Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩)

Kyushu Day 5 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daiamami (大奄美), Daishomaru, Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kyushu Basho 2018, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yoshikaze (嘉風), Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) ,

Nishikigi

What The Hell Was That?

Kyushu has mutated into a strange and quirky basho, which is quite entertaining for those who love to see the mighty take one in the pants. Day 5 dawned with news that the lone surviving Yokozuna, Kisenosato, was pulling out of the tournament. Fine, no wins, 4 losses, and we go to a Nokozuna format. Don’t get me started on how the NSK needs to sort out their aging kanban rikishi situation.

Then all of the Ozekis lost. No, really. Nishkiki dismantled Goeido, when his updated GoeiDOS crashed on tachiai, and Tochinoshin took special care to piss off Hokutofuji before the match. Enjoy your clay sandwiches, boys!

Both Sekiwake phoned it in yet again today, and are ripe for demotion and replacement. Both have held the rank too long, and seem to have looked at the steep wall to climb to try for Ozeki, and just shrugged.

For some long term fans, the weakness at the top of the banzuke became a foul stench on day 5, as the rot started to putrefy. Hopefully that can be cleaned up going into the middle weekend.

Highlight Matches

Daishomaru defeats Chiyomaru – Notable because Chiyomaru drops to 1-4, and is clearly in trouble. The round one has many followers and fans, and it will be sad for them should he drop to Juryo. He has been without any real offensive power so far in Kyushu.

Daiamami defeats Takanosho – These two went chest to chest early, and battled hard for a superior grip and balance. Every time Daiamami would gain advantage, Takanosho found a way to counter. They were evenly matched, and brought some solid sumo to the dohyo.

Endo defeats Meisei – I am delighted to report that Endo actually looked on form today, and showed strength, balance and endurance. Although he could not muster speed as well, it was just enough to best Meisei, who gave him a good fight. Japanese fans still love Endo, and they are going to need to pin hopes on someone for the rest of Kyushu.

Onosho defeats Okinoumi – Onosho kept the match short enough that he could maintain offensive power, though he finished Okinoumi just as he was running out of steam and the big man from Shimane was starting to apply pressure. Onosho improves to 4-1, and I anticipate that he will be looking for a mid-Maegashira posting at New Years.

Yutakayama defeats Takarafuji – Yutakayama finally gets his first win over hapless Takarafuji. I am not sure what problems Takarafuji is facing with his body, but Isegahama needs him back in winning form.

Ikioi defeats Sadanoumi – I did not expect Ikioi to rally and overcome Sadanoumi, but I am happy to see that he is not completely out of genki. Ikioi takes a lot of pride in his sumo, and even hurt and tired, we have seen him put a little more into each match.

Abi defeats Kotoshogiku – How can we convince Abi to try something else when the double arm thrust keeps producing results? Kotoshogiku looks rather disappointed at the final bow, maybe because he leaned into Abi’s attack and was too far forward to recover when Abi stepped to the side.

Chiyotairyu defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki could not maintain balance or stance in the face of Chiyotairyu’s overwhelming and powerful cannon-ball tachiai. A quick “Stand him up, knock him down”, and the match was done.

Takanoiwa defeats Yoshikaze – Fans can now take satisfaction that it’s officially a honbasho because Yoshikaze splattered blood on the dohyo. He and Takanoiwa exchanged blistering attacks from the tachiai, but Takanoiwa was able to get inside. On replay there was quite a bit of hand-hair interaction from the Mongolian, but hey – I guess it was not flagrant.

Shodai defeats Asanoyama – Watch this match on slow-motion video. Shodai’s tachiai is still too high, but I dig that he is hitting a near perfect angle at the initial merge. From that moment, Asanoyama is off balance and struggling to find his footing. Asanoyama never recovers and its Shodai for the win with an authoritative body slam to punctuate the end.

Takakeisho defeats Ichinojo – Let me reiterate the theme that both Sekiwake are on the way out this basho. Lackluster, lethargic and uninspired, they must vacate their spots to more worthy rikishi. Takakeisho once again demonstrates his “wave action” sumo, and it seems that for most opponents, they are unable to counter with much effect. Takakeisho 5-0 at the end of act 1.

