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.

Act 1 comes to a close with 4 rikishi in the undefeated category. We finally get to see Terunofuji face a bit of a powerful test, and the stage is set for the middle weekend and the start of the yusho race. I for one can’t wait to see Asanoyama fight Wakamotoharu. There is no guarantee that it will happen this basho, but we all know its coming some day this year, baring an injury. I still favor Asanoyama as an early leader in this weekend’s yusho race, as he continues to have an easier torikumi ahead of him until act 3, and he has been showing us at least san’yaku if not ozeki sumo in act 1.

Highlight Matches

Mitoryu defeats Kagayaki – Another day where we get to see Kagayaki align his feet left to right, giving up all ability to control forward or backward movement. Credit to Mitoryu for recognizing this and giving Kagayaki a flying lesson, getting him airborne as he flies across the tawara en-route to his 4th loss. Mitoryu improves to 4-1.

Tsurugisho defeats Tohakuryu – Juryo vistor Tohakuryu decides for some reason to see if that “line your feet up and push forward” trick really works to help you lose a match. By golly it does! Tsurugisho knocks him down with a single meaty blow, advancing Tsurugisho to 3-2.

Oho defeats Ichiyamamoto – What is it with these guys and simple physics? Look, place one foot a bit in front or in back of the other one. It works wonders to give you a stable stance. No, Ichiyamamoto tries the “feet in a line” position too, and Oho slaps him down. Oho now 2-3.

Myogiryu defeats Kotoeko – Four matches in, and we finally get competitors who understand the defensive utility of foot placement. Myogiryu does manage to get Kotoeko forward, but has to apply a rather significant pull break his balance. But the hatakikomi sends him sprawling forward into a splits position on the wrong side of the tawara. Myogiryu now 3-2.

Asanoyama defeats Aoiyama – The now customary heavy bandage on Aoiyama’s left knee tells the story of this match, and maybe the Natsu basho for him. Aoiyama did a masterful job of using a forearm at the tachiai to keep Asanoyama from closing the gap and going chest to chest. But under the former Ozeki’s forward pressure, Big Dan folds up and steps out. Asanoyama remains unbeaten at 5-0.

Chiyoshoma defeats Daishoho – Chiyoshoma lands a couple of face slaps to disrupt whatever Daishoho’s match plan was, and ends up with a right hand inside belt grip. It’s at this moment it seems Daishoho decides that Chiyoshoma’s not going to have the muscle to lift and shift him, but oh surprise he does! Chiyoshoma now 2-3 by yorikiri.

Hokuseiho defeats Hiradoumi – A bit more vigorous action from Hokuseiho in today’s match over day 4. But I will be damned if he doesn’t beat Hiradoumi with just one hand for the most part. That finishing double arm thrust put Hiradoumi in the second row. Hokuseiho improves to 4-1.

Takarafuji defeats Takanosho – Takarafuji has a good day, and looks like he was able to hold ground against Takanosho’s forward pressure, a noticeable change from prior days. After a bit of “defend and extend” Takanosho realizes that he allowed Takarafuji to execute “his brand of sumo”, and attempts to break contact and attack. Takarafuji is able to endure this probing attack, and ends the match walking Takanosho out, to improve to 3-2.

Ryuden defeats Sadanoumi – Ryuden’s attempt at a frontal grip from the left at the tachiai fails, but gives him an inside hand placement anyhow. Sadanoumi attempts a pull against this forward pressure, and throws the match to Ryuden who rushes him out. Both end the day 3-2.

Onosho defeats Tamawashi – Good form from both of them, but it seems Tamawashi just can’t generate much forward pressure right now. Onosho overpowers him and escorts him to the tawara for a win by oshidashi, improving to 2-3.

Mitakeumi defeats Kotoshoho – Mitakeumi’s match plan – deliver maximum punishment to Kotoshoho’s face. Kind of brutal, but it worked. I was surprised by just how much punishment Kotoshoho’s face was willing to endure. Turns out to be quite a lot. But Mitakeumi was relentless, and eventually Kotoshoho took a bad step attempting to escape and fell to the clay. Hopefully that knee was not injured in this fight. Mitaekumi now 3-2.

Hokutofuji defeats Kinbozan – Classic Hokutofuji “handshake tachiai” – that right hand leads and finds Kinbozan’s neck early, and ramps up to maximum pressure. To break that hold, Kinbozan pivots and opens his back to Hokutofuji, who happily runs him out to win by okuridashi. Hokutofuji improves to 2-3.

Meisei defeats Nishikigi – Meisei took control early in the match with a double inside mawashi grip, and you can just tell that Nishikigi understood the challenge he had. His attempt to use an arm-bar to hold Meisei back failed, but did manage to swap his grip to a right hand outside. But this only set up the throw that Meisei used to put him on the clay. Meisei remains unbeaten at 5-0.

Nishikifuji defeats Endo – Nishikifuji finally gets his first win for May, putting winless Endo on the clay. Nishikifuji moved to grip Endo’s head at the tachiai, and it seems to have disrupted Endo’s balance. He went down two steps later by something between a tsukiotoshi and a slippiotoshi. But a win is a win, and Nishikifuji is now 1-4.

