Image From The Japan Sumo Association Twitter Feed
The last of the Ozeki corps facing a tough November tournament is none other than the grand tadpole, Takakeisho. After a string of dominant tournaments and a yusho, Takakeisho has found himself bouncing from injury to unfortunate injury since achieving Ozeki. A lower body injury in May sidelined him for most of the Natsu basho, and completely out of Nagoya. He returned to competition in September as an Ozekiwake, needing 10 wins to return to rank, which he picked up easily, finishing 12-3, securing his 3rd jun-yusho and competing in a senshuraku playoff for the cup. Sadly during that final playoff match against Mitakeumi, Takakeisho suffered a muscle tear to his left pectoral muscle and has been working to recover since.
Though not as severe as the tear that ended Kisenosato’s career, the extensive bruising left sumo fans worried that he might never return to good health. Skipping the fall jungyo tour, Takakeisho focused on healing his body and keeping his sumo sharp. He did not return to practice until November 1st, a short 8 days before the start of the tournament.
Since then, he has been fighting well, but not without concern to the ichimon Oyakata. He began by fighting the likes of Takanosho, Kagayaki and Onosho, winning more than he lost. His training sessions have been punctuated by bouts of pain in his left pectoral muscles, causing him to sit out on some practice matches. In recent days, Takakeisho has resumed matches against the likes of Maegashira 1 Daieisho, finishing 10-3. While the sumo elders overseeing the work up to Kyushu are starting to be more optimistic about Takakeisho, he is clearly going to need to nurse his left side in every match.
Team Tachiai loves that compact powerhouse of an Ozeki, and hopes he can come through at Kyushu in good form with no new injuries or physical problems. With both Yokozuna looking healthy, Takakeisho will face strong competition on his way to 8 wins.
The sumo world enters Kyushu with 3 of the 4 Ozeki calibre rikishi in damaged condition. Perhaps none more perilously than Tochinoshin. During 2013, risking star Tochinoshin significantly injured his right knee, which led him to seek surgery to repair the damage, and an extended kyujo. After sitting out 3 consecutive basho, he re-entered competition at the bottom of Makushita, and promptly racked up 4 consecutive yusho to blast his way back into the top division.
His hard work, dedication to sumo and relentless training saw him promoted to Ozeki in 2018, the the cheers of fans around the world. Since then Tochinoshin has struggled to keep his sumo working at Ozeki levels, and a string of problems and injuries have put him at the cusp of permanent demotion back to the lower ranks.
The threat: re-injury to that right knee. Problems with that knee saw him struggle during Aki, finishing with a 6-9 record on top of his kadoban status. As a result he enters Kyushu as an “Ozekiwake” with a chance to re-attain Ozeki status with a 10 win tournament.
A healthy Tochinoshin can deliver 10 wins in brilliant style, using his trademark lift-and-shift sumo that leaves nearly any opponent helpless if the big Georgian can land his lethal left hand outside grip. But that trademark move requires him to have steady footing to carry not only his own weight, but the massive bulk of his opponent.
In the training leading up to Kyushu, Tochinoshin and his Oyakata have worked hard to put a positive spin on things, and Team Tachiai dearly hope he really is healthy, and this is not just the normal sumo-style window dressing. We will be watching with eager anticipation as Tochinoshin presses for 10 wins, and a return to sumo’s second highest rank.
Welcome to the final day of Act 1! As you may recall, act 1 is all about bringing the rikishi up to tournament performance while getting the ring-rust knocked off and scraped away. It’s clear that there are some rikishi who are in terrible condition coming into the end of act 1, and a surprisingly small number who have managed to remain undefeated. I think this portends a very flat, even competition for act 2 of the basho, where we sort the survivors from the damned. So far it looks like we will get to keep Kakuryu, and avoid the “No-kazuna” situation that was scandalous and unthinkable 2 years ago.
Meanwhile, shin-Ozeki Takakeisho is in unknown condition following him injuring himself in his day 4 match against Mitakeumi. Team Tachiai’s best medical consultants have declared that the attempt to graft even the smallest element of yotsu-sumo onto his body has resulted in a kimarite malfunction, and the damage could be extensive. Reports from Japan have stated that Chiganoura Oyakata is taking special care of his Ozeki. They are going to have a medical work-up done, and he is inclined to keep Takakeisho out of competition if he’s not 100%. Good Oyakata! EDIT: News reports from Japan now indicate that Takakeisho will be absent tomorrow. It is unclear at this point whether he will return later in the tournament. -lksumo
One of the aforementioned 4-0 score-holders is Ozekiwake Tochinoshin, who is on a mission to rack up 10 wins and reclaim his Ozeki rank. When he’s healthy, as he seems right now, the man is a force of nature. As with most other sumo fans around the world, we are eager to see him overcome the challenge in front of him and regain his title.
What We Are Watching Day 5.
Terutsuyoshi vs Kyokushuho – Kyokushuho visits from Juryo to face off against Terutsuyoshi, who may, at long last, be finding a working formula for his sumo in the top division. Mongolian Kyokushuho is looking for a path that returns him to the top division, with his last posting being as Maegashira 14 during Osaka 2017!
Chiyoshoma vs Enho – Oh this has train-wreck written all over it. You have the highly maneuverable Enho facing off for the first time against a known henka master. Not only henka, but flying henka! Will Chiyoshoma take flight before Enho can catch a grip, or will Enho find a way to lock his feet to the clay?
