Hatsu Day 2 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hatsu Basho 2023, Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Mitoryu (水戸龍), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikifuji (錦富士), Nishikigi, Oho (王鵬), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tsurugisho, Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Ōnoshō (阿武咲)

With the Yokozuna out recuperating from surgery to extend his career, and the Ozeki ranks in shambles, the promotion lanes are wide open. Everyone with an itch to be Ozeki will be opening the throttle wide in the first week, hoping to salt away as many white stars as they can grab. This will make for some exciting sumo, and possibly some raucous matches. Today we get to see if Hoshoryu can repeat the kind of sumo that gave him that lightning fast win on day 1, and if Wakatakakage can overcome his habit of losing to Mitakeumi. I suspect if Mitakeumi is finally past whatever his health problems were, he might be looking to run up the score. We can only hope.

What We Are Watching Day 2

Tsurugisho vs Chiyomaru – These two have a 20 match career record, with a definitive 13-7 advantage in favor of Tsurugisho. They are both in the “super jumbo” class of rikishi that are near 200kg, so I expect them to not let this one drag on too long. I think we all know that Chiyomaru is going to try a slap or pull down in the first five seconds, the real question is what happens following that.

Ichiyamamoto vs Takarafuji – After back to back dud tournaments for Takarafuji in September and November, we saw signs of life on day one. Now we get to see if it he can bring some power against Ichiyamamoto, who is likely to hit him with some high thrust attacks straight out of the tachiai. A healthy Takarafuji is able to endure this, as evidenced by his 3-1 career record against Ichiyamamoto.

Mitoryu vs Azumaryu – Both of these rikishi are hoping to get their first ever kachi-koshi in the top division this January. For each of them they have a tough road ahead. Today, we get 0-1 Mitoryu against 1-0 Azumaryu. both are long serving Juryo mainstays, and they last fought in July, with the match going to Azumaryu by uwatedashinage. Overall, Azumaryu leads their series 8-3.

Kagayaki vs Kotoshoho – Both of them won their opening day matches, and I like that they were put head to head for day 2. Everyone can assume that Kagayaki is going to attack center mass, and drive hard to get his hands inside. It’s what he does best, and when he can do it, he tends to win. Kotoshoho is more of an open ended opponent, and I would like to see him employ the unexpected today. If he can close the gap and go chest to chest against Kagayaki, he should be able to get the win. Kotoshoho leads the series 2-1.

Kotoeko vs Okinoumi – Kotoeko really looked out of sorts and a bit disoriented on day 1. I hope it’s just ring rust and none of of his chronic injuries at work. He is probably going to be bracketed to the lower half of the top division for the near term future, but I do enjoy his high energy fighting approach. He has a 4-5 record against veteran Okinoumi.

Aoiyama vs Chiyoshoma – Big Dan has been fighting hurt since July, and has not managed more than 7 wins in any tournament since then. He looked much better on day one, picking up a win. He’s against 0-1 Chiyoshoma today, who has won the last two matches against him. If we see Aoiyama win today, we can assume his body is working well for Hatsu.

Tochinoshin vs Hiradoumi – They have only a single prior match, at Aki 2022, that saw Hiradoumi win by yorikiri. Hiradoumi’s mobility is a problem for Tochinoshin, who has to fight with that bad knee keeping him largely stationary at times.

Onosho vs Takanosho – A battle of the “nosho”, both are 1-0. Onosho tends to be hot or cold in any given basho, and it’s tough to know how things will work this January. They have 13 prior matches (Takanosho leads 7-5) with Onosho taking the last 2 in a row. I would really like to see Takanosho rally this January, and make progress toward returning to the named ranks.

Endo vs Oho – First ever match. We get the former “Golden Boy”, Enho, up against a possible future “Golden Boy” in Oho. Both lost their day 1 matches and start today at 0-1. Endo is not nearly as formidable as he was a few years ago, but he has a deep knowledge of sumo, and may be able to surprise Oho today.

Hokutofuji vs Ura – The 8-1 career record favors Ura, but Ura seems to still be hurt, as he was in November. If he’s injure and competing, this is match is not likely to be much fun at all. Hokutofuji is a merciless competitor, and will quickly box and ship Ura to Aogashima before anyone knows what happened.

Myogiryu vs Nishikigi – These two share a 14 match history, split 7-7. Myogiryu looked strong day 1, and comes in 1-0. Nishikigi was shut down while he was getting his fight together on day one, and is 0-1. While they are evenly matched, it has been Myogiryu who has won the last thre in a row in 2022.

