Thanks to some skill and a bit of luck, we have a 3 way tie going into the final weekend. In all likelihood, the yusho will come down to the final match on the final day of the tournament – a high stakes battle between the lone surviving Yokozuna. Although both of them are getting closer to the end of their careers on the dohyo, they have once again shown that nobody in the sport is even close to challenging them for dominance. Sure both of them have taken complete tournaments off, but there is not a soul right now that had the sumo to stand up to them in competition.

A hat tip to Takanosho, who took care of business today when Aoiyama made a huge mistake and fell into a bad habit, opening the door for Takanosho’s win, which Takanosho exploited with masterful effect. As a result, Big Dan picks up his second loss of Haru, and has allowed the Yokozuna to catch him, creating a 3 way tie for the lead. Barring some bizarre outcome of day 14, one of these 3 men will take home the hardware. But should calamity fall the leaders, former yusho winners Asanoyama and Mitakeumi are 1 loss behind, ready to engage in one last push for the cup. Exciting times to be a sumo fan!

Highlight Matches

Ikioi defeats Kotonowaka – Ikioi kept Kotonowaka in front of him, where his forward power could do the maximum good. Though youngster Kotonowaka put up a solid effort, Ikioi overpowered him and drove him out for the win, which was his 8th, giving him kahci-koshi in his home town basho. Sadly there was no crowd on hand to cheer him on. His kachi-koshi is all the more impressive given some of the physical problems that Ikioi has faced in the past year.

Shimanoumi defeats Ishiura – As I had expected, Ishiura is not quite at the same intensity that he had leading up to his 8th win. While this may disappoint some sumo fans, it’s really quite smart for Ishiura, who struggles quite a bit if he ranks much higher than this. Shimanoumi’s sumo was also spot on, reacting correctly to Ishiura’s hit and shift, and keeping the smaller more nimble rikishi from getting to the side. Shimanoumi improves to 7-6.

Meisei defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu has now lost 3 in a row, and is on a perilous course toward a Darwin match on day 15. Chiyotairyu attempted a hit and shift as well, but his bulk means that the entire gambit unfolded in slow motion, and Meisei had time to go to combini, get a cup of Joe, maybe some onigiri, and come back in time to grab Chiyotairyu by the mawashi and toss him out. Meisei improves to 6-7, and is another fine candidate for a Darwin match.

Chiyomaru defeats Tochiozan – Watching Tochiozan is just misery now. Tochiozan was lethargic, slow, lacking power and fighting spirit. He’s hurt and going through the motions, but he’s there. At least Chiyomaru picked up his 7th win today, and has a reasonable chance at a kachi-koshi. He faces Terutsuyoshi on day 14.

Sadanoumi defeats Daiamami – Sadanoumi got his right hand inside position at the tachiai, and went to work. Daiamami advanced, but could not finish Sadanoumi at the edge. Sadanoumi rallied and rolled into an uwatenage. Picking up his 5 win and handing Daiamami his make-koshi.

Kotoshogiku defeats Tochinoshin – Probably should have been a matta, as Tochinoshin left the shikiri-sen much earlier than Kotoshogiku. But Tochinoshin could not really generate much forward pressure, and Kotoshogiku quickly had his inside grip, and was on to the hug-n-chug. Kotoshogiku advances to 7-6, and Tochinoshin now make-koshi.

Takanosho defeats Aoiyama – Major consequences from this match. I fully expected Aoiyama to power up the V-Twin thrusting attack from the start, but instead he went into an attempt at a pull. Takanosho must have known this was coming, as he pushed into the pull the moment it started, driving Aoiyama back, shoving him over the west side tawara. Aoiyama’s loss drops him from sole ownership of the yusho lead, and Takanosho gets his 10th win.

Kiribayama defeats Kaisei – Kiribayama executes a nice hit and shift, getting to Kaisei’s right side. From here Kaisei has almost no avenue to attack or defend. Kiribayama pins him down, and prevents Kaisei from turning to face his opponent, and Kiribayama drives him out. Nice strategy today, Kiribayama! He improves to 7-6.

