The competition in the third division continues to winnow down the wrestlers to a single 7-0 champion. After 5 rounds of bouts, we are down to just three undefeated 5-0 wrestlers. The frontrunner, former Komusubi Ms5 Ryuden, prevailed over former maegashira Ms15 Tomokaze (4-1). Next up for him should be another recent member of the top division, Ms30 Akiseyama. The other remaining contender is former collegiate star Ms35 Nishikawa. Ms59 Kinbozan suffered an upset loss, the first of his career, at the hands of Sd6 Roman, whom I expect to be Nishikawa’s next opponent.
At least 3 slots are already open in Juryo due to the absences of Asanoyama, Chiyonoo, and Shiden, and another one is likely to be vacated by J13 Chiyoarashi (2-7). One will probably go to Ryuden, especially if he keeps winning. The other contenders in the Ms1-Ms5 promotion zone aren’t exactly setting the world on fire. Ms1 Atamifuji, after visiting Juryo and handing the leader J14 Yago (8-1) his only loss to date, has now dropped 3 in a row to fall to 2-3. He will need to win out to make his sekitori debut. Then we have Ms2 Shimazuumi (3-2), Ms3 Takakento (3-2), Ms4e Karyu (2-3), and Ms4w Tochimaru (3-2).
Atamifuji will pay another visit to Juryo tomorrow to take on Chiyoarashi. The rest don’t fight until Day 11, so come back on Wednesday to see who steps up and who drops out of the race for salaried rank.
Bruce is nursing an ugly cold, so just the basics for today’s highlight post. No changes to the leaderboard as the top men all take their matches. The funnel is running quite well at the moment, and I predict a good crop of 7-7 rikishi on day 15, including some famous names.
Highlight Matches
Daiamami defeats Aoiyama – In spite of his loss, Aoiyama looked better today in terms of power and movement than he has all basho. He puts up a solid fights against Daiamami as the two trade thrusting attacks. But a missed slap by Aoiyama followed by a quick slap down by Daiamami gave him the match, he improves to 5-4 and returns to Juryo.
Kotonowaka defeats Tochinoshin – Tochinoshin established his preferred left hand outside against Kotonowaka early, but then for some reason gave it up. What followed was a series of pulling attempts from Tochinoshin that left him jumping backwards out of the ring. Kotonowaka improves to 7-2.
Oho defeats Yutakayama – This match was all Yutakayama until his attempt at a finishing move with Oho at the bales fell apart. Oho rallied and surged forward, dispatching Yutakayama with a sukuinage, sending him over the bales. Oho improves to 6-3.
Kaisei defeats Chiyomaru – Kaisei closed the distance to Chiyomaru, and kept the big Kokenoe man at his chest. Normally Chiyomaru wants to get to the side or behind Kaisei in these matches, but Kaisei pined him to the front quadrant and walking him out with power. Kaisei improves to 5-4.
Kotoeko defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu opened fast and powerful, and was clearly going for a “stand him up / pull him down” attack. His pull failed, and that gave control of the match to Kotoeko. He took a double inside grip against Chiyotairyu, and drove him from the ring. Kotoeko improves to 7-2, his next win will bring him kachi-koshi.
Ishiura defeats Tsurugisho – Great match plan by Ishiura. He hits and immediately moves to Tsurugisho’s left side, getting a left hand inside grip. He pauses for a moment to consolidate his position, then unleashes a twisting hineri that sends Tsurugisho to the clay in a heap. Ishiura improves to 5-4.
Wakamotoharu defeats Terutsuyoshi – Wakamotoharu captures Terutsuyoshi early, and it looks like Terutsuyoshi had zero response ready to this situation. Wakamotoharu walks him back, and puts him across the bales for the win. Wakamotoharu improves to 5-4.
Sadanoumi defeats Chiyonokuni – No, today was not the day that Chiyonokuni won his first match of Hatsu. Chiyonokuni gets in exactly one combo, which was off balance enough that Sadanoumi gets behind him and shoves him out for a win. I do have to wonder if Chiyonokuni is going for a zenpai now. I mean you have gotten it to 9-0, why not take it all the way? Sadanoumi 5-4.
Tobizaru defeats Ichiyamamoto – An Ichiyamamoto pull down attempt on the 3rd exchange of thrusts threw this match away. Up to that point, he was holding his own against Tobizaru, and could probably worn him down, and gotten him off balance while Tobizaru was on the move. Instead, its Tobizaru with the win, improving to 5-4.
Takarafuji defeats Akua – Look at how efficient Takarafuji’s sumo is today. I doubt he took more than 10 steps to get that win. Akua tries his kakenage and Takarafuji puts him down, improving to 7-2. Akua picks up his 8th loss and is make-koshi.
