With today’s sumo action, only one rikishi remains undefeated, and the basho (at least the yusho race) is in its normal form. We go racing into the middle day with the intensity climbing, and all of our favorites running hot.

Highlight Matches

Azumaryu defeats Shimanoumi – Shimanoumi’s tachiai was close to excellent, as he came in below Azumaryu, and had superior hand and body placement. in fact he dominated the early portion of the match. Azumaryu rallied, but could not convert a painful looking right hand inside grip into any offense. A second break away and a third clash saw Azumaryu finally get a good right hand inside grip, and that was all he needed to finish Shimanoumi. That was at least twice Shimanoumi had Azamaryu in trouble, but could not finish him.

Daiamami defeats Nishikigi – Nishikigi continues to struggle to put up a solid fight, his insistence on arm-bar holds seems to cause him plenty of trouble, as he grabbed Daiamami’s left upper arm, and then pulled? As a result, Nishikigi was high, moving in reverse and wide open for the yorikiri.

Kotonowaka defeats Kaisei – Kaisei had the early advantage, but he let Kotonowaka change his grip and get a double inside / morozashi. True, trying to lift and move over 400 pounds of rikishi is a tough job, but Kotonowaka is young and strong, and managed to get Kaisei over the bales for his 5th win.

Kotoshogiku defeats Meisei – Somehow, Kotoshogiku has found enough juice to keep his knees in place for yet another match. Not just in place, but they seem to actually be supporting some tough, aggressive sumo. That sukuinage was actually quite a display of Ozeki grade sumo.

Chiyomaru defeats Ishiura – Solid tachiai, with a second-step slide to the left by Ishiura, but Chiyomaru recovered before Ishiura could get behind him. Ishiura never recovered, and Chiyomaru was absolutely relentless. Some of the better sumo from Chiyomaru in the last year this March. Both end the day at 5-2.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Aoiyama – Big Dan Aoiyama comes out strong, and Terutsuyoshi gets a face full of V-Twin power straight off the shikiri-sen. Terutsuyoshi stayed calm, kept his feet and found an opening and broke contact. Aoiyama lunged to pursue, and Terutsuyoshi dove in for the mawashi, landing a right hand inside grip. The little man had his position, and went to work. Taking a moment to consolidate his foot placement, he loaded a shitatenage and pulled the trigger. Great effort from Terutsuyoshi today, very impressed with his patience and careful sumo in a clutch. Aoiyama picks up his first loss and drops to 6-1.

Chiyotairyu defeats Ikioi – Chiyotairyu loves to defeat opponents by standing them up and slapping them down. Ikioi’s balance, in his younger days, was quite good. But with that right ankle chronically damaged, he has a weakness that Chiyotairyu exploited with absolutely perfect timing. You can see that he unleashes the pull the moment Ikioi tries to step forward with that right leg, leaving him un-weighted on the right side. Wow. Chiyotairyu improves to 6-1.

Sadanoumi defeats Tochiozan – That beach chair in Okinawa must be looking even better today after Tochiozan picked up his 7th straight loss. Worse yet the gumbai went to Tochiozan originally just to be reversed by a monoii.

Tochinoshin defeats Takarafuji – Well, we did call for a henka in this match, but it was Tochinoshin who stepped to the side at the tachiai, with great effect. But because Takarafuji always hedges his tachiai, they immediately went chest to chest, and Takarafuji began to work on keeping the former Ozeki from making any powerful moves. But after Takarafuji changed his grip to a double inside, the two began trading lifts, each raising and swinging the other in a contest of strength. Normally I would not expect Takarafuji to be so direct, and in fact it left him open for a throw which, to my delight, Tochinoshin executed for the win. Good job to Tochinoshin on staying in that match and exploiting his opportunity when it came to him.

Takanosho defeats Kagayaki – Takanosho got the better of the tachiai, slapping Kagayaki away and causing him to shift and regain balance. In that moment, Takanosho drove inside and put pressure at center mass. Kagayaki never had a chance to rebound, and was quickly out. Really good, aggressive sumo by Takanosho, and outstanding opening gambit. He advances to a well earned 6-1.

Tamawashi defeats Myogiryu – After a matta, it was an all out thrusting battle that Myogiryu did not have the foot position to win. Tamawashi did a good job of staying low, and cross thrusting against Myogiryu’s chest (left arm to right shoulder, right arm to left shoulder).

