Natsu Day 4 Preview

Bruce H Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishoho, Endo (遠藤), Enho, Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ishiura (石浦), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoeko, Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Natsu Basho 2019, Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shimanoumi, Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Tokushoryu, Tomokaze, Yago, Yoshikaze (嘉風) ,
Sumo – 200 Metres That Way…

A number of friends of Tachiai are headed to Tokyo this week to take in sumo at the Kokugikan, and it is likely to be a great weekend of sumo. The weather is fairly nice in Tokyo, the food is always amazing, and the people are the best. Rumor has it some of them will be wearing their tachiai shirts around town, so you never know who might wind up on TV…

While some folks will be in Japan, the coverage on the blog will be non-stop, as we expect this to be a very exciting tournament thanks to the transitional era in sumo, and the absence of the dai-Yokozuna.

We can expect there to be another live stream event for Sunday’s Makuuchi division, brining fans world wide the last 50 minutes of the midway point of the tournament. The team may live-blog that one, and if we do it’s likely to be its normal non-sensical romp through the best of sumo. No promises yet…

What We Are Watching Day 4

Terutsuyoshi vs Chiyoshoma – Can we hope that Chiyoshoma can go through the first act without a henka? Does Terutsuyoshi succeed in converting his outrageous chance to stay in the top division into a kachi-koshi? Why is Bruce asking the Tachiai readers questions?

Wakatakakage vs Kotoeko – Wakatakakage comes up from Juryo to try out his dorm-room in a preview of what we hope is the first Onami brother to break into the top division. He faces bullpup muscle man Kotoeko, who seems to be fast enough to exploit any mistake, and strong enough to make it work. Speed match, sumo fans!

Tokushoryu vs Ishiura – Tokushoryu’s girth and low center of gravity is going to be Ishirua’s biggest obstacle on day 4. He’s got a 4-2 career advantage against Tokushoryu, and I am certain that Tokushoryu enters this match well frustrated by the two somewhat sloppy losses thus far. I am looking for Ishiura to dive and move, and stick a right-hand grip.

Daishoho vs Enho – Global sumo fans are finally getting to see why Team Tachiai has been going on about Enho. Not only is he a handsome fellow, his sumo is first rate. We have yet to see Enho in a stalemate situation, where he gets to show off some really impressive stamina as well. Maybe day 4 will leave Enho and Daishoho chest to chest at the center of the dohyo.

Shimanoumi vs Sadanoumi – Sadanoumi looks to have degraded his injured knee following Enho’s leg pick on day 3. He’s going to come against a struggling Shimanoumi for day 4, who understands very well how tough his road to eight wins is going to be now. This is their first ever match.

Chiyomaru vs Yago – Chiyomaru seems to be on a roll, and I am not talking about that enormous bulge above his mawashi. With a 3-0 start he looks like his regrouping mission in Juryo is paying off. Yago is a large, quite strong fellow, which introduces a few physics problems of note into today’s match. The trick for Yago will be keeping balance with that much mass bearing down on you.

Kagayaki vs Tochiozan – Kagayaki’s school of sumo fundamentals seems to be back in session. The day 3 win might have been at the edge of matta territory, but he won’t get that kind of jump on Tochiozan’s hair-trigger launch. I am expecting Tochiozan to drive inside fast, and to minimize his target zones, robbing Kagayaki of a chance to generate much offense.

Shohozan vs Onosho – I am looking for Shohozan to bait Onosho to get too far forward, which he is almost always willing to do. This would be followed by a throw, as it’s how Shohozan tends to end these matches, and he holds a 4-2 advantage over the tadpole.

Kaisei vs Tomokaze – This pairing holds a lot of interest for me. It’s their first-time meeting, which is always good, and you have a very burly Tomokaze going against Mr. Mass in Kaisei. I am sure Kaisei will want to land the first hand, and if he can keep Tomokaze centered, he can put that size to work.

