Former Komusubi Ms5 Ryuden (6-0) continued his march toward a second-straight Makushita yusho with a second-straight victory over Ms30 Akiseyama (5-1). Only one man still stands in his way: former collegiate star Ms35 Nishikawa (6-0).
At least 4 slots should be open in Juryo due to the absences of Asanoyama, Chiyonoo, and Shiden, and the all-but-certain demotion of J13 Chiyoarashi (2-9). One will go to Ryuden. Ms2w Shimazuumi (4-2) clinched a salaried debut by blowing away J13 Kotoyusho; he can finish no worse than 3rd in the promotion queue. Ms3e Takakento (3-3) will have his fate decided tomorrow when he visits Juryo to take on Hiradoumi. Ms1w Atamifuji (3-3) will be first or second in line with a win, but eliminated with a loss. Ms4w Tochimaru (4-2) probably needs help from others, although a win would go a long way to help his chances, while Ms4e Kairyu (3-3) must win and hope for losses by others. If none of Atamifuji, Takakento and Kairyu finish with a winning record, a promotion may happen from below the “invisible line” separating Ms1-Ms5 from the lower Makushita ranks.
Wow, day 12 already? We have 4 matches left in this basho, and some folks are probably really feeling the heat now. It’s going to be a grind right up until they toss the gyoji in the closing ceremonies, and I would not be the least bit surprised to see them hold Mitakeumi vs Terunofuji until the final on day 15. This crew does like to end things with a “Brawl to decide it all”.
With Mitakeumi entering day 12 at 10-1, the somewhat whimsicale discussion at the start of this basho about a Ozeki promotion is now quite real. For Mitakeumi to finish with a 12-3 record only requires him to win 2 of his last 4 match. A quite plausible outcome. We know that the most he can finish with is 14-1, but I do have my doubts that he can make that happen, though I will be delighted if he does. I know the general guideline is 33 wins over 3 basho, but the Kyokai can mint a new Ozeki on any score it chooses. I think I am almost more interested to see how this story turns out then even the yusho race.
Hatsu Leaderboard
Leaders: Terunofuji, Mitakeumi Hunt Group: Abi Chasers: Takarafuji, Kotonowaka, Kotoeko
4 matches remain
What We Are Watching Day 12
Kagayaki vs Kaisei – Hey, look who is back! It’s Kagayaki, and he seems to have his sumo back in working order. He visits from Juryo to fill the banzuke gap, bringing his 7-4 record with him. If he manages to get his 8th win, his J1E ranking means he’s back in the top division after only 1 basho. I wonder if he will pick up a fusensho today, as Kaisei’s ankle that took damage day 11 may result in another kyujo.
Wakamotoharu vs Kotoeko – Kotoeko has 8 wins, and is kachi-koshi. I would never seriously tell anyone to go ahead and lose matches, but I hope that Kotoeko does not run up the score. He got severely pounded in Kyushu, and I hope he decides to work his way up the ranks at a leisurely pace. He shares a 1-1 record with Wakamotoharu, who could use 2 more wins to reach his 8.
Chiyomaru vs Oho – I like this matchup for a bunch of reasons. First, its new. Oho and Chiyomaru have never fought before, and the mechanical challenges that Chiyomaru presents will be most amusing to watch Oho try to debug. Second, if Oho can pull off a win, he’s kachi-koshi in his debut tournament, and that would be a great thing.
Ishiura vs Ichiyamamoto – This is the kind of match that the schedulers do seem to enjoy. An Ishiura win would give him kachi-koshi at the same time it would be a make-koshi for Ichiyamamoto. The big problem is that Ishiura has never won against Ichiyamamoto. That being said, I think this is some of the best sumo from Ishiura in a long time, and if there was a basho where he may be genki enough to pull this off, it’s right now.
Tsurugisho vs Chiyotairyu – Battle of the mega-fauna, and not only that, it’s a mini-Darwin! The loser is make-koshi, and the winner gets to try to limp his way toward 7-7 on day 15. Both of them are well below their abilities right now due to some kind of injury, and this could in fact be painful. 5-3 career lead to Chiyotairyu, but that may not count for much given the condition these two are in.
Sadanoumi vs Kotonowaka – Sadanoumi can seal his 8th win, and a winning record if he can defeat Kotonowaka today. He has yet to do that (ever) in 2 tries, so today will indeed be a special day if he can. Sadanoumi has the advantage of speed and mobility, and Kotonowaka size and power.