Onosho defeats Kiribayama – Onosho was lower and faster at the tachiai, and had that left hand thrusting against Kiribayama’s chin from below. That chin thrust seems to have really disrupted Kiribayama’s plans, as he recoiled and Onosho dove in. From that grip, it was a short move to an almost Enho style uwatedashinage, which sent Kiribayama to the clay. Nice sumo today from Onosho.

Ryuden defeats Shohozan – It must be quite frustrating for Shohozan, who shows up every day and puts a lot of effort and energy into his sumo, but only has 1 win to show for it this March. Ryuden completely dominated this match, never letting Shohozan get more than a moment of offense into this fight. Ryuden improves to 4-3.

Daieisho defeats Yutakayama – I am starting to worry about Yutakayama. Ideally he could get to an 8-7 kachi-koshi, but his sumo seems not quite ready for competition in the joi-jin. Today Daieisho established a nodowa, and never let up. Unable to adequately attack or even really defend, Yutakayama focused on trying to just stay in the match, but Daieisho had this won from the second step, and Yutakayama drops to 2-5.

Abi defeats Hokutofuji – Sorry all, that was some sloppy sumo from both rikishi. In my mind, I see the massive, frowning face of Musashigawa Oyakata admonishing both rikishi and telling them to try again. Even the shimpan thought it was so bad they wanted to discuss it for a minute. The only redeeming quality of this match was Abi’s ability to remain airborne until Hokutofuji could finish falling. That was some fine levitation.

Okinoumi defeats Shodai – As mentioned, Shodai can be quite streaky, and it seems his fighting spirit is now rattled, and he’s losing matches that he should win. I know some fans think he can execute Ozeki calibre sumo, and in fact he has demonstrated excellent technique. But higher ranks, require consistent production of winning sumo. Thus far Shodai continues to not quite have the mental steel needed to power through the soft spots. Shodai drops to 3-4.

Asanoyama defeats Endo – Asanoyama keeps his Ozeki bid running by defeating both Komusubi, improving to 6-1. The big events are coming up in week 2 as he will likely need a win or two against the three men who outrank him to qualify for consideration. His sumo today against Endo was quite good, and completely controlled the form and tempo of the match.

Takakeisho defeats Tokushoryu – Much as we love Tokushoryu, this was a very simple match, where Takakeisho used his unstoppable thrusting energy to stand Tokushoryu up, and immediately batted him down.

Kakuryu defeats Enho – Kakuryu went immediately for Enho’s head during the tachiai. Quite an interesting and surprising opening gambit from the Yokozuna, and quite effective too. Enho, rather than picking his target, attempts to evade the blows, and ends up leaning too far forward. Kakuryu is expert at spotting these mistakes, and it was the end for Enho. He stumbled forward with assistance from the Yokozuna and finished spinning into the clay. Brilliant opening gambit from Kakuryu.

Hakuho defeats Mitakeumi – Were any of the rest of you Tachiai fans grinning from ear to ear as Hakuho switched up his normal sumo and dispatched Mitakumi in a hurry? Shades of the Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride – “I’m going to duel him left-handed!” Hakuho is the sole leader of the yusho race going into nakabi.

Day 7 is jam packed with amazing matches – we have the undefeated battle for the last match, Enho’s first honbasho match against a Yokozuna before that, and the rematch of Tokushoryu’s yusho winning bout just prior to that. Open the big bottle of sake, if you dare – this is going to be a day of double-wide sumo!

As the strangest basho of my sumo fan experience is heading into its middle weekend, I am to the point now where I still notice the lack of a crowd, but it no longer creeps me out. The sumo is getting better, in my eye, and some of the rivalries of the next generation are undergoing tests as the younger crowd mix with grizzled veterans who are fighting to remain in the top division. Clearly the scheduling committee are trying to already shape the yusho race, as on day 6 we saw two high ranking undefeated rikishi face each other, and on day 7, 6-0 “Original Tadpole” Mitakeumi will take on Yokozuna “The Boss” Hakuho in the musubi no ichiban. Only one of them will leave the dohyo undefeated, and I think we all expect that to be Hakuho. But it raises the odd possibility of a THIRD Mitakeumi yusho.

I can’t help but wonder if they are trying to make a possible end point early in the basho out of caution that there may be active COVID-19 infection in one of the heya, and a mandate to shut down the basho. We have already seen this effect in American and European sports leagues, with almost any competition in the US that you might be able to name now suspended and canceled. I am thankful for each day of sumo that we are able to enjoy, and genuinely hope that the NSK can make it through all 15 days of Osaka.

