Hello all, and welcome to the Kyushu basho. A few things to note about the site as we get ready for the tournament.
You may have already noticed that the ban on random sumo images we have found on the internet more or less stopped jungyo reports from Herouth. Sadly without someone in Japan to follow the tour around taking photos and video, there is very little to be done for jungyo now. As always, we are grateful to the effort Herouth put into compiling those reports.
This may impact our coverage of honbasho going forward. It’s tough to know if it’s ok to use video from Youtube of lower division matches, or if some fan is going to decide that is foul play. So if our coverage gets a bit thin for Kyushu, its all due to not knowing what is ok to use.
As always, Tachiai will be covering the tournament, but you will notice our use of images has changed. This is in direct response to a handful of sumo fans objecting to use of their images as part of our posts. I fully support their right to say “Don’t use my stuff”, and Tachiai will comply. But in this case, less use of media we did not source ourself may result in less content.
Herouth tweeted this on my way home from work and I needed to share! The last time we saw Ura on the dohyo was at Hatsu, being wheeled away with yet another devastating knee injury. That injury occurred during a big matchup with Hoshoryu in Makushita.
Confirmed: Ura will participate in the Kyushu basho. He has been practicing sumo since the end of October, when the heya moved to Kyushu. "I'm nervous. Honbasho and practice are two different things". https://t.co/dg1pbSVswg
In 2015 and 2016, the pint-sized acrobatic phenom took the sumo world by storm, cleaning up the lower divisions with his Matrix-inspired victories. He reached a peak rank of Maegashira 4 in 2017 where he claimed a kinboshi from Harumafuji. Sadly, in a loss to Takakeisho he suffered a terrible knee injury and fell back to Sandanme as he recovered. His comeback was put on hold in the fore-mentioned Hoshoryu bout. We eagerly anticipate the return of the Swole pixie.
Before Hattorizakura kicks off shonichi this Sunday, our eyes will be glued to the papers and social media for early indication of who’s on the Kyokai Not-Genki list, and thus kyujo for Kyushu. Though not officially on the list yet, we fully anticipate Ichinojo will be on it by the weekend, as Herouth notes below.
Given the state of Takakeisho, and more troublingly, Takayasu, one would expect the kyujo ranks to swell…though it may not be until after salt meets clay. We’re also keeping our eyes peeled for whether Ura will be listed or not. If he competes, he will be restarting his career at Jonidan 106 West. Having seen recent pics of Swole Ura, if I were Daishojo, I think I’d sleep in that day.
Ichinojo: high probability of kyujo, due to aggravation of his lower back problems. He has been undergoing rehabilitation in Tokyo, but has not achieved a state allowing him to do keiko as yet. He will only come to Fukuoka today, Nov. 4th.https://t.co/05QnpQQZc4
While sumo fans wait on pins and needles for Grand Sumo action to begin next weekend in Fukuoka, Japan’s National University Sumo Championship took place in Osaka. Successful wrestlers at this stage often become successful wrestlers on the professional level with the Champions granted privileged entry into Makushita, makushita tsukedashi, upon turning pro. Current wrestlers taking this path from Uni-Yokozuna to Jr. Sekitori include Endo, Ichinojo, and Aki-basho yusho winner, Mitakeumi. (I’m making up the Junior Sekitori term because they’re not immediately Sekitori but just outside.)
The big story coming out of Osaka is that the yusho winner was a first year (freshman) student-athlete, Yasuteru Nakamura from Nippon Sports Science University. He defeated Koshiro Tanioka, with a dominating yorikiri. Last year’s champion, Yota Kanno was knocked out in the first round. Any relation to Yoko Kanno is unconfirmed, but the need to knock a little harder is undeniable. Regardless, keep an eye out for these talented young men to be highly sought-after recruits and to appear on a banzuke in the near future.
In team competition, Nihon University won the title for the first time in four years from Mitakeumi’s alma mater, Toyo University. Jokoryu and Mitoryu are products of the Nihon University program. Nakamura’s Nippon Sports Science University finished tied for third, and they count Hokutofuji among their graduates. These three universities have had historically strong sumo programs, with one of these three teams winning the title in each of the last nine years.
After the Kyushu basho, eyes will turn back to Kokugikan in Tokyo for the 68th National Amateur Sumo Championship, a title won by Yago and the fore mentioned Mitakeumi, Mitoryu and Endo, as well as Daishomaru, Yoshikaze, and Takamisakari. The year Endo won, Shodai picked up the jun-yusho and Mitakeumi and Hokutofuji were semi-finalists.
