Oho

Nagoya 2024: Day Twelve Highlights

Andy Nagoya 2024, Nagoya Basho , ,

I’m starting with a bit of a rant today, so if you want to skip down a few paragraphs to the action, feel free.

Fire up the VPNs. There’s significant rain in Yamagata prefecture so several bouts were preempted by coverage of the flooding. Last tournament it was the Tokyo Derby on senshuraku. This basho it’s rain. It would be nice if BS1 or another channel were included in the Jme service to ensure continuity of coverage. Then the coverage cut out during the Kirishima/Atamifuji bout.

It will be an uphill slog for Jme to pull folks from the illicit sumo streams with technical snafus and competing priorities. Sumo fans want reliable sumo coverage, they want more sumo coverage, and they want the community that has grown up along the various platforms. I will personally keep my subscription but keep pressing for improvements and expansion of coverage. (Also, my wife is hooked on some Tiger Lady show and I prefer the NHK news to the absolute garbage they call news over here.) Anyway, I continue to believe that if we subvert the official outlets in favor of mostly free-riding on the illicit platforms, the change will be much slower coming and complaints will largely be ignored. I think it’s more powerful to be a dissatisfied paying customer than a silent lurker on Twitch…especially if we are a large number of vocal dissatisfied paying customers. /rant

Back to the action on the dohyo. In Juryo, we learned that Tomokaze is kyujo. He was limping yesterday after his bout and probably tweaked that right ankle. With five wins and Juryo 7, he is safe from demotion so we will probably see him at Aki.

Meanwhile, the yusho race is heating up with Kitanowaka’s defeat of Shirokuma. Shirokuma is joined by Shishi and Shimazuumi with three losses. Hidenoumi, Fujiseiun and Hakuoho picked up their kachikoshi are thus one loss behind the leaders. Day 13 will see Shirokuma fight Asakoryu, Shishi will battle Tsurugisho, and Shimazuumi will square up against a super-motivated Kayo.

Makuuchi Action

Roga (6-6) defeated Onokatsu (Juryo 7-5). Onokatsu overcommitted and Roga quickly slapped him down. Hatakikomi.

Endo (8-4) defeated Hokutofuji (5-7). Old Hokutofuji came out blasting Endo with a headbutt followed by powerful tsuppari. At the edge, though, Endo escaped by batting Hokutofuji’s arms away and slipping to Hokutofuji’s right along the edge. He then reached back and grabbed Hokutofuji’s mawashi by the thong and whipped him around. An emotive Endo expressed his happiness in his kachikoshi interview. Okuridashi.

Churanoumi (9-3) defeated Bushozan (6-6). Churanoumi got shoved out by Bushozan but on the edge, Churanoumi shoved Bushozan down. Gunbai Churanoumi? Mono-ii. As far as who touched down/out first, it was too close to call so the shimpan quickly decided on a rematch. In the rematch, Churanoumi quickly slapped Bushozan down after the tachiai. Hatakikomi.

Ichiyamamoto (6-6) defeated Wakatakakage (8-4). Wakatakakage drove Ichiayamamoto back, powering through Ichi’s tsuppari. At the edge, Ichiyamamoto slipped left like Endo, reached behind WTK and pulled him forward. Uwatenage.

Ichiyamamoto will fight Bushozan.

Oshoma (7-5) defeated Kagayaki (7-5). Oshoma shifted right at the tachiai. Kagayaki caught it and shifted with him. He put his head down and bulled forward. Oshoma then shifted left at the bales and slapped Kagayaki down at the edge. Hatakikomi.

Oshoma will fight Hokutofuji on Lucky Day 13.

Tamawashi (6-6) defeated Nishikifuji (5-7). Tamawashi was not in the mood for any brawling or tsuppari today. Instead, he and Nishikifuji locked in on the belt. Nishikifuji seemed to have the early advantage. But then Tamawashi yanked Nishikifuji around to the edge and hoisted him clean from the ground and plopped him outside the ring. Tsuridashi.

Tamawashi will fight Roga tomorrow.

