Some time in the early hours of Saturday, the memo went out – day 7 is hatakikomi day, make sure everyone at least tries to win by hatakikomi. Before the hatakikomi fest could get started, it was announced that Endo had withdrawn from the Hatsu basho with injuries to both knees. He had been winless up to today, and was in no condition to compete. Hoshoryu gets the default win, which oddly enough is a problem for him. Yes, it improves his score, but as a rikishi looking to make the case for Ozeki promotion, the “quality” of the wins matter in the deliberations to recommend promotion to Ozeki. Hoshoryu is now 5-2.

Highlight Matches

Myogiryu defeats Enho – I do hope that nobody was hoping that Enho was going to win. He decided to go straight on against Myogiryu, and he’s not able to push back against Myogiryu’s forward pressure. Its quite sad to see him one loss from an 0-8 make-koshi, but that’s where he is. Myogiryu improves to 5-2.

Asanoyama defeats Ichiyamamoto – Poor Ichiyamamoto does not even know where to start. He tries a grapple? Then changes his mind and puts both hands on Asanoyama’s face, and then it’s time to step out. Asanoyama remains unbeaten at 7-0.

Chiyoshoma defeats Mitoryu – Chiyoshoma does struggle for a moment with Mitoryu’s enormity, but quickly gets a right hand frontal grip. Attempts to lift the bulky Mitoryu are largely pointless. until Chiyoshoma hooks his left leg outside for a sotogake, bringing Mitoryu down. Both end the day 4-3.

Kagayaki defeats Kotoeko – Kagayaki lines up well be hind the shikiri-sen, it looks like to give a bit more room to launch into Kotoeko. That big first step pays off by breaking Kotoeko’s balance, allowing Kagayaki to move him back and eventually out. Both end the day 2-5.

Tsurugisho defeats Hokuseiho – In this battle of the mega-fauna, Tsurugisho takes the fight to Hokuseiho, and I think surprises him. Maybe Hokuseiho is not used to another rikishi being able to move him, or break his stance. Tsurugisho’s big belly does make for an effective ram. Once Tsurugisho gets Hokuseiho in motion, he walks him back for a yorikiri, and improves to 4-3.

Oho defeats Takarafuji – Another day where we see Takarafuji struggling to hold ground. We also see Oho struggling to generate much forward pressure or move ahead in an aggressive manner. But it looks like for at least today, Oho is in slightly better condition, and he gets Takarafuji out by oshidashi to advance to 4-3.

Daishoho defeats Ryuden – Daishoho gets an arm bar hold at the tachiai, and there was nothing Ryuden could do but go for the ride as Daishoho puts him out Terunofuji style. Daishoho finds his second win and is now 2-5.

Hiradoumi defeats Aoiyama – Aoiyama had about 8 seconds of power in his body, where he was able to attack. Once that was exhausted, Hiradoumi rallied and drove him back. These guys with damaged legs really make for poor matches. Hiradoumi now 5-2.

Onosho defeats Hokutofuji – It is an odd day indeed when Hokutofuji is more off balance than Onosho. Typically Hokutofuji’s lower body acts almost independently to keep him in the match, but not today. Onosho applies a quick thrust and an immediate pull, sending Hokutofuji to the clay by hatakikomi. Onosho improves to 4-3.

Mitakeumi defeats Takanosho – Another day that we get to see classic Mitakeumi sumo. This form, with much higher power output, is what took him to Ozeki. It’s a shame that whatever is out of order for Takanosho prevents him from really generating the power needed to overcome this kind of situation. Mitakeumi now 5-2.

Meisei defeats Sadanoumi – My compliments to Sadanoumi for showing excellent balance in the face of serial tsukiotoshi attempts by Meisei. But one of them finally took care of business and Sadanoumi rolled to the dohyo. Meisei remains perfect at 7-0.

Tamawashi defeats Kotoshoho – I saw one big hit from Tamawashi today, but it was enough to knock Kotoshoho off his balance and set up the hatakikomi that followed. Tamawashi finds his second win and is 2-5.

