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Senshuraku Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
Today Hakuho and Kakuryu, the two Yokozunae, both sitting at 12-2, took each other on for the championship. Hakuho won, yori-kiri.

There is so much to say about this one, and yet so little. That it was Hakuho's 44th top division championship--incredible. Wow. That it marks the fifteenth straight year that Hakuho has won at least one championship. That he is still the best. That he has won two of the last three--the first time he has done that since the tail end of 2017.

And, on the other hand, that this had on odd, airless feel to it--the least consequential last-day, for-the-money bout I can remember. The empty arena yawned around them; before the match NHK tried some camera tricks to try to create an air of excitement for the viewer, fading in and out of views of the faces of the two yokozuna so that both images were on screen at the same time at the same moment. But when they panned out, it looked like practice again, and you were forcefully reminded, more than any other time this basho, of the lack of fans--painfully symbolic for this match-up that elicited at best a shrug from most Japanese sumo fans, and at worst anger, simmering for two decades.

In the end, it was just that: practice, a nice yotsu bout of hana-sumo, pretty and dancing, conceived by the shores of Lake Kucherla.

Kakuryu had the early advantage, getting a left outside belt grip and forcing Hakuho to circle around to his right a bit to avoid the quick push-out. Then there was a heavy bit of maki-kae, with Kakuryu switching to a left inside and Hakuho getting a fold of right outside and left inside. And so on and so on: another maki-kae followed as Kakuryu put his right inside. Are you following this? I barely was myself. An arm here, and arm there, belt work and sweating--I counted six changes of inside/outside arm position. In the end, we will say because of his superior position with both hands on the belt at this point, forced Kakuryu out, yori-kiri. No cushions were thrown. No one cheered. No one groaned with disappointment.

Hakuho retreated down the hana-michi to have his hair done, and gave a singularly bored, sullen-sounding interview.

What would I like? I would like for Hakuho to go for 50, make a sunset run, continue to win and win and win and amaze us all; make you shake your head with the greatest of what you get to witness, continuing to do this thing.

What does Hakuho want? It seems maybe he wants to retire this year. Time will tell. He will leave a void; he has shone like the sun; fifteen years have withered and wilted under his unrelenting glory.

DRIED GRASS

M12 Ishiura (8-6) vs. M13 Aoiyama (11-3)
There was a moment in this one: Aoiyama and Ishiura were grappling, and Aoiyama withdrew his arms from the fray and placed them on the shoulders of Ishiura: you had a feeling, right then, just for a moment, that all he had to do was push hard, and Ishiura would go flying backwards, falling over, and lose, like a child played with by a man. However, that was not Aoiyama's game today. Instead, he was back to a cautious pullery, circling, rarely attacking. In other words, losing on purpose, yori-kiri, when Ishiura took advantage of his stasis. Too bad; there was a real possibility for him to take the yusho this tournament. Yes, his loss to Hakuho yesterday was legitimate; as Justin said, Hakuho had but to wait until he could take advantage of Aoiyama losing his balance, which Aoiyama quickly did. But it was his other, earlier loss, the day before, pulling rather than pushing, giving up the Meat Killing Pounder Boy persona, that signaled he was no longer in it to win it. Why? Who knows. But for most of this tournament we got to see the real Aoiyama, a rare sight, and a fearful joy. He picked up the Gino-Sho (Technique Prize) for his trouble.

M17 Daiamami (5-9) vs. M11 Terutsuyoshi (8-6)
The gyoji's black-and-gilt fan glittered. The tight satin of the mawashi audibly creaked. Terutsuyoshi threw his large heap of salt. But there was no one there to see how Terutsuyoshi faked an up-leap, settled instead into a down leap, and attacked Daiamami like a rabid frog. Daiamami was good enough not to be taken out like that immediately; while thrown off his game, when driven to the edge, he clamped down on Terutsuyoshi from both sides kime-style, and for a while it looked like Big Sweety (Daiamami) might have the magic on him. But Shining Strong Boy (Terutsuyoshi) already had one arm on the belt, and his other hand he kept inching down towards it. Daiamami shrugged that hand away once or twice, but eventually those fingers got entwickled in the satin, and both hands continued to creep and creep, sneaking, further towards the small of Daiamami's back. In the end this duel inside grip was deep indeed. That was what Terutsuyoshi needed, and he finished it from there: Terutsuyoshi lifted the fat and sweaty bulk of Daiamami and trundled him out, yori-kiri. You know what? I like Terutsuyoshi. He's a poor-man's Endo, sans hype.

M11 Chiyotairyu (8-6) vs. M16 Shimanoumi (8-6)
Remember what I said on Wednesday about a little tachi-ai face slap being a silly waste of time? Chiyotairyu employed one here, though it is not part of his normal game, and Shimanoumi roundly ignored it, moved forward, down and in, and chased Chiyotairyu around the ring from this superior position until he safely oshi-dashi'ed his straight-up, floundering foe.

M10 Sadanoumi (6-8) vs. M14 Nishikigi (5-9)
Cool--Nishikigi, not known for strength, power, or height, used those attributes to pick Sadanoumi up off the ground, spin him through the air, and deposit him on the other side of the straw, tsuri-dashi, calm as tuna. This was preceded by a good-sounding, thwocking tachi-ai in which Sadanoumi appeared to have burrowed in low, but had also let Nishikigi put his arms inside. Nishikigi had one arm on the belt already, and though he could barely see with Sadanoumi rammed up into his grill, he moved his other arm down off the body onto the belt, and when Sadanoumi charged anyway, Nishikigi did his lift, pivot, and win act. This probably kept him out of Juryo.