Wakamotoharu defeats Midorifuji – Excellent tachiai from Midorifuji, he had Wakamotoharu on defensive for two steps, but Wakamotoharu stayed balanced, calm and found a couple of strands of Midorifuji’s belt. From there it was all down to Wakamotoharu’s superior yotsu-zumo technique, as he lifted the smaller Midorifuji and walked him out. Yorikiri win for Wakamotoharu, he remains perfect at 5-0.

Abi defeats Daieisho – Daieisho knew better. Abi side steps the tachiai, but Daieisho was ready for it. But Daieisho was never able to really recover his match plan and succumbed to Abi’s second side step as Daieisho lunged to try and finish Abi off at the bales. I wondered about a hair pull at the tachiai, but I guess the judges were not going to review it. Abi now 2-3, handing Daieisho his first loss of May.

Hoshoryu defeats Shodai – Well played, Hoshoryu. He attacks Shodai to the point that Shodai tries to use his go-to defense, the “Wall of Daikon”. But for some reason, he stands almost upright when he employs it. Standing tall with a firm grip on his opponent, Shodai is perfectly placed for the uwatenage Hoshoryu was ready to deliver. Hoshoryu now 4-1.

Kiribayama defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka opens strong, and owns the offense at the start of the match. But he’s a bit too eager to finish Kiribayama off. Kiribayama waits for him to get forward over his toes, and counters with a beltless arm throw to bring Kotonowaka down. Kiribayama stays hot at 4-1.

Tobizaru defeats Takakeisho – Tobizaru manages to capture Takakeisho’s mawashi, and endure the Ozeki’s attempt at a throw to land last and take the match. For folks who want to see Takakeisho endure as an Ozeki, this is going to be a white-knuckle basho, as I think he will struggle all the way to senshuraku. Tobizaru heads to the interview room 2-3.

Terunofuji defeats Ura – Oh Ura, you must know to never go morozashi against the kaiju. He loves it when people do that. Ura gives Terunofuji a double arm battle hug, and the Yokozuna counters with a double arm bar against the man in pink. Everyone knows where this one is going, but points to Ura for giving it one really energetic surge to try and break the hold he worked so hard to achieve. No sir, up and out you go by yet another Terunofuij kimedashi. He remains unbeaten at 5-0.

Welcome to the end of act 1! At Tachiai, we divide each 15 day honbasho into 3 distinct acts, each with its own goals and purpose. For act 1, its: remove ring rust, see who is hot and who is not. We can already see that Daieisho and Wakamotoharu are in the “hot” column, with Meisei and Asanoyama likely to be grouped in there too. I declare it’s still too early to tell with Terunofuji, even though he starts day five with a perfect 4-0 record. The “not” column must include the hapless Endo, along with stable mates Midorifuji and Nishikifuji. The string of bad luck for Isegahama is noteworthy, and a shame. Both of these rikishi are high skill, ace competitors that are working through chronic and performance limiting injuries.

What We Are Watching Day 5

Mitoryu (3-1) vs Kagayaki (1-3) – Don’t be surprised when the first match of the day does not feature a Juryo rikishi. No, nobody new went kyujo (at least at the time I wrote this), he’s in the second match of the day. Instead we get to watch a fairly genki Mitoryu likely trash an ailing Kagayaki. I am not sure where his sumo went, but it’s been MIA since Kyushu. Probably an injury. Mitoryu won their only prior match which was Nagoya 2022.

Tohakuryu (2-2) vs Tsurugisho (2-2) – Juryo 2 West Tohakuryu is our visitor today. He started pro sumo in 5 years ago at Natsu 2019 as a Sandanme 100 tsukidashi.He hit Juryo 18 months later, but has struggled to earn a kachi-koshi in the promotion zone. He comes into today with a middling 2-2 record, and has a 1-4 career deficit against bulky Tsurugisho.

Ichiyamamoto (2-2) vs Oho (1-3) – Its tough when you have a hit-or-miss (mostly miss?) rikishi like Oho, you don’t know if he’s hurt, distracted or just has reached the limit of his sumo. I would like to think he could improve both in form and rank, but he seems tone continuing his poor performance tha that started at Hatsu. He has an even 4-4 record against Ichiyamamoto.

Myogiryu (2-2) vs Kotoeko (2-2) – This is a match with a lot of potential. Sure Myogiryu has a 10-3 career advantage, but both rikishi are fighting really well right now, and I think we could see fireworks for this one.

Aoiyama (2-2) vs Asanoyama (4-0) – It’s a ‘Yama battle for the 5th match, and all of my chips are on Asanoyama. He has a 5-3 career lead against Big Dan, and the kimarite all come down to Asanoyama getting a grip. If Aoiyama can keep him away and pound him like a tough piece of steak, he might take this match, but given the fact that his knee has already given out once, he might be limited in what he can do against Asanoyama today.

