Hakuoho will be back on Day 13, along with stablemate Kawazoe down in sandanme.
The Juryo contest is still a three horse race between Endo, Wakatakakage, and Onokatsu. But Onokatsu will fight Endo tomorrow while Wakatakakage takes on Shiden. I imagine they will have WTK take on Onokatsu on Day 14, setting up a thrilling final weekend.
Once again, NHK videos are available here.
Let’s get to the action.
Day 12 Highlights
Ichiyamamoto (6-6) defeated Ryuden (7-5). Ichiyamamoto used his brand of sumo to overpower Ryuden. Ryuden was unable to establish any sort of inside position to even attempt a grip on Ichi’s belt. Oshitaoshi.
Roga (5-7) defeated Nishikifuji (4-8). Nishikifuji came out hard at the tachiai, forceful with his tsuppari. Roga attempted to settle the bout and bring Nishikifuji under control by moving inside and forcing a belt battle. Nishikifuji reached in with his right and pulled Roga around but Roga used his right hand grip to pull Nishikifuji down. I wonder if he broke his hand or a finger because he was slow to get up and was indicating an injury to his hand. His hand was wedged in Roga’s belt when he went down, so it might have gotten caught. Uwatedashinage.
Sadanoumi (7-5) defeated Churanoumi (7-5). Sadanoumi had the advantage throughout this bout and tried to put Churanoumi away several times but Churanoumi had excellent footwork and would not get pushed out or shoved down. Sadanoumi changed his grip and pulled Churanoumi down with his left while swinging him by the belt grip with his right. Uwatenage.
Hokutofuji (6-6) defeated Tsurugisho (3-9). Tsurugisho put in his best effort to avoid being walked backward, as had happened the past few days. He used that upper body strength to hoist Hokutofuji but Hokutofuji continued the rotation and brought Tsurugisho down in the center of the ring. I have no idea how this is an Oshitaoshi and not a throw of some kind. Shitatenage, anybody?
Tamawashi (5-7) defeated Tomokaze (2-10). Tomokaze is broken and Tamawashi chucked him into the audience since the bin for the chikarakami is too small. Oshidashi.
Oshoma (9-3) defeated Shodai (5-7). Shodai was moving forward today, which was a great sign. His weight got too far ahead of his feet, though, and Oshoma brought him down. A mono-ii was called because Oshoma’s hand came down on Shodai’s topknot in a way that was suspicious for a hairpull but there was no hairpull. Gunbai-dori. Hatakikomi.
Tokihayate (5-7) defeated Nishikigi (3-9). Tokihayate launched himself at Nishikigi but Nishikigi shrugged off the charge and bulled Tokihayate toward the edge of the ring. Tokihayate twisted at the edge and tried to throw Nishikigi. As Nishikigi stumbled, Tokihayate finished him off with a gentle shove. Yorikiri.
Kinbozan (7-5) defeated Midorifuji (5-7). Solid footwork and fundamentals from Kinbozan as he maneuvered Midorifuji to the edge and out. Tsukidashi.
Onosho (5-7) defeated Takanosho (5-7). Onosho gripped Takanosho and whipped him around and down. Tsukiotoshi.
Halftime.
Kotoshoho (8-4) defeated Ura (6-6). Kotoshoho cycled backwards and dragged Ura out and down by the arm. Kotenage.
Takayasu (6-1-5) defeated Tobizaru (4-8). Tobizaru’s half-hearted henka met Takayasu’s full-hearted slap-down. Hatakikomi.
Hiradoumi (6-6) defeated Gonoyama (5-7). Hiradoumi hit Gonoyama hard at the tachiai but pulled, immediately. Gonoyama avoided going out and was trying to regain his balance at the edge when Hiradoumi circled back and picked him off…not gently. Thus, the “taoshi.” Oshitaoshi.
Atamifuji (5-7) defeated Oho (4-8). In the comments we’ve been talking with a bit of consternation about Oho’s tendency to pull. He did it again today and Atamifuji made him pay. Atamifuji blocked his initial forward progress but he had still worked Atamifuji beyond the shikirisen, about half way to the edge. This initial resistance was Oho’s trigger for a pull. But Atamifuji was not off balance and was ready. He drove Oho to the edge where it was Oho’s turn to resist, with futility. Atamifuji just churned those legs and blasted Oho into the crowd. Oshitaoshi.
