Aoiyama the Man Mountain

Kyushu Day 2 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aki Basho 2022, Aoiyama, Azumaryu, Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Hiradoumi (平戸海), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Hoshoryu, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ichiyamamoto (一山本), Kagayaki (輝), Kiribayama (霧馬山), Kotoeko, Kotonowaka, Kotoshoho, Meisei, Midorifuji, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikifuji (錦富士), Nishikigi, Oho (王鵬), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tobizaru, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Ura (宇良), Wakamotoharu (若元春), Wakatakakage, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , , ,

I was satisfied with the action day 1, and if I am being honest, I think the match ups for day 2 are a notch better than we had for shonichi. Today may be contrasts day, as I see more than a couple clashes of sumo styles and approaches on the torikumi. Highlights for me are

  • Chiyoshoma vs Abi – forward power vs hit and shift
  • Wakamotoharu vs Hokutofuji – patient, stead sumo vs big opening move and rapid dispatch of any opponent
  • Ura vs Daieisho – Grab-n-tug sumo vs all power forward mega-thrust attacks
  • Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – rising stars battle for dominance
  • Takayasu vs Shodai – wild man sumo vs the wall of daikon

What We Are Watching Day 2

Chiyomaru vs Hiradoumi – Today’s Juryo visitor is none other than his mighty roundness, Chiyomaru. He won his opening day match against Churanoumi. Ranked at Juryo 1 West, a simple kachi-koshi should be enough to return him to the top division in January. Hiradoumi took their only prior match, during Aki. Both start the day 1-0.

Kagayaki vs Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi really needs to rally soon. To me he looks like he is still hurt, and as such will be easy meat for Kagayaki, who holds a 7-3 career record, and has 50 kg in bulk, and 30 cm in height on Terutsuyoshi. Ranked at just Maegashira 16E, a make-koshi would likely send him back to Juryo for Hatsu.

Ichiyamamoto vs Atamifuji – After an opening day loss, Atamifuji will look for his first win in his first ever match against Ichiyamamoto. The challenge being that Ichiyamamoto puts a lot of power into his double arm thrusting attack, and tends to be at maximum range when he starts his run. This robs anyone who needs a hand hold to fight of even the smallest chance to get into the battle. Atamifuji does has a 30 kg size advantage, maybe it will come in handy today.

Azumaryu vs Oho – Both men start the day 0-1, and are looking for their first win. Oho continues to struggle with consistency in his sumo, and so it’s tough to know if he will be dialed into his sumo today or not. They have four prior career matches, that have split evenly 2-2.

Kotoeko vs Chiyotairyu – Its Sadogatake vs Kokonoe on the clay! To me, Chiyotairyu did not look sharp day one. I worry he’s going to continue the poor performance that has been plaguing him since mid 2021. I suspect an injury is to blame. The two are nearly even at 8-7 career wins.

Okinoumi vs Kotoshoho – Also in the ranks of “looking not very genki”, is Okinoumi. Not that I fault him. At 37 years old, he’s close to the point where his body may be telling him it’s time to consider hanging up the mawashi and putting that kabu to use. Kotoshoho had an opening day win, but is still tuning up to full honbasho power.

Aoiyama vs Onosho – Two rikishi with large amounts of forward power going head to head, this could be fast and ugly. It will come down to if Onosho is in a mood to keep his balance under control, and his feet in a workable position. Aoiyama did not show much power on day one, and may still be nursing his injury from this summer.

Chiyoshoma vs Abi – I admit I want to see Abi wreck the lower / middle ranks this November. I think he got the rank he got by missing September, but a brutal hammering will do the most to put him back near the named ranks, where I think he belongs. Today might be a good day for Chiyoshoma to employ liberal amounts of lateral sumo.

Takarafuji vs Takanosho – The news for Takarafuji is not good. After an opening day loss where it looked to me like his feet got out of cadence, he gets to face Takanosho, who he has only beaten twice in 9 attempts. Now in his mid-thirties, I add him into the group of rikishi who are really suffering the effects of accumulated injuries.