Abi defeats Myogiryu – Abi lands a couple of hits, but Myogiryu responds in kind, and with excess power. This was probably part of the plan to begin with. Now that Myogiryu is dialed up to maximum energy, Abi steps to the side, sending Myogiryu plunging down. Abi improves to 7-2.
Chiyoshoma defeats Shimanoumi – Chiyoshoma has to the favorite rikishi of the funnel, as he is very much in the win one / lose one tempo most tournaments. He sails a straight path right on the make / kachi-koshi line most basho, and that’ what Darwin’s funnel is all about. Offensively, it was all Chiyoshoma today, who landed a couple of thrusting combos, then delivered a nice under shoulder swing down (katasukashi) to improve to 4-5.
Hoshoryu defeats Endo – Endo showed his greater experience and years of training early. He shut down Hoshoryu’s route to thrust center mass, and robbed him of any meaningful hold. Points to Hoshoryu, who stayed in the match and improvised well. He got to the side of Endo an cranked up the power, sending him on a one way trip to his 7th loss. Hoshoryu improves to 6-3.
Ichinojo defeats Ura – Once Ichinojo captured Ura, the match was basically won. I think Ura took a while to try and figure out what if anything he could do from underneath the Boulder. But really there was nothing for it. What I take exception with was that shove by Ichinojo after the match was already won that sent Ura to visit one of the NHK camera men in the crowd. Bad form, sir. Ichinojo improves to 5-4.
Wakatakakage defeats Tamawashi – Its an amazing thing, Wakatakakage has never lost to Tamawashi. I am not sure why this would be the case, but here we are again today. Wakatakakage gets his hands inside against Tamawashi’s chest, and uses them to push him around and then out. Wakatakakage improves to 4-5.
Kiribayama defeats Daieisho – Daieisho’s opening thrust attacks missed their marks, leaving him wide open for Kiribayama to take whatever hold he wanted. With Kiribayama at his chest, Daieisho really had very little offense to employ, and was at that point just along for the ride. They both end the day at 3-6.
Takanosho defeats Onosho – Onosho is able to get a couple of solid hits to land, but Takanosho stays in the match and works to bracket him. By the 3rd step, Takanosho has Onosho pinned down with a superb hazu-oshi, and starts walking him back, taking the win a moment later as Onosho crosses over the tawara. Takanosho improves to 5-4.
Mitakeumi defeats Okinoumi – Yet again we get a Mitakeumi express rip through the station at full throttle. Okinoumi was barely a speed bump as the Original Tadpole rushed westward, taking his opponent with him. A perfect 9-0 for Mitakeumi now.
Meisei defeats Shodai – Shodai, you puss bucket. Shodai had a strong start, although his typical crummy tachiai was evident. Shodai even trotted out the “Wall of Daikon” for a moment, and it was working well. But then Meisei quips, “Nawh, not today, mate!”, shifts his balance and puts Shodai out. Both end the day at 4-5. That’s only the second time Meisei has won over Shodai in 10 attempts. Shows you where Shodai is on his relative genki scale…. Oh, then the gyoji blows the call. Perfect match.
Terunofuji defeats Hokutofuji – Well, good effort by Hokutofuji. We get to see him do a number of his favorite things, including that right hand nodowa. I am sure it hurt, but Terunofuji did not let it impact his sumo. While Hokutofuji is busy with that useless right hand nodowa, in comes the Yokozuna’s left hand and connects with Hokutofuji’s mawashi. The rest of the match is Terunofuji trying to get his right hand grip as well. After a few minutes, he decides he’s not going to get it, and unleashes a throw instead. Hokutofuji hits the clay as Terunofuji picks up his 8th win and is kachi-koshi for Hatsu.
The Jonokuchi division has rapidly filtered down to two men, Aoifuji, a new recruit from Isegahama-beya and Nakashima Kaede. No relation to Nakashima Mika. I think. (Wouldn’t it be wild if he’s like her brother? Her commercials have been playing nonstop during the Abema coverage.)
First up in our coverage today is the bout between Aoifuji and Nishikimaru. Aoifuji sticks to his winning slapdown strategy. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Oshi-style sumo doesn’t have to be strictly about shoving your opponent out. Many wrestlers, like Makuuchi’s Bulgarian Boogeyman, Aoiyama, make a career out of the slap-down, or the pull-down kicker.
These wrestlers use oshi-zumo to get the opponent off balance and then finish with hatakikomi or hikiotoshi. It sometimes leads to a curious type of wrestler: one who loses more often to oshidashi, than they actually win. Aoiyama has won 128 bouts with oshidashi, but he’s lost 135. That kind of success rate doesn’t lead to a meaningful career. However, 121 hatakikomi wins to 34 losses is apparently a proven method to compete with the sport’s elite.
I doubt Aoifuji’s shikona is a nod to Aoiyama, but during this tournament at least, it is creating an interesting comparison.