Nishikigi vs Asanoyama – Yes, Nishikigi has looked like total hell thus far, while Asanoyama has been at the top of his sumo. But this is just the kind of match where Nishikigi rallies and puts his high-efficiency sumo to work. Asanoyama holds a 5-2 career advantage, so I am guessing day 4 is heavily in favor of Asanoyama.

Takarafuji vs Meisei – Another first-time match, Meisei is struggling to find his first win, while Takarafuji continues to quietly go about his sumo and rack up wins. Takarafuji can usually kachi-koshi at this rank, so I think he’s going to continue to win a bit more than 50% of his matches.

Myogiryu vs Yoshikaze – I worry this will be another match where Yoshikaze generates nearly zero offensive power, and leaves his fans (like me) wondering what damage is holding him back. Myogiryu could certainly use the win, and is likely going to face some named-ranked rikishi later in the basho.

Shodai vs Ryuden – This match also interests me greatly, as Ryuden has yet to win a single match from Shodai (0-2), who has excellent foot work and great lateral mobility, so this may be a weakness for Ryuden. But day 4 is a new day, and no telling what might happen.

Abi vs Daieisho – Daieisho has opened strong in the first 3 days, and I think his sumo has stepped up a notch. He holds a 4-2 career advantage over Abi, who took a chance to get into Chiyotairyu’s business early on day 3. I am guessing Daieisho will be ready to respond to a fast launch, and we will see if he can shut down the Abi-zumo attack.

Aoiyama vs Chiyotairyu – Both of these formidable rikishi had little to show for day 3 on the dohyo. I am expecting them to bounce back with vigor. Chiyotairyu has the harder trail here, as Aoiyama’s reach overpowers Chiyotairyu’s cannon-ball tachiai most of the time.

Ichinojo vs Okinoumi – Ichinojo seems to have lost the advantage he used to rack 14 wins in Osaka, which is the #1 gripe of his fans: his lack of consistent performance. So far he has been tossed about more than he has dominated, and with Okinoumi looking fairly genki, we may see some good technical sumo used against The Boulder on day 4.

Tamawashi vs Tochinoshin – Oh yes! Tochinoshin needs to land that left hand, and I know Tamawashi will use everything he has to keep mobile, keep striking, and keep Tochinoshin from setting his feet and lifting. Tamawashi showed some superb power and speed on day 3, and a similar attack might overpower the Ozekiwake.

Takakeisho vs Mitakeumi – Behold, Takakeisho’s kryptonite. When two tadpoles fight, the rank means nothing most days. Mitakeumi holds a 7-3 career advantage over the shin-Ozeki, and we are likely to see a high force oshi-brawl today. It will come down to Takakeisho setting up the wave-train before Mitakeumi can put him on his heels.

Hokutofuji vs Takayasu – Hokutofuji has the speed and power to challenge an injured Takayasu. I am certain that Takayasu is in fact injured, as he has not been able to execute much in the way of coherent offense yet. Hokutofuji has worked very hard to get his “handshake tachiai” to a state where he can put a hand on his opponent before they complete their launch, and he uses that early touch to control the match. Takayasu brings power and incredible stamina to the fight – something we have not seen thus far.

Goeido vs Kotoshogiku – This match up has a long history. Fifty, Five Zero, matches between these two. With Goeido holding the high ground 29-21. Speed vs stability today. Goeido faltered a bit against Endo, and let him take control to Goeido’s demise. I am sure he wants to stop the loss run at a single black star.

Endo vs Kakuryu – Fresh from surprising Goeido, Endo has seen how light Kotoshogiku made the Yokozuna look. The plan that worked was not let Kakuryu move, don’t give him space to evade, pin him to the tawara and force him to act rather than react. I am interested to see if Endo will try that strategy, too.

Low Division bouts – Day 3

Herouth Natsu Basho 2019 , , , , , , , ,
Kotokamatani wearing an oicho-mage for his Juryo visit today

Here are a few bouts I collected for day 3.