What We Are Watching Day 7

Azumaryu vs Shimanoumi – With both of these rikishi fighting at 3-3 records entering the middle weekend, its easy to assume they will be struggling for kachi-koshi all the way to day 15. Veteran Azumaryu does have a 5-2 career lead over Shimanoumi, but Shimanoumi brings a 15 kg mass advantage. Go get ’em guys!

Daiamami vs Nishikigi – Sure, Nishikigi managed his first win yesterday, and now he’s going against Daiamami, whom he has beaten in 3 of the last 4 encounters. I know Nishikigi can battle back from a dismal 0-5 start, but can he put his sumo and his fighting spirit together to make it happen? Could be a great story arc for the second half of Haru.

Kaisei vs Kotonowaka – Once Kaisei gets his sumo running, he’s like some massive piece of construction machinery – no point trying to stop it, just get out of the way. Last time Kotonowaka tried to fight him (Kyushu 2019), he endured a plus sized yorikiri.

Kotoshogiku vs Meisei – After a rough start, the other piece of earth moving equipment in the roster (the Kyushu Bulldozer) seems to be dialed into his sumo, at least for the moment. Each time I figure, “Ah damn, this is the basho where Kotoshogiku’s knees finally give up and fly to Okinawa for sun under their own power”, he surprises me and starts to win. He and Meisei are tied at 2-2 each over their career.

Ishiura vs Chiyomaru – Ishiura already used on his henka coupons on day 6, so the delight of seeing Chiyomaru bouncing and rolling along the hanamichi, unable to use any fans to somehow slow or arrest his momentum shall not come to pass. Instead I think Chiyomaru may try to grab Ishiura by the neck, but Ishiura’s 14 match history (8-6) with Chiyomaru says that the Hakuho’s dew sweeper will likely know what to do.

Aoiyama vs Terutsuyoshi – Undefeated man-mountain Aoiyama is undefeated at 6-0, and is completely dominating each of his matches. Although Terutsuyoshi won their only prior match, I have no doubt that this is Aoiyama’s match to lose.

Chiyotairyu vs Ikioi – Will Chiyotairyu blast Ikioi off the clay in the first 5 seconds? Or will the human bandage (and hometown hero) Ikioi rally and put the the Kokonoe man in the first row?

Sadanoumi vs Tochiozan – I predict that in this match, following a Sadanoumi yorikiri, Tochiozan’s latex rubber skin will tear as he falls of the dohyo, revealing none other than perpetual sumo loser Hattorizakura underneath an elaborate Tochiozan suit. The actual Tochiozan is in Okinawa, in a beach chair with a giant beer, sitting next to Kotoshogiku’s knees.

Takarafuji vs Tochinoshin – How funny would it be if Takarafuji deployed a henka today? It would be really sad for Tochinoshin, and I would feel bad, but it would be epic. Instead I think Tochinoshin, having been embarrassed on day 6, finds his strength and his sumo, and starts to battle his way back.

Takanosho vs Kagayaki – Mr Fundamentals (Kagayaki) against the lesser Chiganoura makuuchi rikishi. They are tied up 2-2 over their career, but right now I think Takanosho is fighting better. He seems to surprise everyone he fights, so Kagayaki – you are next!

Myogiryu vs Tamawashi – Hey, Tamawashi. There is a beach chair in Okinawa with your name on it. I am sure if you ask nicely and promise to buy the beer, they will let you tag along, Myogiryu, as long as you behave.

Kiribayama vs Onosho – First time match against these two, I am down for a big brawl with Kiribayama deflecting and stalemating Onosho. It will come down to the first two steps following the tachiai. If Kiribayama can keep on his feet, he will probably overcome the Onosho’s initial surge. Good luck new guy!

Ryuden vs Shohozan – Shohozan, may as well join the group enjoying the sun in Okinawa. You deserve it. Better than hanging around in Osaka waiting for COVID-19 to sneak up on you. Plus, Ryuden has your number (3-1 career advantage)

Daieisho vs Yutakayama – Yutakayama comes in with a strong listing record now (2-4) and he needs to bounce back to have a chance of making his 8, he’s going up against Daieisho, who has a tendency for surprising opponents. Its 5-3 in Yutakayam’s favor.

Hokutofuji vs Abi – The one thing we can count on for this battle, it’s going to be a slap-happy festival of wild chaotic sumo. The numbers favor Abi, but he’s neen quite lackluster this March, and I would give a slight edge to Hokutofuji.