Tobizaru defeats Nishikigi – Nishikigi is quite predictable, he will maniacally drive to get some kind of body or belt hold from the tachiai. Tobizaru uses this well known preference to his advantage, first blocking Nishikigi’s efforts to reach in, and then when Nishikigi leans in to make it more pronounced, brings Nishikigi down by hatakikomi, improving to 3-4.

Midorifuji defeats Abi – Abi sidesteps the tachiai, and tosses Midorifuji down. A monoii ensues and calls for a rematch as both men went out together. Abi tries to sidestep the second tachiai, but this time Midorifuji is better positioned, and is able to connect to Abi’s body, sending him out by oshidashi three steps later. Midorifuji finds his second win and is now 2-5.

Shodai defeats Kiribayama – Was Kiribayama somehow surprised by Shodai’s tachiai? Maybe he thought it was a matta, but the fight was on, and Kiribayama found himself without any positioning, defense, or options. He did try a rescue hatakikomi (he did get the memo, you see), but Shodai had him bracketed and ready to go out. Kiribayama picks up his second loss to drop to 5-2 while Shodai advances to 3-4.

Wakamotoharu defeats Nishikifuji – A surprisingly sloppy match, where it looked to me that Wakamotoharu lost track of where he was in the ring, and assumed his shove was potent enough to send Nishikifuji out. It was not, and Wakamotoharu had to re-engage and finish the job. It was good enough to improve his score to 6-1, but quite out of character for his normally very careful sumo.

Daieisho defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka opened strong, capturing Daieisho and getting a working hand hold straight from the tachiai. He moved Daieisho back but could not finish him. Daieisho took control with a series of counter attacks, using oshi to get Kotonowaka turned, moved back and out. Daieisho stays near the leaders at 6-1, and some nice recovery.

Takakeisho defeats Ura – Not quite the orchestration and arrangement that we might see from a fully healthy Takakeisho, but he brought a lot of intensity. I think the plan was to make contact before Ura could position himself for his opening gambit. It worked well and Ura was left trying to react, which failed and Takakeisho pushed him out two steps later. Takakeisho improves to 5-2.

Terunofuji defeats Kinbozan – Sadly, it seems that Kinbozan was in fact defeated before the tachiai by the novelty of fighting the Yokozuna. His first step was soft, and he allowed Terunofuji unfettered access to attack in any form he chose. The choice of the day was hearty uwatenage, and it propels Terunofuji to an unbeaten 7-0 to end the day.

Welcome to the middle weekend, one of my favorite parts of the 15 day honbasho cycle. There are a number of high interest match ups in the torikumi today, and out would be fun to see a bit of a shuffle take place prior to our first look at the leaderboard with tomorrow night’s preview. I think the rest of sumo fandom are starting to wonder when they are going to give Asanoyama some matches against the joi-jin, and I expect those to start in act 3. He continues to have the easiest path of the three perfect record leaders to the yusho. If he should manage to prevail, it would be his second. Sadly there won’t be a US president there on the final day, though it seems US president Joe Biden is in Japan right now. Yeah, not going to happen.

What We Are Watching Day 7

Enho (0-6) vs Myogiryu (4-2) – Fan favorite Enho visits from Juryo, sadly he brings his rock bottom 0-6 score with him. Enho has been a wreck for past couple of years, and I am not sure he will ever get back to the point he can compete in the top division. At least we know that Myogiryu will get his 5th win…

Asanoyama (6-0) vs Ichiyamamoto (2-4) – First ever match between Ichiyamamoto and Asanoyama. It’s like someone is sending a plucky green infantry unit up against Rommel. That’s not to say that Ichiyamamoto can’t possibly beat Asanoyama, just that he may be in for some surprises on the first step.

Chiyoshoma (3-3) vs Mitoryu (4-2) – Six prior fights, and Chiyoshoma has won them all, including two in this year alone. I am not sure if it’s just that Mitoryu is a big rubbery dollop of creme brulee trying to execute oshi-zumo, or if Chiyoshoma has some special advantage in the form of black sorcery, but it would be fun to have the creme brulee win one today.

Kagayaki (1-5) vs Kotoeko (2-4) – Kagayaki enters the middle weekend with but a single win to his name. The only solace he might take from this match is that Kotoeko has been fighting well, looking fabulous, and losing matches with just 2 wins to his name. Kagayaki holds an 11-9 career advantage, but who knows which one of these scratch and dent refugees will come out on top here.