Kaisei defeats Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi, sir, it’s a shame that you need a pride-obliterating demotion to get your act together, but it seems you are hell bent to do just that. Why would you go chest to chest with Kaisei? It’s like hugging a pachyderm. You can feel like the king of the world for a few seconds, but you are still going exactly where that elephant wants to take you.

Nishikigi defeats Goeido – It was at this point I realized that I should have stayed up all night drinking sake and watching sumo. I might have possibly been drunk enough for this to make sense. Clearly Nishikigi is some master level hacker who put Goeido into the much feared and completely useless bouncy-castle mode. I wept tears of joy for Nishikigi, and could not stop laughing for a time. You know what would make this even funnier? If this ends up being the ONLY win that Nishikigi has at Kyushu.

Hokutofuji defeats Tochinoshin – Though NHK may not show this, Tochinoshin launched a brutal tachiai that was a matta, and did not seem the least bit apologetic. But I think that really cranked up Hokutofuji. Then Tochinoshin decided he was going to repeatedly try to pull Hokutofuji down, and wasted a lot of time pawing at his head. By the time that he realized that Hokutofuji was about to put him away, he desperately tried for a mawashi grab… But no dice. The look of satisfaction on Hokutofuji’s face is worthy of a large format, tastefully framed portrait.

Tochiozan defeats Takayasu – …But the madness that was day 5 was not yet complete! That Tochiozan guy who has been a mid-Maegashira guy for a long time? He cranked up some big sumo against the last undefeated member of the named ranks. Takayasu decided he was going to start with his ridiculous, superfluous and ultimately pointless shoulder-blast, but Tochiozan was ready for it. He used the poor arm position that move requires to pretzel up the Ozeki and punish him. A lot. I can’t say for sure, but I think at that point Takayasu started to lose his composure and retreat. Tochiozan ran him down and made him suffer again. The two went chest to chest, but Tochiozan has found a way to deny Takayasu’s grip. Takayasu’s sumo became increasingly frantic until Tochiozan could package him up and ship him face first into the east side tawara.

Kyushu Day 5 Commentary

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Endo (遠藤), Ikioi (勢), Kagayaki (輝), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kyushu Basho 2018, Meisei, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩), Yoshikaze (嘉風), Ōnoshō (阿武咲)

Kisenosato-down

This post supersedes our normal preview, as lksumo has already knocked the upper matches out of the park. Instead, a few words on the state of sumo at the end of Kyushu’s first act. Act 1 is all about scrubbing the ring-rust from the contestants, and finding out who is hot, and who is not.

First and foremost the cloud hanging over Kyushu now is the depth of trouble that perpetually injured Yokozuna Kisenosato has placed himself. He lost his first 4 matches, all of which were supposed to be more or less warm ups for the main action in week 2. Instead Kisenosato found himself unable to maintain balance, or generate forward offensive pressure. Frankly he was embarrassing himself, and the same foolish pride that kept him from seeking surgery on his pectoral muscle may have drove him to mount the dohyo each day believing “this time it will be different”.

Kisenosato has devoted his entire life to sumo, it’s his entire world. The shame of 8 straight kyujo’s must have hardened his resolve to “gamberize” and tough it out. But now he has had to withdraw in 9 of the past 10 tournaments.

For the NSK, they have a large and unfortunate problem, as Kisenosato had been given firm guidance not to enter a basho just to withdraw before the end. In doing so again he has to some extent embarrassed the sumo association leadership. What do they do with the only Japanese Yokozuna? His retirement would diminish the stature of the sport for a short time in the eyes of the Japanese public, some of whom bristle at the dominance of foreign athletes at what they see as Japanese cultural property.

Tachiai has been covering the Kisenosato problem for the last two years, and there is a good chance the entire situation is now drawing towards its inevitable conclusion – which is a dignified transition for Kisenosato into life as a member in good standing of the sumo association, and his withdrawal from any further competition.

Matches Worth A Look on Day 5

Meisei vs Endo – Meisei is hell on wheels right now, and he seems to be fighting above his banzuke rank. Endo, on the other hand, continues to be day-by-day, though his day 4 match was solid sumo. They split their two prior matches, so I think it comes down to who gets inside at the tachiai, and today I think that’s going to be Meisei.

Onosho vs Okinoumi – Both come in with a 3-1 record, both seem to be dialed into their sumo early. If the match lasts longer than 12 seconds, it favors Okinoumi, who seems to take a more strategic approach to his matches. Onosho tends to open strong and try to blaze his opponents into defeat. Plus, I think Onosho is still only 80%.

