Kyushu Day 2 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aki Basho 2022, Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), 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), Terutsuyoshi, Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , , ,

I was satisfied with the action day 1, and if I am being honest, I think the match ups for day 2 are a notch better than we had for shonichi. Today may be contrasts day, as I see more than a couple clashes of sumo styles and approaches on the torikumi. Highlights for me are

  • Chiyoshoma vs Abi – forward power vs hit and shift
  • Wakamotoharu vs Hokutofuji – patient, stead sumo vs big opening move and rapid dispatch of any opponent
  • Ura vs Daieisho – Grab-n-tug sumo vs all power forward mega-thrust attacks
  • Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – rising stars battle for dominance
  • Takayasu vs Shodai – wild man sumo vs the wall of daikon

What We Are Watching Day 2

Chiyomaru vs Hiradoumi – Today’s Juryo visitor is none other than his mighty roundness, Chiyomaru. He won his opening day match against Churanoumi. Ranked at Juryo 1 West, a simple kachi-koshi should be enough to return him to the top division in January. Hiradoumi took their only prior match, during Aki. Both start the day 1-0.

Kagayaki vs Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi really needs to rally soon. To me he looks like he is still hurt, and as such will be easy meat for Kagayaki, who holds a 7-3 career record, and has 50 kg in bulk, and 30 cm in height on Terutsuyoshi. Ranked at just Maegashira 16E, a make-koshi would likely send him back to Juryo for Hatsu.

Ichiyamamoto vs Atamifuji – After an opening day loss, Atamifuji will look for his first win in his first ever match against Ichiyamamoto. The challenge being that Ichiyamamoto puts a lot of power into his double arm thrusting attack, and tends to be at maximum range when he starts his run. This robs anyone who needs a hand hold to fight of even the smallest chance to get into the battle. Atamifuji does has a 30 kg size advantage, maybe it will come in handy today.

Azumaryu vs Oho – Both men start the day 0-1, and are looking for their first win. Oho continues to struggle with consistency in his sumo, and so it’s tough to know if he will be dialed into his sumo today or not. They have four prior career matches, that have split evenly 2-2.

Kotoeko vs Chiyotairyu – Its Sadogatake vs Kokonoe on the clay! To me, Chiyotairyu did not look sharp day one. I worry he’s going to continue the poor performance that has been plaguing him since mid 2021. I suspect an injury is to blame. The two are nearly even at 8-7 career wins.

Okinoumi vs Kotoshoho – Also in the ranks of “looking not very genki”, is Okinoumi. Not that I fault him. At 37 years old, he’s close to the point where his body may be telling him it’s time to consider hanging up the mawashi and putting that kabu to use. Kotoshoho had an opening day win, but is still tuning up to full honbasho power.

Aoiyama vs Onosho – Two rikishi with large amounts of forward power going head to head, this could be fast and ugly. It will come down to if Onosho is in a mood to keep his balance under control, and his feet in a workable position. Aoiyama did not show much power on day one, and may still be nursing his injury from this summer.

Chiyoshoma vs Abi – I admit I want to see Abi wreck the lower / middle ranks this November. I think he got the rank he got by missing September, but a brutal hammering will do the most to put him back near the named ranks, where I think he belongs. Today might be a good day for Chiyoshoma to employ liberal amounts of lateral sumo.

Takarafuji vs Takanosho – The news for Takarafuji is not good. After an opening day loss where it looked to me like his feet got out of cadence, he gets to face Takanosho, who he has only beaten twice in 9 attempts. Now in his mid-thirties, I add him into the group of rikishi who are really suffering the effects of accumulated injuries.

Tochinoshin vs Myogiryu – Tochinoshin is also in this age group, but seems to have found a way to maintain some level of sumo power, in spite of a knee that is little more than gristle, curry and scraps of old newspapers. He and Myogiryu had a 32 match career record, with Myogiryu leading 18-14.