Tokushoryu vs Yago – Bottom-heavy Tokushoryu will square off against Yago in this battle of the twos. Both men have 2-2 records, and their career record is tied 2-2. Math-oriented fans can only hope that the first match is indecisive, and after a monoii, a torinaoshi is called, resulting in there being 2 matches between these 2.
Chiyomaru vs Tochiozan – I might say “keep on rolling!” to 3-1 Chiyomaru, but that is actually possible, and probably dangerous. In fact it has been learned by Tachiai that Chiyomaru is forbidden to climb hills or even steep sidewalks, as any slip or fall could cause damage to local buildings, parked cars and any nearby fishing fleet.
Shimanoumi vs Onosho – At Maegashira 10, Onosho should be cleaning up handily. Instead he is still struggling. So today’s match against Shimanoumi looks like a favor, as Shimanoumi has yet to find a way to beat the Mighty Tadpole on the dohyo.
Kagayaki vs Asanoyama – Oh, what a great match. Clearly the schedulers want to throw a wrinkle at Asanoyama, who has only beaten Kagayaki one time in their 6 prior meetings. Asanoyama comes in undefeated, and frankly looking to be executing the best sumo of his top-division career. Can Mr. Fundamentals make it 6 by putting the leading member of the Freshmen on the clay?
Shodai vs Yoshikaze – How is Shodai at 3-1? I am going to guess Yoshikaze is going to have a tough time with this match, as Yoshikaze has been hampered by a shocking lack of mobility this basho, and Shodai seems to be bouncing around every match, win or lose.
Myogiryu vs Abi – After it seemed that Abi-zumo had run out of useful life earlier this year, somehow it’s back to being quite potent. Maybe it’s the oddball “Chanko Napolitan” they serve at the heya. Myogiryu still seems to be looking for his sumo in a box somewhere at the heya, and needs to find it soon.
Okinoumi vs Ryuden – Only one rikishi in active competition still has zero wins: Okinoumi. Which is odd because he is fighting well. Maybe he can work out some of his frustrations against Shin-Ikioi / Ryuden, as Ryuden is quietly putting together quite a winning streak when you consider Osaka as well.
Endo vs Kotoshogiku – Both men are 1-3, and need to start turning things around if they want to avoid a typical Maegashira 1 / 2 outcome for this basho. Kotoshogiku’s attacks are still wonderfully effective, but he seems to lack the strength to get them to pay against the named ranks.
Hokutofuji vs Tochinoshin – The key to this match will be if Hokutofuji can land his nodowa before Tochinoshin can get that left hand grip. Hokutofuji will want to hit and shift; Tochinoshin will want to hold and lift. Hokutofuji holds a slight career advantage (3-2), and I think he may be the first rikishi to put dirt on the Ozekiwake.
Ichinojo vs Mitakeumi – I think we may see Ichinojo revert to his Osaka form sooner rather than later. Mitakeumi likes to rush in, and so the stand them up / knock them down tactic might carry this match. Of course it’s possible that Mitakeumi is still trying to figure out what happened against Takakeisho, and will be too baffled 24 hours later to execute proper sumo.
Goeido vs Daieisho – Engineers worked frantically to patch that Endo bug, and Goeido is now running GoeiDOS 2.4.1, which should be more than effective against Daieisho. (Perhaps surprisingly, Daieisho holds a 2-1 career edge, including the upset that derailed Goeido after his strong start last basho. -lksumo)
Takakeisho vs Tamawashi – I would say 50/50 chance this match does not take place, and Tamawashi ends up with a fusensho to boost him to 2-3. If it does take place, I am going to expect a real roaming oshi-battle with a lot of force, and maybe a couple of crowd-pleasing haymakers.
Chiyotairyu vs Takayasu – It’s clear that we likely won’t be talking about how Takayasu is finally going to get his first yusho. In fact, I am still trying to decide what he is up to these days. He is still winning, but he’s frankly all over the sumo spectrum every day. While it makes it tough on his opponents to guess what he’s going to do, it’s not really helping his score.
Kakuryu vs Aoiyama – Kakuryu is a delightful contrast to Hakuho, as Kakuryu allows his opponent to dictate the terms of the match to start, and them brutally applies his magic. The net result in terms of Aoiyama is a 17-1 career advantage that may not in fact improve on Natsu day 5.
Now appearing on the NSK web site, the official banzuke for the Kyushu basho, starting two weeks from today. Some notable elements include Terunofuji as Sekiwake 2E (“Ozekiwake”), Mitakeumi holds fast at Sekiwake 1E, Kotoshogiku returns to San’yaku in the Komusubi 1E slot, Onosho has his first try at San’yaku, and Takakeisho is at Maegashira 1.
Further down the banzuke, we have Aminishiki (aka Uncle Sumo) back in Makuuchi, Asanoyama levitating to Maegashira 11, and Ura still listed at Maegashira 16, even though I would be surprised if he shows up.
The story in Juryo is pretty interesting, Egyptian Osunaarashi somehow manages to hang onto a Juryo slot and is posted to Juryo 13, followed by Takagenji and Yao. Meanwhile Ishiura is ejected from Makuuchi, and appears as Juryo 1.
Meanwhile, as predicted, the Texas sumotori Wakaichiro is confirmed as promoted to Sandanme 85, and will fight at his highest rank ever.
Again, our forecast expert scored many direct hits in his banzuke forecast, and fans should feel free to compare them side by side. Hats off to lksumo!
The crew will likely have our banzuke podcast up before long, be ready!
