Welcome to Nakabi, the middle day of a sumo tournament. We are in the middle of act 2, and we find ourselves celebrating the day we transition from getting competition under way, to thinking about the yusho race, and other actives of the final week of the tournament. For those who have been fortunate enough to attend sumo in Japan, Nakabi Sunday is always a great day to be in the stands. People are happy, the sumo is almost always raucous and fun, and everyone feels celebratory.

Readers may have noticed, one of my normal themes is nowhere to be found – the dreaded Darwin’s Funnel. Try as I might, I could find no sign that the scheduling team was going to try a funnel this weekend. In fact, they may not try one at all. They are not always effective, and perhaps they decided they were just going to let this basho unfold as it may, and not try to boost the number of 7-7 rikishi at the end of day 14. Hopefully it works out well for them.

With Nakabi come our first look at the leaderboard, and oh what fun that thing is for this tournament.

Aki Leaderboard

It’s Hokutofuji atop our first look at the leaderboard, though I don’t the he will maintain that position. I do now expect him to be in competition for the cup next week. Our more likely candidates are Tamawashi, Takakeisho and Takayasu. First person to post “Chiyoshoma yusho” gets remedial yorikiri from Asanoyama for the entire month of October.

Leader: Hokutofuji
Chasers: Tamawashi, Takayasu
Hunt Group: Takakeisho, Kiribayama, Wakamotoharu, Nishikifuji, Oho, Chiyoshoma

8 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 8

Mitoryu vs Shimanoumi – Shimanoumi, who until recently was a top division regular, is our Juryo visitor today. He is ranked J1e, so a simple kachi-koshi would be enough to get him pack into the Maegashira ranks. But he comes in with a 3-4 record, and is not yet dominating the Juryo competition. He faces Mitoryu, who has a matching 3-4 record. They are a very even match, and neither have any distinct advantage. They last fought in Nagoya where their roles were reversed, Mitoryu was the Juryo visitor and Shimanoumi was ranked Maegashira 9e.

Ichiyamamoto vs Yutakayama – Ichiyamamoto (4-3) draws an easier opponent today in the clearly struggling Yutakayama (2-5). Normally he would be bashing the stuffing out of everyone this far down the banzuke. But he’s probably hurt, and he has almost no power for offense or defense.

Okinoumi vs Tsurugisho – I strongly suspect that 1-6 Tsurugisho is likewise injured, and won’t be able to reach 8 or even 7 wins this September. He’s up against 3-4 Okinoumi who has lost 3 of his last 4 matches, and may himself be in the “scratch and dent” bin for the rest of Aki. They have only fought twice before, resulting in a 1-1 career record.

Hiradoumi vs Ryuden – As stated above, I am not sure they are going to run the funnel this September. It may show up later in the schedule, bur right now this match is about as close as we can get to a funnel match. We have 4-3 Hiradoumi up against 3-4 Ryuden. For Aki 2022, Hiradoumi has been fighting better to me, but he has never beaten Ryuden in 3 attempts (0-3)

Kotoshoho vs Chiyoshoma – Hey, don’t look too closely, but it seems that Chiyoshoma has put together a pretty solid winning record for Nakabi at 5-2. Only one of those was a henka, so good show! He has a struggling Kotoshoho as an opponent today, but does tend to best Chiyoshoma given their 4 prior matches (3-1, Kotoshoho).

Terutsuyoshi vs Chiyotairyu – A traditional fan favorite, its big man vs little man sumo. In this case the little man is 3-4 Terutsuyoshi, who needs 5 more wins over the next week to hit the safety of eight. He’s up against a completely disrupted Chiyomaru at 1-6 who looks poorly and fights worse. With a 5-3 career record against Chiyotairyu, Terutsuyoshi would seem to have a dependable formula for getting sumo’s thunder god out of the match.

Oho vs Takanosho – Coming into nakabi with a 2 match losing streak after taking his first 5 in a row, Oho is now an example of what happens some times when a rikishi takes a loss. Assuming he did not get hurt, he has let his confidence or some other thought process get between him and his sumo. 4-3 Takanosho could certainly use a win today. This is their first ever match.

Tochinoshin vs Nishikifuji – Tochinoshin finds himself a bit below the kachi-koshi line a 3-4, and needs to pick up a win today against 5-2 Nishikifuji. Nishikifuji has been struggling this September against the larger rikishi, so I think that Tochinoshin’s size will make a significant difference today. He won their only prior match wich was day 12 in Nagoya, by tsukiotoshi.

