Hattorizakura

Hatsu Day 8 – Lower Division Ones To Watch

Bruce H Wakaichiro (若一郎) , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Day 8, Nakabe – the middle day of the basho, is upon us, and the scheduling team has gone wild putting most of our “Ones to Watch” on the torikumi. Are we excited? Yes indeed! We almost got Herouth’s hoped for match of Ura vs Hoshoryu, but Hoshoryu is taking on Ichiyamamoto (also one of our ones to watch) instead. Should they both win or both lose, they could face each other next.

We also have fan favorite Wakaichiro fighting early in the day, along with several of his Musashigawa stablemates. It’s going to be wall to wall, and Tachiai will be glued to our streams from the start.

Hattorizakura vs Shishimaru – What would nakabe be without the perpetual parade of defeats brought to us by the little guy? We would all love to see him win for a change, but first he must WANT to win.

Wakaichiro vs Asanoshima – I can’t describe how excited I am to see the rikishi from Humble, TX face off against 3-0 Asanoshima. This is in fact a rematch, with Wakaichiro winning their prior match. Asanoshima has been in sumo since the mid 2000s, so it’s youth against experience tonight.

Shoji va Saionji – A 2-1 bracket match pits Musashigawa’s Shoji against Sandanme mainstay Saionji from Shikihide heya. This will probably come down to the all important tachiai, as the two are fairly equally matched.

Torakio vs Kaizen – The scion of Naruto heya faces Asakayama heya’s Kaizen in this 2-1 bracket match. Kaizen has been flipping between Makushita and Sandanme, and tends to get a kachi-koshi at this rank. I predict it will be a bit of an uphill challenge for Torakio.

Musashikuni vs Aozora – A note on Musashikuni (nephew of former Yokozuna Musashimaru), he seems to have suffered a foot injury a few weeks a go, and it has been negatively impacting his sumo. Coming into this match 0-3, make-koshi is on the line, and we hope Musashikuni can find a way to endure the physical challenge and win.

Midorifuji vs Kainoryu – Ushering in the fan favorite section of Makushita, Midorifuji will take on Kainoryu in a 1-2 bracket match. Kainoryu is fighting at his highest ever rank, and looking to pick up 3 wins from the last 4 matches. But former Kinki University rikishi Midorifuji will be no easy mark.

Ura vs Kairyu – This 2-1 bracket match is back to back with another pair of high interest rikishi, and I suspect the atmosphere in the Kokugikan may be closer to that of a top division match for a few minutes. Ura’s opponent is a 28 year old veteran who has been ranked as high as Makushita 2, and represents the kind of rikishi he will have to fight is way past to return to the Juryo ranks.

Hoshoryu vs Ichiyamamoto – Immediately following the Ura match, fan favorite Hoshoryu mounts the dohyo for another 2-1 bracket match. He faces another of our “ones to watch”, former Chuo University star Ichiyamamoto. This one has a lot of potential as well!

Hatsu Day 6 – Lower Division Ones To Watch

Bruce H Hatsu Basho 2019, Ones To Watch , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We start act 2, and some of our lower division “ones to watch” are getting ready for their 3rd bout of the tournament. On day 6 we can enjoy some great matches, and we all hope that Kenho’s mawashi is tightened up today.

Hattorizakura vs Yuriki – Sumo’s eternal loss leader will once again show the offensive power of a discarded sock with a hole in the toe.

Wakaichiro vs Fudano – Wakaichiro finds himself in the 2-0 bracket, after surprising everyone by winning his previous match fighting on the mawashi. That match was rough and chaotic, but it was a win. Will he try it again against veteran Fudano?

Kenho vs Kasugamine – Kenho “The Package” squares off against 34 year old veteran Kasugamine in this 0-2 bracket match. Kenho has a distinct size advantage, and Kasugamine has had trouble holding rank above the bottom of Sandanme.

Torakio vs Denzan – In a 1-1 bracket match, Naruto beya’s man from Bulgaria tries to pick up his second white star. He faces Denzan, a veteran of 89 basho who at one time ranked securely in mid-Makushita, before injuries and poor performance relegated him to Sandanme.

Shoji vs Izumigawa – Another 1-1 bracket match, Musashigawa’s Shoji will take on Minezaki heya’s Izumigawa. Izumigawa is another young, up and coming rikihsi who is working his way through Sandanme. Should be a fairly even fight.

Musashikuni vs Okinofuji – It seems to be Musashigawa day at the Kokugikan as the heya’s scion Musashikuni competes against Hakkaku’s Okinofuji. Sadly this is an 0-2 bracket match, and Musashikuni has struggled thus far at Hatsu.

Ura vs Kitaharima – Ura picked up his first loss in several months on day 4, dropping to 1-1. Now he faces Kitanoumi’s former Juryo rikishi Kitaharima. Ura has probably reached a level of competition that is finally a challenge for him at this level of post-operative training and conditioning. So he will be working much harder to win from here on out.

Ichiyamamoto vs Hamayutaka – Ichiyamamoto dropped his first match (day 2) and now finds himself in the 1-1 bracket for his 3rd match. He will need to best Tokitsukaze heya’s Hamayutaka, who is fighting at close to his highest ever rank. They are roughly the same size and weight, so it could be a real battle.

Hatsu Day 4 – Lower Division Ones To Watch

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Kenho
The Enormous Kenho Pushes A Light Snack Into the Fryer While a Gyoji Looks On In Terror

Day 3 was a feast of lower division goodness, which included Ura’s first loss in several months. I am going to guess he has finally hit the level of competition that he will need to work to overcome, but I have no doubt he will overcome. Naya (Taiho’s grandson) won his match, as did Akua.

