Hey, I owe you readers two days of randomly picked lower division bouts!
Continue readingLower divisions – Days 13 and 14
Wakaichiro (若一郎)
Lower divisions – Days 11 and 12
Today I’m trying to catch up on two days of lower division action. Let’s start with day 11, May 22.
Continue readingDay 10 – Ones To Watch In The Lower Division
Today’s post merges our daily “Ones To Watch” with my erratic video coverage of the lower divisions. Enjoy!
Jonidan
None of our “Ones to watch” or “Ones to be flattened by” featured today in Jonokuchi, so we skip right to Jonidan. Satonofuji, the legendary bow twirler, won his first day, but then suffered three consecutive losses. Can he still salvage a kachi-koshi? The road there goes through Kotomanabe (the “nabe” in that name is actually the same as in “chanko-nabe”, a pot!)
Two years older than Aminishiki, Satonofuji is still sumo-worthy.
Next we have Wakaichiro’s bout, which Andy captured for us. Wakaichiro faces Takataisho, who is known as the tsukebito who survived Takanoiwa.
Nice work! Our man from Texas may yet get that kachi-koshi!
Sandanme
The following footage is not recommended to the feint-of-heart. Kasugaryu, our current yumi-tori performer from the wonderful photo at the top, faces Tanakayama, and not only loses, but dislocates his knee.
The most bizarre scene follows, wherein Kasugaryu, with an expression that says more “not again!” than “ow!”, resets his own knee, then limps over to make his bow.
Ow.
When Bruce pointed out this strange occurrence this morning on my Twitter feed, I was sure by the end of the day we will see Satonofuji or Shohoryu covering for the bow man in the closing ceremony, but no:
What is this man made of? 😨
On we go to the less bizarre parts of Sandanme, and we have our “One To Watch”, Shoji from Musashigawa beya, facing Sumanoumi:
Nice survival at the edge there. Shoji is now 3-2 and closer to a kachi-koshi.
Finally, the main match of interest in Sandanme today has been that of former Ozeki Terunofuji vs. Fujitaisei of Fujishima beya.
Angry, or rather, exasperated yori-kiri it is. In the previous bout he said he made a mistake in thinking his opponent stepped outside when he didn’t. This time he made damn well sure.
Makushita
We start at the bottom, with the official American One To Watch, Musashikuni. He is facing Genkaiho from Otake beya (Same “ho” as in “Hakuho” and “Enho” – there are lots of these).
Genkaiho tries an arm lock there, but Musashikuni’s determination and better strength determine the result. Musashikuni maintains his chance of a kachi-koshi.
What’s up with Akua/Aqua then? He is facing Kaisho:
Aaaand… he is kachi-koshi within the blink of an eye, setting Kaisho gently on the floor by going backwards in a big arc.
Let’s take a peek at Isegahama’s back-flipping Tomisakae. He is faced with Ryusei, both are 3-1, and one of them will be kachi-koshi after this bout:
Alas, it is not our back-flipping hyperactive Tomisakae. Ryusei is kachi-koshi, and Tomisakae will have to look for his in the next bout.
Wakatakamoto faced Kizenryu today. At 1-3 he was with his back to the wall in his attempt to keep up with his little brothers (sorry, only partial footage here):
Although Wakatakamoto is the one who breaks the stalemate, Kizenryu is the one who takes advantage of his movement for a kotenage. The eldest Onami is make-koshi.
Our final match of the day is between Kototebakari and Kotokuzan. Note that Kotokuzan is not one of the Sadogatake Kotos (or he wouldn’t be facing Kototebakari) – it’s actually Kōtokuzan, from Arashio beya, who was hoping to become Sekitori before his oyakata retires.
This marks Kotokuzan’s third loss, and he needs to win out to avoid increasing his distance from the Heaven/Hell line at the top of Makushita. Kototebakari is now in a more comfortable position, though of course, at his level, he would have liked to be 5-0 rather than 3-2. Wouldn’t we all.
What are we expecting tomorrow?
In Jonidan, Wakaichiro returns to the dohyo to face Nakai. Hopefully, he can complete his kachi-koshi this day!
Amakaze is to face the sandanme-tsukedashi, Shiraishi, in what could be a very challenging match for both of them. Shiraishi is a strong up-and-comer, Amakaze has sekitori experience and newfound confidence. The winner stays in the yusho race, the loser… doesn’t.
Terunofuji ascends the dohyo again. Now that he has ensured his kachi-koshi, he will want to increase his winning margin to 5-1 against Asadaimon from Takazago beya.
Roga will want to achieve his kachi-koshi vs. Aratora from Isenoumi beya.
Naya is going to have a very fierce match tomorrow vs. Takanofuji (former Takayoshitoshi) who is very determined to regain his sekitori status and keep up with his “little” twin brother Takagenji. Both wrestlers are in the yusho race, and this is going to be deadly.
Hoshoryu is facing Fujiazuma, hoping not to give himself a make-koshi as a birthday present. Yes, Hoshoryu is 20 years old as of today, which in Japan is the age of majority. Many happy returns! Both wrestlers are 2-3 and this is going to be a killer bout.
Ichiyamamoto is going to face Kotokamatani. The winner of this match is kachi-koshi, and Ichiyamamoto will fiercely try to get his kachi-koshi now to be able to extend it enough to skip over the head of his rival on his way to sekitori-land.