Aoiyama vs Kotoeko – Kotoeko also finds himself scrounging for wins from the middle day of the basho thanks to his lackluster 3-4 score. They gave him injured Aoiyama to fight to seek out his 4th win and keep him in the hunt for his 8. The two have fought 10 times in the past, and split them evenly 5-5.

Wakamotoharu vs Myogiryu – 5-2 Wakamotoharu has lost 2 of his last 3 after a big start to Aki. He won the only prior time has has fought 4-3 Myogiryu, which was March in Osaka. I am still looking for Wakamotoharu to hit at least 8 and maybe as high as 10 this basho, and join his brother in the joi-jin in Kyushu.

Hokutofuji vs Endo – The lone leader of the early yusho race, 7-0 Hokutofuji can reach kachi-koshi today with a win over struggling 3-4 Endo. The thing that makes this one most interesting to me – Endo frequently will rise to the occasion for “big fights”, like knocking the yusho leader out of position, or returning a brutal beating to the dai-Yokozuna who make a spectacle out of him the tournament before. They share an nearly even career record, so do be careful, gentlemen!

Takarafuji vs Onosho – I somehow knew Onosho was having one of his “bad” tournaments, but 2-5? Wow, thats pretty smelly. He’s got injured Takarafuji (1-6) today, so as long as he can keep his balance (hey, stop laughing Andy…) he should be able to score a much needed win here.

Tamawashi vs Sadanoumi – Former co-leader Tamawashi took a loss on day 7 to Wakatakakage. Now he needs to chase down Hokutofuji and hope someone puts him on the clay to open the race up. But before that, he has to come to fight Sadanoumi (4-3), who holds a surprising 10-4 career advantage. It’s the speed you see. Tamawashi operates by hitting his opponents very hard indeed. But someone as quick as Sadanoumi might not be there when the blow reaches it target.

Kotonowaka vs Meisei – A 4-3 from Maegashira 2, Kotonowaka has been reduced to trying to get to 8 wins, and disrupting everyone else’s September tournament. He’s never beaten 3-4 Meisei, and thus I think that both of them will end the day 4-4. If there were a funnel, this match would be a prime example that it was being implemented.

Tobizaru vs Ichinojo – I have my doubts that Ichinojo is going to be able to get to 8 wins at this point. He’s lethargic and just a fraction of his genki form that took the cup in July. He’s 2-5 an needs 6 wins out of the final 8 matches to maintain his san’yaku rank. 4-3 Tobizaru is doing somewhat better, and will have a largely easier schedule for the final week of competition.

Midorifuji vs Kiribayama – I would be delighted to see Midorifuji get kachi-koshi from the top of the rank and file. He would need 5 of the last 8 to do it, but it would confound the critics quite a bit. Blocking his path to that outcome today is 5-2 Kiribayama, who is fighting everyone in san’yaku and making it look like just another day in the keiko-ba. He won their only prior match.

Ura vs Hoshoryu – From here on out, it’s nothing but wild matches deluxe. This one has chaos written all over it. Ura has been unable to do any dimension shattering sumo sine day 4, and it’s high time that he used that mastery of space-time to turn Hoshoryu upside down and inside out. Both of them are 4-3, and need 4 more matches out of the final 8 for kachi-koshi.

Takakeisho vs Takayasu – 5-2 Takakeisho is looking more like his “good” self than he has in a while. We get to see some potent double-arm thrust attacks, and he has launched at least one rikishi into the zabuton. This fight today against 6-1 Takayasu is a different matter. Yes, he has given the former Ozeki a launch with a wave action blast before, and I will cheer if he does so today. But coming off of 2 extra months of rest, Takayasu is looking quite genki, and may be able to capture, crumple and discard Takakeisho today. Can’t wait to see how this one goes.

Wakatakakage vs Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi needs 5 of the last 8 to clear kadoban and stay an Ozeki. The problem be first that he’s fighting like crap and second that he gets Wakatakakage today, who has finally gotten into his sumo and has won his last 4 in a row. Mitakeumi has a clear career advantage at 7-3, but Wakatakakage won their last head to head in May by yorikiri.

Daieisho vs Shodai – Can you believe both of these guys are 1-6? Injuries abound this September, and they strike the mighty as well as the plain. I am not sure who wants to lose this match more, but I am going to guess Shodai, as he can’t seem to put two coherent sumo moves together right now. Daieisho can still move like himself, he just no longer has any power behind his attacks. Both of them are headed for make-koshi baring some miracle.