Ikioi vs Sadanoumi – Ikioi has been fighting hurt since Osaka, and going against a rikishi who is on a hot streak, as Sadanoumi is, can only spell an uphill fight. Ikioi does not give up, and I know he will give battle with everything he can muster.

Abi vs Kotoshogiku – Great contrast of styles in this match. Abi will want to keep distance and attack with his superior reach, and Kotoshogiku will do anything he can to close the gap and go chest to chest. Double amazing points if Abi decides to unleash some mawashi techniques and beats the Kyushu Bulldozer at his own sumo.

Chiyotairyu vs Kagayaki – If Chiyotairyu can dictate the match mechanics straight from the tachiai, he has more than enough sumo to dispatch Kagayaki, mastery of fundamentals or not. Kagayaki will need to stay mobile, keep his balance under control, and wait for the burly Chiyotairyu to expend his initial burst of energy.

Takanoiwa vs Yoshikaze – Takanoiwa is still injured, and won’t be doing his normal offense heavy sumo. Yoshikaze will try to get inside and apply maximum pressure up and forward within the first step. Both men can fight with frantic energy, so this may devolve into a slapping battle like two tabbies jacked up on weapons grade catnip.

Shodai vs Asanoyama – This could be a great great match, as both are fairly evenly matched in size, speed and technique. In addition this is their first ever match, so each may surprise the other.

Kyushu Day 4 Highlights – Not Spoiler Free

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Arawashi (荒鷲), Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Daiamami (大奄美), Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kyushu Basho 2018, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yutakayama

Tochiozan

I will come out and say it, Kyushu 2018 is Aki’s battle injured uncle with PTSD. You love them, but you keep wondering if they are going to snap. The two tournaments seem to be night and day different. Aki was a parade of sumo’s top guns, all performing fairly well and dominating the ring. Kyushu continues the prior trend we have been watching for the past few years; the fading away of well loved veterans as their bodies break down and their sumo fails them.

The biggest story of the tournament is Kisenosato and his dismal 0-4 start. As Team Tachiai writer Herouth has pointed out, “The last time a Yokozuna had 4 consecutive losses from the start was in January 1931. 29th Yokozuna Miyagiyama got his first win on day 5. He ended up 5-6 (this was before the 15 day basho system) and retired by the next basho”. Fans of Kisenosato, or even people who have come to respect his ability to keep pushing through the challenges no matter what, should prepare themselves.

But with the lone Yokozuna in career trouble, the door is wide open for the yusho. This includes Kisenosato’s kohei, Takayasu, who has yet to win a tournament. Make no mistake, retirement of the only active Japanese Yokozuna would be a blow to the sport, and nothing could staunch that wound better than to shift focus to that Yokozuna’s understudy.

Highlight Matches

Daiamami defeats Chiyomaru – The banzuke team gave Chiyomaru a last chance to rescue his Makuuchi self, but it seems that whatever physical problems are plaguing him, he is not yet healed. The guy is hugely popular in Japan, so I am sure he will be ok, but for fans of “Spheroid Sumo”, the future is not looking good, with Planet Gagamaru relegated to the outer solar system and other giants continuing to struggle.

Meisei defeats Arawashi – Fast fun match that ended with both rikishi trying to throw the other, and the first monoii for the Makuuchi division this tournament. The result was a somewhat novel interpretation of the “dead body” rule, that confirmed the gyoji’s gumbai and awarding the match to Meisei.

Aoiyama defeats Chiyoshoma – Aoiyama seems to have reconnected with his sumo, but he’s looking fairly rough and sloppy. His match against Chiyoshoma was fairly chaotic, as if the big Bulgarian was throwing anything he could at his smaller and more agile opponent. But any white start you can grab counts.

Endo defeats Takanosho – Endo also seems to have gotten enough ring rust removed to execute working sumo. At Maegashira 12, he should be paving with these opponents, but thus far he is only 2-2. Endo represents another “Great Japanese Hope” that has yet to pay off, and the calendar is not his friend now.

Okinoumi defeats Yutakayama – Okinoumi made it look easy, and it seems to this sumo fan that Yutakayama is still moving well, but can’t generate any power offensively or defensively. At Maegashira 10, he’s probably going to stay in the top division for New Years if he can get at least a couple of wins… But right now that looks like it might be a struggle.

