Endo – Somehow, somewhere 0-5 Takarafuji is going to get his first win. He can’t be so banged up that he can’t beat anyone in the top division. But I would not count on 2-3 Endo giving him a freebee, as he could use the white stars himself.

Nishikigi vs Sadanoumi – This is a very balanced match, they have a 10-10 career record, Nishikigi has a 2-3 score for September, the mirror image of Sadanoumi’s 3-2. Both of them are capable of an endurance match grappled to each other’s mawashi. Nishikigi has more endurance, and Sadanoumi has better speed. Which one will rule the match today? They last fought on day 4 of Nagoya 2021 in Juryo.

Takayasu vs Midorifuji – As with most of 2-3 Midorifuji’s matches, today is a first ever fight against 4-1 Takayasu. The extra time not in honbasho competition does seem to have left him strong and ready, possibly in the best condition in quite a while. I am hoping for a Midorifuji surprise today, maybe an abisetaoshi?

Tobizaru vs Hoshoryu – 4-1 Hoshoryu should be favored in this match of young up and coming stars. He has the higher rank, the better score and a slight edge in the 6-5 career record over 2-3 Tobizaru. But I also consider those 2 wins came against a Yokozuna and an Ozeki. Good golly!

Wakatakakage vs Ichinojo – 2 consecutive wins for Wakatakakage, maybe he is out of whatever sapped his performance at the start of the basho. He js up against Ichinojo who is also at 2-3, and might be getting a bit of a reality check on his sumo following his boosted performance in Nagoya.

Daieisho vs Kiribayama – I had to double check, but yes, Daieisho has a 1-4 record to start the day. Worse yet he is not dependable to beat Kiribayama, who holds a 6-4 career advantage over him. So it will be a battle of the big thruster vs the man who can fight well using a variety of styles. Their last match, in Nagoya, went to Daieisho by hatakikomi on day 7.

Meisei vs Shodai – Shodai has a 9-2 career advantage over Meisei. But I am not going to say that the Ozeki has this in the bag. Something is keeping this guy’s sumo in check, and his 1-4 proves it. I don’t want to see him go kadoban again, so maybe he can pick up his second win against 2-3 Meisei today.

Takakeisho vs Tamawashi – 5-0 Tamawashi has a lot of sumo momentum right now, and I think it might be enough to overcome whatever 4-1 Takakeisho intends to throw at him on day 6. Both of these guys are looking in good form right now, so this could be the big fight for the day. Takakeisho has a 12-7 career advantage.

Kotonowaka vs Mitakeumi – 2-3 Kotonowaka has a distinct 3-1 career match advantage over 3-2 Mitakeumi. I think he may be the only Ozeki to be kadoban in two consecutive tournaments, a distinction that is not one to be broadcasting. But Mitakeumi is fighting well enough, when he remembers to keep his weight centered over his feet.

Terunofuji vs Ura – Ura has never beaten Terunofuji. But the kaiju is not looking well, and it could be kinboshi time again today. Both have 3-2 records to start act 2.

Act 1 comes to a close, and it’s clear that Tamawashi, Hokutofuji, and Oho are going to need to find tougher opponents. With Tamawashi just having faced Yokozuna Terunofuji, that’s a tough ask. All of them are perfect 5-0, and each of them had done an excellent job of dictating the form and cadence of their matches for the first 5 days. We are a couple of days away from a leaderboard (following day 7), but I think that Tamawashi is going to be the top contender in the middle weekend’s matches.

Elsewhere in the torikumi, everyone save poor Takarafuji now has at least one win. I almost wonder if Isegahama should not try to take the parking parts from Takarafuji and use them to repair Terunofuji. It might cost the Yokozuna any kind of neck he once had, but that’s a small price to pay for continued good sumo. I wonder of Dr Takasu can make that happen.

Highlight Matches

Mitoryu defeats Hiradoumi – These two had a tough time getting the tachiai lined up, and it got a bit stale. Once they did get underway, Hiradoumi smaller size was the key to this match. Mitoryu simply overpowered him, then rolled him to the clay. In the process he also scored a hit on gyoji Kimura Ginjiro, sending him off the dohyo. Sadly, no extra points awarded. Mitoryu improves to 2-3.