Takarafuji (5-7) defeated Ryuden (3-9). Takarafuji reached in deep with his left hand. The extension helped him keep his own belt away from Ryuden’s grasp. Ryuden had a grip with the left but kept reaching out, seeking that right hand grip. Suddenly, Takarafuji twisted and whipped Ryuden around to the groun. Shitatenage.

Ryuden will fight Endo tomorrow. Will New Endo show up?

Chiyoshoma (4-3-5) defeated Kinbozan (3-9). Chiyoshoma tried to keep the no-yorikiri/oshidashi streak going by trying a quick hit-and-shift followed by a throw but Kinbozan resisted at the edge. Chiyoshoma was stronger on the belt, though, and forced Kinbozan over the tawara. Yorikiri.

Chiyoshoma will be challenged by Daiamami from Juryo tomorrow. Kinbozan drew Takarafuji.

Shodai (8-4) defeated Kotoshoho (6-6). Kotoshoho pressed forward, Shodai relied on his edge antics to push Kotoshoho down while being shoved out. Gunbai Kotoshoho. Mono-ii. After review, both men were dead at the same time. More bonus sumo! Shodai was not going to leave it to chance the second time. He wrapped up Kotoshoho and heaved him around. Beautiful throw. Uwatenage.

Shodai will fight Kagayaki.

Nishikigi (3-9) defeated Sadanoumi (4-8). Sadanoumi wanted to keep the excitement going with another great throw but Nishikigi bulled forward casting Sadanoumi into the crowd. Oshidashi.

Nishikigi will fight Nishikifuji tomorrow.

Halftime

Oho (7-5) defeated Midorifuji (7-5). My words will be insufficient to describe the greatness of this bout and the effort of both competitors. Midorifuji gave it his all but Oho’s footwork was flawless. Once Midorifuji wore out, Oho finally wrapped up Midorifuji’s arms, charged forward and forced Midorifuji out. Maybe bout of the day. Just…Wow. Kimedashi.

Midorifuji will fight Sadanoumi.

Takanosho (9-3) defeated Ura (4-8). Ura tried his best to avoid Takanosho’s tachiai but Takanosho slammed forward and blasted Ura out. Oshidashi.

Ura will hope to dodge Kotoshoho on Day 13.

Tobizaru (7-5) defeated Wakamotoharu (4-8). Tobizaru pressed forward then released and shfted. This propelled Wakamotoharu forward across the ring. Tobizaru then rang WMH’s bell as he slammed him out of the dohyo. Oshidashi.

Tobizaru will fight Oho.

Meisei (4-8) defeated Shonannoumi (6-6). Shonannoumi tried to slap Meisei down a few times but then Meisei demonstrated the proper form. Hatakikomi.

Sanyaku

Mitakeumi (5-7) defeated Daieisho (7-5). Mitakeumi weathered the torrent of tsuppari produced by Tropical Storm Daieisho. He pivoted at the edge to stay in then charged forward and forced Daieisho over the bales. Oshidashi.

Mitakeumi will fight Wakamotoharu. Daieisho takes on Churanoumi.

Hiradoumi (8-4) defeated Gonoyama (3-9). Gonoyama charged forward at the tachiai but that just pissed Hiradoumi off. He charged forward like a honey badger, taking no prisoners. Oshidashi.

Hiradoumi will fight Wakatakakage. Gonoyama will face Shonannoumi.

Kirishima (7-5) defeated Atamifuji (4-8). I wish I had seen this bout in realtime. Instead we got “buffering” from Jme.tv as they again worked on the audio feeds switching from Japanese to English. Yorikiri, so they say.

Kirishima will fight Takanosho, whom he has only beaten once in eleven tries.合い口が悪い. Atamifuji will take on Meisei.

Hoshoryu (9-3) finally defeated Kotozakura (8-4). Hoshoryu wrapped his right arm around Kotozakura’s neck while using his right leg to lever Kotozakura’s weight over. Kubinage.

