Bouts From the Lower Divisions – Day 5

Herouth Nagoya Basho 2019 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Heavy bandage on the dislocated finger

We start the day again with maezumo. I only have one bout though, and that at low quality. Our friend Hokutenkai (right) vs. Omura (left):

This match looks so much like his match from the previous day that I had to check to make sure the rival is, indeed, Omura rather than Kotoomura. He is now 3-0, so he is out of the maezumo rounds and ensured of having a good placement in Jonokuchi next basho.

Jonokuchi

And speaking of Jonokuchi, the king of Jonokuchi, Hattorizakura, met a guy named Numano, from Musashigawa beya. Numano is a pretty new guy, who had a heavy make-koshi in his first ranked tournament. One of his only two wins was, of course, against one, Hattorizakura. Numano on the left, Hattorizakura on the right:

The sad fact of life about Hattorizakura is that he may show sparks of real sumo one day, and then go back to being the same old Hattorizakura the next. And this was one of these “same old Hattorizakura” bouts. Numano gets his first win of the tournament.

Jonidan

Slowly-recovering former sekitori Homarefuji had two wins already coming into this bout, where he faces Kiryu from Miyagino beya (I think he is one of Enho’s tsukebito, not sure). Homarefuji on the left, Kiryu on the right:

Homarefuji is actually a pusher-thruster, and a chest-to-chest match, not to mention an uwatenage, is not exactly his specialty. But of course, nobody at Isegahama will reach sekitorihood without knowing how to perform a nage.

We are continuing to watch the shorn Roman from Tatsunami beya. We have already seen him win twice, and it seems like the hairdo is actually lucky for him. On the left we have Hokutoizumi from Hakkaku beya. On the right, Crew-Cut Roman:

The crew-cut works its magic, and now Roman is 3-0.

Sandanme

Our friend Narutaki is on a roll, with 2-0 in his previous bouts (His brother Kyonosato, however, is not as lucky, being defeated again and again in Jonokuchi. I guess his legs can’t really carry him anymore). Here on the left, he is engaging with Sadanosato from Sakaigawa beya.

This proves to be a difficult bout for Narutaki, despite his energy, and he starts to pull some point. It looks almost as if his rival had the best of him at the end, but of course, Sadanosato goes out first, and it’s Narutaki’s third win.

Next up, we have Shoji, the Musashigawa man, here on the left, facing Kaonishiki from Azumazeki on the right:

Shoji can’t get that first attack properly finished, and finds himself on the defense, and suffering his first loss.

So, how about Amakaze? Can he get the Sandanme yusho? On the left is Terasawa from Takasago beya, on the right, our friend from Oguruma beya.

Terasawa moves quickly and doesn’t let the bigger rikishi get any kind of real advantage, and then comes that little push at the end, and Amakaze’s yusho dream evaporates.

Makushita

Yesterday, we saw Onojo beat former Ozeki Terunofuji. Today, the same Onojo (left) faces the rising star, Shiraishi (right):

I’m starting to really dislike Shiraishi’s opening sidestep. It’s not exactly a henka, as he then immediately engages, but I suspect if he was faced with anybody with real experience he would have been punished with a serious hikiotoshi. Nevertheless, once he engages, he has some serious tools like that nodowa. Onojo not even close to winning this time.

And speaking of the former kaiju, Terunofuji (left) faced Karatsuumi (right). If the name is familiar to some of you, it’s because he won the Sandanme yusho in Haru, which bumped him to Makushita. Oddly, he lost 0-7 in Natsu, and is now back to Sandanme, and in this bout he is visiting Makushita.

Terunofuji wins this one, mostly by applying his bulk rather than his grip. He was aiming to get one with his right hand, but didn’t quite make it. The picture at the top shows him having a grip with his left, but I doubt he could put much power into it, because of that dislocated ring finger which “still doesn’t feel right”.

From one Isegahama man, we move to another, and we have Kaito from Asakayama on the left facing Midorifuji on the right. What kind of sumo does the new Isegahama pixie do have to offer us today?

His style really reminds me of Terutsuyoshi, though his mass is not quite there yet. Sukuinage, and Midorifuji is now 3-0.

Next on our list is Kototebakari, here on the left, facing Nogami, the Oguruma man. Both are 2-0 before the bout.

Kototebakari’s sumo is very efficient. He doesn’t waste energy. Tachiai, side step, send home.

And now, to the highlight match of the day, and frankly, one of Hoshoryu’s best performances. He is facing Churanoumi, again, a guy with sekitori experience, but not as much as Seiro. Churanoumi is on the left, Hoshoryu on the right:

Round and round, Hoshoryu manages to keep his balance in some dangerous situations, and tries kicks and trips, eventually winning this by kotenage. Lovely match.