Aoiyama vs Terutsuyoshi – Its time for a good old fashioned funnel match. Terutsuyoshi has a 6-3 career record over Aoiyama, and has generally been fighting well. Aoiyama can muster some fight on some days, and I just hope today is one of those days. If Terutsuyoshi should take this match, they will both end the day at 6-6 and be once again in the middle of the funnel.
Chiyonokuni vs Tochinoshin – Its time to throw Tochinoshin a life line. We give you a fairly one sided match. Even without being banged up from stem to stern, Chiyonokuni had a 2-8 career deficit against Tochinoshin. The man is just too massive to really feel much effect from Chiyonokuni’s hit-and-move sumo style. With Tochinoshin at 5-6, he really could use a win today.
Okinoumi vs Akua – Another battle of the make-koshi clan. I wonder what Akua’s “survival number” would be from Maegashira 10. I would guess 4? Maybe lksumo could help us out at some point with some of his prognostication. I am pretty sure Okinoumi is not too worried about appearing quite a bit lower on the banzuke in March, as he traditionally lofts higher and then drops down to begin again. Like some large, fish-fueled Sisyphus. This is actually a first ever match between these two.
Tamawashi vs Hoshoryu – Another fine mini-Darwin, this time the winner gets a bright, shiny kachi-koshi and the loser gets to go home and think again. Tamawashi is on a bit of a week 2 fade, so I wonder about his chances against Hoshoryu who has won 4 of his last 5.
Ura vs Yutakayama – Say, let’s keep Ura in the funnel, and kick Yutakayama into make-koshi at the same time. Or at least that may be the goal here. Yutakayama is having a dismal Hatsu, right now one loss away from make-koshi. Ura has been hit or miss, and can only manage a 5-6 record so far. This is his highest ever rank, and he may need to spend some time fighting the higher rankers to get his sumo dialed in. But I give him a distinct advantage today.
Takarafuji vs Ichinojo – Oh delightful! Two long serving top division men who excel at standing in once place emitting great bounding waves of strength. Who will lose patience first, or will this be a 5 minute contest of leaning against each other trying to wear the other one out. I warn you, Ichinojo is enormous, but Takarafuji can go the distance. Time to bake a pie, I would guess. They will still be at it. Ichinojo has a sterling 16-3 career advantage.
Wakatakakage vs Tobizaru – Both of these guys are in the funnel group, and I think both of them want to stay in the top half of Makuuchi. So I am expecting them to beat the stuffing out of each other today. Tobizaru has lost the last 2 in a row, so I think he may be fading. On that alone, I give Wakatakakage a slight edge.
Endo vs Kiribayama – Can Endo muster the mojo to take down Kiribayama and keep himself out of make-koshi for another day? I know Endo has the skill, the cunning and the courage the dismantle even the greatest rikishi of all time. But maybe today he’s too hurt to bring that version of Endo to the clay. A Kiribayama win would give Endo his 8th loss, and render himself 6-6, back in the middle of the funnel.
Chiyoshoma vs Daieisho – I think Chiyoshoma recused himself quite well in his day 11 match against Terunofuji. He showed some fine sumo, some skill and even some strategy before he at dirt. He’s up against injured and already make-koshi Daieisho today, and he needs to win the remaining 4 matches to reach kachi-koshi. Might we get one of his world famous henka today? I would enjoy that very much.
Mitakeumi vs Onosho – Tadpole battle deluxe! Its the Original Tadpole vs the Junior Tadpole. Mitakeumi has a 10-3 career advantage, and one of the things I adore about Onosho is he could care less. I expect he is going to launch of the shikiri-sen and mega-thrust square into Mitakeumi’s face, daring him to do something about it. Should he upset the Ozeki hopeful, it would be kachi-koshi for Onosho.
Abi vs Takanosho – Well, Takanosho is a mess this time out. Not quite Shodai level of “eeeww” but trending stinky socks in a bucket of brown water mess. I am sure Abi will have some fun with this match, as he’s 1 win behind the leader pair, an should some surprising calamity befall them both, he might just have a role to play in the yusho race if he can keep raking up the wins.
Hokutofuji vs Shodai – Shodai loss is make-koshi for him, and kadoban for March. Make that “Kadoban Twins”, as Takakeisho is already in that boat. I can imagine some ugly future day where its Shodai vs Takakeisho for who gets to survive as Ozeki. Wow, that went dark really fast.