Day 4 looks solid, with perpetual loser Hattorizakura up first to start the day with a predictable loss. It’s hilarious to note, he may also be the only rikishi to lose twice in a single match, which happened day 1.

Hattorizakura vs Daigonishiki – We know how this one goes, but I am sure we are all curious to see if he might somehow manage a win (a real one) someday.

Kenho vs Toho – I do hope that Kenho’s mawashi is more secure this time. His day 2 match saw him struggling pre bout to keep it in the upright and locked position, and he was not entirely successful. Toho is a much smaller, faster rikishi, from Otake heya. His biggest challenge is to manage the sheer bulk that Kenho brings to the dohyo.

Musashikuni vs Irie – The Musashigawa scion has faced Irie twice, and lost both times. Irie is a 30 year old veteran who has been prowling around Makushita for 39 basho. He’s a big fellow. I hope Musashikuni’s giant hands are big enough to move this guy.

Midorifuji vs Asakoki – Midorifuji faces a lightweight brawler in Asakoki, who won their prior match on day 6 of Aki.

Hoshoryu vs Takaryu – From the annals of “keep hope alive”, if Hoshoryu wins, the much hoped for match up between Hoshoryu and Ura is still possible. So lets hope that Makushita veteran (and former Juryo 13) Takaryu is not in top form.

Ichiyamamoto vs Tokushinho – Likewise, this is a rematch between these two rikishi, with Ichiyamamoto losing their prior engagement at Hatsu last year. Tokushinho spent 27 basho in Juryo, so I am guessing this is going to be a bit of a spanking.

Hatsu Day 1 – Lower division bouts

Herouth Hatsu Basho 2019 , , , , , , ,

Join me as I dig through YouTube and Twitter for the bouts that never make it to the mainstream feeds.

Jonokuchi

Hattorizakura-Denpoya. Denpoya is the latest recruit at Isegahama, one of six men from Aomori prefecture. Unlike most of the recent recruits by that heya, he actually has the size for sumo. But he went 1-3 at maezumo and has a lot to learn. His lucky stars arranged for him to face Hattorizakura on the first day, after Watai from Chiganoura beya became a no-show.

Take a look at this rather amusing bout between the two:

What you see here is the bout begin in jikan-mae. That’s a rarity in itself. Looks like Denpoya is so green he doesn’t get the whole shikiri ritual yet. But Hattorizakura goes ahead and meets him, sort of. And so the gyoji starts conducting it as a bout – which, if this is indeed jikan-mae tachiai, is not a mistake. I suppose the shimpan considered this to be a matta rather than a jikan-mae with mutual consent. So they go at it again. No worries – Hattorizakura is there to dispense white stars for everybody.

Soon after this bout came one between two other beginners – Shimomura and Daitenma. I am keeping an eye on Daitenma as I always watch out for foreigners. But this bout (sorry, I don’t have footage) went to Shimomura. So Daitenma is not going to be the next Mongolian to enter the 21 club.

Jonidan

Apart from Wakaichiro’s bout, which you have already seen in Bruce’s post, there were several bouts that drew my eye. I give you the ever-popular Colin Powell Satonofuji vs. Azumaiwa. I’m glad to see Satonofuji still active. I thought he might decide to call it quits after Harumafuji’s retirement ceremony, where he performed what was probably his last yumi-tori shiki. However, I guess he likes his life just as it is:

Go Satonofuji! He even attempts a death-spin there.

Another veteran in Jonidan is Hanakaze, mostly famous for being the oldest active rikishi (aged 48). If he gets through Hatsu and Haru safely, he will be the first rikishi almost a century to do sumo over three different eras. However, this is not a good start:

Another match of interest in this division is the one between Takataisho and Miyakomotoharu. Takataisho is the tsukebito Takanoiwa has beaten up, buying himself a one-way ticket to the barber shop. On previous occasions (yes, I’m looking at you, Takanofuji, formerly Takayoshitoshi), the victims quickly found themselves out of the world of sumo, so I am keeping an eye on Takataisho, to see that he doesn’t suffer a similar fate. So far, he seems to be doing well. He now serves as Takakeisho’s tsukebito. And here is how he looks on the dohyo:

Whoa, Miyakomotoharu, you don’t have to take the winner down with you, you know. Takataisho seems to be genki. Good!

Makushita

Yes, I’m skipping Sandanme, as I haven’t found any footage from it. In Makushita, we open with Naya vs. Aomihama.

Straightforward oshi-zumo, and Naya gets his first gold star.

As we followed young Narutaki and his big brother Kyonosato through the Jungyo, I thought you may be interested in Narutaki‘s bout vs. Yokoe.

Unfortunately, Narutaki gets beaten rather spectacularly. He says he was very tense because this was his first Makushita bout.

And now we get into the “purgatory” part of Makushita, and we continue to follow Kototebakari as he takes on Tennozan.

A monoii is called. It takes Chiganoura oyakata quite some time to get up on the dohyo and he seems to be struggling with his link to the video room, but that’s his weapon of choice for the discussion. The video room says “dotai” – both down at the same time – so a torinaoshi it is, and this time Kototebakari gets a clean cut win.

Finally, we have a bout between two familiar names: Gokushindo, who had a very short visit to Juryo before dropping back to Makushita, and Wakamotoharu, also known as the second most gifted Onami brother

This is an entertaining bout between two rikishi who obviously have technique. But Gokushindo needs to work on his power.

Josh already gave you a wonderful summary of the day in Juryo, so all I have left to do is to give you the video to see for yourselves:

Now onward to Day 2, with Hoshoryu and Ura!