Nishikifuji vs Sadanoumi – Another battle of the 0-1, one of these two will get their first win today. They only fought once in the top division, during Kyushu 2022. That match went to Sadanoumi by hikiotoshi on day 3. Overall, Sadanoumi holds a 3-1 career lead. I expect he will try to use speed to get his hands around Nishikifuji early, and move him out before Nishikifuji can employ his superior agility.

Ryuden vs Midorifuji – From a 0-1 match, to a 1-0 match. We have Ryuden, who squeeked out a win day 1 due to Nishikifuji stepping out accidentally, against his stable mate Midorifuji. Their only prior match was in March of last year, when both were still in Juryo. That match went to Ryuden by yoritaoshi.

Abi vs Wakamotoharu – I love Wakamotoharu’s deliberate, straight ahead sumo style. But each time he comes up against Abi, the double arm thrusting technique of Abi-zumo completely overwhelms him. With a 3-0 career advantage, it’s really Abi’s match to lose today. Wakamotoharu’s first posting the the named ranks could be shaping up to be a rough ride.

Meisei vs Tamawashi – 1-0 Tamawashi and 0-1 Meisei share an 8 match career history, split evenly at 4-4. Out of their four matches in 2022, Tamawashi took 3 of them. Meisei will need to make sure he does not catch a frontal blast from Tamawashi early on to have a hope of putting his first win on the board.

Wakatakakage vs Mitakeumi – Even thought Mitakeumi is no longer an Ozeki, a healthy Mitakeumi is still capable of 10+ wins at this rank and higher. Both he and Wakatakakage won their day 1 matches, and I think this will be a big fight. Of their 4 matches in 2022, both of them won 2. I will be looking to see if Mitakeumi can get his right hand inside against Wakatakakage’s chest by the second step.

Daieisho vs Shodai – No breaks for Shodai right now. He’s got an 8-14 career deficit against Daieisho, and I am going to guess Daieisho is going to give him a full measure today. Over their last seven fights, Daieisho is 6-1. Buckle up, Daikon.

Takayasu vs Kiribayama – Some of our readers are concerned after watching Takayasu’s day 1 performance that the injury he sustained at the end of Kyushu in November may still be impacting his sumo. I agree it’s a worry, and today’s fight against Kiribayama will give us a second data point to guess. Takayasu has a 6-3 career advantage, including both of the last two fight.

Kotonowaka vs Hoshoryu – Hoshoryu’s day 1 performance was commanding and impressive. I would like to see if he can do it again. He’s got a distinct 7-3 career advantage over Kotonowaka, who I think is still trying to figure out how spell Komusubi. For most of 2022, it’s been evident that Hoshoryu’s sumo was about to make a step change, it would be great if Hatsu 2023 is where we was that come to fruition.

Tobizaru vs Takakeisho – Much as I love flying monkey sumo, I expect that Takakeisho is going to toss Tobizaru back into the front row, where he enjoys greeting the fans. The Grand Tadpole has won 3 of the last 4, and enjoys an overall 4-2 career advantage.

Hatsu Day 1 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hatsu Basho 2023, Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Mitoryu (水戸龍), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikifuji (錦富士), Nishikigi, Oho (王鵬), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tsurugisho, Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Ōnoshō (阿武咲)

A solid day of sumo, with special recognition to both Sekiwake 1 men, who fought like they are ready to be Ozeki. Neither has the consistent record to make the bid yet, but the form was there today. I like that the rules have been relaxed somewhat in the Kokugikan, and fans can now cheer during the fight. It’s starting to feel a bit more like sumo again.

Highlight Matches

Takarafuji defeats Chiyomaru – Its quite a relief to see Takarafuji moving well, and generally not looking like an orthopedic ward patient this January. Chiyomaru tries his traditional slap and shove sumo, but Takarafuji’s balance is unshaken. A healthy Takarafuji will wear you down, and thus he does. Kimarite is listed as hatakikomi, and Chiyomaru was looking pretty tired before he fell.

Tsurugisho defeats Mitoryu – Tsurugisho set up a left hand outside grip at the tachiai, and Mitoryu could do exactly zero from that point. Reduced to practice ballast, Mitoryu was quickly bounced out of the ring, and Tsurugisho starts Hatsu with a win.