Terunofuji vs Meisei – The question before us, will it be a throw, or will Terunofuji simply ride the broken husk of Meisei’s body like a sled back to his celebratory yurt in the back lot of the Kokugikan? I imagine said sled would necessarily be pulled by Terutsuyoshi and Takarafuji.
Last night we reported that Myogiryu and Shimanoumi had gone kyujo. At the time there were no reasons given, and some sumo fans worried that they had been caught up in a scandal. We now Myogiryu is out with a biceps injury, and Shimanoumi with a right hamstring. Both were in the funnel group, so I guess there will be one less Darwin match on day 15.
The co-leaders both won today, and we saw two Sadogatake rikishi achieve their kachi-koshi: Kotoeko and Kotonowaka.
Highlight Matches
Kotokuzan defeats Oho – Kotokuzan got one combo inside against Oho chest, and then decided to take both hands behind Oho’s neck and pull. He caught Oho at an opportune moment, breaking his balance. Oho was not able to regain his stance, and Kotokuzan sent him out. Both end the day at 7-4. Oho will have to try another day for his 8th win.
Kotoeko defeats Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto’s tachiai was vague and soft, Kotoeko went double inside immediately, raised Ichiyamamoto up and just walked him back for a simple but effective yorikiri. That’s kachi-koshi for Kotoeko as he improves to 8-3. Nice bounce back from November’s 3-12.
Aoiyama defeats Chiyomaru – Another straight ahead match, Aoiyama starts with an arm pit attack, getting Chiyomaru to lead back. He then converts that to a double inside grip and drives forward. Chiyomaru had no exit ramp, and Aoiyama pick up his 6th win. Both end the day at 6-5 and are still squarely in the funnel.
Chiyotairyu defeats Tochinoshin – Interesting opening gambit by Chiyotairyu. He uses both hands to immobilize Tochinoshin’s left hand, removing his primary weapon from use for a time. He shifts to a double arm pull down attempt, that gets partial effect. This sends Tochinoshin stumbling forward, but he does not fall. Chiyotairyu engages a second time with a hit to stand him up, and a pull to bring him down. Tochinoshin hits the clay, and Chiyotairyu picks up his 4th win to improve to 4-7.
Terutsuyoshi defeats Yutakayama – Some fun trickery by Terutsuyoshi at the tachiai. At first it seemed to have no effect, but I do believe that it caused Yutakayama to at least momentarily pause his opening move. Terutsuyoshi took this moment to place a right hand inside, which payed off a moment later with a glorious makiotoshi. It’s been a while since I have seen one of those! Terutsuyoshi improves to 5-6 and re-enters the funnel group.
Sadanoumi defeats Kaisei – Multiple times Sadanoumi tried to keep that left hand grip active and rotate to the side of Kaisei. To his credit, Kaisei knew he needed to keep Sadanoumi to his front quarter, and largely succeeded. Realizing he could not get around Kaisei, Sadanoumi drove forward. Kaisei attempted to rotate into a throw as he backed up to the tawara, but his ankle collapsed, giving Sadanoumi the win to improve to 7-4. I wonder if that damaged Kaisei’s leg.
Akua defeats Tsurugisho – Tsurugisho showed some solid defense today, and kept neutralizing everything that Akua produced in the opening moments of the bout. Tsurugisho could not find a way to convert to offense, and seemed to take his time and try to create an opening. That devolved into a chest to chest stalemate at the center of the dohyo. Eventually Akua had had enough standing around, lowered his hips and drove forward, inching Tsurugisho out for a yorikiri win. Akua improves to 3-8.
Ishiura defeats Tobizaru – This match had a lot of potential, and delivered on a fair amount of it. Tachiai saw Tobizaru get better hand placement, and Ishiura better body position. They lock up and struggle, yotsu-style, for advantage. The advantage broke Ishiura’s way, as he found a double inside grip, and took control of the match. Tobizaru worked to break Ishiura’s hold, but ran out of dohyo before he could free himself. Ishiura improves to 7-4.
Kotonowaka defeats Takarafuji – To me it seemed that Takarafuji was focused on setting up defensively at the tachiai, but missed his hand placement, giving Kotonowaka a narrow chance to get his hands inside. Now able to deliver force against Takarafuji’s chest, he found that Mr “Defend and Extend” did not have his feet set, and Kotonowaka moved him rapidly over the bales, scoring his 8th win of January and minting his kachi-koshi.