Terunofuji vs Nishikigi – I will be surprised if this match happens. Terunofuji needs to go kyujo. If it does happen, we can count on Nishikigi giving him a battle hug and trying to cuddle him to victory. The fought twice before, both times in 2020, with each taking one, and both matches decided by yorikiri. If Nishikigi gets another kinboshi on this his second “Magical mystery tour”, I will know that Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan was behind it all.

Terunofuji remained in the basho for day 7, and picked up a much needed win over Ichinojo to keep himself with a minimal winning record. But I have to call out to watch Midorifuji fight Hoshoryu. Some of the better sumo you are going to see this September from two solid rikishi. Further down the banzuke we had the final winless rikishi in Takarafuji pick up his first win in the battle of the limping giants.

Tomorrow is the middle day of the basho, so our first look at the leaderboard in tonight’s preview!

Highlight Matches

Hiradoumi defeats Chiyomaru – Hiradoumi really wanted that left hand belt grip, but the bulbous belly of Chiyomaru is like a great bollard protecting his mawashi. Hiradoumi settles for a double dumpling handful of breast meat and pushes iwth all he can muster. Chiyomaru goes out and Hiradoumi improves to 4-3.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Mitoryu – Terutsuyoshi showed up today with a loose mawashi. Maybe he was trying to prevent any kind of leverage for Mitoryu. But it was clear early on they were trending toward a wardrobe malfunction at a rapid pace. The gyoji stops the match to thankfully prevent the world from getting more than it bargained for on day 7. Following the garment adjustment session, Terutsuyoshi charged straight ahead and brought Mitoryu down. Both end the day at 3-4.

Chiyoshoma defeats Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto’s long arm thrusts worked very well at the tachiai. But Chiyoshoma was able to escape the third volley, find a body grip on Ichiyamamoto, and dive forward to bring Ichiyamamoto out. Chiyoshoma improves to 5-2.

Ryuden defeats Tsurugisho – This was a great incremental fight. Neither man was able to get a working grip at the tachiai, so they both began chipping away at each other’s defense. Tsurugisho had the better hand placement, but Ryuden had the better body position. With Tsurugisho standing nearly upright, Ryuden converted his strong left hand grip into a solid uwatedashinage, landing Tsurugisho with a meaty thud. Ryuden now 3-4.

Yutakayama defeats Chiyotairyu – Yutakayama finally picks up his second win, at the expense of Chiyotairyu somewhat disorganized sumo. Chiyotairyu got a few big hits in, but was unable once again to hold ground. Yutakayama advances to 2-5.

Kotoshoho defeats Oho – Oho picks up his second loss in 2 days when Kotoshoho lands a big double hand hit center mass at the tachiai. Oho gets completely disrupted, rocked back and stumbles to the rear. Kotoshoho follows up with a second hit, and Oho it out on the west side. Kotoshoho earns a glorious 4th win to end the day 4-3.

Nishikifuji defeats Okinoumi – Nishikifuji’s tachiai was not very strong, and he quickly tried to pull against Okinoumi. This nearly cost him the match, but he was able to recover and establish a left hand inside grip. Okinoumi was not even near his normal self today, as he bypassed at least 3 chances to win this match, and he allowed Nishikifuji to walk him out. Nishikifuji up to 5-2 now.

Kotoeko defeats Myogiryu – A rare Kotoeko win against Myogiryu, he’s only now managed it twice in 10 attempts. Myogiryu covered Kotoeko’s shift to the left at the tachiai, but Kotoeko had a working grip and surged forward, catching Myogiryu without his feet set. A quick run across the tawara, and Kotoeko improves to 3-4.

Hokutofuji defeats Takanosho – Hokutofuji is so hit-or-miss from basho to basho, I almost forgot how unusual some of his sumo can be. I note with great interest how bent over he was this entire fight, minimizing his upper body’s attack profile for Takanosho. It worked a treat as Takanosho struggled to set up any real offense against Hokutofuji, and found himself trying anything to stop Hokutofuji’s advance. It ultimately failed, and Hokutofuji picked p an oshidashi win to stay perfect at 7-0.

Tochinoshin defeats Wakamotoharu – Clever sumo from Tochinoshin today. He gave Wakamotoharu a big hit at the tachiai with a forearm to the upper body, which stood him up. As Wakamotoharu dialed up the forward power, Tochinoshin pulled the forearm down, releasing the support and Wakamotoharu crashed to the dohyo. Tochinoshin improves to 3-4.