Tochinoshin vs Myogiryu – Tochinoshin is also in this age group, but seems to have found a way to maintain some level of sumo power, in spite of a knee that is little more than gristle, curry and scraps of old newspapers. He and Myogiryu had a 32 match career record, with Myogiryu leading 18-14.

Nishikigi vs Endo – Both men start the day 0-1, and Endo could really use a win to keep his score closer to the midline. The good news is that Nishikigi has never beaten Endo (0-7), so this might be a good pickup for Endo.

Ryuden vs Nishikifuji – This has my attention as potentially a big fight to start the second half of action. Both won their opening day fights, and look fairly genki on shonichi. The only prior match was May while both were ranked in Juryo, and it went to Nishikifuji.

Wakamotoharu vs Hokutofuji – I would love to see Wakamotoharu have another match where he is careful, patient and calmly puts together a winning yorikiri. Of course, this is nearly the opposite of the way that Hokutofuji fights. I expect him to come in with a fast combo attack and an early nodowa. If he can get his favorite combo to pay off, Wakamotoharu is going to have his hands full. Hokutofuji leads the series 2-1.

Sadanoumi vs Midorifuji – Sadanoumi surprised Hokutofuji on day one, and I give him even chances of doing it again today against Midorifuji. The trick for Sadanoumi is to get his hands on Midorifuji before the Isegahama man can get his feet set and begin his offense. They have split their 2 prior matches.

Tobizaru vs Meisei – Sumo’s flying monkey moves from winning against Shodai to fighting Meisei. Meisei lost his opening day match, but has a 6-2 career record against Tobizaru. The reason why that may not matter much is that Tobizaru has improved quite a bit over the past few months, and will be tough for Meisei to maintain any kind of hold.

Ura vs Daieisho – Both lost on day 1, but Ura seemed to already be into his sumo in his loss against Kiribayama, while Daieisho looked ill prepared for this fight with Takakeisho. These two are evenly balanced across their careers with Daieisho having a narrow 5-4 lead. Daieisho will look to open up his mega-thrust attack path, and Ura will be looking for an errant body part to grab and tug.

Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – I am eager to see at what point Wakatakakage breaks out of his “cold start” routine and settles down to some powerful sumo. I note with amusement they have him fighting Kiribayama on day two, and he holds a 7-4 career advantage. A great fight of two of sumo’s rising stars.

Ichinojo vs Mitakeumi – Mitakeumi loves to fight Ichinojo most days. He holds a 15-7 career advantage over the Boulder, and has won 3 of their 4 matches so far this year. Mitakeumi needs the win to continue his drive to return to Ozeki, but Ichinojo looked really sharp in his day 1 win against Tamawashi.

Tamawashi vs Hoshoryu – If I had to guess, Tamawashi may have some frustrations from his day 1 match with Ichinojo to work out. Probably against Hoshoryu’s face, or neck. Hoshoryu is no easy mark right now, and in fact has a narrow 4-3 career lead against Tamawashi. This could be a big, quick match.

Takakeisho vs Kotonowaka – I harbor hopes that Takakeisho, the Grand Tadpole, will eject Kotonowaka like a damaged cassette tape stuck in an ancient Toyota Celica for 20 years. It’s been a while since we saw some solid wave-action, so here’s to hoping he can deliver that today.

Takayasu vs Shodai – I really don’t want to see Shodai as an Ozekiwake in January, so I hope he can find and reactivate his good sumo mode. He’s got a fairly fresh copy of Takayasu as challenger today, and that won’t be easy for him. He does hold a 17-9 career advantage, so it may come down to Takayasu keeping his balance and his feet during his habitual big opening forearm strike.

Kyushu Day 9 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishoho, Daishomaru, Endo (遠藤), Enho, Hakuho (白鵬), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ishiura (石浦), Kagayaki (輝), Kotoeko, Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kotoyuki, Kyushu Basho 2019, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), 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), Takanosho, Takarafuji (宝富士), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tsurugisho, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , , , , ,

There was some first-rate sumo today, and as expected the match between Takakeisho and Hokutofuji was the barn-burner highlight of the day. But Mitakeumi also seems to be shaking off the fog of his earlier concussion, and getting closer to normal fighting form. Plus great moves from Shohozan as he shifts gears and decides that while hitting his opponent is fun and good cardio, sometimes you just need to give the other guy a brutal battle hug.