Today, Hoshoryu has a Juryo visit, which means he will be wearing an official Oicho-mage for the first time. He already wore one in Jungyo, but he only did Juryo there as he was the “local boy”. This time he is a legitimate Makushita joi-jin. And his opponent of the day is none other than Kizakiumi, Churanoumi’s brother!

Juryo

I’m not bringing many Juryo bouts because frankly, there is much to be depressed about there, with favorites like Sokokurai and Ikioi faring rather badly, and others doing sumo that’s less than brilliant. But still, here is Ishiura vs. Chiyoshoma. And no, it’s not a double henka:

Ishiura tries what looks like a tasukizori, but Chiyoshoma isn’t biting.

Nagoya Day 5 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishoho, Endo (遠藤), Enho, Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoeko, Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kotoyuki, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nagoya Basho 2019, Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shimanoumi, Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takagenji, Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Tomokaze, Toyonoshima, Yago, Ōnoshō (阿武咲)

It seems to have been matta day. Lots of mattas. Lots and lots of them up and down the torikumi. In fact, I am going to have a matta right now.

(Walks away and gets more tea)

Oh yes! Sumo.. Well, act 1 is complete, and we know that the bulk of the Makuuchi roster is below 50% wins. This is not atypical, but its indicative that a handful of rikishi are dominating, and we will have a strong yusho race, and possibly another highly chaotic promotion / demotion forecast (Sorry, lksumo!). Act 1 MVP would have to be Tomokaze, who really has exceeded expectations in a big way, who has cleaned up against all of the mid-Maegashira. I still stand by my pre-basho prediction that this is likely Hakuho’s yusho, and he might do it with 15 wins once again.

Highlight Matches

Terutsuyoshi defeats Yago – Yago can’t buy a break, and Terutsuyoshi (who is the last man on the banzuke) continues to win. Yago helped him by insisting on trying to pull his opponent, giving up any forward momentum he might have had, Terutsuyoshi looks really solid, and I would expect that next week he will face mid-Maegashira.

Kotoyuki defeats Toyonoshima – I can only assume some injury or physical problem with Toyonoshima, as his sumo looks terrible right now. Kotoyuki again disappointed by not being able to dive into the crowd.

Chiyomaru defeats Kaisei – As long as Kaisei’s right arm is hurt, he won’t be winning many matches. Might this send the mighty Brazilian to Juryo for the first time since 2017?

Enho defeats Tochiozan – It looked like Tochiozan knew he would have his hands full from the start. Tochiozan’s tachiai was super-defensive, and he worked hard to ensure that Enho could not grab a hold of any part of him for more than a second or two. But Enho kept working, and got inside Tochiozan’s defenses, and won the match.

Sadanoumi defeats Nishikigi – Not so much chest to chest as it was chin to chin at the tachiai, with Sadanoumi getting moro-zashi straight away and quickly finishing Nishikigi.

Takagenji defeats Kagayaki – Takagenji won the tachiai, but Kagayaki kept trying to execute his battle plan. While he was doing that Takagenji escorted him to the tawara for the win. Takagenji looking very good thus far, a pleasant surprise.

Daishoho defeats Shohozan – Daishoho spent a good 20 seconds trying to land his right hand on Shohozan’s mawashi, then gave up and won anyhow.

Okinoumi defeats Kotoeko – Kotoeko threw everything into this match, but Okinoumi’s experience and sumo efficiency carried the match when both men went out together, but Kotoeko touched first. Kotoeko seemed to expect that a monoii would be called, but got no such favor from the shimpan crew.

Tomokaze defeats Myogiryu – Tomokaze continues to find ways go win. He made a dangerous choice in trying to pull down Myogiryu early in the match, but recovered his forward pressure quickly, and the two men went chest to chest. Myogiryu attempted to pivot into a throw, but Tomokaze instead collapsed the pivot down on his opponent, winning the match.

Shimanoumi defeats Onosho – Excellent sumo from Shimanoumi and more of the ongoing balance problems from Onosho. Onosho’s sumo has really taken a huge hit following his career saving knee surgery last year, and everyone hopes he can get his undercarriage back to good form.

Kotoshogiku defeats Takarafuji – Routine hug-n-chug win for Kotoshogiku, who is 1 win behind the undefeated leader group.

Ichinojo defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu loves to load up huge energy and his impressive mass into his tachiai. For most opponents it’s like being hit by a truck, and they tumble to the clay for a loss. Ichinojo, being something of a truck himself, takes such impacts as a gentlemanly introduction. After receiving the blast, Ichinojo promptly took Chiyotairyu to his chest. Chiyotairyu is not comfortable in this position, and could only struggle pointlessly as Ichinojo has his way with him.