Down in Jonokuchi, Toma, Hakuho’s gigantic uchi-deshi, had his second bout for this basho, vs. Ito, and his first monoii.

Ow, ow, ow. Poor Ito. He looks completely out of it. Well, 206kg falling on top of you is no small matter (see what I did there?). He is lucky the shimpan did not decide on a torinaoshi.

First loss for Toma, then.

Edit: This bout from the TV angle. The Isamiashi is much clearer:

Edit: I found Kitanowaka’s bout vs. Tokisakae – here it is:

Mmm. That man belongs at least in Sandanme at the moment, if not Makushita.

The rest of the videos I found are from Makushita. Let’s start with Tomisakae, who faces Tanabe.

Yeah, the video doesn’t include the tachiai. But Tomisakae, Isegahama’s back-flipping rikishi, seems to be serious this basho.

The famous Naya vs. Koba:

This bout reminds me of a Takakeisho bout. Could it be he is influencing his tsukebito already? Naya does well to maintain his balance as Koba tries to dispatch him near the edge there, and then actually wins by pulling wildly – which will not always work for him.

The match between Hoshoryu and Jokoryu today was all over the Japanese press. “Hoshoryu’s first bout with a former san-yaku wrestler”, the titles shouted. Let’s see how this went, in NattoSumo’s excellent clip:

Hoshoryu said, in an interview after this bout: “I guessed that he will go for a slap, and slap he did. By the time I had reacted he already had his arms well inside. I am glad I was still able to push forward”.

Yes, it wasn’t a bout Hoshoryu should be too proud of. His Tachiai was, indeed, not quite fast enough for a good opponent.

As for that monoii – NattoSumo says he doesn’t understand exactly what happened. Well, the sportscaster is saying “It seems Hoshoryu’s leg was out first… but by then, Jokoryu was already out of balance. The commentator agrees: “He had no body” (that’s like saying his body was dead). But says the word “bimyo” – which means this is not clear-cut. The kyogi (discussion of a monoii) proceeds, and Onomatsu oyakata announces – surprisingly clearly – that they were discussing the leg, but decided with the judge. So it seems that they indeed judged Jokoryu’s body to be dead.

Hoshoryu is 2-0, and fans expect him to be matched next with Takanofuji (the former Takayoshitoshi, you know), who is also 2-0 and looking very aggressive.

Ichiyamamoto vs. Fujiazuma:

Compared to all the above drops and falls, this bout looks positively serene.

We venture into Juryo, where Kotokamatani is visiting to balance the odd number of sekitori in this basho. For this reason, he gets a fine-looking oicho-mage. He goes against our friend Akiseyama:

Akiseyama uses every bit of his experience, but Kotokamatani plants his head and exhibits a lot of patience. He is rewarded by becoming todays blob on the NSK’s “Fan-chosen Fighting Spirit Rikishi” list (Makushita rikishi don’t have a photo in the NSK app, so they are shown as a rikishi-shaped blob if they get elected for that list).

Let’s finish with Aminishiki, who is facing Irodori, the newbie. Aminishiki tends to win first encounters:

And indeed he does, in his usual style. Your opponent gets too enthusiastic about his tsuppari? Move a little sideways and let him enjoy the view from below the dohyo.

Natsu Day 4 – Ones To Watch

Bruce H Natsu Basho 2019, Ones To Watch, Terunofuji (照ノ富士) , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After a fairly light schedule on day 3, we are back in the thick of things for day 4. Sadly Wakaichiro lost his second match after a shaky tachiai led to problems with balance and foot placement. He starts Natsu with 0-2, which I am sure is frustrating the daylights out of him. In Jonokuchi, Kitanowaka improved to 2-0 over Tokisakae. Watching Kitanowaka fight, you can see there is a great deal of potential in need of refinement. The good news is that the Hakkaku heya has a strong program, and he will have every chance to make the most out of his sumo years.