Atamifuji defeats Yutakayama – Juryo visitor Atamifuji underscores my impression that Yutakayama is not even close to 100% right now. Certainly the Isegahama disciple is strong, large and talented, but Yutakayama clearly could not withstand the forward power Atamifuji was producing. We may see him in the top division soon, as he is now 3-2.

Chiyoshoma defeats Tsurugisho – Tsurugisho, with a stand-up tachiai. This was likely “just in case” there were two Chiyoshoma special surprise henka in a row. Tsurugisho had the advantage early, but let Chiyoshoma incrementally improve his position a bit at a time. Tsurugisho decided, it seems, to press forward into Chiyoshoma’s left hand under / right hand over stance. I think everyone but Tsurugisho knew what that meant, it’s uwatenage time. Chiyoshoma up to 4-1 now with an excellent display of patient sumo.

Oho defeats Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi tries the same opening gambit again. Sorry little T, everyone is looking for that now, even Oho. That’s 5 wins to start Aki for Oho, and frankly I am both surprised and impressed. Prior to Aki, he had not shown himself to be a strong rikishi. But he has dispatched everyone for the first 5 days. 5-0 for Oho.

Okinoumi defeats Ryuden – Ryuden was early in the tachiai, and landed a left hand inside grip before Okinoumi could get set up. But his fortunate hand placement could not make up for his poor footwork and bad posture. Okinoumi blew through Ryuden’s initial position, and pressed him back and into a match finishing uwatenage. Okinoumi improves to 3-2, and Ryuden is still looking for his second win.

Kotoshoho defeats Ichiyamamoto – Kotoshoho finally gets his second win, hitting Ichiyamamoto early, getting his hands under his armpits and never stopping his forward drive. This took Ichiyamamoto back, never let him set his feet, and robbed him of any offense or defense. Excellent strategy for this opponent, and Kotoshoho moves to 2-3 as a result.

Nishikifuji defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu attempts a henka, and manages to get to the side of Nishikifuji. But from there things go weird in a hurry. Chiyotairyu attempts a neck pull down with his left hand, Nishikifuji keeps his feet, and Chiyotairyu lunges from the rear. Somehow, Nishikifuji keeps his wits and balance, pivots and tosses Chiyotairyu out. Ok… Not quite sure what to make of that, except good job Nishikifuji, and enjoy your 4-1 score to end act 1.

Myogiryu defeats Takanosho – I think my forecast of Takanosho being a one man wrecking crew in the bottom half of the banzuke is on life support. Most likely the injury that sent him kyujo in Nagoya is not resolved, and now he is struggling once more. He stalemated Myogiryu following the tachiai, but allowed Myogiryu to get behind him and push him out by okuridashi. Both end the day at 3-2.

Hokutofuji defeats Kotoeko – Hokutofuji continues his dominance of Kotoeko, now up to 6-0 against the Sadogatake man. Very smooth, controlled sumo from Hokutofuji. He was able to move his hands to the inside lane, and then a cascade of rapid thrusts center mass. The smaller Kotoeko could not endure the force, and was quickly out by oshidashi, with bleeding from his scalp as an unwanted bonus. Hokutofuji finishes act 1 at 5-0, his best start since Aki of 2018.

Aoiyama defeats Onosho – Yay, Aoiyama gets his first win. Boo, its at the expense of Onosho. Once again Aoiyama could not maintain forward pressure for more than a moment, but today he leveraged Onosho’s poor balance to employ a hatakikomi to win. Normally, not a fan of sumo in reverse gear, but for Aoiyama, any win now is going to be welcome. He improves to 4-1.

Endo defeats Tochinoshin – Endo got morozashi (both hands inside) early, kept his hips low and moved Tochinoshin back before the former Ozeki could set up any kind of offense. This as the right choice, as the moment Tochinoshin got a belt grip, it was his match to lose. Tochinoshin tried a rescue attempt at the tawara, but Endo finished him off with a diving close. Both end the day 2-3.

Sadanoumi defeats Takarafuji – Man, hapless Takarafuji is the last man in the top division without a win. He had another bad start to a basho in May, where he lost the first 8 matches before finishing 4-11. I certainly hope he’s not on another run like that. Takarafuji’s technique looks the same, but he is missing the power and stamina that are the backbone of his sumo. Sadanoumi improves to 3-2.