Highlight Matches

Tochiozan defeats Daishomaru – Welcome back Tochiozan, you can see the experience he brings to the dohyo giving him the edge in controlling this match. Take a look at who holds the center of the dohyo for most of the match. Tochiozan has solid offense, but his defense was nearly unassailable today.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Ishiura – Terutsuyoshi drove harder into the tachiai, and Ishiura was unhappy with his resulting hand placement. As he moved to get better position, Terutsuyoshi advanced with strength and was the winner. Ishiura had solid defensive footing, but Terutsuyoshi showed a lot of strength today, and kept low.

Shodai defeats Daishoho – Hey, Shodai had a half decent tachiai today! He had both hands inside within a blink of an eye, and advanced. Daishoho had no answer and took the loss after it was clear he was beaten. Not sure what injury is plaguing Daishoho, but he may be an early favorite for the barge of the damned headed to Juryo.

Kagayaki defeats Shimanoumi – I love that Kagayaki is getting comfortable fighting, and now winning chest to chest with his opponent. His oshi-zumo form has been pretty good, but if he can get even a few solid yotsu moves in his toolkit, I predict he will frequent higher spots on the banzuke. I always preach that his fundaments are very good, and you can see them on display. His upper body is a bit awkward, but his defensive foot placement is excellent. I love how low he keeps his feet as he steps forward. That man can transmit power to ground.

Takanosho defeats Yutakayama – Takanosho exceeded my expectations today, his tachiai took him inside, and he did not waste a moment of his superior position. Yutakayama had a good defense ready, but Takanosho was able to pin Yutakayama’s right arm against his body, and lift Yutakayama as he advanced. Unable to generate much forward pressure to counter Takanosho’s attack, Yutakayama stepped out and took the loss.

Sadanoumi defeats Chiyotairyu – Wow! Look at that tachiai from Chiyotairyu. But even more impressive is Sadanoumi skids to a halt and drops immediately into attack position as Chiyotairyu rushes in. With an opponent like Chiyotairyu lumbering into him, Sadanoumi absorbs the second hit and rolls to his right, and no force on earth can slow Chiyotairyu’s advance. Down he goes. Great defensive gambit and execution by Sadanoumi today.

Kotoeko defeats Nishikigi – Kotoeko seems to finally be on a rally, and I am happy to see him fighting well at last. Nishikigi owned the first part of this match, and Kotoeko put all of his strength into slowing down Nishikigi’s attack, and keeping his feet in the ring, waiting for his chance. That chance came soon enough, as Nishikigi surged to finish Kotoeko, but Kotoeko evaded and send Nishikigi out. Defensive sumo done well, and a well earned win for Kotoeko.

Chiyomaru defeats Tsurugisho – I suspect the matta disrupted Tsurugisho’s battle plan, as the second attempt at the tachiai was all Chiyomaru.

Enho defeats Kotoshogiku – Watching Enho busily harry Kotoshogiku was kind of a wonder. I would guess that Enho was executing 2 moves to every 1 of Kotoshogiku, and it completely overwhelmed the former Ozeki. In typical Enho style, he grabs any stray body part that is closest to him and starts tugging with enthusiasm. Much like some over amorous terrier addressing your leg, the immediate reaction is “get that thing off of me!”. During this visceral, human reaction, Enho merrily defeats you. You can’t be too upset about it either, because let’s face it – he’s adorable.

Shohozan defeats Onosho – Wow! Big Guns starts his day with rapid fire double hand face massage to Onosho, and scales it up to volleys of haymakers to Onosho’s enormous head. In self-defense, Onosho closes the distance and goes chest to chest. Ever the full-service opponent, Shohozan obliges and gives Onosho a jolly heave-ho via an expertly delivered uwatenage, with a spicy leg lift to give it an extra flair. Great match.

Aoiyama defeats Takarafuji – As happens most times these two match, Takarafuji suffers terribly and gets a trip to the clay at the hands of Big Dan and the V-Twin attack.