Sadanoumi defeats Onosho – Onosho came in hard at the tachiai, got a left hand under Sadanoumi’s arm and drove forward. One thing that is consistent about Onosho’s sumo, at some point he is going to put every ounce of power he can generate into a big forward push. Sadanoumi was counting on it. He set his feet and pivoted against the push, applying an uwatenage to send Onosho cartwheeling over the bales. Nice match strategy. Sadanoumi now 4-3.

Takarafuji defeats Aoiyama – Well, the good news is that Takarafuji finally got his first win. The bad news is that both of these guys are a shambles right now, with matching 1-6 scores. If we use this match as a gauge, Aoiyama is in somewhat worse condition than Takarafuji. Neither man could hold much forward power, and it was pretty much injury sumo showcase from these two.

Takayasu defeats Endo – Takayasu breaks through Endo’s somewhat disorganized tachiai, getting his hands high on Endo’s chest. From there it’s a train of powerful pushes from Takayasu, moving Endo back and over the bales 5 steps later. Takayasu at 6-1, and nobody look, but he trails the unbeaten Hokutofuji by one win.

Tobizaru defeats Meisei – Tobizaru was a bit wild and disorganized today, and twice came close to losing the match. First when he pulled Meisei on the second step, the second just before Meisei stepped out when Tobizaru lost his balance and took a mis-step. But Meisei did step out, and Tobizaru picks up a much needed win to improve to 4-3.

Kotonowaka defeats Daieisho – Daieisho is only hitting his big thrusts with a fraction of his peak power, which we saw when he took the yusho in January of 2021. Today he lost an arm bandage during the fight with Kotonowaka, who stood his ground masterfully, and waited for Daieisho to be off balance, shoving him out in between steps. Kotonowaka improves to 4-3.

Midorifuji defeats Hoshoryu – Midorifuji showed no fear of shin-Sekiwake Hoshoryu today, taking the fight to his opponent and moving him back from the tachiai. Hoshoryu rallied, but could not get underneath Midorifuji. Hoshoryu tried a shoulder throw, but to no avail. This was, simply, a fantastic battle. It ended with Midorifuji getting a lateral hold on Hoshoryu, freezing him in an off balance position and then driving forward while Hoshoryu struggled to keep his feet. Brilliant win by Midorifuji to move to 3-4. Yes, Hoshoryu has never beaten Midorifuji in (now) 5 attempts.

Wakatakakage defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi picks up his first loss of the basho, and I think it came when he decided to take a yori against Wakatakakage rather than continue to engage him in hit-and-shift sumo that he prefers. Wakatakakage quickly converted Tamawashi’s forward pressure to power a throw which sent Tamawashi to the clay. Wakatakakage now with 4 straight wins at 4-3.

Kiribayama defeats Mitakeumi – Future Sekiwake Mitakeumi lets Kiribayama get a left hand outside grip, and does not stagger his feet to counter. With his hips high, his weight on a line, he’s an easy pick up for Kiribayama who makes light of Mitakeumi’s 175 kg frame and walks him out. Kiribayama at 5-2.

Nishikigi defeats Shodai – Congratulations on Nishikigi to for a big win on your “Magical Mystery Tour” through the named ranks. I again noticed that Shodai cannot maintain any forward pressure for more than a moment, and once Nishikigi captures him, Shodai is unable to stop him from pressing ahead. 4-3 for Nishikigi. He has Terunofuji tomorrow, maybe his second kinboshi?

Takakeisho defeats Ura – Takakeisho with excellent foot work today, keeping Ura back and centered for maximum attack pressure. Ura gave it his all to break contact and get inside to attack, but the Ozeki was having none of it. Takakeisho at 5-2.

Terunofuji defeats Ichinojo – I can’t decide if I want Terunofuji to give up his 4th kinboshi of the tournament tomorrow to Nishikigi or just call it done now that he defeated last basho’s champion. Note how he goes to great length to keep all pressure off of that right knee in this match. Ugly stuff. Terunofuji at 4-3.

Oh yea, the middle weekend. A glorious time in every basho. We get to see our first kachi-koshi minted, we get our first look at the yusho race, and the scheduling committee tends to stack the roster with excellent fights to enjoy. I know I am ready for the middle weekend. The high quality sake is in the fridge, the ingredients for chanko are in the fridge, and its going to be a sumo party at my house.