Okinoumi vs Shodai – Shodai tends to be streaky – hot streaks, cold streaks, fortunately he has kept his mawashi in the upright and locked position, and the next available streak type has not shown itself. But Shodai has lost the last 2, and I worry it’s going to be 3 at the end of today, as Okinoumi is fighting well right now.

Asanoyama vs Endo – Asanoyama still wants to maintain the hope of an Ozeki bid, but he has yet to face anyone ranked higher than Komusubi. Today he takes on the West Komusubi, Endo. Endo has won 6 of their 8 career matches, so this match is going to be an important test in terms of “quality wins” for the Asanoyama.

Takakeisho vs Tokushoryu – Can Tokushoryu catch lightning in a bottle for the second day in a row? More importantly, this a rematch of the match that gave Tokushoryu the yusho in January. I expect some intense sumo action! But it will come down to Tokushoryu getting a hand full of mawashi, or Takakeisho landing waves of powerful blows to Tokushoryu’s chest.

Enho vs Kakuryu – The first time Enho will face a Yokozuna in honbasho – I think the whole world wants to see this one, I know I can’t wait! Big K’s reactive sumo against pixie magic, who’s sumo will come out on top?

Hakuho vs Mitakeumi – The battle of the joi-jin undefeated, bring it on! Hakuho tends to beat Mitakeumi like a drum (10-2), and I think “The Boss” is finally dialed into his sumo. But Mitakeumi is in the same sort of “mode” we have seen before – the one that took him to two yusho, but abandoned him at the threshold of an Ozeki promotion. Original Tadpole, beating the dai-Yokozuna is a tall order, can you fill it?

Some nice sumo today, the Asanoyama vs Mitakeumi match did not disappoint, Takakeisho boxed Enho in and gave him nothing to grab, and Tokushoryu showed us some great sumo, breaking Yokozuna Kakuryu’s left hand grip.

As we head into the middle weekend of this basho, we are going to start tracking the leader board, but we can tell you now, Yokozuna Hakuho is the man to catch for any rikishi who wants to try to take the cup.

Highlight Matches

Chiyomaru defeats Kotonowaka – Chiyomaru bounces back from 2 consecutive losses. He was able to get the inside position at the tachiai, and was relentless driving blows against Kotonowaka’s chest. Simple but very effective sumo. Chiyomaru improves to 4-2.

Kaisei defeats Azumaryu – Kaisei seems to have found his sumo again, and is fighting like he means it now. Azumaryu got the better of the tachiai, and set up for offense, but quickly found out that there is just too much to Kaisei to move forward. With his stance wide, and his hips low, Kaisei powered forward and made short work of Azumaryu. Both end the match at 3-3.

Nishikigi defeats Shimanoumi – Nishikigi finally gets his first win, escaping the quarantine group. Nishikigi’s tachiai had no forward motion, he simply received Shimanoumi charge. That’s not to say it was poorly executed, Nishikigi sacrificed forward motion to have his feet set for defense, and his hands ready to attack. Immediately, Shimanoumi realized his mistake, and struggled to block Nishikigi’s drive to get a left hand inside grip. He managed to shut that down, but at the cost of letting Nishikigi drive forward and force him from the ring.

Kotoshogiku defeats Daiamami – Very happy to see Kotoshogiku rack up another win, and doing it using “his brand of sumo”. Impressed to see Daiamami work up a rescue throw at the bales, but the Kyushu Bulldozer was not going to be denied.

Aoiyama defeats Meisei – If anything, Big Dan Aoiyama is becoming more potent and more aggressive as this tournament grinds toward the middle weekend. In picking up his 6th consecutive win of the tournament, he seemed content to just continue bludgeoning hapless Meisei into a pulp, but Meisei lost his footing and hit the clay.

Ikioi defeats Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi, planning a henka, started with a matta, which probably tipped his hand. The henka went off correctly, but Ikioi maintained his footing, and stopped short of the tawara. Terutsuyoshi lunged with poor body and foot placement, and Ikioi took him to school. I found the resulting sukuinage most satisfying.

Chiyotairyu defeats Sadanoumi – Chiyotairyu continues to dominate, regardless of whatever he did to his ankle a few days ago. Sadanoumi’s speed and low hips were no help today, Chiyotairyu was just too strong and too on his game. He improves to 5-1.