Takayasu defeats Wakamotoharu – Wakamotoharu gets his first loss of Aki at the hands of the well rested and quite genki Takayasu. Wakamotoharu absorbed the big forearm blast from Takayasu, but the former Ozeki kept switching modes of attack, preventing Wakamotoharu from establishing any kind of sumo. Takayasu eventually opened Wakamotoharu’s chaotic defense, applied maximum pressure center mass and sent the Onami brother out by oshidashi. Both end the day at 4-1.

Midorifuji defeats Nishikigi – I am actually rather impressed with Midorifuji’s strategy in this match. He knows that Nishikigi will drive relentlessly for the belt, and he makes it almost possible the entire time. The effect this has to to keep Nishikigi moving forward, but not quite in control. This chaotic energy and repeated attempts to land a hand hold power the katasukashi that wins the match for Midorifuji. Nicely done. Both end the day at 2-3.

Kiribayama defeats Ichinojo – With much respect to the beloved yusho winner from the sick-out basho that was Nagoya, you are facing a different level of genki in September. Folks are healthy, rested, there is air conditioning in the venue, completely different environment. As a result, Ichinojo is struggling. Fighting him is still like fighting a fully stocked refrigerator, but I am sure rikishi like Kiribayama found a junker car to pick up and carry to practice. Today, Ichinojo decides to battle hug Kiribayama and take a short name in the middle of the dohyo. There he stood, in all his Snorlax glory, fighting without moving. He awoke briefly when Kiribayama broke his hold, but Ichinojo shifted a bit, cuddled up and went right back into Snorlax mode. Try as he can, Kiribayama can’t quite seem to wake Ichinojo. It is said “The Snorlax is found sleeping in the most inconvenient of places”. The middle of a dohyo would certainly count. After two minutes, Kiribayama can’t rouse him, and just muscles him out. Kiribayama advances to 3-2.

Wakatakakage defeats Tobizaru – Maybe, just maybe, Wakatakakage is finally warmed up. The tachiai is clean and sharp, and the two lock up at the center of the dohyo. I think here may be residual Snorlax energy trapped in the clay now, as both men seem to settle into a long battle hug. Wakatakakage springs to action briefly, but can’t make headway, and they both return to their endurance test. Wakatakakage’s second burst of power works, dislodges Tobizaru’s defenses, and Wakatakakage moves him out to improve to 2-3 by yorikiri.

Hoshoryu defeats Daieisho – The final “mirror score” match finishes with a mirror score. Hoshoryu gets a big hit in the tachiai, and gets Daieisho off balance and moving backward. He keeps up the pressure, and within 5 steps Daieisho is out. Hoshoryu ends the day 4-1, Daieisho 1-4.

Takakeisho defeats Meisei – Hey, a bit of wave-action technique there. Thank you for that, Ozeki. It was good to see, even if it was quite attenuated from your earlier days. It took several volleys to get Meisei off balance and reacting, but Takakeisho kept up the pressure, and the slapped the disrupted Meisei to the clay. Takakeisho improves to 4-1.

Mitakeumi defeats Ura – Mitakeumi really needed this win. Because of the COVID kyujo, some fans may not recall that he is still kadoban for the second basho in a row (as that ever happened before?) Ura tried his hop and duck opening gambit, but Mitakeumi was prepared and just bowled him back and out without any hesitation. Glorious oshitaoshi.

Kotonowaka defeats Shodai – Well, not sure what to say here. Shodai had solid hand placement, his feet were ok, but he could not hold back Kotonowaka’s attack. Maybe a lower body problem? He’s 1-4 now, and looking pretty puny. Kotonowaka picks up his second win of Aki, and is now 2-3.

Tamawashi defeats Terunofuji – I hope and pray that Isegahama can convince Terunofuji to cop to the state of his knees and at least sit out the rest of this basho. Sure he still has a marginal 3-2 winning record, but he was absolutely smoked by Tamawashi today. At no point in that match was Terunofuji on offense, and I can only count a brief moment of defense. Tamawashi remains perfect at 5-0, and picks up another kinboshi (now 8).