Onosato (7-5) defeated Takakeisho (5-7). Takakeisho drove forward into the young upstart. At the edge, Onosato slipped to the side, grabbed Takakeisho’s belt and tugged him over the bales. Uwatenage.

Onosato will fight Hoshoryu.

Terunofuji (11-1) defeated Abi (6-6). Terunofuji was unfazed by Abi’s patty-cake tsuppari. He wrapped Abi up, charged forward and forced Abi over the edge. Yorikiri.

Terunofuji will fight Takakeisho and Abi will fight Kotozakura.

Wrap-up

After so many dud bouts yesterday, we sure got a full slate of exciting sumo today. Like a playlist of 90’s Grunge, Indie and hip-hop music, this torikumi was banger-after-banger. The Midorifuji bout was today’s “Bittersweet Symphony.”

Takakeisho is up against the wall, along with Kirishima. Neither man can lose now. It will be a tough final three days. Takakeisho will have to go through Terunofuji who famously put an end to Kotoshogiku’s Ozeki rank. I’m sorry, but if Terunofuji henkas Takakeisho I will personally buy him a beer when I am in Japan next week. Purely out of appreciation of such cheek.

Onosato is pressing ahead, one win away from his all-important kachikoshi. Hoshoryu swapped places with Kotozakura as the Ozeki “challenger” in this cup race, although he, Churanoumi, and Takanosho are two losses off pace.

Hatsu 2024: Day 11 Highlights

Andy Hatsu 2024, Hatsu Basho , ,

The news from the infirmary today is that Kotoeko will be back tomorrow. He still needs a win or two in order to be safe from dropping to Makushita. If he is still hurt, this is not a good decision and I would rather see the Lavendar Leviathan fighting in a dull grey Makushita mawashi than fighting injured…but I am not his mom and he is going to do what he is going to do.

Back to the matter at hand: the Hatsu basho yusho race. There is a bit of a pause in the sanyaku action while the three erstwhile underclassmen are thrown into the ringer: Onosato, Onosho, and Oho. No one knows why Oho is here but I suppose his shikona just seemed to fit.

Makuuchi Action

Takanosho (8-3) defeated Kotoshoho (7-4). Kotoshoho drove forward into Takanosho, driving him to the bales. It took a few tries but Takanosho eventually shoved Kotoshoho out. Yorikiri.

Tsurugisho (5-6) defeated Churanoumi (5-6). A valiant effort from Churanoumi. He attempted to drive Tsurugisho out but Tsurugisho is a bit on the heavy side. So, that is hard. Tsurugisho countered and swung Churanoumi around to the bales and forced him out. Yorikiri.

Shimazuumi (7-4) defeated Sadanoumi (4-7). Sadanoumi tried to heft Shimazuumi up and out but Shimazuumi locked him in a bear hug, both hands inside, and drove forward. Yorikiri.

Meisei (7-4) defeated Endo (3-8). Meisei did what everyone is doing now, playing Throw the Endo. It’s a fun game. You just push and Endo goes flying into random people ringside. Oshidashi.

Hiradoumi (5-6) defeated Bushozan (4-7). Hiradoumi tried to get a belt grip but Bushozan blasted him with tsuppari. Bushozan was desperate to keep Hiradoumi off his belt so he pitched forward and kept hammering away. So Hiradoumi slipped to the side and shoved Bushozan down. Hatakikomi.

Ichiyamamoto (5-6) defeated Takarafuji (5-6). The Takarabune was battered by a fierce headwind today. He tried to tack and the powerful winds abated but the Takarabune got going to fast, slammed along the rocky shore and sank. Hatakikomi.

Tomokaze (3-8) defeated Shonannoumi (1-10). Some forward movement from Shonannoumi in this bout. He tried to bait Tomokaze into a charge but Tomokaze does not have the legs for it. He does have enough arm strength to shove you out, though, so he did. Shonannoumi is not here. He’s on a beach somewhere down near Zushi. Or maybe riding around on the Enoden. Whatever he’s doing, it’s not sumo. He’ll drop down the ranks in March but I think he is okay with that. Oshidashi.