Nishikigi vs Endo – Both men start the day 0-1, and Endo could really use a win to keep his score closer to the midline. The good news is that Nishikigi has never beaten Endo (0-7), so this might be a good pickup for Endo.

Ryuden vs Nishikifuji – This has my attention as potentially a big fight to start the second half of action. Both won their opening day fights, and look fairly genki on shonichi. The only prior match was May while both were ranked in Juryo, and it went to Nishikifuji.

Wakamotoharu vs Hokutofuji – I would love to see Wakamotoharu have another match where he is careful, patient and calmly puts together a winning yorikiri. Of course, this is nearly the opposite of the way that Hokutofuji fights. I expect him to come in with a fast combo attack and an early nodowa. If he can get his favorite combo to pay off, Wakamotoharu is going to have his hands full. Hokutofuji leads the series 2-1.

Sadanoumi vs Midorifuji – Sadanoumi surprised Hokutofuji on day one, and I give him even chances of doing it again today against Midorifuji. The trick for Sadanoumi is to get his hands on Midorifuji before the Isegahama man can get his feet set and begin his offense. They have split their 2 prior matches.

Tobizaru vs Meisei – Sumo’s flying monkey moves from winning against Shodai to fighting Meisei. Meisei lost his opening day match, but has a 6-2 career record against Tobizaru. The reason why that may not matter much is that Tobizaru has improved quite a bit over the past few months, and will be tough for Meisei to maintain any kind of hold.

Ura vs Daieisho – Both lost on day 1, but Ura seemed to already be into his sumo in his loss against Kiribayama, while Daieisho looked ill prepared for this fight with Takakeisho. These two are evenly balanced across their careers with Daieisho having a narrow 5-4 lead. Daieisho will look to open up his mega-thrust attack path, and Ura will be looking for an errant body part to grab and tug.

Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – I am eager to see at what point Wakatakakage breaks out of his “cold start” routine and settles down to some powerful sumo. I note with amusement they have him fighting Kiribayama on day two, and he holds a 7-4 career advantage. A great fight of two of sumo’s rising stars.

Ichinojo vs Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi loves to fight Ichinojo most days. He holds a 15-7 career advantage over the Boulder, and has won 3 of their 4 matches so far this year. Mitakeumi needs the win to continue his drive to return to Ozeki, but Ichinojo looked really sharp in his day 1 win against Tamawashi.

Tamawashi vs Hoshoryu – If I had to guess, Tamawashi may have some frustrations from his day 1 match with Ichinojo to work out. Probably against Hoshoryu’s face, or neck. Hoshoryu is no easy mark right now, and in fact has a narrow 4-3 career lead against Tamawashi. This could be a big, quick match.

Takakeisho vs Kotonowaka – I harbor hopes that Takakeisho, the Grand Tadpole, will eject Kotonowaka like a damaged cassette tape stuck in an ancient Toyota Celica for 20 years. It’s been a while since we saw some solid wave-action, so here’s to hoping he can deliver that today.

Takayasu vs Shodai – I really don’t want to see Shodai as an Ozekiwake in January, so I hope he can find and reactivate his good sumo mode. He’s got a fairly fresh copy of Takayasu as challenger today, and that won’t be easy for him. He does hold a 17-9 career advantage, so it may come down to Takayasu keeping his balance and his feet during his habitual big opening forearm strike.

Lower Division Highlights: Kyushu 2022, Day 1

Andy Enho, Juryo (十両), Kyushu Basho 2022, Makushita (幕下), Sandanme

That is a long, hideous title. I’ll think of something better as the basho rolls on. This series of posts is for those who are sick of the “hawt mess” in sanyaku. I’ll just say that sumo deserves an Ozeki who doesn’t tuck-tail and run from Tobizaru. That was utter capitulation. I’m looking forward to reading Bruce’s take on it. Anyway, as I’ve done in the last few tournaments, I’d like to look at the developing talent in the lower divisions. Lately, the recruiting classes have been small so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to just focus on Jonokuchi as I had been doing, so I thought I’d provide some updates across the lower divisions.