Wow, already at the end of act 1, are we? This is the start of day 5, and this is where we will find out if we can get anyone through the first act with a perfect record. I have a couple of people I think will end the day with 5-0, and I have to call out to Tamawashi. What are they feeding this guy? At 37 he is one of the older guys in sumo. He’s been through a lot in career, including a lot of injuries. But here he is with a stellar start to the 2022 Aki Basho, and I feel confident he will have at least 8 wins on senshuraku.

Do I think he could take the cup? It’s possible, he has done it before. He would have to thread a rather gristly needle over the next few days to open that path. He has two more Ozeki to fight, and today he gets Terunofuji. While I think we may see someone else hoist the cup a week from Sunday, I am cheering stout fellow on.

What We Are Watching Day 5

Mitoryu vs Hiradoumi – For a change the Juryo visitor is not the first match in the top division. We get these two guys with mirror image records instead. Sadly Mitoryu (1-3) has only found a single win so far this September, while Hiradoumi (3-1) has greatly exceeded my expectations. He picked up his first loss on day 4 when he swallowed that Chiyoshoma henka whole. I think he’s going to bounce back strong today.

Atamifuji vs Yutakayama – Welcome Atamifuji to your top division match. He comes in with a 2-2 record and gets to face a floundering 1-3 Yutakayama. This is their first ever contest, so it’s anyone’s guess what is going to happen. There are lot of folks in sumo fandom who are eager to see Atamifuji join the Maegashira ranks, so this might be a good chance to preview that eventual promotion.

Chiyoshoma vs Tsurugisho – I do not expect 3-1 Chiyoshoma to deploy a henka today. He probably used that for this basho or maybe only this week. He has a 4-4 record against 1-3 Tsurugisho, who is fighting rather poorly right now, and I would not be surprised to find out he has some kind of lower body injury. There is a huge size gap, around 60kg between the two, so I expect this match to come down to Chiyoshoma working to get a throw going. Out of their 2 prior matches this year, Tsurugisho has won them both.

Terutsuyoshi vs Oho – I really don’t want to see Terutsuyoshi get bounced down the banzuke for November. But at the moment I think he’s pretty much on that path right now unless something strange happens. Worse yet, he’s up against Oho who is part of the elusive 4-0 club.

Okinoumi vs Ryuden – This will be a real contest, I expect. Both of them are flexible multi-mode fighters, and I would give a slight advantage to Okinoumi due to his massive experience. The 5-4 record bears this out. Okinoumi took their last match in January of 2021 by katasukashi.

Kotoshoho vs Ichiyamamoto – Have you guessed the them for today? Its 1-3 vs 3-1 day. Here we go again with 1-3 Kotoshoho against 3-1 Ichiyamamoto, and Ichiyamamoto has a 5-1 career advantage over Kotoshoho. Right now Kotoshoho looks completely lost, and I am hoping he can just find a way to get to 8 wins somehow, but I fear this is not going to be possible.

Nishikifuji vs Chiyotairyu – Its 3-1 Nishikifuji against 1-3 Chiyotairyu. Will sumo’s thunder god pick up a second win against the much smaller (30kg) Nishikifuji? He won their only prior match. Nishikifuji needs to find a way to survive that initial blast, then he may have a chance to get to work.

Myogiryu vs Takanosho – I was surprised when Onigiri-kun (aka Takanosho) was beaten by Nishikifuji on day 4. He has a healthy 5-2 career advantage over 2-2 Myogiryu. Takanosho had risen far enough up the banzuke (Sekiwake) that he has not faced Myogiryu since November of 2021. So I am looking forward to this match to see if Takanosho still has what it takes.

Kotoeko vs Hokutofuji – White-hot 4-0 Hokutofuji has not had a start this good since Kyushu of 2011, where he also opened 4-0. If he wins today over 1-3 Kotoeko (who he has never lost to), it will be his best start since his Aki 2018 9-6 finish. Hokutofuji has the chops to really excel in the top division, but I have always assumed that his injuries were too overwhelming for him to live up to his potential. Looking forward to see how far he can take it.

Aoiyama vs Onosho – Career record of 6-6 is not going to be a predictor for today, as Aoiyama is no where near capable of fighting in the top division right now. He has an 0-4 start, and has to give ground when he gets even moderate pressure. Onosho is the master of overwhelming front attack, so I predict this may be a quick match, unless Aoiyama can catch him too far forward at the tachiai and push him down before he takes his second step.