Kinbozan (6-5) defeated Myogiryu (3-8). A fierce battle, wonderful slapfest. That is until Myogiryu left himself open to a mighty shove from Kinbozan. Myogiryu flew backwards and off the fighting surface. There should be one of those anime powerball explosion things from the force in that shove. Oshitaoshi.

Mitakeumi (5-6) defeated Nishikigi (5-6). Nishikigi! What are you doing? After an initial barrage of tsuppari, Nishikigi let Mitakeumi get inside and drive him back. Nishikigi resisted at the edge so Mitakeumi yanked on his belt, flung him the other way and bowled him off the edge. Oshidashi.

Halftime

(Sweep, Sweep, We’re in Too Deep…Andy Needs To Go To Sleep.)

Gonoyama (4-7) defeated Ryuden (3-8). Gonoyama assaulted Ryuden at the tachiai and drove him to the edge but could not get him over. He then pulled but Ryuden would not go down. As they settled in the center of the ring, Ryuden tried to get his right hand inside but Gonoyama fought hard to keep him off. Gonoyama then charged forward with excellent ottsuke, squeezing Ryuden’s right arm and holding it tight so that he could not get a grab of the belt. And he did not stop until he got to the bales and Ryden was out. Yorikiri.

Tobizaru (6-5) defeated Midorifuji (3-8). Tobizaru kept Midorifuji at arm’s length, careful to keep his opponent away from his shoulder. As he battered away at Midorifuji, Midorifuji kept trying to move inside. So, Tobizaru slipped to the side, let his opponent’s momentum carry him to the edge and shoved Midorifuji out. Oshitaoshi.

Atamifuji (5-6) defeated Shodai (4-7). Atamifuji forced Shodai out of his comfort zone by making the big man move forward. As Shodai’s legs churned, Atamifuji slipped to the side and dumped Shodai on his butt. Tsukioshi.

Wakamotoharu (8-3) defeated Tamawashi (7-4). Tamawashi seemed defensive today. Rather than attacking WMH, he seemed to focus on deflecting Waka’s tsuppari. Wakamotoharu bulled him to the edge and Tamawashi tried a twisting throw/shove thing but Wakamotoharu shoved him out. Oshidashi.

Sanyaku

Abi (5-6) defeated Ura (2-9). Abi-zumo. Abi assaulted Ura, over and over, then yanked him down to the ground. Ura is not having a good tournament. He was unable to connect with any of his own tsuppari and I couldn’t even tell if he tried to get inside to negate any of Abi’s slaps. Hatakikomi.

Kotonowaka (10-1) defeated Oho (6-5). Kotonowaka flung Oho to the side, absorbed some tsuppari, got bored and flung Oho again. This time, he followed through and shoved Oho off the edge. Oshidashi.

Kirishima (9-2) defeated Daieisho (6-5). Kirishima assaulted Daieisho. Daieisho came at him with his usual powerful tachiai. For an instant, Kirishima reached in for a belt grip but thought better of it and took Daieisho on with his own tsuppari. One sidestep and slap whipped Daieisho to the side and then a 1, 2, 3 combo left Daieisho outside the tawara. Keep in mind, that “three” was bold-faced, italicized and underlined. Quite the shove. Tsukidashi.

Hoshoryu (9-2) defeated Onosato (8-3). Hoshoryu locked up the big prodigy at the tachiai and in one, clean motion, flung him out of the ring. He took himself out, too, but where’s the fun in staying on your own two feet? Onosato clearly lost and clearly still has work to do and is not quite Ozeki material. After the bout, he stood at the side of the ring like, “what just happened?” Shitatenage.

Terunofuji (9-2) defeated Onosho (8-3). When I say Terunofuji disposed of Onosho, I mean he took a big plastic bag out of the pantry, stuffed Onosho in it, tightened the drawstring and threw him in the bin. It was routine. He took out the trash just like it was any other Wednesday. Terunofuji woke up, checked the refrigerator for the “To-Do” list: 1) Absorb Onosho’s “charge,” 2) grab his right arm with one arm, mawashi with the other, and 3) dump him in the gutter. Done. Sorry fans, ending the day on that note. You love to see a challenging bout for the musubi-no-ichiban but this left you less satisfied than a henka. Yorikiri? That could have been Okuridashi but whatever.