Hokuseiho (5-1) vs Tsurugisho (3-3) – A new age battle of the mega-fauna. Gone is the time when Kaisei would square off against Gagamaru, but instead we can get the absurdly thick Tsurugisho up against our favorite Miyagino apartment block. Hokuseiho won their only prior match, which was day 8 of Kyushu 2022. Given how well Hokuseiho is doing right now, I think that its his match to lose.

Oho (3-3) vs Takarafuji (3-3) – Normally this would be a high interest match. But both of them are fighting well below their ability when healthy and ready to go. So it’s a pair of 3-3 guys just trying to get to day 15 in one piece.

Ryuden (3-3) vs Daishoho (1-5) – This one looks like it’s set up to give Ryuden a much needed win for his 3-3 record. He has lost 2 of the last 3, and needs to be careful as he’s right on the center line between make-koshi and kachi-koshi. Daishoho is in the single win group, and may be a white star donor today. Ryuden leads their career record at 5-2.

Aoiyama (2-4) vs Hiradoumi (4-2) – Mirror image scores seem to point toward a bit of funneling this weekend. The ideal outcome would be for Aoiyama to get his 3rd win, and Hiradoumi his 3rd loss to bring them into any funnel group that the schedulers may decide to set up. Aoiyama holds a 3-1 career lead over Hiradoumi, and won both prior matches against him this year.

Hokutofuji (3-3) vs Onosho (3-3) – After a rough start, I think Onosho has finally shaken off his ring rust and is starting to fight closer to his good form. If that holds true today, this will be a high interest match. They have had 16 prior matches, that they have split 8-8. They both like to launch hard off of the shikiri-sen, and they can both hit like a runaway truck. The formula for a good fight.

Takanosho (2-4) vs Mitakeumi (4-2) – Another match with mirror image scores that make me think that the scheduling team might be moving to set up a funnel. They have an even career 7-7 record, both are fighting quite a bit less than what they are capable of, and both want to earn a win today.

Meisei (6-0) vs Sadanoumi (3-3) – Meisei comes into the middle weekend part of an elite 3 person group that are thus far unbeaten. Don’t ask me when he will lose his first match, I am impressed he got this far! In a normal basho, this would be a solid, even fight. But with Meisei being on a hot streak, I worry that Sadanoumi will extend his 2 match black star run.

Tamawashi (1-5) vs Kotoshoho (1-5) – Both are 1-5, having a crummy tournament, probably want to just go to the bar and have a drink. Suggest this is the best time to get up and use the toilet.

Tobizaru (2-4) vs Nishikigi (1-5) – Back from your bio break? Good! This one has fun written up one side and down the other. We have high mobility Tobizaru against near sighted battle hugger Nishikigi. Tobizaru is not too worried when he gets into a yotsu match, so if Nishikigi gets a hold, it’s not the end of Tobizaru’s fight today. Expect some crazy monkey sumo in this one.

Abi (3-3) vs Midorifuji (1-5) – I don’t think this one is going to be much of a contest, as Midorifuji has only a single win thus far. Abi is not really running up the score at this point, but he’s still in good enough fighting form to be the favorite in this match.

Endo (0-6) vs Hoshoryu (4-2) – Hey, Hoshoryu! Free win!

Kiribayama (5-1) vs Shodai (2-4) – You may look at this and decide that it’s a cream puff for Kiribayama today to help him reach for double digits. But in reality Shodai has a 9-5 record against him on the clay. Given that Shodai is really hit or (mostly) miss this May, it may in fact be a “gimmie” for Kiribayama, or we may get to see Shodai rally and make Kiribayama’s road to double digits a bit uglier.

Nishikifuji (1-5) vs Wakamotoharu (5-1) – I don’t anticipate Nishikifuji putting up too much of a fight today, so I look for Wakamotoharu to continue with the 1 loss group into day 8.

Daieisho (5-1) vs Kotonowaka (3-3) – Kotonowaka has racked up 3 straight losses. It’s tough to know if he just lost focus, or hurt something. But when facing someone like Daieisho it’s best to make sure your health insurance is paid up, and your dental fillings are firmly cemented. Right now Daieisho is a man on a mission, and Kotonowaka is his next hurdle.

