Mitakeumi

Kyushu 2024, Day Six

Andy Kyushu 2024 ,

News from the infirmary that Tohakuryu has checked in and gone kyujo. Hidenoumi picked up the fusen sho. Perhaps Tohakuryu has the additional duty of trying to find Kawazoe. Kawazoe has been kyujo for the last few days but there has been no news. Maybe he got lost trying to find the check-in desk? Our sincere hope is that there is no news here. He had won his bout and appeared uninjured but has been kyujo for several days.

Oshomi continues to press ahead in Juryo and remains undefeated.

Your video links are here: Juryo Part I and Part II, Makuuchi Part I and Part II.

Makuuchi Action

Asakoryu (3-3) defeated Shishi (2-4). Shishi quickly yielded a morozashi, double inside belt grip to his opponent. Asakoryu took advantage by swinging Shishi over to the edge. Somehow Shishi kept his balance but Asakoryu reached in again and executed a second throw attempt. This time he brought the lumbering Shishi down. Shitatenage.

Onokatsu (6-0) defeated Kayo (4-2). Onokatsu just kept Kayo in front of him and maintained steady pressure on Kayo with that left hand grip. Onokatsu ushered Kayo over the bales with ease. Yorikiri.

Takerufuji (4-2) defeated Chiyoshoma (3-3). Takerufuji hit Chiyoshoma hard and shoved him over the bales. Oshidashi.

Bushozan (1-5) defeated Nishikifuji (1-5). The two exchanged tsuppari for a few seconds and Nishikifuji finished himself off with a poorly executed pull. Bushozan gladly pressed forward and shoved the Isegahama sekitori out of the ring. Bushozan appeared to tweak his left ankle, unable to hide a bit of a limp. Both men are certainly struggling in the top division at the moment. Oshidashi.

Shonannoumi (4-2) defeated Tokihayate (2-4). Shonannoumi got a deep grip on Tokihayate’s belt and quickly pulled him down. Uwatenage.

Tamawashi (3-3) defeated Ryuden (3-3). Tamawashi assaulted Ryuden about the head and neck, quickly driving Ryuden back. Oshidashi.

Ichiyamamoto (4-2) defeated Hokutofuji (1-5). Ichiyamamoto got himself into a pickle with his back to the edge of the dohyo. But as Hokutofuji charged forward to finishi him, Ichiyamamoto slipped to the side and slapped Hokutofuji down. Hokutofuji’s momentum carried him past the black tassel and into the third row of spectators. Hatakikomi.

Takarafuji (4-2) defeated Sadanoumi (3-3). Sadanoumi put in a great effort to stave off Takarafuji’s multiple attacks but Takarafuji succeeded in forcing Sadanoumi over the bales. Yorikiri.

Takayasu (3-3) defeated Meisei (3-3). Meisei charged forward, forcing Takayasu to the edge but Takayasu pivoted and thrust Meisei down as he fell out of the ring himself. Gunbai Takayasu. Mono-ii to make sure. The conference confirmed the gyoji’s decision. Tsukiotoshi.

Midorifuji (3-3) defeated Endo (3-3). Both men had worked themselves into a bit of a stalemate in their right-hand inside grapple. Midorifuji tried a shitatenage. Endo resisted but Midorifuji slipped his left-hand inside and secured a morozashi. From there, he was able to get low and forced Endo to stay high. With that leverage, Midorifuji ushered Endo back and out. Yorikiri.

Gonoyama (5-1) defeated Takanosho (5-1). Takanosho tried a pull at the tachiai, but that got him into trouble at the edge. Takanosho then charged forward and Gonoyama slipped to his right, pushing Takanosho down as Takanosho got full extension in his Superman belly flop under the black tassel. Hikiotoshi.

Halftime

Tobizaru (4-2) defeated Roga (2-4). Tobizaru with the side-step at the tachiai seemed to completely disrupt Roga’s attack. Tobizaru followed up by charging into Roga and he succeed in shoving Roga to the floor. Oshitaoshi.

Mitakeumi (5-1) defeated Kotoshoho (1-5). Kotoshoho drove into Mitakeumi. Mitakeumi shifted to the side and pulled Kotoshoho down while tumbling out, himself. Mitakeumi landed hard on his shoulder as he fell off the dohyo. In obvious pain, the blue jacket brigade assembled ringside to secure Mitakeumi onto the back-board and stretcher him away. In a bizarre scene, Kotoshoho bowed to no one and the gyoji turned to an empty dohyo. Tsukiotoshi.