Juryo

Josh kicked things off with a great tournament preview for all of the guys in the second division. In an effort to keep that going, let’s track a few of the highlight bouts:

Tsurugisho started things off with a good ‘ole slap to the face (harite) of Bushozan but he quickly found himself in danger as Bushozan drove forward, forcing Tsurugisho to the edge. At the edge, Tsurugisho found leverage along the tawara and slapped Bushozan down. They called it a kotenage but I found it could have been more likely a katasukashi. (Oooo, look at you, Mr. FancyPants, challenging the kimarite!)

Hidenoumi demonstrated power, endurance, and superior position as he eventually forced Mitoryu out over the bales. Mitoryu found himself attacking Hidenoumi from above which immediately put him on the defensive. While Hidenoumi found himself a win, stablemate Kinbozan wasn’t quite so fortunate. Kotokuzan roughed him up pretty good before winning with a well executed pull-down. Hokuseiho showed a bit of patience, overpowering Chiyonokuni. Chiyonokuni’s gameplan was to be as wild and mobile and disruptive as possible but Hokuseiho wore him down; Chiyonokuni made the first mistake by stepping out.

The best bout, in my humble opinion, was Enho’s shitatedashinage win over Kaisho. First of all, I love to see Enho take someone on head-to-head, fighting big man sumo. He went right at Kaisho and didn’t get discouraged when his initial pull-down attempt failed. He re-engaged but as he couldn’t quite muster the strength to drive Kaisho back, he instead frustrated him with a solid left-hand belt grip which he used to pull down. Kaisho barely maintained his balance and tried to free himself from the pixie’s grasp. But as he stood tall to wrench Enho’s arm free, Enho drove forward forcing Kaisho to the bales. Enho then finished him off with a last, quick, hard pull on the mawashi.

Schedulers pitted the two Juryo division rookies, Tsushimanada and Roga, against each other on Day 1. Tsushimanada was raring to go and launched out at his opponent. Roga countered by slowing things down and forcing a belt battle. However, Tsushimanada proved too powerful today as he pivoted and threw Roga into the waiting gyoji. I’m eager to see this rivalry take off. Let’s hope both men have good tournaments and work their way up the banzuke in 2023.

Makushita

The big story in Makushita for this tournament will again be Asanoyama. He came just short of the division title in the last tournament but his otherwise dominant performance catapulted him into the Makushita joi, where his competition will be the most fierce since his return from suspension. Here, he’s going to face a potpourri of fading former top division wrestlers, borderline sekitori, and more recent hopefuls. Last night he took his first step to likely re-promotion by cautiously wrapping up Daiseiryu and walking him back over the bales. Slow and steady.

Ishizaki weathered Tochimaru’s tsuppari storm and won with a quick shift and thrust down at the edge. Up-and-comer Hayatefuji had a strong showing against Makuuchi veteran Akiseyama. He displayed excellent speed and power but Akiseyama’s wiles turned the tables on the youngster, pivoting at the edge for a hard fought win. Fujitoshi used his head, literally, to knock out Nabatame. Nabatame met Fujitoshi’s fiery tachiai head on, but when the crown of Fujitoshi’s head met Nabatame’s jaw the Futagoyama youngster crumpled to the dohyo. We’ll see if he has to go kyujo.

Setonoumi won his first bout against Kainoshima. Readers may remember Setonoumi from his lower division yusho as he came back from a neck injury. He’s now reached his highest-ever rank at Makushita 26. With the hay-makers he was throwing last night, he’s aiming higher. He charged out at Kainoshima from the word, “jump,” with aggressive harite and a high-energy, free-wheeling oshi-tsuki style.