Meisei defeats Myogiryu – Meisei expertly deployed a hard tachiai, a quick thrust combo into a side step at Myogiryu charged to take advantage. Exquisitely timed by Meisei.

Asanoyama defeats Daieisho – Daieisho tends to dominate his matches with Asanoyama, I think in part because Daieisho can really move hard into the tachiai. Today Asanoyama was able to get a workable outside grip and focused on getting Daieisho off balance, and succeeded. Asanoyama stays 1 behind Hakuho.

Okinoumi defeats Endo – Another great match, both of these rikishi are master technicians, and they brought out their extensive sumo toolboxes today, and put it all into the match. Feel free to watch it a few times, because it’s a guidebook on attack, counter-attack and improvisation.

Abi defeats Ryuden – As predicted, Ryuden was struggling, and by the time Abi landed the second volley, he was completely disrupted and headed for the clay. You can see him using his best counter-attack strategy, lifting Abi’s elbows from underneath. This has managed to shut down Abi-zumo a couple of times, but Ryuden can’t make it stick today.

Mitakeumi defeats Tamawashi – Mitakeumi expertly closed the distance to Tamawashi, and used his massive body as both a shield and a plow to contain and eject Tamawashi. Given that Mitakeumi still seems to be suffering from the effects of that blow to the head, this was a simple, and quite effective plan.

Takakeisho defeats Hokutofuji – We thought this might be a barn-burner, and indeed it set the dohyo on fire. Both men through everything they could muster into this fight, and I was quite impressed by Hokutofuji’s speed and combination attacks. Takakeisho knew he could not out-reach the Komusubi, or out maneuver him, but focused on what he does best, overwhelming force applied center mass. Hokutofuji landed solidly, but left his chest wide open. Good match, and I dare say that we sumo fans can look forward to these matches for years to come.

Hakuho defeats Kotoyuki – Points to Kotoyuki for taking the fight to Hakuho, but The Boss is not even susceptible to this kind of sumo. Right now The Boss looks a bit bored. Sadly none of his usual challenges are around this November.

Aki Day 2 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aki Basho 2019, Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Azumaryu, 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), Ishiura (石浦), Kagayaki (輝), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoeko, Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kotoyuki, Meisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Sadanoumi (佐田の海), Shimanoumi, Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takagenji, Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takarafuji (宝富士), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Tomokaze, Toyonoshima, Tsurugisho, Yutakayama, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , , , , ,

The scheduling committee has no business drawing up a day 2 card this compelling with a typhoon raging in the streets of Tokyo. But they did, and now I would gladly rather be standing in the driving rain to get a “day of” ticket in the upper reaches of the Kokugikan than spending a week at work.

What We Are Watching Day 2

Yutakayama vs Takagenji – Takagenji sputtered a bit on day 1, and he’s got to turn that around. But he’s facing down Yutakayama, who I would guess is on a mission to catch up to Asanoyama sooner rather than later and battle him for the lead of the Freshmen.

Daiamami vs Tochiozan – Daiamami is up from Juryo for the day to fill in the banzuke hole left by Takayasu. Tochiozan holds a 2-0 career lead over the Oitekaze man, and is not looking at all sharp to start Aki. He is another on my “watch list” of beloved veterans who might leave us in the near future.

Tsurugisho vs Ishiura – Ishiura suffered from being too low on day 1, and ate some Tokyo clay. Tsurugisho has gotten a formula for beating Ishiura (3-1) from their days in the lower divisions, so let’s see if Team Hakuho can pull out of the ditch on day 2.

Azumaryu vs Toyonoshima – A pair of storied vets go head to head? Oh do sign me up! Toyonoshima has not fared well in the past (1-3), but the typhoon may be blowing new atmosphere into the basho.

Shohozan vs Kagayaki – This makes 2 basho in a row where Kagayaki comes in encrusted with thick, heavy ring rust. Will we see the highly mobile combat style of Shohozan today, or will he continue with his new love of yotsu?