Nishikigi (1-5) defeated Oshoma (1-5). Nishikigi switched up his grip and when he locked in with his right hand inside and left hand outside, he drove Oshoma to the edge and over for his first win of the tournament. Yorikiri.

Ura (2-4) defeated Oho (2-4). Oho was doing a good job of shoving Ura and keeping him in front. Oho shoved Ura to the edge but Ura slipped to the side and got behind Oho. Oho turned around to find Ura charging into him.

Sanyaku

Shodai (2-4) defeated Wakamotoharu (3-3). Shodai needs no rally towels. Shodai hit Wakamotoharu and drove him back. When Wakamotoharu hit the bales Shodai pulled and Wakamotoharu rolled to the floor. Hikiotoshi.

Kirishima (1-5) defeated Hiradoumi (1-5). Hiradoumi shifted to the left at the tachiai and then drove into Kirishima from the side. He forced the action to the bales. The two danced together along the tawara but Kirishima, with the right hand inside, swung Hiradoumi down to the ground. Kirishima rolled his ankle when landing and limped back down the hanamichi. Shitatedashinage.

Churanoumi (2-4) defeated Daieisho (3-3). A wild brawl as the two men traded thrusting attacks. Churanoumi suddenly pulled Daieisho forward and down. Hatakikomi.

Hoshoryu (6-0) defeated Atamifuji (4-2). Atamifuji fought very well, made great use of his size and had the Ozeki cornered at the bales. Atamifuji charged forward and knocked Hoshoryu out. Gunbai Hoshoryu? Mono-ii. On review, that was much closer than I thought. The gyoji got the right call. Atamifuji’s toe touched out as he pushed Hoshoryu, whose heel remained on the tawara. Asamiashi.

Kotozakura (5-1) defeated Abi (4-2). Pulling Abi was back today and Kotozakura was not going to fall for it. As Abi retreated, Kotozakura helped him get extra air with a hearty shove. Oshidashi.

Wakatakakage (4-2) defeated Onosato (4-2). Wakatakakage hit Onosato hard. As WTK pressed forward, Onosato obliged with a pull and slapdown attempt. Huge mistake as Wakatakakage maintained his balance, continued to press forward and drove Onosato out. Oshidashi.

Wrap-up

Wow, what a day of ups and downs. We definitely expect Mitakeumi to be kyujo. I hope there’s not a fracture there but it did not look good. Kirishima picked up his first win but may have injured his ankle. Atamifuji lost a heart breaker. He was inches from a great upset but fell to one of the rare “losing moves” rather than a kimarite.

Our Ozeki are performing well, though Onosato falls further from the lead.

Natsu 2024: Day Six Highlights

Andy Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Natsu 2024, Natsu Basho, Oho (王鵬), Takarafuji (宝富士), Ura (宇良) , ,

“Ura, Mitakeumi, and Takarafuji walk into a bar…”

I would not have picked these three to be in the lead one-third of the way through this tournament. Ura and Mitakeumi will face off today so we will likely have rather unlikely leader(s) heading into the middle weekend. This was supposed to be the easy part of the schedule for our Sanyaku wrestlers. Instead, they’re being picked off by wrestlers from the joi. Day Five bout videos are here.

The bottom third of the maegashira does seem to be very weak. We’ve seen this in earlier tournaments, as well where a handful of guys down at the bottom are obviously on their way out of the division and it leaves a lot of easy wins for some of the more solid competitors. Tomokaze, Mitoryu, and likely Tokihayate will be heading back to Juryo, handing Ryuden, Oshoma, and Takarafuji some extra soft competition, thus, low-rankers among the leaders.

For Juryo videos, you may like to check this page for the action from NHK. Endo leads with six wins.

The Action

Makuuchi bout videos are here.

Bushozan (4-2) defeated Tomokaze (0-6). Tomokaze nearly caught Bushozan with quick misdirection after the tachiai. Bushozan recovered and kept up effective forward pressure and eventually worked Tomokaze over the edge. Oshidashi.

Ryuden (5-1) defeated Tsurugisho (2-4). Tsurugisho attempted a quick pull and slapdown but Ryuden stayed with him and walked him out. Yorikiri.

Oshoma (5-1) defeated Takarafuji (5-1). Oshoma caught Takarafuji too far forward while in pursuit and slapped him down. Hatakikomi.

Churanoumi (4-2) defeated Roga (3-3). This was a thrilling, up-tempo back and forth bout. Seems perfect for some “Yaketty Sax.” Churanoumi hung in there with a belt grip at the back of Roga’s mawashi. He eventually caught Roga while spinning and pushed him out from behind. Okuridashi.

