Here we are again, nearing the half-way line, many rikishi have completed their fourth match in the lower divisions, and some of them even collected their kachi-koshi or make-koshi already.
Continue readingAki Day 7 – Bouts from the lower divisions
Terao
Ones To Watch – Nagoya Day 3
Welcome to an abbreviated “Ones to Watch”, has Herouth has done her marvelous job of providing sumo fans with a feast of video goodies from the lower divisions. Day 3 features bounts from Wakaichiro, Amakaze, Musashikuni and Hoshoryu.
Hoshoryu vs Seiro – Hoshoryu certainly punched his card for “Serious Contender” on day 2, and now he faces the highest ranked rikishi in Makshita: Former Makuuchi rikishi – Seiro. As both me have 1 wins, this will help form the field of promotion contenders for September. Time to shine little dragon!
Wakatakamoto vs Terao – Another 1-0 bracket match, this rematch of an Osaka 2017 bout will give Wakatakamoto a chance to even the score.
Roga vs Fujita – Roga got a close look at the Nagoya clay in his day 2 loss, and looked quite out-classed. This was always a possibility once he crossed into Makushita, but I expect he will bounce back and fight hard for 4 wins.
Musashikuni vs Kaizen – I don’t know what kind of physical problems Musashikuni is still nursing, but he continues to struggle, even at a greatly reduced rank. His fans can only hope he can pull it together.
Amakaze vs Baraki – I continue to think that Amakaze is probably under-ranked right now, so I expect him to dominate the majority of his matches. Baraki spent two tournaments in Makushita, and has been largely in Sandanme for his 40 basho career.
Wakaichiro vs Kamitani – This will be an interesting match for Wakaichiro. Kamitani is a 17 year old rikishi in his 9th tournament, and he has had a largely upward path leading to this, his first ever Sandanme posting.
Hatsu Day 7 – Lower Division Ones To Watch
A smaller lineup of our “Ones to Watch” for Saturday, but there are some find Makushita matches to track, as we get towards the half way point for many of these rikishi. The competition for what may be just a handful of Juryo slots will be increasingly brutal as we near the conclusion of Hatsu, and we will be watching with interest.
Kenho vs Kirizakura – Kenho is winless, and another loss today would mean a make-koshi, and a demotion back down to Jonidan. Compared to Kenho’s amazing bulk, 100kg Kirizakura is a light-weight, but I am sure we will see some high-agility small-man sumo tonight.
Naya vs Terao – Naya is looking fairly solid thus far, and comes into this 2-1 bracket looking for his next win. Terao has been knocking around Makushita for the bulk of the last several years, and bring a serious challenge to Kaio’s grandson.
Wakatakamoto vs Ohata – Another 2-1 bracket match we see the lower ranked Waka brother up against a fairly young opponent in Ohata. Ohata, from Tokitsukaze heya, is near his highest ever rank, and seems to be competing well. Should be a good match.
Wakamotoharu vs Fujiazuma – Near the half way point, only a handful of Makushita rikishi are still unbeaten, and these two are the highest ranked. This is a Darwin match, and may have a direct impact on if Wakamotoharu has a shot at breaking in Juryo. With this much on the line, it’s going to be a flat out battle!
Akua vs Kiribayama – Both rikishi enter this match with 2-1 records, but Akua has beaten Kiribayama in both of their prior matches. Both are ranked high enough that its possible they could be considered for elevation to Sekitori, so there is a lot on the line for them both.
Jungyo Newsreel – December 11th
🌐 Location: Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
I hope you will forgive this newsreel for having less content than usual. Today the Tottori police finally handed Harumafuji’s case to the prosecution, and after a few days of having some actual Jungyo news, the press and the media once again focused on the scandal rather than on Sumo.
So, everything today has been picked from Twitter.
First, our sources inform us that there was a clay malfunction today! The dohyo in the Jungyo is made, it turns out, from beer crates, fixed in place, and covered with planks and clay. Somehow something moved, and the clay broke, and morning keiko had to be suspended for quite a while – with fans watching – to do the repairs:
Don’t worry, the rikishi got plenty of workouts. Take this aerobics lesson:
みんなでトレーニング #北九州場所 pic.twitter.com/oZPIl8ixYs
— わ～ちゃん (@wakya33) December 11, 2017
Somebody there is visibly skipping leg day.
Also, weight lifting:
Apparently, Homarefuji wants to join the Isegahama elite no-knees club, currently including Aminishiki, Terunofuji and Terutsuyoshi. So he opted for lifting Mutsukaze, who weighs above 140kg.
Mutsukaze is a member of the Jinku team, by the way. That, and those face hugging sideburns, make him much more worthy of the title “Sumo Elvis” than Chiyotairyu has ever been!
Once keiko resumed, our sources caught a glimpse of Onosho and Takakeisho in a moshi-age (winner invites next opponent) bout:
朝稽古のふてぶてボーイズ #北九州場所 pic.twitter.com/QXF7RiVIOE
— えり (@teru_tatan418) December 11, 2017
In the shitaku-beya, rikishi were taking naps. Take a look at these two:
This photo was actually taken by Amakaze. Apparently, these two lovebirds stole his zabuton, his pillow and his favorite elephant blanket, which Ryuden held hostage:
竜ちゃんやんちゃ！(;゜∇゜)
錦木パイセンチラ見寝( ・∇・)
結果かわゆい(*´∇｀*) pic.twitter.com/u72NRGbdB4— 天風 健人 (@AmakaZe_K) December 11, 2017
Sorry for the neck ache. That’s what happens when you let a rikishi use a camera (yeah, that’s actually Amakaze filming, and desperately shouting at Ryuden “Don’t spill it!”, “Wait, don’t, don’t!”).
To end the entertainment part of this slightly wacky newsreel, here is what Satonofuji looks like when he is not holding a bow:
Now here are a few bouts.
Enho vs. Terao, who still tries tsuppari…
炎鵬vs寺尾 #北九州場所 pic.twitter.com/Zu9y8cHkr2
— わ～ちゃん (@wakya33) December 11, 2017
Takagenji vs. Osunaarashi:
貴源治vs大砂嵐 #北九州場所 pic.twitter.com/nGWwX88jHh
— わ～ちゃん (@wakya33) December 11, 2017
Edit: The Musubi-no-ichiban finally materialized!
Hakuho 5 – Kakuryu 3. The tie is finally broken.
Tomorrow the Jungyo is on hiatus, and then everybody is going to Okinawa!