Nishikigi vs Daishoho – Nishikigi: living, walking proof that in sumo, you don’t really have to see your opponent to be victorious. Or even make it to the joi-jin it seems. He holds a 2-0 advantage over Daishoho. so maybe he squints out another win today.

Sadanoumi vs Onosho – Onosho’s red mawashi needs wins to power itself, and having failed to feed it on day 1, he tries again against Sadanoumi, whom has an 0-3 record against Onosho. We want that blazing belt of fire do its work. Let’s see some tadpole sumo!

Enho vs Meisei – Oh I am just very excited for this one. Something lit in Enho day 1, and it was magic. Maybe he is just racking wins in week 1 before everyone comes up to full basho level, or maybe he’s over that shoulder injury. What makes this great is that Meisei is no push-over, and seems to be bouncing back from his 4-11 make koshi in Nagoya.

Okinoumi vs Terutsuyoshi – As we saw in Nagoya, when Okinoumi fights a pixie, the normal mechanics seem to break down. This is his first ever match against Terutsuyoshi, and I think the young powerhouse is going to give the veteran a hard match.

Kotoyuki vs Takarafuji – I can’t believe that Kotoyuki is mid-Maegashira. If he somehow manages to kachi-koshi at this rank, it may be a sign of some sort. Kotoyuki has cut back on his crowd surfing, and it seems to have helped his sumo. Takarafuji will, of course, execute his excellent technical sumo.

Shimanoumi vs Kotoshogiku – I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by how long Kotoshogiku has been able to persist in the Maegashira ranks. He has somehow manage to keep his banged up knees in just good enough condition to rack up 8 wins when he needs them. Today he’s got newcomer powerhouse Shimanoumi.

Kotoeko vs Myogiryu – A pair of strong, heavily muscled, compact rikishi who love to grab a hold of an opponent and toss them around. I am hoping we don’t get some kind of cheap slap down action from these two, and instead its a battle of stamina and guile.

Tamawashi vs Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu let himself get locked up, boxed up and shipped home to Arakawa on day 1. Day 2 it’s toe to toe against skilled pugilist Tamawashi in a battle that may feature a tachiai detectable on seismometers.

Ryuden vs Shodai – Shin-Ikioi takes on Shodai, who in spite of his soft, flaccid tachiai, can actually produce some effective sumo if he can survive the first step. Ryuden needs a bounce back, as all of the “cool kids” are going to vie to stuff the San’yaku party bus to Kyushu.

Tomokaze vs Endo – A first time meeting between two high skill rikishi who both tend to come into a match with a masterful battle plan? This one is either going to be an epic war of warriors, or end in a blink. This match just oozes potential.

Mitakeumi vs Daieisho – Mitakeumi spent too much time with Ryuden on TV eating the contents of various fields around Japan just prior to the basho. As a result, I think Mitakeumi is still trying to digest all of that daikon, and may feel much better soon. In the mean time, we may see Daieisho dredge him in potato starch and deep fry him for 90 seconds, before serving him on a bed of cabbage.

Aoiyama vs Takakeisho – Folks, each one of these is going to be a nail-biter. Although he holds a 3-1 advantage over the man-Mountain, Takakeisho is clearly only about 80% right now. We have yet to see a proper wave-action attack. Aoiyama, I am confident, is going to bat Takakeisho around to see if Weebils really can fall down.

Ichinojo vs Goeido – This should show us how sturdy Goeido’s injured ankle is. If he blasts into Ichinojo and can beat him moving forward, Goeido may be tough to beat this time. Ichinojo, I predict, will use his enormity to his utmost.

Tochinoshin vs Asanoyama – I am going to assume both men go for yotsu, with Asanoyama spending a lot of attention keeping Tochinoshin from landing that left hand grip to set up the lift-and-shift. Look for Asanoyama to go right-hand outside at the tachiai if he can.

Kakuryu vs Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji already had one Yokozuna scalp. If Kakuryu can prevail, that may in fact be the deciding difference in the last 5 days, when I expect both Yokozuna to be contending for the yusho. Handshake tachiai to be certain, but I expect Kakuryu to give ground and let Hokutofuji’s natural inclination to get too far forward do most of the work.