Meisei (8-4) defeated Daieisho (8-4). Daieisho hit Meisei with just about everything he had. Tsuppari, stronger shoves, pulls, slapdown attempts…but Meisei had perseverance and misdirection. Once he got Daieisho near the bales, he pivoted and shoved Daieisho out. Tsukidashi.
Sanyaku
Onosato (9-3) defeated Takarafuji (8-4). Onosato dispatched Takarafuji, quickly. The takarabune set sail during a hurricane. The strong winds immediately overpowered the little dinghy and drove it back to the shore. Oshidashi.
Abi (8-4) defeated Shonannoumi (9-3). Shonannoumi got Abliterated. Abi’s tsuppari drove Shonannoumi backwards. Oddly, Abi tried a slapdown despite the fact that he was making great progress. Perhaps it was just habit? Shonannoumi did not go down but as Abi re-engaged with his shoves, Abi drove Shonannoumi back and out. Oshidashi.
Hoshoryu (8-4) defeated Mitakeumi (8-4). Mitakeumi should not be facing an Ozeki in this condition. It is beyond me why the lower-ranked Maegashira did not do their job and get dirt on him. He cannot bear much weight on that left foot. Hoshoryu wrapped him up and drove him back, yanking Mitakeumi to the right (Mitakeumi’s left). This made Mitakeumi left up on his left foot. Hoshoryu then plowed ahead as Mitakeumi hopped on his right foot. Yorikiri.
Kotozakura (9-3) defeated Wakamotoharu (3-6-3). Kotozakura pulled, trying to throw Wakamotoharu over the edge. Wakamotoharu used his own solid right-hand belt grip to pitch Kotozakura forward. Kotozakura kept his balance by hopping forward on his right leg and drove back into Wakamotoharu, pulling him down. Gunbai Kotozakura but this was close. A mono-ii was called but Shonosuke got it right with his initial call. Sukuinage.
Wrap-up
Speaking of dead things, I’m going to resurrect a dead conversation. My frustration with dead bodies is with cases like this where rather than looking at the timing of “death,” the bout decision relies on when so-and-so touches the ground first. Kotozakura was clearly in an unrecoverable position, foot in the air, before Wakamotoharu was in danger of going down. But Kotozakura is allowed to continue his attack though there is no way he will regain his balance.
The key for me is that I feel that in the Tobizaru/Kotozakura bout, until Tobizaru was down, he should have been allowed to attack. He did, and he pulled Kotozakura forward and out before he landed, though his body was, admittedly, in an unrecoverable position – whether his foot was in or not. The foot being in gives a concrete decision point where the judges can say, Kotozakura was out while Tobizaru was in, done. Instead, there’s this nebulous point when Tobizaru was “dead” and anything he did afterwards was essentially superfluous and that nebulous timing of death is never concretely defined.
Anyway, I think it’s instructive, and fun, to play devil’s advocate in situations where there is so much uncertainty around rules and when there is deliberate obscurity. Why? I think it is silly when governing bodies come up with silly rules, like the NFL’s “Tuck Rule,” to make up for blown calls and I don’t want to see that happen in sumo. Ambiguity allows for shenanigans and I do not like shenanigans. Your banzuke rank, for example, should not be safe just because your bright orange mawashi is the orangest of them all.
Back to more important matters, this crazy yusho. With Shonannoumi’s loss, he falls back into a four-way tie with Kotozakura, Onosato, and Oshoma. Oshoma will face his first test in Wakamotoharu while Shonannoumi will face Kotozakura. Onosato will take on Ura. Remember when Ura was leading this thing? He’s 6-6 and in danger of makekoshi.
Meanwhile, Kotoshoho has stormed back from his shaky start to the tournament and got his kachi-koshi. He and six other guys are one loss back: Hoshoryu, Abi, Daieisho, Meisei, Mitakeumi, the fore-mentioned Kotoshoho, and Takarafuji. Hoshoryu, meanwhile, takes on Midorifuji. Abi will face Meisei. Daieisho will take on Mitakeumi and Takarafuji will fight Kinbozan..who is fighting for kachi-koshi.
I’m looking forward to more action tonight. Who knows where this is going?