Ura (3-3) vs Takakeisho (4-2) – Any match with a non-crippled Ura in it has potential for fun and mystery-sumo. But I think when the day ends that we will get to see Takakeisho win win #5 as he guts out his grind to 8 to clear kadoban. He has an 11-3 career lead over Ura.

Terunofuji (6-0) vs Kinbozan (3-3) – Oh now this IS a high interest match, and could be quite the fight. It comes down to how much Kinbozan is intimidated by the Yokozuna, or if he’s just going to fight him like he would Tamawashi. I am fairly sure he is likely to lose, but if he does not let himself be overcome by the perception of Terunofuji, he could give him a stiff fight. Of course, he might be just snag his first kinboshi if the stars align.

Hello all, welcome to day 6, the start of act 2 of this basho. Act 2 is usually a lot of fun, as we have the middle weekend, the start of the yusho race, and we start to sort competitors into winning and losing records. It’s too early to tell if the schedulers are going to run a “Darwin’s Funnel” this May, but if they decide to do so, it will first show up in act 2.

At the start of act 2, all the rikishi who might make a claim to an Ozeki promotion are still in the running to hit double digits. I think we all know where this is heading. Starting today, we are going to see them start fighting each other. Likewise, the pressure on Takakeisho will only increase from here, as he exits the “easy” part of his schedule. As of today, he’s at 3-2, and will probably be on the knife’s edge until sometime in act 3.

What We Are Watching Day 6

Ichiyamamoto (2-3) vs Bushozan (4-1) – Today’s Juryo visitor is Bushozan. At Juryo 3 East, he may be outside of the promotion zone unless he turns in a monster score, or the rikishi above him on the banzuke completely blow it. He has a 2-2 record against Ichiyamamoto, which happened in March during Bushozan’s first attempt to become a durable part of the top division. I am sure he is going to get there, but maybe not until Aki.

Oho (2-3) vs Tsurugisho (3-2) – Oho continues to look close to his poorest form in the last year, and I do expect Tsurugisho to have an advantage here today, if not an outright win. Oho has a body for sumo, and technique too. But he has routinely made rookie mistakes over the last 20 or so matches, and I wish he would get back to his “good” mode of fighting.

Asanoyama (5-0) vs Mitoryu (4-1) – I am glad they are giving Asanoyama the hardest matches they can muster with him being so far down the banzuke. As one of the co-leaders with a perfect 5-0 score, he still has the easiest route to the cup for now. Even when he faces the san’yaku later next week, I think he would still be favored in most of his matches. He won his only prior bout against Mitoryu, last basho when Asanoyama visited the top division on day 1.

Chiyoshoma (2-3) vs Kagayaki (1-4) – The “normal” Kagayaki would win this one without too much trouble. The current form of Kagayaki is going to be hard pressed to put up a reasonable fight, sadly. I am not sure what kind of gremlin got into Kagayaki’s inner workings, but I would love to see him revert to his prior form. He holds a 14-9 career advantage over Chiyoshoma.

Aoiyama (2-3) vs Myogiryu (3-2) – I am starting to think there might be a funnel, as the schedulers are already starting to prefer pairing rikishi with records close to the make/kachi koshi line. These two have fought 28 prior matches, with the results split 15-13 in favor of Aoiyama. Normally I would think Aoiyama has an edge, but it seems to me that his legs are not what they should be to support his ponderous bulk. At his age, and with the length of his careers, he may have just about used them up, so I expect him to continue his fade.

Hokuseiho (4-1) vs Kotoeko (2-3) – Everyone loves a big man / little man sumo contest. The size difference will make for some interesting choices in Kotoeko’s offensive plan, but none of them may matter one bit if Hokuseiho continues his “statue of Buda” technique. He won their only prior match by the seldom seen harimanage on day 8 of this year’s Osaka basho.

Onosho (2-3) vs Takarafuji (3-2) – Onosho has done an excellent job of delivering maximum pressure against Takarafuji’s increasingly tenuous lower body. As a result he holds a considerable 12-8 career advantage over Takarafuji, having won the last three in a row. This is their first match in 2023.