Tokihayate (2-4) defeated Ichiyamamoto (3-3). An off-balance Ichiyamamoto stumbled while retreating. Tokihayate survived for his second win. Tsukiotoshi.

Hokutofuji (3-3) defeated Mitoryu (1-5). Mitoryu tried a slapdown attempt but Hokutofuji kept his balance and drove Mitoryu backwards and out. Oshidashi.

Shonannoumi (5-1) defeated Nishikifuji (1-5). Shonannoumi effectively leveraged his size advantage to hoist Nishikifuji toward the bales, several times. I’m not sure why there is not a more exotic kimarite on this because the winning move was Shonannoumi’s kick. He deftly kicked Nishikifuji’s leg out of the ring. “Yorikiri.”

Kinbozan (4-2) defeated Tamawashi (2-4). Kinbozan assaulted a defenseless old man and battered him until he backed out of the ring. Oshidashi.

Takanosho (2-4) defeated Shodai (2-4). Takanosho walked a listless and defenseless blocking sled, nicknamed Masayo, over the bales. One hand to the face and Shodai just did not want to play anymore. Oshidashi.

Kotoshoho (3-3) defeated Sadanoumi (3-3). An aggressive Kotoshoho yanked Sadanoumi around to the bales and threw him to the ground. Sadanoumi was slow to get up and limped away gingerly on that ankle. Uwatenage.

Halftime.

Onosho (3-3) defeated Nishikigi (1-5). Onosho bear-hugged Nishikigi and ushered him out. Yorikiri.

Meisei (4-2) defeated Midorifuji (2-4). The bout started with the two locking horns at the center of the ring. Then Meisei backed-pedaled, again and again, and eventually brought Midorifuji down. Hatakikomi.

Ura (6-0) defeated Mitakeumi (5-1). Ura timed his pull perfectly. Ura powered into Mitakeumi and Mitakeumi powered right back. Mitakeumi As soon as Mitakeumi pressed Ura back to his shikirisen, Ura shifted direction and Mitakeumi flew past. Ura grabbed the back of Mitakeumi’s belt and forced him out from behind. Uwatedashinage? Not Okuridashi? Someone (other than me) got into the plum wine tonight.

Gonoyama (3-3) defeated Atamifuji (2-4). What a surprise. Gonoyama caught Atamifuji off-balance and slapped him down. After a long grapple, Atamifuji attempted to change his grip, slipping his right-hand inside. Gonoyama then grabbed Atamifuji by the shoulder and yanked him forward. Tsukiotoshi…maybe with a heaping side of katasukashi.

Sanyaku

Daieisho (5-1) defeated Wakamotoharu (3-3). As Daieisho pressed forward, Wakamotoharu’s right leg stretched back to meet the bales…but he wasn’t back far enough and stumbled. Tsukiotoshi.

Hiradoumi (2-4) defeated Abi (3-3). Hiradoumi was ready for this. His left hand came up and deflected Abi’s right arm, allowing Abi’s momentum to carry him forward to the floor. Tsukiotoshi.

Onosato (5-1) defeated Kotozakura (4-2). Kotozakura used his left-hand overarm grip to drag Onosato over toward the bales. But rather than try to pitch the Ozeki forward, Onosato drove his body into Kotozakura’s side, forcing him over the bales. Brilliant move by the youngster. You often see this where two guys have their arms behind their opponents and they’re both pitched forward over the tawara, desperately trying to throw the other. From now on, I want to see guys attempt this lateral move. Yorikiri.

Hoshoryu (4-2) defeated Tobizaru (2-4). Fundamentals. Hoshoryu went for Tobizaru’s arm at first but Tobizaru spun away. Then Hoshoryu secured Tobizaru with a left-hand inside, right-hand outside, and walked Tobizaru out.

Oho (2-4) defeated Kirishima (1-5). This big guy here is named Oho. His thing, his brand of sumo is to back away and slap down his opponents. And he just did it to a soon to be former Ozeki. Hikiotoshi.

Wrap-up

It’s only Day Six and the Ozeki appear to be effectively out of contention. There is such a pile-up of rank-and-filers (plus Onosato) one loss behind the undefeated Ura that it will take a lot of help to get either Kotozakura or Hoshoryu back in this contest. I’m sure there will be a lot of fans happy to see Ura doing well and eager to see how far he can take this – especially given some of the beatings he had been taking in the past few tournaments. I’m eager to see how far he rides this.

