Jonokuchi

Natsu 2022: Jonokuchi Match Day 3 + 4

Andy Natsu Basho 2022

Match Day 3

Kazekeno is Takekaze’s recruit, doing quite well in Jonokuchi and aspires to become sekitori like heyamate, Yago. Don’t get caught out by the romaji transliteration of his shikona. It’s pronounced KAZE-KEN-Ō, not KAZE-KE-NO. For those who read hiragana, it’s かぜけんおう. English speakers are not the only ones who stumble over these unfamiliar shikona, so the Kyokai’s use of hiragana on their profile pages is very helpful.

His Match Day 3 opponent was Arise from Tokitsukaze beya. He used his 50kg weigh advantage and an effective nodowa to force Arise back to the straw bales. Arise’s center of balance was far too forward, so rather than attempt to drive forward, Kazekeno pulled Arise down.

80kg Yamato charged out low and forcefully to attempt to wrangle Sato. After their solid tachiai, Yamato dove low, trying to wrap of Sato’s leg…probably going for a Ura-like ashitori. Sato established his grip on Yamato’s belt and dropped back, the combined momentum forcing both out at the same time. Naruto oyakata and the other shimpan decided they needed a re-do. This time, Yamato heaved Sato up onto his shoulders, jerked back, and dropped Sato for a wild tasukizori.

I’ve got the video of both bouts here, followed by the Day 4 match-up of both winners, described below.

Match Day 4

Kazekeno’s nakabi opponent is Watanabe, one of several solid recruits in Nishonoseki beya, along with the twins, Hayashiryu and Rinko, as well as Sato. On Day 3, Watanabe had quickly bounced the smaller Wakasa over the tawara but faced a much stiffer challenge here. However, he swiftly dispatched Watanabe with a strong oshidashi win.

Afterwards, Yamato faced Tanaka from Sakaigawa-beya. Tanaka demonstrated excellent strength and technique against a larger opponent in Wakamiyabi. That straight-forward yorikiri was anything but easy. In a reverse of roles, though, he had the size advantage against Yamato but that doesn’t make the challenge any less intense. Both fought fiercely but Yamato’s skills are undeniable. He won with oshitaoshi.

With victories by Yamato and Kazekeno, I hope we’ll see the two matched up together on Tuesday.

Natsu 2022: Jonokuchi Match Day 2

Andy Maezumo, Natsu Basho 2022

Jonokuchi Match Day 2 featured a handful of good bouts. First up, we’ve got Tanji. I spoke highly of him yesterday, saying I thought he’d go deep in the yusho race. Effective jinx as he lost today to Sato…in spectacularly uncomfortable fashion. Fantastic throw! Next up, we’ve got Noguchi and Tanaka. As they jostle in the center of the ring, Tanaka deftly wraps his leg around Noguchi’s right and falls forward. Beautiful move. Then we’ve got Hayashiryu taking on Arise. We’ll add a little bit of pressure to Hayashiryu by making him fight directly in front of his oyakata. Of course Arise overpowers the youngster almost tossing him into Nishonoseki’s lap. I guess it could have been worse if he had landed ON Kisenosato…

I’ve included the maezumo bouts again, and there are several great bouts in here. I really liked the Yamada battle but Imazeki really got a workout. I feel the Jonokuchi AND Jonidan yusho races will be tight over the next few basho.

Natsu 2022: Jonokuchi Match Day 1

Andy Maezumo, Natsu Basho 2022

The current Jonokuchi cohort missed out on their maezumo experience due to the surge in Coronavirus cases. This meant their introductions were delayed until the start of this tournament. There’s also been a bit of reform in the “amateur” divisions as Sandanme has been reduced to 90 ranks and there may be further cuts. It also seems that most of Jonokuchi was promoted into Jonidan, including perenial cellar-dwellers Higohikari and Sawaisamu. So, virtually all of the Jonokuchi wrestlers are the new recruits who should have taken part in Osaka’s maezumo, with most of the remaining wrestlers made up of wrestlers returning from kyujo, and Takatairiku.

Since we’re really far too early to start talking about yusho contenders, I wanted to look at the current maezumo cohort. The press is having a field day with this particular class because it includes a wrestler named Suyama who joins the Kakukai (the Sumo World) from the prestigious Tokyo University. It also includes a wrestler from Nichidai named Imazeki and a young judoka named Yamada. Well, this particular group has three Yamadas — and there’s already another Yamada in Jonokuchi. Each of the newbies is introduced under a different shikona and I cannot make out the shikona used for Yamada Nelly. It sounded like “Wazachino” to me… As for Imazeki, his teammate Kayo debuted at Sandanme 90 with a glorious henka.

I only included a couple of competitive Jonokuchi bouts there at the end. Many of them on this first Match Day were rather one-sided but there were a couple of gems. Tanji looks like he may go pretty deep in the yusho race, for example. As the field narrows down, we’ll learn a bit more about these youngsters. I hope you enjoy!

Haru 2022: Jonokuchi Match Day 5

Andy Haru Basho 2022 (Osaka)

We’ve got a very quick Jonokuchi update today, and no video because there wasn’t much change in the yusho race. The big players are all making their mark by fighting everyone but themselves! This Match Day featured several bouts between yusho contenders and outclassed competition. The Sadogatake-beya-based leaders both moved up to Jonidan to fight undefeated opponents and whooped them. Kototebakari, below, engaged Asanotosa in some quick butsukari-geiko while Kotokenryu brushed off his challenge from Sawada to stay unbeaten.

The chase group demonstrated similar dominance. Daiseizan rather politely and gently disposed of Daitenshin, while Wakanosho forcefully ejected Kirinohana from the dohyo, and Mihonoumi ushered Yoshinofuji over the bales. All three victors picked up their kachi-koshi, securing promotion to Jonidan, and remaining dark horses in this yusho race.