Takanosho defeats Tochiozan – Tochiozan is now the last competing rikishi with zero wins. I am going to continue to believe that its down to some injury. Takanosho made fairly quick work of him today, and we saw Tochiozan unable to push back against Takanosho’s forward rush for more than just a moment. Takanosho now at 5-1.

Ishiura defeats Tochinoshin – Beautifully executed henka today for Ishiura. He sold it for full price, and Tochinoshin bought that lemon, no questions asked.

Kiribayama defeats Shohozan – Shohozan continues to struggle, as Kiribayama ignores Shohozan’s face slap, his better body position and his energetic forward advance to lift and swing him out with an uwatenage. Now at 1-5, Shohozan is officially having a dud of a tournament.

Kagayaki defeats Myogiryu – At the tachiai, Myogiryu went for Kagayaki’s throat, and Kagayaki attacked his opponents armpits. While I am sure it was uncomfortable to endure that neck grip, the hazu-oshi payed Kagayaki handsomely. Unable to phase Mr Fundamentals, Myogiryu found himself off balance thanks to the hazu-oshi, then slapped around, then shoved out. Kagayaki improves to 4-2.

Ryuden defeats Tamawashi – Joining Shohozan in “high energy veteran having a crummy basho” group is Tamawashi. That’s not to say that Tamawashi has suddenly become a push over, he gave Ryuden a vigorous fight. But for whatever reason, Tamawashi is just not generating that much forward pressure.

Takarafuji defeats Onosho – A master class on the extend and defend approach to sumo today. Time and again Onosho rushed ahead to clash with Takarafuji, and Takarafuji gave ground carefully and deliberately. It was a good bet that Onosho would soon over-commit an fall flat on his face, but Onosho seems to have greatly improved his balance since January. Eventually laying hands on Onosho, it was still fairly easy to take him off balance and trigger a forward fall, giving Takarafuji the win. Both leave the match with 4-2 records.

Okinoumi defeats Abi – Okinoumi once again shows off his recipe for blunting the effects of Abi-zumo. Keep thrusting upwards at his elbows to disrupt his frontal force transfer, and lean into it just a bit. Abi quickly runs out of stamina, grab his body and just toss him about until his sumo crumbles.

Endo defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji’s sumo is typically quite frantic, and on good day’s, Endo’s is calm and controlled. Today was a great clash of styles, as we could see Hokutofuji throwing a lot of energy into Endo’s body, and Endo carefully working to get grip, position and finally leverage to carry the match. Where Hokutofuji was focusing his effort side to side, Endo was focusing his force center-mass.

Mitakeumi defeats Asanoyama – What a match! Asanoyama worked hard to get his preferred body position and grip. Rather than worry about preventing that, Mitakeumi just blasted forward, putting maximum force into Asanoyama’s chest. Mitakeumi was rewarded with a double inside grip, and Asanoyama knew he was in trouble. Very impressed by Asanoyama’s rally to nearly unleash a rescue uwatenage, but Mitakeumi was too close, his sumo too heavy and his grip was unrelenting. This match really deserved to have a roaring crowd of rabid Nagoya Mitakeumi fans.

Daieisho defeats Shodai – Daieisho completely dominated this match. Shodai has lost 3 of his last 4, and is sometimes the case, once he starts losing, his confidence erodes, and he gets into a losing streak. Shame, too – he had a strong start.

Takakeisho defeats Enho – Points to the Ozeki for keeping Enho away from his mawashi, and preventing the power pixie from grabbing a firm hold on an arm or hand. While Takakeisho made a point of controlling the form of the match, he let Enho set the tempo. The result was pauses and gaps in the fighting. Typically Enho uses these gaps to rapidly make unexpected moves that turn the match to his advantage. In contrast, it was great to see Takakeisho let him pause, wait him out, and re-engage. It shut down one of Enho’s best techniques.

Hakuho defeats Yutakayama – Yokozuna Hakuho was fast, efficient and ruthless. I had to watch it a few times to recognize just how little motion he expended in his rapid win over Yutakayama. Hakuho remains undefeated, and is the man to beat if you want to contend for the Emperors Cup.

Tokushoryu defeats Kakuryu – In the surprise conclusion of day 6, the Hatsu yusho winner surprised Yokozuna Kakuryu with a really nice combination move to put Big K against the bales. Considering his options, Kakuryu gave up the kinboshi in exchange for risking injury in a bad fall. The key was the moment that Tokushoryu broke the Yokozuna’s deep left hand grip, and pivoted to attempt a throw. Really nice sumo today from Tokushoryu.