Azumaryu defeats Kotoeko – I don’t recall seeing Kotoeko look that unprepared and disrupted before. Even when he loses, he tends to bring a lot of power and energy to any match. Ring rust? Injury? No matter. Azumaryu is happy to book the win on opening day and start 1-0.

Kotoshoho defeats Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto started strong, but lost his nerve and attempted a pull at the end of his second volley. Kotoshoho knew just what to do, and attacked center mass. Three steps later, Ichiyamamoto was out of the ring, giving Kotoshoho an opening day win.

Kagayaki defeats Okinoumi – What a joy to see Kagayaki’s classic style of sumo. He was relentlessly focused on Okinoumi’s center-mass. Okinoumi worked to fight back, but could not find an opening for anything other than a half hearted pull attempt, and received an oshidashi for his trouble. Kagayaki starts 1-0.

Tochinoshin defeats Chiyoshoma – It looked to me like Chiyoshoma did not really have a solid match plan, and ended up chest to chest with Tochinoshin. This is not where you want to find yourself, and Chiyoshoma seemed to take a moment to think it through. His only advantage was that he had forced Tochinoshin into a left hand inside grip, and we know that simply will not do. After a nice, lengthy endurance check, Tochinoshin switched his grip to left hand outside, and put Chiyoshoma out.

Aoiyama defeats Hiradoumi – Some great technique from Hiradoumi at the start of this match. I like how he kept his attacks low, and forced Aoiyama to go chest to chest. But much like the prior match, you can quickly find that there are problems with holding on to nearly 200kg of veteran rikishi. Big Dan Aoiyama quickly tired of cuddling Hiradoumi, and threw him out of the ring.

Takanosho defeats Endo – Takanosho did an excellent job of working his hands inside Endo’s defenses early, and only lost the attack for a moment. Dare we hope that he’s finally up to bouncing back from his July kyujo, and resume his dominance near the top of the banzuke? He takes Endo down and out with a resounding oshitaoshi to start Hatsu with a bloody 1-0.

Onosho defeats Oho – The match started with an excellent exchange of pushing attacks, and the two were evenly fighting it out. But Oho decided to test the theory that Onosho is always too far forward, and found that instead Onosho was ready to press the attack into Oho’s pull. Three steps later and a shove to Oho’s chest put him into the front row, as Onosho starts Hatsu with a win.

Myogiryu defeats Ura – Ura picks up in January where he left off in November, looking vague and unable to handle much forward pressure. An early pull by Ura only amplified Myogiryu’s dominance, and it was four steps from the tachiai to the win, with Myogiryu starting 1-0.

Hokutofuji defeats Nishikigi – Nishikigi had a strong opening to this match, but Hokutofuji’s ottsuke kept Nishikigi from getting a workable grip on Hokutofuji’s body. Hokutofuji masterfully contained Nishikigi, shifted his balance and set up a slap down. It was so well done, I had to watch it twice.

Ryuden defeats Nishikifuji – Nishikifuji dominated this match, bundling up and moving Ryuden out of the ring with solid sumo. But at the moment of victory, he accidentally stepped out of the ring. The initial win was reversed in the mono-ii, and the kimarite was assigned as isamiashi. Ryuden 1-0.

Midorifuji defeats Sadanoumi – Midorifuji’s did not like his initial hand placement, and worked to switch it up. This seems to have distracted Sadanoumi enough that he did not figure out the uwate was set up, and he was going for a ride.

Abi defeats Kotonowaka – Abi connected with force early, putting Kotonowaka on defense. He was never able to recover, as Abi kept pouring on the pressure, moving Kotonowaka back, then out. Abi’s sumo, when he’s dialed in, is tough to overcome. He starts hatsu 1-0.

Tamawashi defeats Kiribayama – Kiribayama was attacking well, but Tamawashi employed his remarkable ring sense and agility to upend Kiribayama the moment he pushed Tamawashi out. Tamawashi got the gumbai, and a monoii ensued. Even though Tamawashi’s right foot was out long before Kiribayama hit the clay, a rematch is directed. The second match, Kiribayama gets a double inside grip, and once against moves Tamawashi to the bales. For the second time, Tamawashi pivots into Kiribayama’s final attack, and drops him to the clay.

Mitakeumi defeats Shodai – Shodai fans expecting the previously seen “mighty Shodai” appear to rescue his rank may have to wait longer for the trans-dimensional conduit to form. I did like his counterattack to Mitakeumi’s opening gambit, but he could not sustain the power, and Mitakeumi sharpened his focus center-mass and drove Shodai from the ring to start 1-0.