Shodai defeats Meisei – Shodai picked up what turned out to be an easy win, as Meisei seems to be completely falling apart. Tomorrow Shodai faces Goeido.

Daieisho defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi really seems to he lacking his normal stability and excellent defensive foot placement this basho. As a result he is unable to stay in the match long enough to win, and subsequently has a 0-5 start to Nagoya.

Hokutofuji defeats Mitakeumi – This match turned when Mitakeumi decided to try to pull Hokutofuji down early in the battle. Such moves are always a gamble, but it seems Hokutofuji was ready for the attempt, and used the change in Mitakeumi’s balance to take control and win the match.

Goeido defeats Ryuden – Goeido is not usually very patient, but today he took his time and unraveled Ryuden’s offense. The pivotal moment came when Goeido switched from trying to force his right hand inside and took the grip outside, and find a strong hold on Ryuden’s mawashi. Very nice Ozeki sumo today from Goeido.

Asanoyama defeats Tochinoshin – Asanoyama’s sumo was spot on today, and Tochinoshin clearly can’t maintain any kind of defensive foot placement. As a result, Asanoyama was fully in control, grabbing the Ozeki by his purple mawashi and moving him across the bales. I think its time for Tochinoshin to focus on recovery rather than competition.

Takayasu defeats Abi – Abi’s opening attack was disorganized, and as a result he could offer almost no response to Takayasu offense.

Hakuho defeats Endo – The Boss made it look easy as he frequently does, sending Endo to the clay with a retreating kotenage.

Kakuryu defeats Aoiyama – A healthy Kakuryu can be quite amazing at times. The amount of force that Aoiyama can deliver could be categorized as catastrophic, but Kakuryu endures it all and keeps his feet, and keeps working to deflect and turn his opponent. Solid Yokozuna sumo today from Kakuryu.

Nagoya Day 5 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishoho, Endo (遠藤), Enho, Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoeko, Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kotoyuki, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nagoya Basho 2019, Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shimanoumi, Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takagenji, Takanoiwa (貴ノ岩), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Tomokaze, Toyonoshima, Yago, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , ,

Welcome to the end of act 1! Yes, dear readers, we are about to be ⅓ ofd the way through this wonderful festival of sumo in Nagoya. The purpose, once again, of act 1 is to knock the ring rust off of the rikishi and get everyone into tournament mode. We also start to get an idea about who is genki, and who is suffering. I think heading into day 5. we can say with some certainty:

Genki

  • Kakuryu – Looking surprisingly good. I think I can say that because so many times Kakuryu is clearly hurt and can not really execute his rather unique style of sumo. So far he’s using it to great effect.
  • Hakuho – As we suspected prior to the bashso, The Boss is back, he’s reset and he’s fighting well enough to dominate every match he enters.
  • Tomokaze – A pleasant surprise, the risking star from Oguruma heya has shown some really notable versatility
  • Terutsuyoshi – After a pair of 6-9 results that resulted in some amazing banzuke luck, and him remaining in the top division, Terutsuyoshi seems to have his sumo back, and he’s on his way to a solid basho in Nagoya

Suffering

  • Tochinoshin – Very worrisome in that he just cleared his Ozekiwake exile status. He’s hurt, he’s fighting as best he can, but he’s really not up to Ozeki level sumo.
  • Tamawashi – I have to assume injury here too. Tamawashi is too consistently powerful to start 0-4.
  • Meisei – Meisei is better than this, so don’t be surprised if he ends up pulling out a 7-8 or 8-7 final.

What We Are Watching Day 5

Yago vs Terutsuyoshi – This match does not seem like it would be close, you have the hulking Yago going up against pixie Terutsuyoshi. But their career record is 5-4, surprisingly even. I would expect that now that Terutsuyoshi seems to have gotten his sumo back, we are going to see some high-agility speed action from Terutsuyoshi, and we are going to see a struggling 2-2 Yago trying to keep him still.

Toyonoshima vs Kotoyuki – Toyonoshima finally picked up a win, and there was much rejoicing. Kotoyuki still seems a bit unfocused, but he looks like his sumo is working better than his last trip to the top division, which was January, and ended with a 4-11 result.

Chiyomaru vs Kaisei – A pair of super-heavies who have only 2 wins between them, and 6 losses. Both need to turn things around, but sadly for Kaisei, it may be down to injuries.

Tochiozan vs Enho – We all want Enho to win doing some acrobatic crazy man sumo. So let’s just see if Tochiozan’s experience will leave him distracted or give him to tools to efficiently shut down Enho’s antics.

