The kadoban Ozeki started practicing again today at Tagonoura’s practice room in Fukuoka. First he took four bouts with the heya youngsters.
And then Kisenosato decided to have him for lunch call him for san-ban. The Yokozuna and he went at it for 11 times, and Takayasu (above following a hiki-otoshi) even managed to win one.
“I didn’t really think I’ll be able to face up to the Yokozuna right from the start,” said the recovering Ozeki, “It was a good practice”.
As you can see in this video, the Yokozuna also lent Takayasu his chest for a butsukari.
When asked about his physical condition, Takayasu replied: “It’s 80-90%. I’ve been able to recuperate enough to do keiko.” About his kadoban status, he said “I’m relaxed. If I lose my wits worrying I will not be able to do my sumo. If not in this basho, I’ll have a chance again in the next.”
As for Kisenosato, there was no reappearance of the famous left ottsuke in that practice session, but there were left armpit pushes and sukui-nage.
Former maegashira Shotenro fights cancer
Hakhuo revealed to the press that Shotenro, currently placed in sandanme, but formerly a long time maegashira and special prize winner, was found to have cancer – type undisclosed – around the time of the 2017 Nagoya basho. He was full kyujo from the Aki basho (when he was still in Makushita). In the meeting of the rikishi-kai – the rikishi union – held today, the 70 sekitori present decided unanimously to collect money for Shotenro as a “recuperation gift”.
Ura spotted at rikishi-kai meeting, makes vague statement
Nikkan sports caught Ura leaving the rikishi-kai meeting in Fukuoka and tried to ask him about the odds of him appearing in the Kyushu basho, and his general state of health. He responded with a vague “Yes, I’ll do my best.” This was interpreted by the reporters as a “no comment” would be in the west. The big question is what Ura is doing in Fukuoka at all.
And what is the rikishi-kai doing to improve rikishi health?
Kakuryu said during the Jungyo that he intends to bring up the subject of kosho-seido, as well as a suggestion for a prayer against injury, in the next meeting of the rikishi-kai (the closest thing to a rikishi union). Reports from the meeting mention nothing about kosho-seido, but he did bring up the suggestion for the common prayer to be performed in January “as a form of exorcism.”
Besides this and the decision to collect money for Shotenro, the only other suggestion was brought up by Hakhuo, who wants to designate tickets for sekitori in honbasho.
Yep. That’s what the rikishi union looks like. Prayers, donations and perks.
Aminishiki’s Akeni. It has seen some history, and will see more.
The event at Fukuyama has been the last of the Aki Jungyo, and now the (about) 160 participating rikishi are heading straight to Fukuoka, where they’ll join the waiting low division rikishi who were busy preparing lodgings and equipment for the past week or so.
The Jungyo day itself started with heavy rain, carried over by the most recent typhoon. Despite the rain, the local fans filled the venue:
They got to see some very energetic practices, including Hakuho doing both reverse and straight butsukari (and getting pushed off the dohyo, much to his embarrassment).
All Yokozuna were eager to leave a strong impression, and made statements to the press either yesterday or today.
Harumafuji
In yesterday’s practice session, Harumafuji was working on his Tachiai with Chiyoshoma, launching himself at his fellow Mongolian partner 11 times. The next one was so powerful, Chiyoshoma was blown away and nearly fell off the dohyo.
Typical Harumafuji reaction
But Harumafuji doesn’t like to see people hurt, so he grabbed Chiyoshoma by the arm before he started to take off, and made sure he stayed put.
“Just practicing the basics,” said the Yokozuna.
Nobody can overlook the fact that the Yusho winner, although he clocked in every day, did not participate in the bouts and did very little on-dohyo practice during the Jungyo. “I’m concentrating on the Kyushu basho,” was the Yokozuna’s response.
Kakuryu
“Yes, of course I’ll fully participate,” answered Kakuryu decisively when asked about the Kyushu basho.
Kakuryu doing butsukari
The Yokozuna who has been vigorously practicing since the beginning of the Jungyo says he is feeling positive about the state of his health. He intends to engage in degeiko with some of his potential rivals before the honbasho. “I’ll do what I have to do. The important thing is to get into the right flow in the basho”.
Kisenosato
“I’ll be in the basho from day 1. That’s obvious,” was Kisenosato’s statement.
The newest Yokozuna did not practice on the dohyo every day of the Jungyo, but on the days he did, he showed signs of improvement both to his upper left side and to his left ankle. But his own statement was (as usually, I must say) somewhat vague: “A lot has happened in the past month. There were typhoons. And I got called to do dohyo-iri in various places, which is something I can’t always do. It was very different from the previous Jungyos I participated in.” More specifically about his health and participation in the basho: “I have been able to work my entire body patiently. As a rikishi, it’s obvious I have to participate in the basho, and I want to get results.”
Hakuho
Sodium Chloride Galore
“Be sure to remind me every 50 days!” reacted the dai-yokozuna when told yesterday that the Olympic games start in 1000 days. He reasserted his wish to perform a dohyo-iri in the Tokyo games. When asked about the next basho and his chances for his 40th yusho, he replied brightly “I’m doing swimmingly”.
Today he toned down his replies a little bit. “I joined the jungyo in the middle, and gradually improved my body and my dohyo-sense. My wish was to end the Jungyo in the best shape. I’d like to mark myself a 100, but I can only give myself 50.”