Daieisho defeats Takayasu – This came down to Takayasu being too high at the tachiai. Daieisho was able to attack from below, and Takayasu never got back into the match. This is my problem with Takayasu’s “wild man” tachiai. He is out of control at a crucial moment in the match, and a skilled opponent can use that moment to gain the advantage.

Hoshoryu defeats Tobizaru – Tobizaru attempted a face slap at the tachiai. This left his body wide open, and Hoshoryu hit him at full strength. Three steps later, Tobizaru is out in the zabuton cuddling a fan, and Hoshoryu has the win.

Wakatakakage defeats Meisei – Solid opening attack set from Meisei, he put Wakatakakage on defense for the first moments of the match. Great to see Wakatakakage get a challenge, overcome it, and attack with that kind of focused power. A big yorikiri takes him to a 1-0 start.

Takakeisho defeats Wakamotoharu – Takakeisho did a masterful job of dictating the form of this match, making sure that Wakamotoharu never got the chance to even try to reach for the Ozeki’s mawashi. Once that was settled, it was a question of how many times Takakeisho was going to hit Wakamotoharu before he tumbled out of the ring. The answer was “about three”.

Hatsu Day 1 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hatsu Basho 2023, Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Mitoryu (水戸龍), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikifuji (錦富士), Nishikigi, Oho (王鵬), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tsurugisho, Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Ōnoshō (阿武咲)

Welcome back to Tachiai’s daily coverage, we are just hours away from the start of the 2023 Hatsu basho, and it is likely to be a wild ride through 15 days in the middle of January. With Yokozuna Terunofuji out, its up to Ozeki Takakeisho to take on the role of being the man to beat for the cup. But with just one Ozeki, and no Yokozuna around the promotion lanes are wide open, and that should lead to some aggressive and powerful sumo from the ambitious rikishi looking to lock in higher rank.

I think most sumo fans are going to keep an eye on Wakatakakage, who may not get a better chance to set up his next Ozeki run. Ideally he can forego his typical cold start, and just begin the basho with dominant sumo, rather than waiting for the middle weekend. I do not expect Shodai to be able to rack up 10 wins this tournament, and he may follow Mitakeumi and end up make-koshi and be demoted out of the named ranks.

Out this January at the start: Ichinojo due to suspension, and Terunofuji due to injury / recuperation.

What We Are Watching Day 1

Takarafuji vs Chiyomaru – I have no idea how Takarafuji is still in the top division, yet there he is. Clearly the man has been diminished since last summer, and if he cannot find 8 wins this January, this may be his last top division basho for some time. He’s against the last man on the banzuke, Chiyomaru who has returned from Juryo for another tour of Makuuchi. He has only won one match against Takarafuji, but given Takarafuji’s expected condition, that may not count for anything.

Tsurugisho vs Mitoryu – After a one tournament visit to Juryo, Tsurugisho decided he had had enough, turned in a 10-5 record and returned to the top division. He has not had a top division make-koshi since July of 2021, so he has his work cut out for him. Mitoryu, his opponent, has likewise just returned from Juryo for his second attempt to reach 8 wins as a Maegashira. Tsurugisho has a slight career advantage.

Azumaryu vs Kotoeko – Kotoeko has been struggling as of late, with four consecutive make-koshi scores to end 2022. He always fight with a lot of energy, but as of late has not been able to muster enough power to actually win. Azumaryu had a 7=8 result in his first tournament in the top division in almost 3 years, but retained his rank of Maegashira 14W to try again this month. Kotoeko holds a 6-2 career lead.

Kotoshoho vs Ichiyamamoto – Kotoshoho’s last kachi-koshi was in March of 2022, but has somehow managed to stay nearly the same rank for most of a year. Now Maegashira 13E, he’s against Ichiyamamoto on day one, who tends to start well but quickly fade into the second week. Ichiyamamoto holds a narrow 5-3 career lead.

Kagayaki vs Okinoumi – I have been a booster of Kagayaki in the past. Then he spent all of 2021 without a winning record for any of the 6 tournaments. Since then he has spent a fair amount of time in Juryo, and hopefully he has his body ready to fight for Hatsu. His day 1 opponent, Okinoumi, continues to compete late in the top division late into his career. But it is true his trend line is headed for Juryo. They hold a 7-7 career record.