Nihonyanagi pancaked Miyagi and Mukainakano greeted Wakatakamoto with similar treatment. Both Miyagi and Wakatakamoto bounced back up and neither appeared to be injured despite rather scary falls. Lastly, Mudoho met his match in Okinofuji. Okinofuji was too big and powerful to drive back so Mudoho tried a poorly executed pull/throw-thing at the edge. Yeah, I’m not too clear on what he was doing, and it seemed neither was he. When he ended up with his back to Okinofuji, it was over in the most ignominious way possible, okuridashi.

Sandanme

After 26 years, Dairaido is still plugging away and finding wins. Today he powered his way to a win over Ryutsukasa…who was born a year after Dairaido joined the sumo world. Takeoka chased Ishii around the ring, forcing the Miyagino-beya hopeful out. Hitoshi started off with a quick, dominating win over Ebisumaru. I can’t help but reminisce whenever I see Ebisumaru’s name about the great times I had in Ebisu in Tokyo. And shrimp. Especially the Cajun shrimp I used to get in New Orleans when we’d visit from Biloxi, Mississippi. But I digress… Hitoshi will find his way up the banzuke quickly. Ishii needs a bit of a rethink as his strategy against Takeoka looked more like a retreat, from the beginning.

Jonidan

Our Jonokuchi yusho winner, Otani, started Kyushu off with a win as Terutaka’s henka attempt went awry. I don’t think Terutaka’s heart was really in the henka but he sure didn’t want to take Otani head-on. That’s like playing chicken with a dump truck — whose driver’s blind. Anyway, Otani’s my favorite for the Jonidan yusho.

Jonokuchi

This tournament, there are two wrestlers making their debuts but the big story is the return of Kyokutaisei from injury. Newcomers may not know him but while he’s had a few appearances in the top division, he’s really been a solid Juryo mainstay for a good six years. Needless to say, he put away the outmatched Fujinonami with 1 and 1/2 good shoves. Of the two debutantes, Takerufuji will hope to challenge Kyokutaisei for the Jonokuchi yusho. His Nihon University pedigree gave zero f***s about his opponent, the hapless Higohikari, tossing him unceremoniously off the dohyo. The eventual highlight bout between Kyokutaisei and Takerufuji will likely be all she wrote for this yusho race, hence the scope creep for my posts this tournament.

Why does Higohikari never have a chonmage? He always wears his hair in the free, zambara-style. He debuted nearly 20 years ago and his official Kyokai profile shows a picture of him with a chonmage. If anyone knows, feel free to share in the comments. It’s just one of those curiosities that I don’t seem to find an answer for.

Kyushu Day 1 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aki Basho 2022, Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), 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), Terutsuyoshi, Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) ,

A fair amount of ring rust on display here today, as there were a flurry of mattas called. Folks could not quite get the match timing right, and we saw multiple fights struggle to start. The sumo was good for opening day, and I think most of the rikishi fought well. I was specifically happy to see Mitakeumi come out strong, focused and finally back in fighting form. He has a tough November ahead of him, I wish him the best.

It was a treat to see a strong, focused Takayasu bring some of his best sumo out today. I know that by week two he will be struggling to compete through his injuries, but it’s nice to see that guy deliver a strong performance. Coupled with Wakatakakage’s tendency to “cold start”, it made for some dominant sumo today. Fans like to talk about Wakatakakage as being ready for higher rank, and his sumo certainly seems about ready to support that. But if that man can resolve his cold start issues, I think he could make it to Yokozuna.

Highlight Matches

Tohakuryu defeats Terutsuyoshi – Sorry fans, that was a terrible match. Terutsuyoshi still looks completely off of his sumo, and I am going to guess whatever injury has been behind his three straight make-koshi is still in effect. A matta, and then an immediate hatakikomi on the second attempt. Worse yet, Terutsuyoshi looks tentative, lethargic and unprepared. Tohakuryu returns to Juryo 1-0.

Hiradoumi defeats Atamifuji – Another sloppy tachiai, that I think should have been a matta, when Hiradoumi caught Atamifuji napping or thinking about something else. From there, Atamifuji tried to get hand placement, but found himself being dominated by Hiradoumi, who took 4 steps and tossed him over the east side. Hiradoumi starts 1-0.