Tamawashi defeats Azumaryu – Tamawashi gets the inside position at the tachiai, with his hands on Azumaryu’s neck and face, and gets to work thrusting against Azumaryu’s chest. Unable to generate much response, he is forced to give up ground to try and recover, but Tamawashi has him beat. Azumaryu picks up his 8th loss, and joins Tamawashi in a losing record for Haru.

Nishikigi defeats Myogiryu – Its kind of shocking to see Myogiryu with so little power right now. Nishikigi quickly got his favored arm bar hold, and it seems Myogiryu had no answer. A step back, and a roll to the left and Nishikigi had a win via sukuinage, handing Myogiryu his 10th loss.

Onosho defeats Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi attempts a hit and shift, which would normally be likely to end Onosho’s part of the match. But it seems he really has made great strides in his balance and foot work. Faster than Terutsuyoshi could react, Onosho pivots into Terutsuyoshi’s shift, getting to his side. At that point, Terutsuyoshi is more or less a pliable practice toy, and Onosho smacks and shoves him about with great effect before pushing him from the dohyo. Complete domination by Onosho today after a failed opening gambit by Terutsuyoshi. Onosho improves to 8-5, and picks up his kachi-koshi. He will be back in the joi-jin for the next basho, and frankly I think this is a very exciting development for sumo.

Mitakeumi defeats Takarafuji – This may have seemed to be a very pedestrian, low-energy match, but it is in fact littered with brilliant, small details. First the tachiai. Mitakeumi is so damn low for such a large bodied person, I am not sure how he stays upright, but he puts all of that force right on Takarafuji’s chest. Showing outstanding reflexes, Takarafuji responds with a right hand ottsuke, while Mitakeumi unfolds his arms at the elbows (blunting the ottsuke and continuing the force to Takarafuji’s chest. It all happens in less than half a second, but damn! But Takarafuji is a master of defense, and traps Mitakeumi low with his arms extended, the Original Tadpole has no leverage, and no path to attack. Takarafuji attempts something akin to a hikkake, and Mitakeumi uses that change of grip to break free and attack. A moment later, he has forced Takarafuji out, and picks up his 10th win. Very nice technique from both men today.

Shohozan defeats Tokushoryu – Glad to see Shohozan pick up a win, but now both he and Hatsu yusho winner Tokushoryu have 10 losses. It’s a grim basho for some of these beloved veterans.

Okinoumi defeats Yutakayama – This match was 100% Okinoumi, as Yutakayama got tangled up and shut down early. Both men exit the match with 7-6 records, and possibly headed for Darwin matches on day 15.

Enho defeats Daieisho – The first match ended with both rikishi flying out of the ring, and the judges ruled a torinaoshi (rematch). In the second bout, Enho brought his best break dancing moves to the clay, and kept Daieisho batting at the empty Osaka air. In one step, Daieisho lost his balance, and Enho helped him fall out of the ring. Daieisho falls to 7-6 and is also probably headed for a Darwin match.

Endo defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki could not keep Endo away from his mawashi, and some great hard placement by Endo gave him a grip and put him in charge of the match. Once it was best to chest. It was Endo’s sumo that controlled the match, and Kagayaki could not really respond. If there is a spot for Kagayaki to improve, it would be his yotsu-zumo. His Oshi is fantastic, his foot work excellent, and he clearly gives it his all. Both are 7-6 at the end of this match, and again we seem to have a lot of rikishi headed for Darwin.

Ryuden defeats Hokutofuji – Both are in sad shape this March, and now Hokutofuji has double digit losses. To me this can only mean some kind of injury, and it’s quite disappointing to fans, as he seemed to have his sumo together in January.

Shodai defeats Abi – Shodai’s super power seems to be able to take a beating and stay in the match. I knew people like this in my younger days, they could take punch after punch (Marine Corps, you see..) but not give in or fall down. Eventually the attacker loses control or rhythm, and they are wide open, and maybe a bit tired. The counter-attack in these situations is frequently rapid, brutal and final. Abi picks up his 8th loss, while Shodai remains on a path toward kachi-koshi.