Wrap-up

The Sanyaku chewed up the trio of Onosato, Onosho, and Oho. But rather than spit them out, they’re apparently cows and have regurgitated them and want another go. Well, Oho got spit out but they’re seasoning the other two with a dash of Takanosho. I blame Takakeisho. There is an Ozeki-sized hole in this torikumi and it needs to be filled. So, let’s let these three battle in sanyaku for another day. Tomorrow we’ll get back to regularly scheduled programming and Kotonowaka, Kirishima, Hoshoryu and Terunofuji will finally be able to go head-to-head-to-head-to-head. Now Andy will go off to bed.

Hatsu 2021: A Peek at Juryo

James Melinson Hatsu Basho 2021, Ikioi (勢), Juryo (十両), Nishikigi, Shohozan , , , , , ,

We find ourselves halfway through the first tournament of 2021, and I’m not sure anyone could have anticipated what we have seen so far. The top division alone has provided plenty of twists and turns, but be careful not to overlook Juryo over the next week. Some veterans will need a big turnaround over the next eight days to get back to Makuuchi, while a few notable rikishi look to be well on the way to a long-awaited Makuuchi return or debut. Come with me, dear reader, as I walk you through the magnificent landscape that is the Juryo division.

There are nine Juryo rikishi inactive this month, chiefly as a result of coronavirus protocols. This has opened the field up significantly as several maegashira mainstays have been eliminated from Juryo yusho contention from the jump in Enho, Ishiura, and Chiyomaru. Chiyonoo is also out, meaning he will have to wait for another chance to make his first makuuchi appearance since 2017.

As for the rikishi who are healthy, the remaining top third of juryo has had a basho to forget. Ex-komusubi Shohozan (currently perched at J4E) is showing his age at 36, managing only three wins from his first seven bouts this month. He is without a winning record since 2019, and such a result is not looking likely this January, either. It will be interesting to see if we’ve seen the last of Shohozan amongst the top flight’s rank-and-filers. Daiamami has been unable to build on the form he showed back in November when he accrued a respectable 9-6 record, so this month’s J1W will need a big second week to find himself in the first division for the eighth time come March’s basho. Churanoumi’s 4-3 record at J3W (a career high for the 27 year old from Okinawa Prefecture) might not seem incredibly impressive, but he  is riding three straight winning records, all of them 8-7. His consistency is noteworthy, and he has been slowly but steadily climbing the banzuke. He looked good on Day 7 against M17E Sadanoumi, so who knows? Perhaps another eight win effort is on the cards for Churanoumi.

The leader to this point in the basho in Juryo is J8E Tsurugisho, which is nice to see from a guy who had a cup of coffee in makuuchi from late 2019 to early 2020. Gunning for his second career Juryo yusho, Tsurugisho is undefeated so far. He hasn’t exactly been facing total scrubs either, with quality wins over the likes of Churanoumi, Nishikigi, Shohozan, and a rejuvenated Jokoryu. He has not faced the 5-2 fan-favorite Ura yet, whose return to makuuchi has been widely anticipated. Ura presents perhaps the biggest threat to Tsurugisho’s yusho hopes, as the widely publicized sekitori debut of J11W Oho has been disappointing (a mere 2-5 record so far). There is a significant portion of the division at 4-3 or 3-4, so it will be interesting to see who can separate from the pack and chase down Tsurugisho.

One last story to follow is the continuation of the Jokoryu Revenge Tour. Could he rip off a big second week and inch ever closer to his first makuuchi appearance in five years? It’s been a slow comeback for the 32 year old, but he is without a losing record since 2019. He’s got a good opportunity to build on his 4-3 start against J14E Ryuko on Day 8. Jokoryu is back, you heard it here first.

That’s all for now, catch me back here again next week with some fire post-basho Juryo analysis.