Chiyonokuni defeats Okinoumi – One one hand I am happy that Chiyonokuni finally won his first match of January. On the other hand, I mourn the fact that Chiyonokuni blew what may have been his best opportunity for reaching the rare zenpai status. Chiyonokuni improves to 1-10 with a pull and thrust down of Okinoumi.
Abi defeats Ichinojo – Nice response to Abi-zumo from Ichinojo. I liked that Abi lost traction early, lost distance as well when Ichinojo went to grapple him. But Abi-zumo of today is a bit more flexible than a few years ago. He givs way to Ichinojo and pulls him to the side as Ichinojo advances. Sadly, had Ichinojo just taken hold and stalemated Abi for a minute or two, he probably would have prevailed. Abi improves to 9-2.
Kiribayama defeats Tamawashi – And still, Tamawashi cannot find a way to defeat Kiribayama! That’s 5-0 for Kiribayama against Tamawashi, and I marvel at the results. Its not that Tamawashi generated no offense this match, rather that Kiribayama found the right moment to grab Tamawashi bodily and throw him to the clay. Kiribayama improves to 5-6, and rejoins the funnel group.
Wakatakakage defeats Ura – Credit to Wakatakakage, his opening move was focused directly on getting Ura raised higher, and it seemed to have worked. They spent a few moments leaning head to head, attacking each other’s hands. It escalated quickly into a rapid exchange of combo thrusting and pulling attacks. Wakatakakage catches Ura off balance, lowers his head and drives forward. Ura does not have room to get to the side or rotate into a throw, and is stampeded out the West side and into the crowd. Wakatakakage improves to 5-6, and both remain in the funnel group.
Onosho defeats Daieisho – Daieisho connects first at the tachiai, and opens his big thrusting attack. But Daieisho can’t maintain the pressure as Onosho finds a gap inside when Daieisho pulls, and switches to offense. Daieisho moves back under the thrusting attack, and attempts a slap down at the tawara. Onosho improves to 7-4, Daieisho make-koshi at 3-8.
Hokutofuji defeats Meisei – Hokutofuji opened with a left hand armpit attack, which raised Meisei up, and robbed him of any chance to execute offensive sumo. This is another day to look at Hokutofuji’s lower body and marvel at its stability. Even though his upper body is flailing away, that lower body stays structurally sound and powerfully connected to the dirt. Once Hokutofuji was on offense, it was just a process to cut Meisei off from an increasing portion of the dohyo and drive him out. Hokutofuji improves to 5-6 and remains in the funnel.
Hoshoryu defeats Takanosho – Takanosho looks like he forgot to take his first step today. Hoshoryu gets to the side, gets a right hand grip and brings Takanosho down by the second step. Fast, efficient and done. Hoshoryu improves to 7-4.
Mitakeumi defeats Shodai – Shodai lost the match, but at least we were able to see him bring out some solid sumo today. He looked a bit lethargic compared to his winning form, but at least he went through the motions well. There was a brief moment where Shodai rallied, and I thought we were about to see the “Wall of Daikon”, but it was not to be. Mitakeumi hits double digits and is 10-1.
Terunofuji defeats Chiyoshoma – I give a nod to Chiyoshoma on this one. He put everything he could muster into this match. There is a brief moment before the Yokozuna lifts him like a bag of rice and drops him over the tawara, Chiyoshoma’s head is against Terunofuji’s enormous chest, and the expression on Chiyoshoma’s face reads “Join sumo, they said. It will be fun…” Terunofuji improves to 10-1 and remains co-leader.
Word in the Japanese press that Shimanoumi and Myogiryu are kyujo as of day 11. There is no explanation given as to why they have both withdrawn. My concern is that they have contracted the Omicron variant, and we may see a rapid spread among the rikishi thanks to the last 11 days of competition. Should that be the case, there is a question in my mind about if they will be able to conclude the basho at all.
Whatever is plaguing the two of them, we hope they are able to recover soon.
Both were part of the “Darwin Funnel” group at with 5-5 scores. Their day 11 opponents, Endo and Wakamotoharu will each receive fused wins, with Wakamotoharu improving to 6-5, and Endo staving off make-koshi for yet another day, advancing to 4-7.