The festive mood endemic to this part of any basho is clouded by my concern for Terunofuji. When he ascended to sumo’s highest rank, everyone knew we would only keep him for a short while. He knew it as well. Note he has lined up nearly everything for his post sumo career already. I am going to guess he married well, as there is ample evidence that his wife has been a huge factor in building a Terunofuji “brand” for them to enjoy and employ once he can no longer coax those lumps of gristle, mochi and chanko he uses as knees into action any longer. Am I saying he’s about to go intai? Not at all, I don’t think that’s in anyone’s best interest at all. I think we may see a 2 basho kyujo while they try anything they can get him into fighting form for some kind of “farewell tour”. I won’t like, I would love to see him take another yusho, if there is any way he can fight well enough ever again.

Day 8 – we get to see if the two undefeated rikishi: Hokutofuji and Tamawashi, can maintain their lead. Both of them have a lot of sumo when they are healthy, and both of them appear to be rather healthy right now. Behind them by one win is (no surprises here, Josh) – dear old Takayasu. This yusho run is going to be chaos in a cup, so don’t come looking for a predictable Yokozuna championship, and don’t even think you are going to get an Ozeki in the mix either. Right now the Ozeki corps is bordering back on shambolic, and we will be lucky to keep Mitakeumi come November. But trust me, the new crop of sumo athletes are looking amazing, and the future contains a lot of wonderful sumo.

What We Are Watching Day 7

Chiyomaru vs Hiradoumi – Chiyomaru comes back for a second visit to the top division. Right now he is 2-4, and his chances of scoring a coveted kachi-koshi and returning to the Makuuchi ranks are quite slim. He’s never faced Hiradoumi (3-3) before, so this match will be a discovery process. Many rikishi are confounded by Chiyomaru’s diameter the first time they fight him.

Terutsuyoshi vs Mitoryu – I am trying to figure out if Terutsuyoshi is hurt, or just out of new sumo things to throw at his opponents. He only has a 2-4 record so far, and each day he looks like his is trying anything he can to find another win. I think that Mitoryu has a clear advantage on day 7.

Ichiyamamoto vs Chiyoshoma – This is a match of serious interest to me. We have both men at 4-2, and Ichiyamamoto with a narrow 2-1 career record. Its a real clash of styles, as Ichiyamamoto likes to use his long arms to apply maximum combat range thrusts, much like Abi has done for years. Chiyoshoma’s sumo needs him to get close in and grab parts of his opponents body and use leverage to attack. Should be quite the match.

Tsurugisho vs Ryuden – I am almost ready to say that Tsurugisho needs to find his bunk on the Juryo barge of shame. At Maegashira 15w, and a 1-5 record, he is most certainly on the bubble. He has a 2-8 record against 2-4 Ryuden who wants to find a way to reach 8, or at least 7. So this will be a consequential fight for both men.

Yutakayama vs Chiyotairyu – I also worry about Yutakayama, now as well. Both of these guys are 1-5, but Yutakayama is far enough down the banzuke that he might be considered for demotion if his score continues to be a wreck on day 15. Chiyotairyu is no better off on his score, but his higher rank at Maegashira 11 will make it harder for him to be in danger. The good news is that one of these guys are going to pick up his second win today.

Kotoshoho vs Oho – Knocked out of a co-leader position by Mitoryu on day 6, this might actually help Oho. No longer in the spotlight that co-leadership brings, he can focus on his sumo. As the rikishi say, they want to look at this one match at a time. Today he has Kotoshoho, who is struggling at 3-3, but still in the running for a winning record. They have an even career match history at 3-3, so this should be a good contest.

Nishikifuji vs Okinoumi – As with many of 4-2 Nishikifuji’s matches this September, another first time fight. I think that Okinoumi (3-3) should be able to take care of this guy, but at his age and with his accumulated injury, everything can be day-to-day with him. I am going to look for Nishikifuji to move inside at the tachiai, which will fit Okinoumi’s match plan as well.

Myogiryu vs Kotoeko – The statistic that matters for this match is 8-1, that’s the career advantage that Myogiryu (4-2) has over Kotoeko (2-4). Given that Kotoeko is not fighting at all well right now, we should see Myogiryu dispatch him with little difficulty today.

Takanosho vs Hokutofuji – Hey, what a good idea. Let’s take white-hot Hokutofuji at 6-0, and put him against the former Sekiwake that everyone was convinced was severely under-ranked until he dropped 2 matches in a row, like Wile E Coyote dropping an anvil on his toe while chasing the Road Runner. Hokutofuji has a narrow 5-4 career lead, but let’s face it. This is a very even contest, and there is potential for some big, brutal sumo out of these two.