Next, we’ve got Nakashima. He’s proven he can compete comfortably in higher divisions so Jonokuchi has been a breeze. Today, that breeze blew Sawanofuji away swiftly. This sets up a potential show-down on Match Day 6 with Aoifuji but I think that the schedulers will instead opt for match-ups with one-loss rivals. If both lose in that scenario, there would be a four-man showdown for the yusho. If both win, however, it would all come down to them on the final day. If one loses, there would still be a potential for a playoff of senshuraku if the leader their last regulation bout.
I’ve included Tanimoto’s victory over Fukuminato at the end because with one loss, Tanimoto is still very much in this race. Wakayahara, Tochihayate, Chiyotaiko, Sonoshun, and today’s defeated Nishikimaru, still have hopes. Wakayahara, especially, seems like he could play spoiler.
With the middle weekend done, it’s time to get to the all important second week. We start this final run to senshuraku with a single man atop the yusho leaderboard, perpetual Sekiwake Mitakeumi. Already kachi-koshi with a perfect 8-0 score, he could go kyujo today and retain his Sekiwake 1 East rank, no questions asked. But on his sumo “to do” list is a promotion to Ozeki. He has come close at least twice, just to have the attempt fall apart in the second week. So many sumo fans, both boosters and detractors of Mitakeumi, are eagerly watching to see what he is able to do in the final 7 days. I think the most recent failure caused him to utter the word “FORK” loudly while walking back to the shitaku-beya following a crucial loss. Then again I may have translated that wrong, my Japanese is very poor.
In numerical terms, he needs 5 more wins to hit the 33 wins over 3 basho criteria, by hitting at least a 13-2 result. This would be equal to his best ever basho score, where he won his first yusho. I know he can do this, but the next 7 days are more about him keeping his head together, keeping his focus sharp and his sumo sharper. His toughest matches will include bouts with Terunofuji, Shodai and Takanosho, and the one I think may be the spoiler – Hokutofuji. They have a 22 match career history that favors Mitakeumi 12-10, but you know that Hokutofuji wants to be the man that takes out the yusho leader. I think we will get our look at that match sooner rather than later.
Aoiyama vs Daiamami – Daiamami up from Juryo to fill that stubborn banzuke gap, and he faces a diminished Aoiyama, who is near the bottom of the top division, and squarely in the middle of the funnel at 4-4. Aoiyama has a 6-2 career advantage, so he clearly has a recipe for defeating Daiamami, but can he execute today…
Kotonowaka vs Tochinoshin – Kotonowaka is not small or light enough to be a good “sky-crane” candidate in Tochinoshin’s current injury plagued condition. Like Aoiyama we may see Tochinoshin fighting to keep his spot in the top division this week. Kotonowakak is fighting well at 6-2, and needs just 2 more wins for his kachi-koshi.
Oho vs Yutakayama – Oho has a 2-0 career advantage over Yutakayama, but let’s face it, this the same guy 6 years in the past. Oho has none of the injuries and problems that hamper Yutakayama today, and I think the fact that he is young, fresh and healthy will be the deciding factor in this match.
Chiyomaru vs Kaisei – If there is a theme here, I don’t like it. We have a whole raft of long serving top division men at the bottom of the banzuke with 4-4 records starting day 9, squarely in the middle of the funnel, and quite possibly fighting their final week in the top division for a while or for their careers. All of them are arch competitors that are aging out of the sport, so I expect them to go down fighting – hard. Sadly, I would give Chiyomaru and edge in this match.
Kotoeko vs Chiyotairyu – I find myself not really believing that Kotoeko needs just 2 more wins for his kachi-koshi. After a disastrous 3-12 score in Kyusho, it was easy to imagine him too injured to maintain his status as a Sekitori. But he seems to be back into his sumo and fighting well. The best his opponent Chiyotairyu can hope for is a win today, and a chance to break back into the funnel group. Brutal.
Ishiura vs Tsurugisho – Like Chiyotairyu, Tsurugisho’s 3-5 score have placed severe limits on his chances of getting to a winning record this January. He would need to win 5 of the remaining 7 matches, and that would be a rough rode if he was not fighting hurt. If he is feeling ok on day 9, he can use his superior size to dominate Ishiura, but we will see if he can summon the energy to do that.
Wakamotoharu vs Terutsuyoshi – If you wonder why so many rikishi with 4-4 and 3-5 scores are facing each other, its part of the funnel process. The team that make the fight roster each day are working hard to bring as many men to a 7-7 score at the end of day 14. I call this “Darwin’s Funnel”, and you can see it’s gruesome imprint on this pairing. Terutsuyoshi at 3-5 needs 2 wins just to be in the middle on the funnel, Wakamotoharu needs 2 wins to exit the funnel on the “Winning” side. But because the competition in the top division is so even in skill and power right now, the fight list pairs these evenly matched rikishi together, day after day, to try and keep them all wining one day, and losing the next.