Kakuryu defeats Takakeisho – The only offense Takakeisho could generate was an early pull down attempt on the second step after the tachiai. It was quite useless, and opened himself up to the Yokozuna’s offense. Moments later, Kakuryu landed a right hand shallow grip on Takakeisho’s mawashi, and that was all he needed for the win. Takakeisho fans, just resign yourself to a make-koshi this tournament. Kakuryu picks up win #11 and remains in the yusho hunt.

Hakuho defeats Asanoyama – Hakuho wasted no time going on the attack, but seemed to have a moment of poor balance right at the moment he won. To my eye, that bandaged right foot gave way, and he fell forward. Thankfully for him, he converted most of that forward energy into shoving Asanoyama out of the ring. Hakuho improves to 11-2 and remains tied for the lead.

With Thursday matches about to start in Japan, it’s almost assured that we will finish all 15 days of this tournament. I did not really think it likely when the rules were laid out weeks ago. No spectators, closed heyas, if 1 rikishi came down with COVID-19, it was all over. But somehow, against the odds, it looks like they NSK is actually going to get it done.

That naturally brings us to the next question – what about Natsu? The May tournament is back at the Kokugikan in Tokyo, and 2 months are a long time from today in epidemiology. We have no idea what the world will look like 2 weeks from now, let alone 2 months. But it’s my hope that they can move forward much as they did in Osaka. Though having now audience in the Kokugikan would be a let down, I am thankful for sumo, doubly so as so many other sports have thrown in the towel and gone on hiatus until matters improve.

Haru Leaderboard

Day 10 was odd in that all 5 rikishi that were 2 wins behind Hakuho and Aoiyama lost, removing our “Hunt Group” entirely from the leader board. The Yusho race is down to 6 rikishi, with 4 of them having prior top division yushos.

Leaders: Hakuho, Aoiyama
Chasers: Kakuryu, Asanoyama, Mitakeumi ,Takanosho

4 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 12

Kotoshogiku vs Nishikigi – Simply put, Nishikigi is a lost cause for the scope of Haru. I am sure it’s some kind of injury that is limiting his strength, his mobility or maybe even both. Already make-koshi, he’s going to face former Ozeki Kotoshogiku today in the first match of the top division. I am fairly sure that Kotoshogiku is going to take the lead in this match, and unless Nishikigi can produce some variation of his favored arm-bar hold, it will move Kotoshogiku a step closer to kachi-koshi.

Ishiura vs Kotonowaka – The winner of today’s match is kachi-koshi. A plain, simple head to head match up, but its the first time these two have faced each other on the dohyo. Kotonowaka has dropped his last 2 matches, and is looking to bounce back against the smaller and lighter Ishiura.

Meisei vs Terutsuyoshi – About as even a battle as you might want for the 3rd match of day 12. Both come in having won their last 2 matches, the career record is 3-4, and both are fairly compact powerhouses of sumo. They have mirror image 5-6/6-5 records, and both still have a good shot at a kachi-koshi if they can finish strong.

Sadanoumi vs Azumaryu – Make-koshi rikishi Sadanoumi holds a 4-2 career advantage over 5-6 Azumaryu, who has a reasonable chance at finishing Osaka with a winning record. They are well balanced in terms of sumo techniques, but to get the much needed win, Azumaryu will need to overcome the 2-4 career match deficit.

Daiamami vs Tochiozan – Can Tochiozan win 2 in a row? The battered veteran limps into day 12 action against Daiamami, looking ready for the scrap yard. We would love to see him avoid any risk of return to Juryo after having escaped the junior division in January.

Chiyomaru vs Tochinoshin – Chiyomaru will attempt to win his first match after returning from a 3 day fever kyujo in a match against Tochinoshin. In the grand scheme of things, Tochinoshin has never lost to Chiyomaru, but the last time they faced each other was 2 years ago, and Tochinoshin was on a tear pushing for Ozeki. The Tochinoshin of today is a battered relic that has to henka Kagayaki.