Wakamotoharu vs Tochinoshin – Wakamotoharu (5-1) should be looking to pick up 3 more wins and hit the safety of 8, and then decide if its time to run up the score. At Maegashira 6, he is in a bit of a cul-du-sac on the banzuke. Just outside the joi-jin, he is in the right spot to stage a big run, if he wants to be at the top of the rank and file for November. Tochinoshin is at 2-4, and we all just hope that he can make it through September in the same number of pieces he had on day 1.

Onosho vs Sadanoumi – This match is a bit of a gift to Onosho. He’s 2-4, and really needs to put several back to back wins on the board. He has a 5-1 career record against Sadanoumi, so this should be an Onosho win, in my book. But Sadanoumi (3-3) would not have to be a sumo mastermind to exploit Onosho’s world famous balance problems to pick up a much needed win.

Takarafuji vs Aoiyama – The last man in active competition with no wins. Given how well he fights when he is healthy, there is zero chance this is caused by anything other than injury or illness. He’s up against 1-5 Aoiyama who is likewise a good candidate for an orthopedic ward right now. He does hold a 21-6 career advantage over Takarafuji, so he has a clear edge in this battle of the bruised.

Endo vs Takayasu – Starting to look at who might challenge for the yusho, Takayasu at 5-1 from Maegashira 4 is looking better than I thought he would at this point. To keep that rolling, he needs to beat 3-3 Endo today on the clay. Endo has a 9-13 career deficit, so – advantage Takayasu.

Tobizaru vs Meisei – Both men are 3-3, but if it’s at all possible, Tobizaru’s 3-3 is somehow more genki. This guy mounts the dohyo every day with enthusiasm and what seems to be a positive attitude. Sort of like a young Asanoyama. He needs to stay positive in the face of Meisei’s 6-1 career advantage on the clay.

Daieisho vs Kotonowaka – Daieisho at 1-5 looks to be setting course south of the named ranks for November. He will be back – he’s just probably banged up in some way we are not aware of. Kotonowaka at 3-3 looks like a man who is temporarily out of steam, and looking for a way to re-energize his sumo. They are more or less equal on the clay, but neither man is fighting well right now.

Midorifuji vs Hoshoryu – Oddly enough, Midorifuji (2-4) used to take Hoshoryu’s (4-2) lunch money early last year. In fact, he has never lost to Hoshoryu (4-0). So while some of Hoshoryu’s fans are starting to wonder if he can continue to elevate his sumo, it may be time for one of those famous Kokugikan clay facials. Midorifuji could really use the win, but the fans might really enjoy a Midorifuji watashikomi.

Wakatakakage vs Tamawashi – I expect nothing short of a brutal mugging from Tamawashi today. He is 6-0, and I am sure he can smell the path to a yusho right now. He just has to keep winning to make it all happen. He has a 2-5 career deficit against 3-3 Wakatakakage, who has won his past 3 matches after an ice cold 0-3 start. This one may be the match of the day.

Kiribayama vs Mitakeumi – Kadoban Ozeki Mitakeumi (3-3) needs to get his big sumo out of storage and bring it to work today. He’s perilously close to a make-koshi, and visit to the Sekiwake rank in November. Nobody wants that, not even for laughs. He is only 6-5 against 4-2 Kiribayama, so he needs that win today before he heads into his much harder schedule next week.

Nishikigi vs Shodai – Nishikigi (3-3) begins the “magical” part of his magical mystery tour. He took a trip through the named ranks several years ago, and came home with a kinboshi for his troubles. He can do that again this time if Terunofuji lasts that long. Today he’s got the moribund Shodai (1-5), who seems to be locked in for a kadoban status in November. I refuse to do any real analysis of Shodai’s sumo right now, mostly because I am not sure it is sumo.

Takakeisho vs Ura – Takakeisho’s loss to Tamawashi on day 6 probably removed him from the yusho contention next week. He instead needs to focus on his 8. He has a 9-3 career advantage over Ura, but as we all know with Ura, you never can tell what you are going to get. He could pull miniature black hole out of a pocket universe he keeps in his mawashi and Takakeisho would be thrust into the 24th and ½ century where he spends the rest of his days fighting advanced sumo cyborgs all modeled after Shodai. So they are really bad, and he is dai-Yokozuna. Both are 4-2.

Terunofuji vs Ichinojo – Knees, knees. Brother, can you spare a knee for a Yokozuna in need? Someone has a sick sense of sport to put 200kg Ichinojo up against someone with no knees. Maybe its a way to convince the Yokozuna that it’s time to go kyujo.

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.