Kagayaki defeats Azumaryu – Kagayaki stayed focus, and applied pressure inside well. But his balance was off a bit, and he was too far forward. Fortunately for him, Azumaryu was not really ready to defend, and he was quickly walked out. Kagayaki at 1-0.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Oho – Oho could not find a way to keep his footing against Ichiyamamoto’s double arm attack. Rather than attempting to disrupt Ichiyamamoto’s offense, Oho decided to try some offense of his own, which went nowhere. Oho was backed up and shoved out of the ring to give Ichiyamamoto an opening day win, advancing to 1-0.

Kotoeko defeats Okinoumi – Okinoumi repeatedly tried to get some kind of grip on Kotoeko, but each time his hands found no purchase. Kotoeko deftly kept Okinoumi from setting his feet, and danced him about until Kotoeko’s hands and body were set up for a throw. The resulting kotenage rolled Okinoumi to the clay, and Kotoeko improves to 1-0.

Kotoshoho defeats Chiyotairyu – Surprising change of pace from Chiyotairyu, who did not launch off the shikiri-sen straight into an overwhelming pushing attack. He gave Kotoshoho the early advantage, but got a clear path inside and went to work. His attacks were moving Kotoshoho back, but as is frequently the case with Chiyotairyu, he was too far forward and ate a tsukiotoshi at the edge of the ring. Kotoshoho picks up an opening day win, and is 1-0.

Onosho defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma tried an opening face slap, which landed, but left him standing nearly upright, and his chest wide open. Onosho knew just what to do with that, grappled Chiyoshoma, and ran him over the edge of the ring. Onosho 1-0 to start Kyushu.

Abi defeats Aoiyama – If Abi is healthy, he’s going to do a lot of damage ranked this low. It also helps in today’s match that Aoiyama is a fraction of his former power, and immediately comes under Abi’s double arm thrusing attack. Aoiyama can’t hold his footing, and is quickly moved out and back. Nice move by Abi to keep Aoiyama from falling over the side of the dohyo, he’s 1-0.

Takanosho defeats Tochinoshin – Not the kind of match that Tochinoshin wanted for his first day on the clay this month. He made a mistake at the open by trying to pull, but seized the initiative away from Takanosho by brute power three steps later. But as Tochinoshin was setting up the win, his heel slid out and into the fine sand (janome) around the outside of the bales. A monoii ensued, and reversed the gyoji’s decision, giving Takanosho at 1-0 start to Kyushu.

Myogiryu defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji gets completely disrupted, and it almost looked like his upper and lower body were out of sync. Myogiryu stayed focused, and kept his balance, sending Takarafuji out by okuritaoshi. Myogiryu improves to 1-0.

Ryuden defeats Endo – Endo’s poor results continue in November. Ryuden gets him turned to the side, and never lets his recover balance or position. Ryuden’s lower back (a chronic worry for him) seems to be ok right now, so he remained low and stable, sending Endo out by yorikiri. Ryuden at 1-0.

Nishikifuji defeats Nishikigi – Nishikigi is easy to anticipate, he will always work to get some kind of grip as his first, second and third moves. Nishikifuji accounted for this, and implemented a measured oshi-zumo phase to start the match, opening up Nishikigi’s chest. He followed that up with a double inside grip, and suddenly Nishikigi was in trouble. Two steps later, he was out, and Nishikifuji took the win to improve to 1-0.

Sadanoumi defeats Hokutofuji – For the first time in six attempts, Sadanoumi has been able to win over Hokutofuji. Sadanoumi’s speed played a large role in his win, coupled with Hokutofuji looking a bit rusty in his sumo. Sadanoumi starts Kyushu 1-0.