Hatsu Day 4 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aminishiki (安美錦), Aoiyama, Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyonokuni (千代の国), Chiyoshoma, Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daiamami (大奄美), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsu Basho 2019, Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Myogiryu (妙義龍), Ryuden (竜電), Shohozan, Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yago, Yoshikaze (嘉風), Yutakayama , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It looks like it was hair-pull Wednesday. None of it seemed like a deliberate tactic, but it took at least one clear win from a rikishi on a no-loss streak. There are an impressive number of rank-and-file rikishi who are still 4-0, and sadly two Ozeki who are in real trouble with injuries, and might want to consider kyujo and immediate medical attention.

Highlight Matches

Chiyonokuni defeats Aminishiki – A couple of false starts, Chiyonokuni was worried about an Aminishiki henka, and who would not be? Aminishiki took the tachiai, but Chiyonokuni was able to overwhelm uncle sumo’s offense.

Yutakayama defeats Daiamami – Yutakayama picks up his third win, in this evenly balanced oshi/tsuki match. Yutakayama was consistently in better position, and kept Daiamami moving to his tune. My favorite part comes when Daiamami has a solid nodowa, and Yutakayama applies a vigorous slap to his attacker’s face.

Kotoyuki defeats Chiyoshoma – Kotoyuki got into his favorite mode of sumo, and after trading a short series of thrusts, he had Chiyoshoma off balance, and spinning toward the East side.

Yago defeats Kagayaki – Excellent fundamentals as usual from Kagayaki, and he controlled the early part of the match, moving Yago backward, keeping Yago higher and reacting to his sumo. Yago worked to bring Kagayaki to his chest, and when he got Kagayaki wrapped up, he went to work. Although Kagayaki struggled, Yago kept his opponent centered and marched him out. More evidence that Yago is probably going to be a big deal in the next few years.

Abi defeats Endo – It was a cloud of flailing arms immediately from the tachiai, and Abi put himself at risk by attempting an early pull down. Respect to Endo for doing a better job than most at repelling the Abi-zumo attack, but Abi continued to apply pressure, and Endo landed in a heap.

Ryuden defeats Asanoyama – A solid, protracted mawashi battle. Asanoyama was in control for a good portion of the match, but failed to pick up his first win. It looked like Asanoyama got tired, and Ryuden exploited his opponents exhaustion. Good sumo from both.

Kaisei defeats Daieisho – Kaisei seems to have his sumo at full power for the first time in a while, and he remains undefeated. Daieisho gave it everything he had, but there is just too much Kaisei to toss around.

Onosho defeats Aoiyama – This match was all Aoiyama, and Onosho could not overcome the Man-Mountain’s superior reach, and was bodily thrown to the clay. But a Monoii was called, and it was determined that Aoiyama had contact with Onosho’s hair during the throw, and was disqualified.

Chiyotairyu defeats Yoshikaze – I hate to say it, but it’s painful to watch Yoshikaze right now. He seems completely out of energy and drive, and he presents little offense in any of his matches. Injury? We don’t get to know.

Shohozan defeats Kotoshogiku – Shohozan scores his first win by shutting down Kotoshogiku’s hug-n-chug attack, and getting to Kotoshogiku’s side.

Mitakeumi defeats Takakeisho – A critical tadpole battle, this match did much to shape the second act, and it’s a fair question to wonder if Takakeisho needs to work out a mechanism to defend against this kind of attack. Mitakeumi was able to shut down the “wave-action” by never letting Takakeisho get enough distance to effective push against him. At close range, Mitakeumi’s bulk and grip carried the match. Excellent strategy from Mitakeumi, and he moves to 4-0. I can point to Takakeisho’s early attempt at a pull-down as the fatal flaw that allowed Mitakeumi to close the gap and back Takakeisho to the bales as the moment he lost the match.

Tamawashi defeats Tochinoshin – Ozeki Tochinoshin needs to just go kyujo, and work to get his injury treated. He is going to be kadoban either way, and he may as well save himself from any potential damage that might arise.

Ichinojo defeats Goeido – A wide range of thoughts about this, firstly a lot of credit to Ichinojo for outstanding, aggressive sumo two days in a row. He looked like a real champion, and I can’t get enough of this when he is fighting well. Goeido gave it everything he had, and we saw some fantastic attempts to overcome Ichinojo’s size and mass advantage. But with Goeido pressed tightly to his chest, Ichinojo expertly wore him down, and then tossed him aside like a spent ice cream bucket. Fantastic sumo from both, but Goeido likewise needs to own up to his injury and seek treatment before it becomes permanent.