Chiyoshoma vs Tochinoshin – Every time I think Tochinoshin is too hurt to continue, he rallies and soldiers on. He’s been ranked in a narrow band between M7 and M9 for much of the last two years, and maybe that’s about where he fits with his current injuries. He’s not fared too badly against Chiyoshoma, who holds a 5-3 career lead against him.

Aoiyama vs Hiradoumi – I was surprised and impressed by Hiradoumi’s sumo in November, and I would love to see if he can come close to repeating his 10-5 performance. After a strong start, they gave him some mid-Maegashira ranked opponents in week 2, and he proceeded to beat quite a few of them. Like the other grizzled veterans on todays torikumi, Aoiyama is trending his way slowly but surely towards Juryo and an eventual exit from the dohyo. As part of the mid-30’s crowd, the accumulated injuries have significantly limited his sumo in the last 6 months. They have split their 2 prior matches.

Takanosho vs Endo – I could call this one “the battle of broken dreams”. Both of these guys are popular with the fans, but have been struggling with their sumo. In the past two years, Takanosho has had a pair of 11-4 tournaments, and whole lot of crummy basho. Today he finds himself at M9E, the rank he held in November where he ended up 7-8. His opponent, Endo, is… well, Endo.

Onosho vs Oho – Kyushu 2022 is the basho where Oho finally started to show us the kind of sumo we knew he was capable of. He faded quite a bit in the last week, winning just 3 of his last 7. But prior to that, he was a sumo machine, and I do hope we can see more of that this month. He has won both of his prior matches against Onosho, who is almost always out in front of his toes.

Ura vs Myogiryu – Ura turned in a disappointing 4-11 in Kyushu, and really looked injured most days. His fans hope that he was able to get himself in better condition, and is ready to fight with more speed and agility for Hatsu. Myogiryu won their only prior match, which was Osaka of 2017. Oh how much has changed since then.

Hokutofuji vs Nishikigi – What on earth is Nishikigi still doing in the top half of the banzuke? If you answered that he was kachi-koshi in November, you would be right. This guy had earned my respect, he’s not the most gifted rikishi, but it’s clear he puts his heart into his sumo, and he keeps working until he wins. I wonder if his opponent, Hokutofuji, will once again deliver “The most powerful make-koshi in all of sumo” this January (as he did in November).

Nishikifuji vs Ryuden – After winning the Jun-yusho in September from Maegashira 12W, the banzuke committee put him at Maegashira 6, to see if he could swim. He answered with a respectable 9-6 kachi-koshi, and now finds himself at Maegashira 5, in the thick of the roughest part of the schedule. He’s up against powerhouse Nishikifuji, who has turned in 10-5, 10-5, and 9-6 since his top division debut in July of last year.

Sadanoumi vs Midorifuji – Sadanoumi has struggled to gain rank, in spite of achieving winning scores. A 9-6 in September moved him from M5 to M4, and an 8-7 in November saw him left at the exact same Maegashira 4 West rank as he held in Kyushu. Such is the chaos of the banzuke right now. His opponent, Midorifuji, was over-promoted in September to M1W, but managed to only have a 7-8 losing record. Like Sadanoumi, an 8-7 result from Kyushu saw him receive the exact same M3W rank he held last tournament.

Abi vs Kotonowaka – Now we get to the bigger matches, we see the November yusho winner, Abi, attempt to start off with a win. he has a 1-1 record against Kotonowaka, who in the named ranks for the first time. Given how Kotonowaka has been improving, I expect this will be a long term home for him. If not now, later this year. They have split their 2 prior matches.

Kiribayama vs Tamawashi – As tough a fighter as Tamawashi is, Kiribayama holds a commanding 6-1 career record over him. The September yusho winner, Tamawashi could do no better than 6-9 in Kyushu, and was dropped from the named ranks down to M2W for Hatsu.

Mitakeumi vs Shodai – When the torikumi group set up this match, I am sure they were into their 3rd bottle of sake. “Why not have one de-frocked Ozeki fight the other on day one?”. It’s a damn jolly fine idea. I don’t relish either of these men’s current situation. But one thing I love about sumo is that for the most part it is a zero sum game. Win or get demoted. They have a 30 match career record that narrowly favors Mitakeumi 16-14.

Takayasu vs Daieisho – I want to see if Takayasu can start with another hot steak. His last two tournaments have seen him go 6-1 in week one, and should he do that again, we can look forward to double digits for the former, and maybe future, Ozeki. He has an 11-5 career advantage over Daieisho, who puts all of his faith into powered up “mega thrust” sumo that should leave his opponent, or himself, off-balance and out of the match.