Abi defeats Takarafuji – I know I keep hyping for Abi to unleash something new, but like any successful organism, why evolve when you keep winning? At Maegashira 7, the double arm thrust is probably enough for a kachi-koshi most times. It’s not going to be universally effective in the top ranks, though.

Ikioi defeats Takanoiwa – Ikioi finally gets his first win, but both rikishi looks like they could use a tune up. Both are in the same boat as Aoiyama, painfully throwing everything they can muster in hopes of getting enough wins to hang on.

Kagayaki defeats Shohozan – Kagayaki continues to dominate the normally challenging Shohozan. When Kagayaki can get the right kind of opening, he knows how to win. He is surprisingly powerful in a handful of attack styles, and as long as the match can be squeezed into those parameters, he’s a force of nature.

Takakeisho defeats Shodai – For the first time in a long while, I think we are going to be watching for an endurance check against a rising star. Takakeisho made easy work of Shodai, and remains unbeaten. It’s always tough for rikishi to elevate their sumo into the second week, when a strong winning record against a shattered Yokozuna / Ozeki corps starts to work on a person’s mind – but I think we are going to see Takakeisho show the world what the future of sumo looks like. [The future’s bright. The future’s round. –PinkMawashi]

Myogiryu defeats Mitakeumi – As mentioned in the day 4 preview, I would like the Sekiwake to stop phoning it in. Mitakeumi seems to have thrown in the towel after being shut out of his Ozeki bid at Aki, and he’s failing to impress his opponents. While a 2-2 record is just fine, it’s not the kind of effort that propels a rikishi up the banzuke. However veteran Myogiryu seems to have found his genki, and is exceeding expectations.

Hokutofuji defeats Ichinojo – Ichinojo finds it impossible to maintain fighting form, plain and simple. When he’s on, he’s awesome. But he seems to only be able to muster that about ⅓ of the time. Much respect to Hokutofuji who seems to have fired up and is on a run.

Tochinoshin defeats Kaisei – As is usually the case, you have to wonder why Kaisei came back from kyujo. Tochinoshin had him wrapped up in a hurry, and effectively deployed the left hand lift and shift.

Takayasu defeats Nishikigi – My heart goes out to Nishikigi, who shows up to fight these huge battle wagons, and gives it what he can each day. Today, he may have surprised himself when he was not atomized by Takayasu’s nuclear tachiai.

Goeido defeats Tamawashi – Goeido gets his Mongolian challenger off balance at the tachiai, and does not fail to exploit his advantage. Tamawashi is better than this, but again this basho is a parade of folks performing below their capabilities.

Tochiozan defeats Kisenosato – For whatever reason, Kisenosato is not even fighting at Komusubi level right now. He’s unable to generate offensive pressure to his left side, and everyone knows it. They all attack from the left, and the Yokozuna can only stalemate them for so long. Game-set-match. Tochiozan’s sumo has not looked this good for some time, it’s great to watch as he employs some moves that are not seen anywhere else.

Kyushu Day 4 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Asanoyama (朝乃山), Daishomaru, Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Kagayaki (輝), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kyushu Basho 2018, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yoshikaze (嘉風), Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲)

Kyushu Day 4 Banner

On the back of Herouth’s excellent write up, everyone is waiting to see which path Kisenosato will take as the days of the Kyushu basho tick by. As of the moment this is being written, it looks like he will gamberize and stay to course, continuing to compete each day. Of the 3 losses that mark his inauspicious start for the Kyushu basho, 2 of them are the kind of matches that a Yokozuna should clearly win. This will be difficult, but not impossible, for him to live down.

Am I calling for him to retire? Not even close. Kisenosato’s story has been an epic push to the top, and his 10-5 return at Aki was quite frankly a shocking surprise. Now stuck between poor performance, his duty as the only Yokozuna, and the high probability that the pressure on him to retire, I fully think he will choose to go out guns blazing.

Even if he struggles and stays in the tournament, his stable-mate Ozeki Takayasu is clearly the man to catch. This basho will likely be a crazy mad-cap runaway beer truck, careening down a mountain road with no breaks. As much of a brutal trench battle that Aki was, this one may be a daily dose of, “Dear lord, what next?”. [We all love your mixed metaphors. –PinkMawashi]

What We Are Watching Day 4

Onosho vs Daishomaru – Coming off of his day 3 loss, Onosho is going to be facing the capable Daishomaru who is also bringing a 2-1 record. The difference, I think, is intensity. Onosho seems to have about 80% of his old intensity back, and for this far down the banzuke, that is fairly dominant.