Sadanoumi vs Nishikigi – To Nishikigi, Sadanoumi is just another blurry mess. But he has a good record of grabbing a hold of the green mawashi blur and pushing it off the dohyo (9-5). Let’s hope the gyoji does not wear green today.

Kagayaki vs Takagenji – Takagenji got his first taste of Nagoya clay on day 4, and I am willing to say that I think Kagayaki is getting into his sumo now, and we are likely to see some good, fundamental but possibly unexciting sumo from him. Given how Takagenji has been focusing on strong, efficient yotzu-sumo, it may shut down Kagayaki’s movement oriented offense.

Shohozan vs Daishoho – At 35 years old, Shohozan has to be on watch to “age out” of the top division at some point. He’s lacked some of the brutal sumo we have come to expect from him of late. Like Okinoumi, they seem to be hanging around, and we don’t mind at all, as long as they can still execute quality sumo.

Kotoeko vs Okinoumi – Kotoeko has never beaten Okinoumi, and comes into day 5 on a 2 bout losing streak. While Okinoumi stays in a “not too genki, not too weak” lane very well to keep his rank in the middle ⅓ of the top division, I don’t expect he will pick up his 4th loss today.

Myogiryu vs Tomokaze – Yes Myogiryu is fighting well, and his sumo looks really sharp. But something about Tomokaze is really clicking right now. So I would expect him to have the advantage in this day 5 match between two rikishi who are doing well.

Onosho vs Shimanoumi – Both of these men need to regroup. Onosho is encrusted with poor balance or some kind of metastasized ring-rust. Shimanoumi is looking dangerously out of his competence zone. We all want him to rise to the challenges of mid-Maegashira, but maybe its too soon.

Kotoshogiku vs Takarafuji – Kotoshogiku seem to have paid a heavy price for discarding caution in his day 4 match, but that won’t be a problem day 5. A match against Takarafuji is typically a study in careful planning and execution. Unless Takarafuji is fighting Ichinojo, then it’s a couple of minutes of “No, Bad Pony!”

Chiyotairyu vs Ichinojo – Lets just admit that we all want to see Ichinojo slap Chiyotairyu around like he did Takarafuji on day 4. Maybe to the point where Chiyotairyu thinks he has enough and goes to fall down, but Ichinojo holds him up and smacks him a couple more times. Not that I don’t really like Chiyotairyu, because I do. But something about super bad, “Pulp Fiction” style Ichinojo is rather compelling.

Shodai vs Meisei – Meisei is winless, and has never beaten Shodai. So… Shodai… When is Shodai vs “Royale with Cheese” Ichinojo?.

Daieisho vs Tamawashi – Oh please Tamawashi, come back to us! Like so many of the beloved main-stays, you seem to be aging out with the rest of your cohort at the same time. Just a win. Just one to start with.

Mitakeumi vs Hokutofuji – Ok screw the old guys. The young bucks are going to bash the daylights out of each other. You may look at the stats and say (in your best sumo snob voice), “Well, of course – Mitakeumi is favored”. Not today. Hokutofuji has been fighting like a man possessed against the best in the business for the last 4 days, and today he’s against someone closer to his ability. I think there is a lot of pent up frustration that will express itself. In the form of hitting.

Goeido vs Ryuden – Ryuden stands a fair chance of giving Goeido the now famous “Paper Jam In Tray 2” treatment, if he can survive Goeido’s opening gambit.

Asanoyama vs Tochinoshin – I think Asanoyama’s so far limited experience is going to have him willingly go chest to chest with Tochinoshin, and we may see Tochinoshin finally get his first win.

Abi vs Takayasu – Takayasu will need to be steady, stable and patient with Abi. It should only take a few second for the Ozeki to overpower Abi’s right hand side, and the Takayasu owns the match.

Endo vs Hakuho – Is there any chance that The Boss could beat Endo twice? Enjoy the ride, Golden Boy.

Kakuryu vs Aoiyama – Aoiyama has displayed absolutely outstanding mobility and agility thus far, which is baffling when you consider his size. But I think Kakuryu is healthy, and The Man-Mountain is not going to score a kinboshi today.

Bouts From the Lower Divisions – Day 4

Herouth Maezumo, Nagoya Basho 2019 , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Not-quite-kaiju

Usually, Nagoya basho is a hot and slippery mess. But this one is full of lovely sumo and good fights. But first, let’s take a look at today’s maezumo, to follow up on the newcomers, before continuing with the ranked matches.