Tobizaru vs Hoshoryu – Tobizaru’s first posting to the named ranks (Komusubi 2 East) in November was a bit more than he could handle, resulting in a 7-8 make-koshi. Back in the rank and file, he is perfectly placed to disrupt the hopes of a number of kanban rikishi, starting with Hoshoryu on day 1. He is fairly even with him (6-7) of the course of their career, with them trading the last 2 wins.

Wakatakakage vs Meisei – I am looking to see if Wakatakakage can avoid his traditional “cold start” and being Hatsu strong. I am certain he wants to put together another Ozeki bid, so he will have 10 or more wins for January as his goal. He has a 6-3 career record over Meisei, and has won 4 of the last 5.

Wakamotoharu vs Takakeisho – What a delightful match to end the day. Yotsu specialist Wakamotoharu against the lone surviving Ozeki, oshi specialist Takakeisho. It will likely come down to who gets the first hit.

Hatsu Basho Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Hoshoryu, Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotonowaka, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takayasu (高安), Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage

Hello all, welcome back to our honbasho coverage. I hope all of our readers had a great holiday season, and have settled into 2023. Before we get rolling with our traditional set of daily posts, it’s time for a bit of a preview.

When we last left the sumo world, we had shed yet another Ozeki, this time it was Shodai. He follows the path Mitakeumi took in November, where he finished at 6-9, giving up his one time chance to reclaim his Ozeki rank with 10 or more wins. Mitakeumi finds himself starting 2023 ranked at Maegashira 2East. Given how poorly Shodai has been fighting in the past year, I am expecting him to exit the named ranks for Osaka in March.

That leaves us with one Ozeki, none other than “Grand Tadpole” Takakeisho. In spite of his physical problems, he has managed to hang in there, and now finds himself once again alone in the Ozeki rank. He has turned in double digit records for the last three tournaments and, for January, he has to be considered the man to beat. His last yusho was in November of 2020, so I don’t think he would get a nod to ascend to Yokozuna, unless they want to count the two fairly strong jun-yusho in the last 6 months.

The lone Yokozuna, Terunofuji, remains kyujo for this tournament, as he works to recover from surgery to repair what is left of his knees. Simply put, he is on even less borrowed time now than when he conquered his way to the top rank in sumo in the summer of 2021.

Taken in summary, the ranks of sumotori at the top of the banzuke are dangerously thin right now. What the sumo world needs now are a handful of strong young men who are ready to climb the last rungs on sumo’s rank ladder and battle tor reach the top.

It makes perfect sense that there are 8 rikishi in the named ranks, 4 in Sekiwake and 4 in Komusubi for January. In true 2020’s style, some of them are young guys looking to try for higher rank, and a few grizzled veterans who had a great tournament in November.

At the top of this pile is Wakatakakage at Sekiwake 1E. He has long been hoped to be the next great star at the top of the ranks, but since his yusho in Osaka last year, he has struggled to twice for kachi-koshi, and is not nearly consistent enough to secure or hold on to an Ozeki rank.

He is followed by Hoshoryu, who had a great record in November at 11-4, but is likewise struggling to make his 8 most tournaments. The chances of his putting together three consecutive double digit basho seem slim right now.

Then there is the rather interesting case of dear old Takayasu. Formerly and Ozeki who lost his rank due to a series of ugly injuries, he has had two back to back double digit tournaments at 11-4 and 12-3, both of them earning him jun-yusho. In fact he has had three double digit results, and three jun-yusho in the past year. Odd as it may seem, he could be the next man to receive a promotion to Ozeki. Frankly I would be delighted.

In Komusubi, we have Kiribayama, Kotonowaka, Meisei and Wakamotoharu. None of them are ready to try for Ozeki yet, but I note with interest that Wakamotoharu has quietly been putting together excellent results for the past year, climbing the banzuke. His last two tournaments are both 10-5, and this is his first posting to the named ranks. I would love to see him do well this January.

A special mention needs to go to Abi, who took the Emperor’s Cup home in November, with at 12-3 yusho that featured a playoff. Given the log-jam in upper Maegashira, the best he could manage was M3E, but I think we will see him in the named ranks soon.

The 15 day Hatsu basho starts tonight, US time. I know I am eager for a return to sumo!