Wakamotoharu defeats Midorifuji – Midorifuji could not prevent Wakamotoharu from getting his preferred grip. What strikes me about watching Wakamotoharu is that he tends to show quite a bit of patience, and he has the defensive moves programmed into his lower body to give him the time to take his time. Once he set up grip, he wore Midorifuji down a piece at a time, finally walking Midorifuji out once he was ready. Wakamotoharu starts 1-0.

Kiribayama defeats Ura – Really nice escape move by Kiribayama to set up the katasukashi. Ura opened strong, and had the early advantage, choosing an armpit attack at first, but failed to cover to his left. Kiribayama took that opening and converted it to a win, he improves to 1-0.

Ichinojo defeats Tamawashi – Ichinojo does not let the media noise distract him today. Tamawashi attacked very well, but once it was clear that Ichinojo was not going to go soft at the first sign of trouble, you knew where this one was going. Ichinojo keeps in mind that he is enormous, and powers his bulk into position and shoves Tamawashi out. Snorlax win takes Ichinojo to 1-0.

Mitakeumi defeats Meisei – No ring rust on Mitakeumi today. He needs 10 wins, and he is not letting a single opportunity go to waste, it seems. He gets inside and underneath Meisei, and relentlessly drives forward. A quick oshidashi win, and the Ozekiwake now needs 9 more, as he is 1-0.

Hoshoryu defeats Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka was too high at the tachiai, and I was surprised that Hoshoryu could not convert that mistake more quickly. He let Kotonowaka back him up, and then charge ahead to win. Clever move by Hoshoryu, as Kotonowaka drove forward, Hoshoryu twisted to his right, and thrust Kotonowaka down. Kotonowaka landed a moment before Hoshoryu did (confirmed by monoii), and Hoshoryu starts November 1-0.

Takayasu defeats Wakatakakage – I mentioned that Takayasu has to fight through his accumulated injuries. This shows up prominently in the fact that his early matches in a basho tend to be better, as he is more genki at the start. The man trains like a maniac, but there’s only so much you can do with that much damage. Today, Wakatakakage got a full power Takayasu fight, featuring the forearm strike to the chin, focused tsuppari to the chest, and relentless drive. I compliment Wakatakakage that he absorbed it well, until a Takayasu caught him shifting his feet, and blasted him across of the east side bales. Takayasu starts 1-0.

Tobizaru defeats Shodai – Good defense at the tachiai from Shodai, but he allowed Tobizaru to get both hands inside by the third step, and was in real trouble. Shodai managed to break contact, but could not contend with Tobizaru’s high agility sumo. At the moment Shodai needed to deploy the “Wall of Daikon”, Tobizaru hit him with a volley to the face, and that put the Ozeki out. Tobizaru improves to 1-0.

Takakeisho defeats Daieisho – Daieisho gave it everything he could muster, but could not overcome Takakeisho’s solid defense. Takakeisho waited for his chance, then counter-attacked with considerable force, sending Daieisho airborne and out. Takakeisho starts 1-0.

Kyushu Day 1 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aki Basho 2022, Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), 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), Terutsuyoshi, Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , ,

Welcome readers of Tachiai to the daily coverage for Kyushu 2022. It’s the final tournament of the year, and we are looking forward to some rowdy sumo action from western Japan. With Terunofuji out, we declare this to be a “Nokazuna” tournament, and it’s time for the Ozeki to step up and battle for the cup. I have confidence that Takakeisho will do his part, but worries that Shodai will continue to fade. With 9 men in the named ranks, the competition for the cup may be intense.

Do expect a number of rikishi to show up day one with “ring rust”, not quite ready for honbasho level competition. Act one, the first three days of the tournament, is all about getting everyone up to full power and finding out who is hot, and who is not. On to the sumo!

What We Are Watching Day 1

Terutsuyoshi vs Tohakuryu – With the Yokozuna out, we will be getting regular vistors from Juryo. Today it’s the top man on the Juryo banzuke, Tohakuryu. After entering sumo with a Sandanme 100 tsukidashi posting in May of 2019, he has been on a steady climb. A simple 8 wins this November will see him in the top division to start the new year. He’s up against an ailing Terutsuyoshi, who has had only one kachi-koshi in the last year. Tohakuryu won their only prior match, last tournament.