Abi vs Hakuho – I an going to guess Hakuho is pretty wound up after day 1, and Abi may be the discharge path for all of that coiled up sumo aggression. Will we see “The Boss” give our favorite sick-insect a flying lesson?

Nagoya Day 15 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, Hakuho (白鵬), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), 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, Takarafuji (宝富士), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Terutsuyoshi, Tochiozan (栃煌山), Tomokaze, Toyonoshima, Yago, Ōnoshō (阿武咲) , , , ,

We come to it at last, the final day of Nagoya, a basho that has been marred by injury, but filled with heroic efforts at all levels of the banzuke. Hundreds of stories of struggle played out on the dohyo. Many lost but some won, and as is always the case in sumo, almost everyone will train, recover and test their sumo again in 2 months.

A note to readers – Team Tachiai are eternally grateful that you take time to visit our site and read our posts, and that some of you take the time to comment. We truly treasure the time you share with us. This is a site run by fans, for fans. We take no ads, and expect no revenue from our effort. Most of us are professionals in other areas of endeavor, and the time we devote to Tachiai is done purely for the love of sumo, and our desire to make sumo more accessible to the world.

Because it is more or less a hobby, it can become tough to find time to contribute. Long-time readers will note that my inter-basho posting fell off a cliff shortly after the birth of my first child 2 years ago. I personally would love to put more up during the gap between tournaments, but Tachiai has to take a back seat to my job and my family. Others have noted that recent posts are not necessarily always full coverage of a day’s matches. When my professional life makes demands that shove my normal sumo-writing time out of the way, or compress the 2 hours or so I would rather spend writing up the day’s results, the blog does suffer.

But I think I speak for the entire team in saying we remain committed to our cause, and while we can’t always spend as much time on sumo as we would like, we will spend all that we can with you, dear readers.

With day 15 racing towards us now, there are some great matches on tap. In fact, the torikumi was late to be published Saturday, and it was not available until I woke Saturday AM in Texas. I chuckled to myself, noting that even with a heavily depleted roster, they managed to keep our interest to the very end. But the one match that will top all others is the final bout of the day: Both Yokozuna will face each other for the Emperor’s cup. The advantage here goes to Kakuryu, as he needs just 1 win to take home the yusho, whereas the injured Hakuho must win twice. Put an extra bottle of sake on ice—it could be a big day.

Reminder – NHK World Japan will be streaming the last 90 minutes live overnight US time. Everything kicks off at 3:30 AM Eastern / 12:30 AM Pacific.

What We Are Watching Day 15

Chiyomaru vs Nishikigi – Both men come into this match with a horrible 5-9 record, with the loser walking away with 10 losses. Nishikigi tends to be able to trap Chiyomaru in his preferred arm-lock, and take away any mobility that Chiyomaru might use. 8-2 career record favors Nishikigi. Chiyomaru faces possible demotion to Juryo with a loss. -lksumo

Enho vs Daishoho – Enho has been injured this entire basho, and would have a daily allotment of tape across his upper body. But he managed to endure and get 8 wins, and will get at least some measure of safety higher up the banzuke for September. His opponent, the 6-8 Daishoho, is much higher ranked, already make-koshi, and at no risk of being sent to Juryo. So this match is just for a final score.

Shohozan vs Tochiozan – Unlike the match above, Tochiozan may be at risk of demotion back to Juryo, which he has not seen since 2007. Tochiozan has not had more than 6 wins in a basho this entire year, and it may soon be time for him to hang up the mawashi. Would a win here save him? I will leave that to lksumo’s skilled forecasting.

Kagayaki vs Okinoumi – Darwin match! Only one of them can take home a kachi-koshi from this one, the other gets a losing record. Kagayaki, specifically, has struggled this basho. His sumo has been rougher and less focused than at any time that I can remember in recent tournaments. As a master of razor-sharp execution of sumo fundamentals, I have to assume he is nursing some injury.