Takayasu defeats Tochiozan – Influenza patient Takayasu blasts through his fever to drop Tochiozan. As the scion of Tagonoura now, I expect Takayasu to further harden his already grim determination to win every time he mounts the dohyo. On a related note, it seems the flu is ripping through Japan right now, and there may be several more rikishi who end up sick before this tournament is complete.

Kakuryu defeats Myogiryu – It was not pretty, but it was a much needed win.

Hakuho defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji lost this match because Hakuho used anything he could think of to delay the moment he touched out. It was a masterful act of agility and poise, but it was really a toss up who was the dead body in this match. Although Hakuho won, this is a great barometer of just how far Hokutofuji’s sumo has come. The boss remains undefeated.

Aki 2018 Jungyo – Day 10 (Oct 12)

Herouth Aki Basho 2018, Jungyo (巡業) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yes, indeed, the Jungyo reports are lagging heavily behind schedule, but I did tell you that life may catch up to me. Mostly the fact that the European Basketball season began last week. It’s hard to keep up with two different favorite sports!

venue

🌐 Location: Yokkaichi, Mie
🚫 Scandal level: 0

Today’s is a short report – the small town in Mie prefecture did not produce many visuals. The famous representative of Mie prefecture is Chiyonokuni. But believe me or not, I could not find one fan photo of the man.

In the handshake line, the fans were treated to the two extremes of human aesthetics:

extremes-enho-akiseyama
Enho vs. Akiseyama

…OK. Now that I had my right eye surgically removed, let’s look at Asanoyama stretching:

asanoyama

Nope. That’s not 180º. They should at least have given us Chiyonokuni stretching – as he is really capable of those 180º (and probably has the second best shiko in Makuuchi).

Generally speaking, it seems that everybody was pretty tired this day. Take a look at Yoshikaze:

tired-yoshikaze
“I’m bored. When does the berserking start?”

Now let’s try Mitakeumi:

tired-mitakeumi
“Thanks goodness I have a fluffy tsukebito”

And Hokutofuji is just bummed:

hokutofuji-bummed
“When are we going back home?”

This photo was taken by Asanoyama, by the way, who started a new Twitter account.

Another green-room shot shows us Kisenosato, who also has a colorful towel:

kisenosato-as-budha

Note that the “Yokozuna zone” in the shitakubeya gets padded with foldable tatami (well, technically tatami should all be foldable, because that’s what the name means, but in reality they are pretty stiff boards rather than actual mats).

OK, let’s look at some practice on the dohyo. I’m sure most of you haven’t seen Takekaze for a while. Here he is vs. Meisei:

The old man still has it. Here is Mitakeumi vs. Aoiyama:

Mitakeumi gets that morozashi pretty quickly.

Here is our first glimpse of the man of the day, Chiyonokuni, taking on Sadanoumi:

With that brace on his knee, I think maybe Sadanoumi should have joined the growing number of absent rikishi. Sheesh.

Here’s Shodai, facing Tochiozan, who joined the Jungyo just the day before:

We tend to forget that Shodai is actually a good wrestler, because of his ridiculous Tachiai and his not being quite up to joi level. But he did not become sekitori just because of his beautiful eyes.

Onosho vs. Kagayaki.

Kagayaki doesn’t look too brilliant this jungyo, I have to say. I think he is in a period of transition between his former slap-happy sumo and something else, but not there yet.

Abi vs. Ichinojo:

Yeah, Abi is definitely adding some variation to his sumo. Smart of him not to engage in a belt battle with Ichinojo, though.

Finally, of course Kakuryu will be doing the honors of making the local hero suffer:

Speaking of Kakuryu, in the previous post I mentioned that Gokushindo is his tsukebito and about to “graduate” as he is becoming sekitori. His replacement is Shohoryu, who has already joined the Kakuryu team, so he is in this Jungyo:

shohoryu

As Kakuryu’s team seems to be a prep school for sekitori, we may be seeing this guy in Juryo soon. By the way, I checked, and to my disappointment, he does not wear his hula-skirt sagari during honbasho. :-(

shohoryu-hula-skirt
(Photo from previous Jungyo)

So to compensate for the long wait, I’m giving you two helpings of Tobizaru today!

tobizaru-2
Tobizaru for dudes

tobizaru
Tobizaru for the ladies

(Did he get caught in that nipple game? 😱)