Hiradoumi vs Atamifuji – Welcome to the top division, Atamifuji. Your first match is against a fellow you have not been able to beat in 3 attempts: Hiradoumi. Hiradoumi tends to grab a solid hold and walk Atamifuji out. Maybe Atamifuji has a extra portion of genki to power his debut match, and can rack up his first ever win against Hiradoumi.

Kagayaki vs Azumaryu – Once, I was a Kagayaki fan. But he has been fading out for some time. Maybe some performance limiting injury took place that we never learned about? But it’s tough to watch him struggle now, and he has not had a strong performance in the top division in two years. Given the way the banzuke played out, a 9-6 from Juryo 9 in September was enough to put him back in Makuuchi. Good luck against Azumaryu, whom he holds an 8-3 career record against.

Ichiyamamoto vs Oho – Making it to the top division is quite an accomplishment, but most sumo fans wondered if Oho was going to end up better than a rikishi relegated to the bottom third of the top division. I am starting to think that this is the best he is going to be able to do, turning in alternating kachi and make-koshi records and treading water. He’s up against Abi clone Ichiyamamoto today, and holds a narrow 4-3 career advantage.

Kotoeko vs Okinoumi – This has potential to be a good match, with Okinoumi able to produce some strong, stable sumo up against Kotoeko’s agility and power. Okinoumi has a 5-3 career advantage, with each man winning one of their two prior bouts this year.

Chiyotairyu vs Kotoshoho – It’s always a guess of just which version of Chiyotairyu is going to show up. In the past 2 years, he’s only had 2 kachi-koshi, and is clearly struggling at this point. He has received some remarkable banzuke luck, ahd has hovered around the double digit Maegashira ranks for most of those past 2 years in spite of his dismal record. Kotoshoho has had 3 consecutive make-koshi following his debut 9-6, and is either too hurt to fight well, or is really not much better than the top end of Juryo. He has a 4-2 career advantage over Chiyotairyu.

Onosho vs Chiyoshoma – If Onosho follows his typical pattern, he has one more make-koshi in him before turning in a blistering 10-5. He’s close to even (5-6) against Chiyoshoma, so it will come down to how much ring rust Onosho brings to the clay today. My guess is that he needs to bring a can of WD-40.

Aoiyama vs Abi – Maybe my favorite match of the first half, we get to see if Abi is recovered from the injury that saw him benched in September. What a way to start, against the fleshy man-mountain that is Aoiyama. Aoiyama has turned in consecutive 6-9 losses, but has managed to stay in the middle third of the Maegashira group. This should be a battle of long arms, and powerful thrusting attacks.

Takanosho vs Tochinoshin – After holding down Sekiwake for 4 consecutive tournaments in 2020-2021, Takanosho has been struggling quite a bit, and went kyujo in July after just a single win, punting him far down the banzuke. I expected him to savage the rikishi at this level, but instead could only muster a tepid 8-7 kachi-koshi. He’s up against the brutally strong Tochinoshin, and has beaten him 5 times in their past 6 meetings.

Takarafuji vs Myogiryu – More amazing banzuke luck on display, as Takarafuji had a dismal 5-10 finish to Aki, yet only dropped from Maegashira 5 to Maegashira 8. Clearly he was nursing some injury, and fans of his “defend and extend” brand of sumo hope he is healthy and strong for this month’s tournament in Kyushu. Myogiryu has looked good in training leading up to the tournament, and has a 15-9 career advantage against Takarafuji.

Endo vs Ryuden – Endo has had a dismal year, with just a single kachi-koshi in Osaka to his name. He has a chance to start Kyushu with a win, given his 5-1 career advantage over Ryuden. Ryuden for his part had a blistering 11-4 jun-yusho in September to cap off his climb back to the top division following his suspension in March of 2021. This has the makings of a solid fight.