Daishoho (1-4) vs Hiradoumi (3-2) – Daishoho only has a single win, and could really use at least one more soon. He has a 4-0 record against Hiradoumi, and this chance to have Daishoho pull to 2-4 while Hiradoumi goes to 3-3 makes me think more about a possible Darwin Funnel starting this weekend.

Ryuden (3-2) vs Takanosho (1-4) – I am starting to think that at least for yet another basho that Takanosho is going to struggle just to finish. At 1-4, he’s in tough shape daily. He has Ryuden, who has beaten him in 4 of their 6 prior matches.

Sadanoumi (3-2) vs Mitakeumi (3-2) – Both start the day at 3-2, and I think I would give an advantage to Sadanoumi based on him being in better physical condition this May. Sadanoumi also won their only match so far this year, on day 13 of Osaka.

Kinbozan (2-3) vs Tamawashi (1-4) – First ever match for Kinbozan against sumo’s iron man, Tamawashi. I think it’s just a shame that Tamawashi is in poor fighting form right now, as I would love to see Kinbozan get a chance to receive some of Tamawashi’s tradition oshi-zumo instruction.

Hokutofuji (2-3) vs Kotoshoho (1-4) – Fans, don’t fret, Hokutofuji is still solidly on track to once again earn “The most powerful make-koshi in all of sumo”. To ensure that stays the case, we need Kotoshoho to rally past his crummy 1-4 score and give Hokutofuji the business. If he does, it will be his first ever win against “old stompy”.

Ura (3-2) vs Meisei (5-0) – Ura has a chance to knock red hot Meisei out of his co-leader spot with a win today. He has a 2-2 record against Meisei, and one their last match on day 13 of Osaka 2022 by okuridashi. I am hoping for some solid “what was that” sumo with perhaps some engagement from extra dimensions of space-time as needed.

Endo (0-5) vs Midorifuji (0-5) – The schedulers have paired the two rikishi with no wins together for a final match to determine who is the bottom. Great.

Kotonowaka (3-2) vs Shodai (1-4) – Can someone please get in contact with the Tokyo University of Agriculture and have them perform their mystical Daikon dance to infuse this guy with some mojo? Kotonowaka is going to try to rally today before he gets too far off the trail toward double digits, and it would be perfect to see Shodai pull some cartoon sumo out of the ether and put the Sadogatake man down.

Kiribayama (4-1) vs Tobizaru (2-3) – Oh, fun match. I am surprised they did not keep this for the weekend, as you have Kiribayama trying to hit double digits to help push toward an Ozeki bid, against high mobility oshi-harrier Tobizaru. The catch? Tobizaru has a 9-6 advantage over Kiribayama. They have both won one of their 2 prior matches this year.

Abi (2-3) vs Wakamotoharu (5-0) – I am hoping that Wakamotoharu can stay strong until we get to see him 1 on 1 against Asanoyama. Readers know I am a fan of solid yotsu-zumo, and Wakamotoharu is probably the strongest yotsu man in competition right now, with Asanoyama close behind. The challenge is that Abi holds a 4-1 advantage over Wakamotoharu, and is capable of beating anyone at this rank if he gets the right conditions.

Daieisho (4-1) vs Hoshoryu (4-1) – The schedulers are having some fun, putting two of the Ozeki hopefuls head to head today with matching 4-1 scores. Hoshoryu has a slight 5-3 career advantage, and they are both fighting very well this May. I think it will come down to who connects first, as I expect Daieisho to start with a big pushing attack, and that will be against Hosieryu’s desire to get a hand hold on Daieisho’s body. Don’t be out of the room for this fight, it could be one of the highlights of the basho.

Nishikifuji (1-4) vs Takakeisho (3-2) – I have a strong sense that Takakeisho is going to score his much needed 4th win today because he has not lost to Nishikifuji before, and Nishikifuji is not fighting well this tournament. They last fought in January during Hatsu day 8, where Takakeisho won by hatakikomi.

Terunofuji (5-0) vs Nishikigi (1-4) – I do not expect Nishikigi to pick up a surprise kinboshi today. In fact because he will typically go for a battle hug straight away, I expect we may get to see a third straight kaiju-kimedashi.