In the following video, we have:

  • Kotoomura (veteran) – Hokutenkai (new)
  • Omura (veteran) – Konno (new)
  • Urutora (veteran) – Bariki (veteran)
  • Hisasue (new) – Kochikara (veteran, sort of)
  • Kotoomura (again) – Senho (new)

Kotoomura got a fundamental yori-kiri from Hokutenkai. That man is not taking any prisoners. While Konno from Naruto and Hisasue from Kokonoe will have no good news to report to their oyakata, Hakuho’s Senho, despite looking as green as a fresh leaf, shows that he has some signs of sumo in him, not just henka. He can’t do a tachiai properly, but he is 2-0 in maezumo.

Jonidan

From Senho we move to Hakuho’s next youngest uchi-deshi, Toma, who is not quite as gangly as Senho (but on the other hand, he doesn’t have a cool shikona). Toma here attacks from the left, and Asanoshima from Takasago, from the right:

Toma is 2-0, keeping himself in the race for the Jonidan yusho. But the main contender for that is our next contestant, the dreamy Kitanowaka. Here he is on the right, with Chiyooga from Kokonoe beya on the left:

This one proved to be quite a challenge for Prince Charming, as Chiyooga is quite a sticky wrestler. But the Hakkaku man prevails.

Sandanme

So here is our friend Narutaki – the friendly guy from Isenoumi beya, who is rumored to be a good English speaker, by the way – on the left, vs. Izumigawa of Minezaki beya on the right.

Narutaki leaves the “nice” off the dohyo, and goes straight at Izumigawa. He is now 2-0.

Then there is Shoji, from Musashigawa beya. Here on the left, with Tsugaruumi from Tamanoi beya on the right.

The smaller guy does not pose much of a problem for Shoji. Oshidashi.

Makushita

We open Makushita with Shiraishi who, if you recall, is Natsu’s Sandanme yusho winner and a generally strong guy. But I’m not really happy with his sumo today (right, facing Keitenkai on the left):

He starts with a failed henka attempt, and then after engaging he does some backwards sumo. Ummm.

The highlight match of the lower Makushita was slated to be Terunofuji vs. Onojo (Takadagawa beya). Onojo is a regular Sandanme wrestler, with a few peeks into Makushita. Shouldn’t be a problem for a former Ozeki. But don’t place your bets yet:

Terunofuji allows Onojo to morozashi him. Morozashi – having both arms inside. The morozashi itself is danger. Having a morozashi with a firm grip on your opponent’s mawashi is usually a winning position. There are a couple of ways to get out of it – a double outside grip on the mawashi, which we have seen Tochinoshin perform in the past – gives good leverage for a lift. A double kime, which is what Terunofuji is attempting here, may be able to choke your opponent’s grip – if this was Nishikigi – or a lift, if you are the original Terunofuji who had knees.

But this Terunofuji doesn’t have them. And while he attempts his power sumo again and again, eventually the stubborn Onojo, who doesn’t let go of that mawashi grip throughout the dance, prevails. Terunofuji will not have the Makushita yusho this tournament.

Following the bout, he told the press the reason why the bout went the way it went. “I was planning to grab his mawashi, but my finger got loose”.

Finger? So as it turns out, the former Ozeki was practicing with Shodai. Yes, a Makuuchi guy and a favorite practice toy for Yokozuna and the like. And while he did this, he managed to damage his finger. Thank you, Shodai. We appreciate your vast contribution to Sumo. 🙄

So now we have a kaiju with no knees and no grip. Lovely.

We move on to Kototebakari, here on the left, facing Nishikifuji, one of Isegahama’s sekitori hopefuls, on the right:

Kototebakari is not here to cater to the hopes of anybody but himself.

This post is getting too depressing on the Isegahama front (Tomisakae also lost his bout. So let’s hope Midorifuji (right) can do something against Asabenkei, the Takasago guy who has sekitori experience, on the left:

Yes! Thank you, pixie. You made an Isegahama fan happy.

Middle Onami brother, Wakamotoharu, is facing Akua. Both former sekitori and wanting to get back there as fast as possible, thank you very much. Akua on the left, Wakamotoharu on the right:

Alas, the man from Fukushima fails, and only little brother Wakatakakage is left to save the family pride today.

Finally, Fujiazuma from Tamanoi beya is facing Prince Naya. Naya was rather devastated by yesterday’s matta-that-wasn’t-a-matta. He seems totally out of confidence, and of course causes a matta, which causes him to really lose his bearings. Let’s see how it goes from there (Fujiazuma left, Naya right):

The oshi specialist Naya gets himself entangled in a sloppy yotsu match. But somehow, he manages to survive and throw Fujiazuma with a sukuinage, to even his score. 1-1. Get a hold of yourself, kid.