Nishikigi vs Nishikifuji – Its a Nishiki battle to start off the second half, and I approve. These two have a 6 match history, which is all focused on their time in Juryo, and favors the larger and heavier Nishikigi 4-2. All most all of their matches end by yorikiri, so it’s battle hugs on tap today.

Hokutofuji vs Sadanoumi – Hokutofuji had a brilliant 10-5 run in September that ended with a worrying 1-4 streak. At one point, he was on the leaderboard, but faded into the final act. It was his first kachi-koshi since March where he finished Osaka 9-6. For a highly capable rikishi who was rightfully considered at one time to be a future san’yaku mainstay, it’s clear he has been struggling. He gets Sadanoumi for day 1, and he has a sterling 5-0 record against Sir Speedy.

Wakamotoharu vs Midorifuji – Which is more noteworthy? Midorifuji at Maegashira 3 after turning in a 7-8 at Maegashira 1 last time? Or the fact that Wakamotoharu has been steadily, and quietly climbing his way up the banzuke for the past year. Both of these guys are looking strong, and healthy right now. Their even 1-1 record could portend a nice battle in the second half.

Ura vs Kiribayama – I really like Ura at this rank. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a multi-tournament Komusubi, but M3 is perfect for him. He’s good enough that he can hold his own here, but with enough inventiveness that he is a nearly perfect spoiler for anyone trying to put together a double digit tournament. Sort of the role that Yoshikaze used to fill. He fights Kiribayama, and they have a 2-2 career record. with Kiribayama taking the last two in a row.

Tamawashi vs Ichinojo – Battle of the iron man vs the Snorlax, and my money is on Tamawashi. Right now Ichinojo has some kind of quasi-scandal in the press, and he’s just the kind of guy who would let something like that distract him. Over their career, Ichinojo holds a 11-9 advantage, so he can beat Tamawashi, but more than possibly any other rikishi in the tournament, he lets himself lose focus and that degrades his sumo.

Meisei vs Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi has a tall hill to climb. He needs 10 wins to regain Ozeki. We know that he is capable of doing it, if his body, his mind and his sumo align. He’s had 3 yusho, hand is capable of 13 wins in a single tournament. I think this all comes down to his body, as he has clearly been nursing some injury that robbed him of his performance. He holds a 8-3 career lead over Meisei.

Kotonowaka vs Hoshoryu – What could be a raucous battle of the up and coming rikishi, I am looking forward to this match. Kotonowaka would love to find his way into the named ranks, but right now the named ranks are bulging with excellent talent. There are 4 Komusubi and 3 Sekiwake, and none of them are an easy mark. He can test his mettle against Hoshoryu today, though Hoshoryu holds a 6-3 career advantage, and has won every match since 2020.

Wakatakakage vs Takayasu – Wakatakakage needs double digits this time out, and with the Yokozuna in recovery mode, he’s got a decent chance. His opponent today, Takayasu, is a fierce fighter, but his body can’t quite support the sumo he wants to do. I chalk it up to accumulated injuries, and he has had some whoppers. Wakatakakage holds a 6-3 advantage on the clay, so I expect Takayasu to open big, off balance, and get a quick escort to the exit.

Tobizaru vs Shodai – Shodai is kadoban, and needs 8 wins to not follow Mitakeumi down the road to Ozeki-wake for Hatsu. His sumo has been a mess this year, and I do wish he would just decide to use his best techniques every time. Sure, that means they get figured out, but go out large sir, with a boom and a crash, not a whimper. He’s got Tobizaru on day 1, who has only beaten Shodai one in 5 attempts.

Takakeisho vs Daieisho – To match of the days are two sumo friends slugging it out. If Takakeisho is in good health, he could win this tournament, but that health has seemed to ellude him for most of this year. He has a 14-6 career advantage on the clay against Daieisho, and given their sumo styles, look for some big forward power at the start, and ramping up from there until someone goes out.