Chiyoshoma (1-3) vs Daishoho (1-3) – Both are surprising me with their 1-3 score, as both of them are capable of doing a fair bit better than their scored would indicate. But we see a number of same-score pairings today, maybe its just time to do it. I don’t know who has an advantage in this fight, probably Chiyoshoma.

Hokuseiho (3-1) vs Hiradoumi (3-1) – Another same-score pairing, there are commenters on this fine web site, and on social media, who think Hokuseiho’s matches are more boring than Ichinojo’s were. I encourage them to amplify their sense of humor and look at it as Hokuseiho trolling everyone with his “statue of Buda” sumo style. Hey, it could catch on! Hokuseiho has won both prior matches.

Takarafuji (2-2) vs Takanosho (1-3) – Takanosho holds a 9-2 career advantage over Takarafuji, who seems to be fading a bit now. I will be curious to see if he can withstand any forward pressure from Takanosho today. If not, he’s more or less in the same condition he was in during Osaka, and that’s bad news for his rank in July.

Sadanoumi (3-1) vs Ryuden (2-2) – I wonder if Ryuden is still trying to figure out what he could have done to move Hokuseiho around. Give it up Ryuden, just relish in the fact you are still shin-Ikioi. He showed great stability and endurance in that day 4 match, and he’s likely to need it again against Sadanoumi, who is fighting quite well this month indeed. They share a 7-6 career match record, with Sadanoumi taking both prior matches this year.

Onosho (1-3) vs Tamawashi (1-3) – Back to same-score pairing, both of them are likely to have crummy scores a week from Sunday. Onosho because I think he needs a front end alignment to get his balance back, and Tamawashi because he’s an old guy and his body is trying to tell him that it’s time to head off into the sunset. They share an even 6-6 career score.

Mitakeumi (2-2) vs Kotoshoho (1-3) – On paper, I would think that Mitakeumi should win this. But statistics tend to blur facts together into an averaged out mush. In reality, Mitakeumi has not been his normal self for a while now, and may be beatable by the likes of Kotoshoho. He won their only prior match when Mitakeumi was a Sekiwake, on day 10 of the November 2020 tournament.

Kinbozan (2-2) vs Hokutofuji (1-3) – First ever match, and we have young rising start Kinbozan going against the man with the most powerful make-koshi in all of sumo. In spite of his 1-3 record, Hokutofuji can win any match on any given day, if his sumo can find the right opening and he is able to press the attack. This one might also have a lot of potential

Meisei (4-0) vs Nishikigi (1-3) – Red-hot unbeaten Meisei will give Nishikigi an opportunity to improve on his somewhat miserable 1-3 score. The normally near sighted Nishikigi works best when he can grapple his opponent. History shows that against Meisei, if he can get a hold, he has a chance. They share a 3-3 career record.

Nishikifuji (0-4) vs Endo (0-4) – Perhaps the most miserable of the same-score pairings today, these two winless guys face each other and we hope one of them finds a win. Honestly, not sure why Endo’s score is this low. Nishikifuji is still hurt. Maybe Endo is too?

Midorifuji (0-4) vs Wakamotoharu (4-0) – When you can’t do same-score pairing, let’s try mirror score instead! Lossless Wakamotoharu gets a chance to knock winless Midorifuji around. A healthy Midorifuji can give Wakamotoharu an even match, but I am pretty sure that something is keeping him from competing at full power.

Daieisho (4-0) vs Abi (1-3) – Battle of the big thrusters, with both of these guys able to launch the other one off the dohyo just from oshi power alone. Out of their 15 prior matches, Daieisho has won 9, and has won 5 of the last 6 against Abi. Ooof.

Shodai (1-3) vs Hoshoryu (3-1) – Another mirror image score match, but this one features the hapless Shodai who is once again struggling to compete with anyone in the named ranks. Frankly his sumo has been all over the place, and not the cartoon sumo that won him matches from nowhere. This is just mad cap “try anything” sumo that turns ineffective quickly and looks terrible. I do hope he can pull it together and defend his Komusubi rank this May.

Kiribayama (3-1) vs Kotonowaka (3-1) – After the henka-non-henka double header on day 4, I have new appreciation for Kiribayam’s sense of humor. As Kakuryu’s deshi, I assumed he would be skilled, but that choice was not something he was likely taught. Both of these guys are talked about in terms of future Ozeki material, neither of them have fought Terunofuji in 6 months, so we will have to see how that plays out later in the basho.

Tobizaru (1-3) vs Takakeisho (3-1) – Takakeisho struggles with the high mobility Tobizaru, and I think given the questionable state of Takakeisho’s lower body right now, it must be a concern. True, Tobizaru has only won a single match so far in this tournament, but all he needs to do is catch Takakeisho without his feet set for defenses for a split second, and he may add a second loss, or worse yet an injury, to Takakeisho’s May outlook. They share a 4-4 career record.

Terunofuji (4-0) vs Ura (3-1) – I don’t think Terunofuji is going to have much trouble with Ura today. Much as I would love to see the man in the pink mawashi pick up another kinboshi this May, I don’t think we will see Terunofuji be at real risk of losing matches until he faces the san’yaku. So likely a win to pad is 4-1 career record against Ura.