Tochinoshin vs Endo – A pair of veterans face off with a nearly even 8-9 record on the clay. Tochinoshin at 2-2 has the size advantage and Endo at 1-3 has the creativity and agility advantage. So far Endo has looked well below what I expect from his sumo, so maybe he is part of the “silent injured” crowd. The last 3 matches between them (all in 2021) have gone to Endo. Maybe today is the day he can bounce back.

Takarafuji vs Sadanoumi – With Takarafuji (0-4) having a 14-5 career advantage over Sadanoumi (2-2), this looks a lot like a chance for Takarafuji to put his first win on the scoreboard. I mark him in the “silent injured” list as well, as he should have won at least one match by now if he were healthy. The Isegahama guys seem to be pretty well banged up right now. Maybe that afternoon playing dodgeball with bowling alley rejects was not such a good plan…

Wakamotoharu vs Takayasu – This one really has my interest. You have 3-1 Takayasu who seems to have settled into his calm and powerful sumo groove going up against 4-0 Wakamotoharu. Wakamotoharu has already bested a number of opponents I thought he might lose to (Endo, Takarafuji), so maybe he can find a way to dispatch Takayasu as well. Or maybe all of his prior opponents were injured, and it’s only today that he’s going to face someone genki. Can’t wait to find out.

Nishikigi vs Midorifuji – As much as I suspect that Nishikigi (2-2) is over-ranked at the moment, now that he is up here, I want to see him kachi-koshi, just for the fun of it. He and Midorifuji (1-3) share a career record of 2-3, so it’s not out of the question that Nishikigi can beat him, in fact he won their last match, in Nagoya, with a kimedashi.

Kiribayama vs Ichinojo – Oh yes, a Mongol fight with up and coming star Kiribayama facing down “The Boulder”. Both men are 2-2, and Ichinojo is not looking nearly as genki as he did in July. But he is still enormous, and he has more than a couple of ways to win a match. He has a narrow 4-3 career record against Kiribayama, who last won against him in Osaka this year with an okuridashi.

Wakatakakage vs Tobizaru – I am not sure what to make of this. First off, I think that Wakamotoharu (1-3) may have stolen his brother’s mojo, and that is a shame. I also think that Tobizaru (2-2) is starting to put the pieces together, and he may become a staple of the named ranks for a time if he can become consistent. Wakatakakage has a 6-4 career lead, but that may not matter this time, as his sumo has been in the ditch since opening day.

Daieisho vs Hoshoryu – We set aside the mirror image theme for a while, but here it is for one last bow. We have 1-3 Daieisho against 3-1 Hoshoryu, with them having an even 2-2 career record. I have knocked Hoshoryu in the past for having a bit of an inflated self-image, but he has been fighting quite well at the top of Makuuchi, and that’s worth some credit to be certain. He has yet to face any Ozeki or the Yokozuna yet, so some of this big fights are yet to come.

Takakeisho vs Meisei – This should be a big, quick shove out from Takakeisho. But I think that we are not seeing him really use his primary weapon at this point is because he is too hurt, or too heavy to actually employ it. If that is the case, Meisei has an opening to take a win from the top Ozeki for September.

Ura vs Mitakeumi – Hoo boy, kadoban Ozeki Mitakeumi has to face a rather genki Ura. As we have already seen, a genki Ura can do quite a bit of surprising sumo, and the fact that he has one win against Mitakeumi shows that he can even provide his crazy sumo when the opponent is as large as this Ozeki is. This will will be “don’t miss” sumo in my book.

Kotonowaka vs Shodai – Shodai has had a dismal start to this basho. He and Kotonowaka are 1-3, and I would not be surprised to see him at 1-4 at the end of the day, as Shodai has never beaten Kotonowaka in 4 tries. So this is a tall order for Shodai, who tends to have cold starts. In fact the recent act 1 scores for him are 1-4 for Osaka, Natsu and Nagoya this year.

Terunofuji vs Tamawashi – The big match is the final match today. We have Yokozuna Terunofuji in less than good form up against I would say the early contender for the leaderboard this weekend. Terunofuji has an 11-8 career record against Tamawashi, and yes – Tamawashi has beaten him since he became Yokozuna. If he wins this one, Tamawashi will be the man to beat for the top slot for our first leaderboard on Sunday.