“As the senior yokozuna, I felt sometimes that I was able to lead and pull my convalescent junior fellow yokozuna forward,” he added with satisfaction.
Regarding his recent sodium habit, watch Goeido cover his head as Hakuho rains fire and brimstone – OK, just salt – all over the place:
Ishiura: “The last time I was on a Jungyo in the Tottory prefecture, I was in the Juryo division. I’m happy to be here now as a Makuuchi wrestler. I felt invigorated here today, and I repaid by doing good sumo”.
As you can see in this video, there are some serious wanpaku wrestlers (child wrestlers – these were all primary or secondary school children, so no more than 15 years old!) in Tottori. I think it actually wasn’t fair to counter by tsuppari to the face, because that’s forbidden in wanpaku sumo (only allowed to professionals).
Ishiura wasn’t taking any risks wrestling with those kids himself, and left the hard work to a sekiwake, opting to play the gyoji:
Whoa.
But he did win his bout with Takekaze today by Okuridashi.
Edit: A video with some bouts materialized! Ishiura cleared of henka charges!
This also allows us to keep up the tally: Hakuho 7 : Kisenosato 4!
Edit2: A full video of the Kisenosato/Hakuho bout, full version including chikara-mizu and full shikiri, plus yumitori at the end:
The chikara-mizu also tells us that Kakuryu has beaten Goeido (and that Terunofuji also won, but we knew that from the previous video).
Ishiura-Takekaze including tachiai (different angle):
So why did I open with Terunofuji? While the official channels celebrated Ishiura, most tweets I found were more around the theme of “Terunofuji is back! And he’s genki!”. “It was great to see Teru again!” and so on.
The Tottori crowd considers Terunofuji to be a local, as he started his career in the famous sumo program of the Tottori Johoku high school, headed by none other than Ishiura’s father. It was Ishiura senior who noticed the young kaiju’s unbelievable strength, and advised him “If your opponents get a grip on your mawashi, bear-hug them”.
Terunofuji was in a bright mood, and practiced with Shodai and Daieisho. Here you can see him in a reverse butsukari:
And here, in what seems to be a rather painful (for Daieisho) uwatenage. Notice the rapt attention on the faces of Takarafuji and Onosho:
His bout of the day is also included in the second video above, as is Takanoiwa’s, who was also in the same school (Ichinojo, too, but he is currently off the Jungyo).
Interviews
To compensate for the complete lack of bout information (in the first version of this post), here are some Jungyo interviews (these are from the beginning of the Jungyo, but surfaced on Twitter only today):
Kisenosato
Q: Do you feel pride for being the only Japanese-born Yokozuna?
A: Being a Yokozuna, one usually has both self-awareness and self-confidence to wrestle steadfastly and produce results.
Q: You won the All-Japan Rikishi Championship tournament on October 2nd. What is your response?
A: It was only hana-zumo, but I am happy I produced a good result. I want to steadily develop a winning habit.
Q: You had to go kyujo in the middle of the Nagoya basho, and did not participate in the Aki basho at all. What are your feeling as you head towards the Kyushu basho?
A: I want to take the challenge of the honbasho by working on tuning my condition and my rhythm, and increasing my power during the Jungyo.
Harumafuji
There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is!
(I think he’s the only Yokozuna ever to have his interview accompanied by a picture with a towel on his head. To compare, Kisenosato’s picture was one with his oicho-mage)
Q: You were the only Yokozuna to ascend the dohyo in the Aki basho. Did you feel any pressure?
A: I concentrated on doing my bouts one at a time. During the playoff bout I felt nothing but fighting spirit.
Q: Tell us about about your readiness for the Kyushu basho
A: There is still some time before the basho, and my wish is to work slowly and diligently, listening to my body, towards the basho.
Q: Do you enjoy anything about the Jungyo?
A: It’s a good opportunity to raise the knowledge of sumo among the fans. I would like everybody to enjoy the atmosphere of the Jungyo where, unlike honbasho, you can take pictures and get in contact with the wrestlers.
Asanoyama
Q: The Aki basho was your 10th straight kachi-koshi. What were your feelings as you faced it?
A: As always, I faced is as a challenger. I think that may have brought me the special prize.
Q: Aren’t you under pressure to improve your kachi-koshi record in the kyushu basho?
A: I intend to face the challenge with all my heart, not giving up regardless of the results.
Endo
Q: After having undergone surgery in July in your left ankle, you ended up with a double-figure winning record in the Aki basho. How did you control your feelings?
A: I did not recover completely before the basho. I am glad that I could relax well enough to be able to wrestle without worsening my condition.
Q: Are you aware of the common opinion that you have a beautiful shiko?
A: I don’t try to perform it in an especially pretty way. My shiko now is the same as I was taught when I was a boy.
Chiyomaru
Q: Your little brother is also an active rikishi. What kind of an influence does that have on you?
A: I want to be better than my little brother, so I regard him as a rival.
Q: Do you feel the weight of the “Chiyo” in your shikona?
A: I was very happy when I was given my shikona. I finally felt that I was truly a member of the Kokonoe beya, and this motivated me.
Onosho
Q: How do you feel about having the Jungyo in Chiba, where your heya is located?
A: I feel stimulated by the support of the local people.
Q: Many people don’t know how to pronounce your shikona. What do you feel about that name?
A: I feel I was given a good name. I’ll gambarize to make more people remember my name.