Takanosho vs Endo – Endo is off to a poor start, but his first ever match against Takanosho may give him a chance to even up his score. Given the 1-2 record this far down the banzuke, we can assume that Endo is continuing to nurse injuries, most likely a continuation of the knee injury he suffered at Natsu this year.

Okinoumi vs Yutakayama – Yutakayama seems to be continuing his horrific slide that started with an injury at Aki. Thus far he has yet to rack a single win, and he faces off against seasoned veteran Okinoumi, whom he has never beaten. It’s a bit early to start wondering if the bright young Yutakayama will be returning to Juryo before he starts to improve, but for his fans that has to be a worry.

Kotoshogiku vs Sadanoumi – The Kyushu Bulldozer and former Ozeki Kotoshogiku continues to hold his own at Maegashira 8, and it’s really great to see the crowd cheer him on. Sadanoumi has yet to lose, and has his best start since he won the Juryo Yusho at Osaka this year.

Abi vs Takarafuji – It’s been surprising how many opponents have tried to thrust against Takarafuji’s stump of neck this basho. Given Abi’s tendencies towards that end, we may see if he can “Find Takarafuji’s neck with both hands”. Takarafuji has looked sluggish since Nagoya, and while still competent, he is not inspiring right now.

Takanoiwa vs Ikioi – Ikioi’s sumo is in shambles right now. He can’t seem to muster effective offense, and his ability to resist pressure from an opponent is near zero. Takanoiwa seems to be off his sumo as well, so this may be the kind of match where you can nip off to the yakitori stand or the toilet.

Shohozan vs Kagayaki – Kagayaki has said in prior interviews that he is aiming for the top, and sumo fans applaud that. His focus on mastery of sumo fundaments is undeniable, but the Maegashira 6 range may be as far as that can take him. He holds a solid career advantage over Shohozan, so this may be a chance to even up at 2-2, but he does not seem to be “dialed in” yet.

Asanoyama vs Yoshikaze – Asanoyama gets a good chance to pick up his first ever win against Yoshikaze, who, in spite of being in front of his local fans, seems to be at a much lower level of genki than we saw in Aki. Asanoyama on the other hand seems to be off to a solid start.

Takakeisho vs Shodai – Takakeisho is certainly dialed in to his sumo right now, and everyone is giving him plenty of time to set up and execute the attack waves until he wins. This is going to be fun to contrast with Shodai’s use of cartoon physics, which seems to be surprisingly potent. The good thing is that Shodai’s tachiai continues to improve.

Mitakeumi vs Myogiryu – Maybe I have become far too jaded, but I have to wonder if Mitakeumi is just going through the motions. He lost his Ozeki run last time, and now he’s kind of plodding around. Yes, he is 2-1 to start, but I would also say his sumo looks a step slower than at Aki. Myogiryu should savor his win over Kisenosato, because he may take a lot of pounding until he’s done being a San’yaku chew toy.

Hokutofuji vs Ichinojo – If Ichinojo does not snap-to, I can’t help but hope this is the basho he gives up that Sekiwake slot. He was phoning it in during Aki, and he’s been phoning it in again now. With any luck, Hokutofuji is well motivated after his kinboshi and gives the Boulder a roll down the side of the dohyo.

Nishikigi vs Takayasu – Nishikigi’s tachiais have looked so tentative and almost apologetic. He goes up against the man who blasts off the line each and every time. I feel a bit of remorse for the guy, and hope that he exits Kyushu with enough working parts to remain married.

Goeido vs Tamawashi – Speaking of phoning it in, Goeido had a good first day, then he has been a sloppy mess since. Tamawashi’s time in the kitchen gives him a lot of practice with a sloppy mess, and I am going to guess Goeido will be caught trying to improvise once more.

Kisenosato vs Tochiozan – Do we have to? I have to think at some point even Kisenosato will try to save face. Tochiozan is a well known foe. They have had 41 matches, of which Kisenosato has taken 26. That would be the healthy Kisenosato. The broken one who is struggling to generate forward pressure might be untested against Tochiozan, and frankly I hate to watch.