Terutsuyoshi vs Tomokaze – What an awesome match. Should Hakuho lose the final regulation bout, the winner will share the Jun-Yusho, and I expect both of these fresh faces to the top division to unleash hell. The big risk will be the slippery Nagoya clay, and the danger of losing traction. Though Tomokaze has a 2-1 career score against Terutsuyoshi, both rikishi are operating well outside their normal sumo envelope this tournament.

Myogiryu vs Kotoyuki – It’s remarkable to me that I will write this: I expect Kotoyuki to win this one. He has a 9-3 career record over Myogiryu, and for some reason the stars have aligned on Kotoyuki’s sumo this July, and I think he’s likely to “win out”.

Chiyotairyu vs Toyonoshima – Second Darwin match of the day, and this one tugs at my emotions. I love Chiyotairyu’s sumo when it clicks, but you have to sit in respect and awe of what Toyonoshima has accomplished. From his injury, to his recovery, to fighting his way back through the mosh-pit of Makushita, and finally back to the top division. Just to have a completely cold start and rally to be 7-7 on senshuraku. I want Toyonoshima to win, but even if Chiyotairyu bests him today, he has my respect.

Yago vs Takarafuji – Yago is damaged and not doing real Yago sumo. I suppose he can sort himself out in Juryo, and I hope that he does.

Kotoeko vs Ichinojo – First time match up, and I am sure Kotoeko will need to think through how he counters that much mass. Ichinojo already has his 8th win, so this is to determine rank for September. There is a traffic jam trying to push into the Komusubi slot(s), so Ichinojo will in all likelihood not be in San’yaku for Aki.

Shodai vs Takagenji – I am a bit down that Takagenji has had such a rough ride on his first trip to the top division, but I hope he can sharpen his sumo through these bouts. Day 15 he gets Shodai, who will spring unpredictable sumo on any opponent he gets into a real fight against. Takagenji won their only prior match.

Aoiyama vs Daieisho – I am calling it for Aoiyama unless something odd happens (slippiotoshi?), Why? Aoiyama is 7-7 and Daieisho has his 8. I am not saying Daieisho would throw the match, but it would be wise to not risk injury for the sake of making it 9. I expect Daieisho will put up a good fight, but the Man Mountain will prevail.

Endo vs Hokutofuji – I would guess this match may be to see who gets Ryuden’s Komusubi slot, and it’s a brilliant pairing. Endo is going to bring masterful planning and execution to this match. Hokutofuji will bring speed and power. I think this one may come down to balance, stance and defensive footwork on the slick Nagoya dohyo.

Asanoyama vs Sadanoumi – I am not sure I understand this pairing, other than that this is the leftovers from the Darwin and ranking matches. 6-8 Asanoyama holds a minor 5-3 career advantage over 9-5 Sadanoumi.

Meisei vs Ryuden – Perhaps we should call this the “Kassen no shitsubou” or battle of disappointments. Both are bringing in double digit losses, and both are eager to move on and try again in September.

Onosho vs Tamawashi – The Nagoya Precision Slip And Fall Squad takes to the dohyo to see who can be more off-balance, and get more clay on their face one more time, in this classic head-to-head showdown of feet moving one way, body moving another. Regroup guys, your fans love you and look forward to your rebound in September.

Abi vs Kotoshogiku – The final Darwin match of the day. If Abi can prevail, he can keep his Komusubi slot. He has to take out Kotoshogiku, fresh from a gold star win over Hakuho on day 14. If Abi can get his thrusting train running, it will be tough for Kotoshogiku to generate much offense.

Mitakeumi vs Shimanoumi – No restart of an Ozeki run for Mitakeumi, but then his sumo has not really been Ozeki class this basho. Both rikishi come in 8-6 to this first ever match-up. I would give an advantage to Mitakeumi to be certain.

Kakuryu vs Hakuho – The Boss has to be respected to come into the basho with two bad arms and tough it out for the whole 15 days. The man is a sumo machine. I don’t think it’s a slam dunk for Kakuryu, as “The Boss” holds a 41-7 career advantage over “Big K”. But Hakuho is hurt, and Kakuryu’s sumo has been excellent this July. If Kakuryu loses the first, they fight again for the yusho. Guys, blow us away with your sumo, but for the sake of everyone – DON’T GET HURT!