Chiyonokuni vs Sadanoumi – One fellow who is not going to participate in any of that is Chiyonokuni, who is already make-koshi with a perfect zenpai so far. I know he’s going to win at least 1 match this time, so it’s just a question who is going to be the first to take a loss. It would be interesting if it’s Sadanoumi.
Ichiyamamoto vs Tobizaru – Two guys with excellent agility and mobility. Both of whom love to bash and move for as long as they can each tournament day. I am not sure I can give an advantage, both are squarely in the middle of the funnel with 4-4 scores, both need 2 wins to exit the funnel right now on the winning side, and both are likely to be 7-7 at the start of day 15.
Akua vs Takarafuji – The funnel works both for the 4-4 crowd and the people who are on the clear road to kachi-koshi. Here we have 6-2 Takarafuji going up against Akua with just a single win. This is their first ever career match, and I am curious to see what Akua does with Takarafuji’s “defend and extend” sumo. Akua like to dive in with gusto, grab a hold and toss things about. I am not sure he will get too many chances for that today.
Myogiryu vs Abi – Folks may feel let down that Abi has 2 consecutive losses. His 1 dimensional sumo is prone to hot and cold streaks, and he simply hit a soft spot. It’s my guess he will end up with at least 8 wins, and find himself in the joi-jin in March, which will be wonderful to see. I can’t wait to see what Yokozuna Terunofuji does with him.
Shimanoumi vs Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma has a 6-2 career advantage, he also needs at least 2 wins to make it back to the middle of the funnel, where Shimanoumi is today. Yep, another brutal funnel match and I think the goal is to have Chiyoshoma win this one and knock Shimanoumi back one.
Hoshoryu vs Endo – Endo is a gloopy mess of uncoordinated sumo right now. It’s a shame because he has a finite number of basho left in him, and it’s a shame he’s not doing well this time out. He’s up against 5-3 Hoshoryu who has never won against him. Should Hoshoryu pull out the white star, he would exit the funnel on the winning side for now.
Ura vs Ichinojo – Much as I love both of these guys, they have matching 4-4 scores and are both marching toward a day 15 Darwin match right now unless they can string together consecutive wins. This is harder in week 2 than it is in week 1, because the rikishi already have 8 days worth of drain on their bodies from fighting at their highest intensity each and every day. I think Ura has an advantage here, as Ichinojo is unlikely to muster the patience to grind Ura down over a long haul match.
Wakatakakage vs Tamawashi – Tamawashi is headed for kachi-koshi land is my assumption right now, unless he hits a soft spot and picks up a few consecutive losses. That may happen today, as he has a 0-3 career deficit against Wakatakakage. Wakatakakage’ superior maneuverability allows him to get to the side or behind Tamawashi, and nullify his considerable defenses. Can he make it 4 in a row?
Kiribayama vs Daieisho – Two from the losing bracket, they are going to fight to see who goes make-koshi first. Both of them are competent fighters, and will be back with renewed vigor (I hope) in March, albeit lower down the banzuke. The split their 4 matches last year 2-2, so there is no way to guess which one holds any kind of edge today.
Onosho vs Takanosho – Onosho is having one of his “good” basho. He’s quite streaky, and he’s on a winning streak right now. He comes up against the much higher ranked Takanosho, who finds himself in the middle of the funnel at 4-4, and like the others of this score, needs consecutive wins to escape. Takanosho has a 6-3 career advantage over Onosho, so I am looking to see if he can shut down Onosho’s mega-thrust attack.
Mitakeumi vs Okinoumi – A battle of the Umi, this is not a one sided battle, though the more recent matches slightly favor Mitakeumi. At this point the pressure of needing to win every day is going to start eating at Mitakeumi’s focus if he is not strictly limiting his thoughts while on the dohyo. Okinoumi is headed for make-koshi anyhow, so maybe he will crank up something stunning from his catalog of sumo techniques and put that round Sekiwake on the clay.
Meisei vs Shodai – Of course Shodai is in the funnel group. Hell, he owns the funnel group. If anyone deserves a Darwin match, it’s shodai. But I am suspecting they may try to protect him this time around. He has a 8-1 career advantage against Meisei, and should be able to dispatch him without too much trouble.
Terunofuji vs Hokutofuji – Ol’ Stompy Hokutofuji always puts on his best sumo, but at 3-5 its clear that he is once again headed to “The Most Powerful Make-Koshi In All Of Sumo“. I wonder if Terunofuji’s 1 loss is helping him at this point. He does not have to worry about his first loss, it’s already happened, and he can focus on just blowing everyone off the dohyo and preparing for the day he goes head to head against Mitakeumi.