Ichiyamamoto dispatched Fujiazuma to improve to 1-1, Hoshoryu took Jokoryu apart with a yoritaoshi, and improved to 2-0 as well. In the battle of the “Ones to Watch”, Akua forced out Midorifuji to take the white start and join the 2-0 cohort, joined by Naya, who slapped down Koba. There is a lot of potential for the “Ones to Watch” to face each other even before they cross the kachi-koshi line, and the next few days may see so very exciting action in Makushita. Many of these young men may be the stars of the near future, and we could be witnessing the beginning of rivalries.

Day 4 Matches

Wakatakamoto vs Nogami – Midorifuji defeated Nogami on day 2, and now he faces another of our cohort. Nogami is close to his highest ever rank, and I am sure he is going to be a chew-toy for all of the budding sumo monsters that are stomping around the top echelon of Makushita this basho.

Musashikuni vs Higonojo – Musashikuni still looks really rough, which is a huge disappointment of his fans. Higonojo is a 34 year old former Juryo man, who is fairly far down the banzuke after taking a 7-0 Makushita yusho at Osaka 2018. Good luck Mama!

Roga vs Yamaguchi – I know a number of fans have Roga fever, and there are good reasons why. But his first ever professional sumo loss came on day 2, and hopefully it has helped re-focus the young man on the match at hand. Today he faces on of my favorites in former Maegashira and Nihon University man, Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi’s rank has been falling since he went kyujo at Hatsu 2018, and it’s likely he is fighting hurt. Good luck Roga, you may be in for a rough ride.

Terunofuji vs Kasugaryu – Terunofuji looks less pasty, flabby and worried than he did in Osaka. He seems to have some of his ring sense back, and a good measure of his aggressive fighting spirit. Kasugaryu’s highest ever rank was near the bottom of Makushita, so this may be one-sided.

Shoji vs Tokimaru – A bright spot for Mushashigawa heya is that Shoji seems to be in good health and fighting well. He faces another young, hard charging rikishi in Tokimaru, who hails from Miyagino heya, where Hakuho practices.

Amakaze vs Daishoki – I should also mention that Amakaze continues to look solid. The Oitekaze heya returnee seems to be over his physical issues, and is fighting well. He’s on a shallower climb back up the banzuke than Terunofuji, but I am liking what I see thus far.

Hattorizakura vs Yamamoto – Hattorizakura did in fact state he was going to try to achieve kachi-koshi during the Reiwa era. These eras can last a few decades, so don’t try to set your calendar by Hattorizakura’s prediction.

Natsu Day 3 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishoho, Endo (遠藤), Enho, Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoeko, Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Natsu Basho 2019, Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shimanoumi, Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Tokushoryu, Tomokaze, Yoshikaze (嘉風), Ōnoshō (阿武咲) ,

After behaving itself for the first 2 days, the Natsu basho decided it was time to mix things up a bit, and let the men at the top of the banzuke taste some clay. All around it was a solid day of sumo, with some real crowd pleasers in the mix, and a couple of worrying indications about some favorites. Let’s launch.

Day 3 Highlights

Takagenji defeats Daishoho – Takagenji takes his third win of the basho over a frustrated Daishoho. Takagenji got the better of the tachiai, and was able to land a deep left hand inside, blocking Daishoho from getting his preferred grip. It seemed Daishoho kept trying to get something going with his blocked right hand, leaving Takagenji to control the match. Daishoho rallied for a moment, but he had no offensive sumo to work with today.

Kotoeko defeats Chiyoshoma – A lightning tachiai from Chiyoshoma nearly carried the match, but Kotoeko was able to dodge the follow up attack and rally. Both men loaded throws, but Kotoeko pulled Chiyoshoma away from his pivot leg and dropped him to the clay. Fast thinking and great execution from Kotoeko today.

Enho defeats Sadanoumi – You don’t get to see enough leg-picks in the top division, but Enho had this one dialed in. He went after Sadanoumi’s bandaged right knee, and there was nothing Sadanoumi could do to stop the loss.