Shohozan vs Kaisei – With only 2 wins, Shohozan may provide Kaisei with the all important 8th win to secure a well deserved kachi-koshi. Under normal circumstances, it would be Shohozan’s move-and-strike sumo against Kaisei’s lumbering Newtonian style, but Shohozan has shown little of his traditional fighting energy this March.

Shimanoumi vs Kiribayama – Both of these rikishi are within range of completing the Osaka basho with a winning record. For Kiribayama, his second tournament in the top division has been a rough ride, and he has lost 4 of the last 5. I suspect one of these rikishi will end up in a day 15 Darwin match.

Takarafuji vs Chiyotairyu – The winner of this match will be kachi-koshi. Both of them have fought well, but Chiyotairyu is in the midst of a bit of a fade, having lost 3 of the last 4 matches. They are evenly matched at 8-8 over their career history, so it will come down to Chiyotairyu overwhelming Takarafuji’s defenses in the first few seconds, before he exhausts his stamina.

Ikioi vs Tamawashi – Tamawashi tends to dominate these matches, and their career record favors him 11-5. But it’s also clear that Tamawashi is fighting well below his ability this march, likely due to some injury, and Ikioi is fighting well enough to give him a good battle.

Yutakayama vs Abi – I have to say I am very excited for this contest, as we get to see them fight for the first time since January 2019. A lot has changed since then, and Yutakayama comes into this match having won the last 4 matches, including against Ozeki Takakeisho and presumptive Ozeki Asanoyama. My money is on the “Big Unit” today.

Aoiyama vs Mitakeumi – Looks like the schedulers have decided no more yushos from the bottom of the banzuke without a solid series of test matches against higher ranking foes. Up comes Big Dan Aoiyama to face Mitakeumi in what may be a yusho race elimination contest. But Aoiyama is not a starry eye shin-maku rikishi freshly escaped from Juryo, he is a seasoned veteran who has a 3-4 career record against Mitakeumi. This has the potential to be one hell of a fight.

Okinoumi vs Kagayaki – Matching 6-5 records, both are solid in fundamentals and take a lot of care in their sumo. Okinoumi will tend for a mawashi battle and Kagayaki will go for strike and move. Great clash of styles with two evenly matched opponents.

Myogiryu vs Tokushoryu – Both of them are make-koshi, so this is really more or less for entertainment value.

Daieisho vs Onosho – A Daieisho win today is kachi-koshi, and he has won the last 2 verses Onosho. But the Onosho of Haru 2020 is a strong, determined fighter who is more than able to stand up to Daieisho aggressive, strong oshi-sumo. As long as Onosho can keep his feet (and I expect Daieisho to do everything he can to disrupt that), it has potential to be a big battle.

Hokutofuji vs Enho – Enho is one loss away from make-koshi, but if he were to win his remaining matches, it would more or less be in keeping with many of his earlier bashos. Enho has a sad habit of going on losing streaks, and then pulling it together at the end. I think this basho he may also be nursing an injury. Oddly enough, this is the first time he has ever fought Hokutofuji, who got completely overrun by Enho’s stable mate, Yokozuna Hakuho yesterday.

Asanoyama vs Takanosho – The second yusho elimination match of the day, this is a first time meeting against two rikishi who have had great tournaments this March. Advantage would obviously go to Asanoyama, but a loss by the Sekiwake today would puncture any further hopes of promotion to Ozeki before the next tournament.

Takakeisho vs Ryuden – I think most sumo fans are just hoping that Takakeisho can make it to day 15 without further injury, even if he ends up kadoban for the next tournament. He holds a 3-1 career advantage over Ryuden, but that may not matter given the condition of his left leg.

Hakuho vs Shodai – I do hope that Hakuho is done playing around, and he crumples Shodai into a heap before tea-bagging that heap and pushing it off the edge of the dohyo, into the chikara-mizu bucket. Finish strong, Hakuho!

Endo vs Kakuryu – For the last several days, Yokozuna Kakuryu has been all business. Strong, decisive, and completley dominating his matches. I know Endo is going to go for that left hand shallow grip, but I expect that Kakuryu is going to shut it down rather than give him space to get into trouble.