Wakamotoharu gets to face Kizenryu, who gave his older brother his make-koshi today. The loser of this bout is make-koshi, and Wakamotoharu will want to avoid that like the plague, avenge his brother and regain his own sekitori status.
Nary a dull moment on day 11! Onwards and upwards!
Haru Day 2 – Ones to Watch
I am back from my drive across the dusty wasteland of western Texas, and ready to join the team in covering the Haru basho. Thanks to Josh, Andy and Liam for filling in for me while I was out among the tumbleweeds and oil wells, it was much appreciated, and as always I love reading and watching what you folks put together.
Day 1 was really light for our “Ones to Watch” crew, but here are some results for you following along.
Wakatakamoto defeated Tochinobori – The last non-sekitori Onami brother finds himself in the thick of Makushita, but managed to pick up a win on day one. Given my personal experience with sibling rivalry, this has to be a strong motivator for Wakatakamoto, especially if his brothers are giving him a helping of grief and extra chores.
Naya defeats Fukamiyama – Naya is now wearing his mage (top knot) and looks like a proper rikishi. His opponent for day 1, Fukamiyama, is working to regain footing in Makushita after a trip to Sandanme. Sadly he received a black star for his first match.
Chiyoraizan defeats Shoji – Shoji had made it as high as Makushita 52 before a string of make-koshi tournaments left him in lower Sandanme. With a 5-2 finish at Hatsu, he is in a difference class of rikishi in Osaka. His day 1 loss is nothing more than poor fortune, and in fact he has lost his opening match in each of his past 4 basho.
Terunofuji defeats Wakanoguchi – The most followed Jonidan match for a while, former Ozeki Terunofuji began his long climb back to the top ranks on day one with a win. Terunofuji looked pale, flabby and sort of lost. He was clearly deconditioned and his two heavily bandaged knees were evident. But he managed a win with a very powerful thrust down that gave Wakanoguchi a face full of Osaka clay. Its true that this far down Jonidan, it might be enough to be huge, and a former Ozeki. But his fans all hope that he can get his sumo back together, and get his body in fighting form.
But with so many of our ones to watch sitting out day 1, we know day 2 is going to be a non-stop battle of the strong and the eager, fighting their way up the ranks. Let’s break down who we expect to see in action early on Monday in Osaka.
Hoshoryu vs Tokushinho – Hoshoryu is only in his 7th tournament as a professional rikishi, and he finds himself in the upper ranks of the brutal Makushita division. A strong performance here and a lot of luck might bring him to the salaried ranks for May. His first match of Haru is against the long-time Juryo vet, Tokushinho. After a terrible 4-11 tournament for Kyushu 2015, Tokushinho has been relegated to Makushita, and has always fallen short when he reached a promotable rank. This should be a solid match of experience vs youth.
Akua vs Shiba – With Akua’s day-glow mawashi appropriated by Chiyomaru, it’s up to the one time Juryo man to battle his way back to the salaried ranks and reclaim his colors. Shiba has been occupying a upper Makushita rank for the past several years, and it’s high time this former university sumo star overcome whatever is holding him back and achieve a kachi-koshi from a promotable rank.
Ichiyamamoto vs Sakigake – The intense action keeps rolling with this battle between Ichiyamamoto and Mongolian veteran Sakigake. Ichiyamamoto has been ranked in Juryo for 5 tournaments across his career, but has been in Makushita since Hatsu 2015. Another “rising star vs veteran” match for day 2!
Midorifuji vs Tanabe – These two young, fast rising rikishi are outside of promotable range, but both of them are entering Haru with kachi-koshi scores in January, and looking to chase higher into the Makushita ranks. Both of them are former college rikishi, and already had a good amount of experience before starting their professional sumo careers.
Musashikuni vs Okinofuji – Musashikuni has had make-koshi scores in 3 of the last 4 tournaments, most likely due to persistent problems with his ankles and feet. With the long period of practice and training in Tokyo since January, his fans are hopeful that he is in better fighting for in Osaka, and can start strong. His opponent, Okinofuji, has 37 basho in Makushita.
Torakio vs Amanoshima – Bulgarian Torakio, the nephew of Naruto Oyakata, is fighting at his highest ever rank of Sandanme 30. Amanoshima has spent most of his career in Sandanme, but has suffered two straight make-koshi since his last Makushita visit at Kyushu in 2018. Good luck tiger-cub!
Wakaichiro vs Kotoito – Wakaichiro’s strong performance at Hatsu boosted him to the bottom of Sandanme, where his fans hope he can build on his success. The primary concerns are his injuries, which seem to be accumulating. His sumo form continues to improve, and if his body is accommodating, he should be able to hold Sandanme rank this tournament. His opponent is a young up and comer, Kotoito, from the storied Sadogatake heya. At only 16 years of age, he is quite young.
Kenho vs Toshonishiki – Kenho’s only strategy at Hatsu was to be enormous and as immobile as possible. Sadly with his knee and hip problems, he was unable to cover the immobile portion with any great effect. As a result he was reduced back to Jonidan, and needs to regroup. His first match of Haru is against youngster Toshonishiki, who is fighting at his highest rank. It’s possible this is the larges human Toshonishiki has ever tried to battle.
Hattorizakura vs Shachinofuji – Fighting at a career high rank of Jonikuchi 15, Hattorizakura’s fans hope that he might defy the odds and actually win 2 matches in the same basho. Oddly enough this is a rematch against Shachinofuji, who (of course) beat him last time.