Chiyomaru defeats Tokushoryu – Chiyomaru opens 3-0 after Tokushoryu can’t seem to remember how to win an oshi battle. Tokushoryu really looked like he could not commit to oshi or yotzu, and Chiyomaru made him pay.

Shimanoumi defeats Shohozan – Shimanoumi finally picks up his first win, after enduring a few good blows from Shohozan. Shimanoumi was able to lock up Shohozan’s arms, and keep him on defense.

Tomokaze defeats Onosho – Good defensive footwork by Tomokaze, he absorbed Onosho’s tachiai, and was able to stand him up, move to the side, and force the tadpole out.

Kagayaki defeats Nishikigi – Kagayaki takes control of the tachiai, coming in low and strong and hitting Nishikigi before he could even get his hands off the shikiri-sen. From there it was all Mr. Fundamentals, who seems to have shaken off some of his ring rust.

Asanoyama defeats Meisei – I really like the way Asanoyama is fighting right now. Although that sumo was some of this / some of that, Asanoyama kept a single focus of being close, inside and moving forward. It paid off as Meisei really had no chance to do anything other than react.

Kaisei defeats Shodai – Shodai has yet to take one from the Brazilian (you’ll sometimes see their head-to-head written as 1-9, but that 1 is a fusen –PinkMawashi), and I think its because Kaisei knows that Shodai’s tachiai is the worst in the top division, and as long as he can keep Shodai from moving laterally, he’s a cream puff.

Ryuden defeats Yoshikaze – Zero forward pressure from Yoshikaze. Whatever is affecting him physically has robbed him of any offensive power, which is terrible because Yoshikaze’s sumo is mostly attack.

Abi defeats Chiyotairyu – This was won at the tachiai, as Abi was able to engage first and dictate the terms of the match. Chiyotairyu struggled to even get his footing, let along respond to the double arm thrust attack common to Abi-zumo.

Daieisho defeats Aoiyama – Aoiyama had nothing today. Zip. Zero. Daieisho brought his best sumo: center mass, moving forward strongly. Right now Daieisho is doing well for Maegashira 2, and I am curious to see what kind of hell he takes from the Ozeki.

Tochinoshin defeats Okinoumi – Okinoumi made him work for it, but the crowd was cheering for Tochinoshin. It’s safe to say that for the moment, Tochinoshin looks genki and he is back to being a fearsome competitor. Tochinoshin landed his left hand early, and although Okinoumi had a lot of moves he unleashed trying to break that grip, Tochinoshin held fast.

Tamawashi defeats Ichinojo – Textbook denshamichi-sumo. Tamawashi was the Shinkansen and Ichinojo was in no position to stop him. Tamawashi put everything into a center-mass contact at the tachiai, and engaged full power forward.

Mitakeumi defeats Takayasu – Clearly Takayasu is not in good physical condition. Furthermore his sumo seems to have gotten into a vague and unaggressive state. With Takayasu’s feet seldom in good position, Mitakeumi found himself able to control the Ozeki, and bring him off balance to slap him down.

Endo defeats Goeido – Goeido-unit suffered a critical malfunction when his attempt to get a mawashi hold at the tachiai failed, and Endo capitalized on the momentary break in the Ozeki’s concentration. Endo is capable, but fans wonder why we don’t see him execute on that level every match.

Hokutofuji defeats Takakeisho – Takakeisho’s initial shove did not find its mark, and Hokutofuji closed the gap to the point where Takakeisho could not set up the wave train. Hokutofuji’s opening gambit had a very narrow path to success, but he made it work.

Kakuryu defeats Kotoshogiku – Yes, but just barely. Kotoshogiku surprised the Yokozuna with a fierce hybrid attack rather than the usual “hug-n-chug”. In reaction (that’s Kakuryu’s thing, you see), the Yokozuna loaded a throw and they both went over together, but Kotoshogiku’s right forearm made it to the clay first. (shortly followed by Kakuryu’s head. We hope he’s ok after that. –PinkMawashi)