M18 Kotonowaka (8-6) vs. M9 Tochinoshin (6-8)
Look, it is hard to feel impressed by Baby Soft (Kotonowaka) because of his tender looks, like a Pillsbury Dough Boy sprung to cheerful, pudgy life. However, this is not his fault, and the aesthetics of his fat do not affect his sumo--which has looked pretty solid. He showed it today against an excellent veteran. They started with quite a bit of face pushing up high, a prelude to Tochinoshin trying to find a way down onto the belt, which he eventually did, getting a right arm inside. However, Baby Soft also got a corresponding right inside, and it was on from there. They moved about here and there, struggling and straining, but no one could finish it. Eventually Baby got his left hand on the belt, but kept his can back so that Tochinoshin couldn't do the same. Baby Soft had his back to the straw, too close, and Grizzly Bear (Tochinoshin) tried to finish it with a quick, decisive last push. Not to be: Kotonowaka pivoted Grizzly's momentum against him, Tochinoshin's his knee and ripping him to the ground with a uwate-hineri felling. Inevitably Kotonowaka may end up looking like Takakeisho, Tokushoryu, and other unappealing, out-of-fashion butter-balls in the upper division, flabby and jiggly, but you have to set this aside and ask yourself if they are doing good sumo or not. So far I think Kotonowaka is.

M17 Meisei (7-7) vs. M6 Kagayaki (7-7)
I was interested to read what Gary pointed out: that Kagayaki had never had a kachi-koshi ranked above M8, and that this meant he is quietly on the verge of having his best tournament ever. Fried Mosquito (Kagayaki) has been a long time sentimental favorite of mine, and has such impressive size that I never stop privately dreaming that he'll someday put it all together and rise up the ranks to become some kind of champion. That is almost certainly never going to happen, but I'm happy to see him inch closer. The bout was lame--a very slow tachi-ai on both sides, then a lot of slappery. Kagayaki won it with superior size and by keeping Meisei in front of him; this style is the forte of both wrestlers, and Meisei was simply outmatched, tsuki-dashi. So, congratulations to Big Mosquito, and we'll see if he gets annihilated as a member of the Top 16 next time or not.

M6 Myogiryu (4-10) vs. M10 Tochiozan (2-12)
It was Clancy who once said Tochiozan was the next Ozeki, and we all got on board with this very reasonable, sound prediction. It came close to happening, but given the deteriorated slide of his later career, it is doubtless a good thing it didn't, because we would have had to watch him be propped up. Instead, we got a long, often excellent maku-uchi career. He is probably Juryo bound after this Osaka fiasco, and I won't precisely miss him--he hasn't been good for a long time--but I do miss his younger self. Myogiryu gave him a going away present in this embarrassing fake bout, turning around, putting his back to Tochiozan, and trying a made-up non-move we might call the "armpit head throw." He then slid to the ground okuri-taoshi.

M5 Ryuden (5-9) vs. M16 Azumaryu (5-9)
Interesting match-up--two of the best bodies in sumo, very similar looking. Yet oh so different in effect. These two Hakuho body-alikes have gotten diametric reactions from SumoTalk through the way they have put their physiques to use. Mike regularly gives Ryuden the Best Japanese Rikishi Out There designation, and I perk up every time it is his skillful turn. Meanwhile, the languid Azumaryu is getting increasing heaps of scorn from me; this basho marks yet another try, his sixth, to get a kachi-koshi in the upper division--he's never managed it, and at age 32, he may not get another try. Let's hope not--he will not be missed. On the one hand, he did okay against the Ryuden today, lasting a few seconds, and slinging the momentum of the match to the side a couple of times to give the feeling that Ryuden might be about to go out. However, Ryuden had an outside belt grip and a lower position, and he used that to control the momentum and the ultimate direction on the way to a yori-kiri win. Mainoumi said of Azumaryu "nebari ga nai," meaning he doesn't have a stubbornness in not going out of the ring. That is a good description of Azumaryu; for whatever reason, there just isn't ever very much there there.

M14 Kaisei (8-6) vs. M4 Abi (6-8)
I'd like to see from Kaisei the kind of tournament that Aoiyama had for about 13 out of his 15 bouts this time: a take no prisoners, forward-moving demonstration of his size and strength. As for Abi, I have been tired of his tiresome turn-on-the-firehose thrust display since the very beginning. To me, he's emblematic of one of the biggest problems with sumo these days: an over-reliance on wild, frantic striking, and hoping it turns out all right for you, rather than having a more executable plan. He's the Colorado Rockies of sumo, trying to hit more home runs off you than you can off him before both bullpens collapse. Anyhoo, the match was lame; the two-hands thrust of the tachi-ai by Abi was useless, as Kaisei moved ahead as if Abi's hands were a spring breeze rather than flesh, getting in up close and person with Abi. Unfortunately for Kaisei, he either wasn't paying attention or wasn't trying, because Abi rather easily stepped out of the way of the behemoth bearing down against him. Kaisei was left to put on the brakes and slow sadly to stasis at the edge, where Abi was waiting to push him out, oshi-dashi. So it goes.

M4 Enho (5-9) vs. M12 Ikioi (8-6)
I see where Ura (pictured at right) won one of the lower division (Sandanme) championships this time around. Remember him? He was Enho before there was Enho, leaping and sproinging, delighting the fans, building up a huge head of hype. Then he got hurt, disappeared suddenly and completely, and was entirely forgotten. That was three years ago--he sat out five tournaments initially, then after a couple back in had to sit out another four. I noticed in the video of him fighting today that he had both legs wrapped up Aminishiki-style. Poor guy. I'm afraid I am in with the narrative you've been reading from others on SumoTalk regarding Enho: how can he survive the beatings he is taking? When guys try to beat him, they often squish him in spleen-splitting ways. You just have to feel an Ura-like fate awaits him. I'm not hoping for that, and truth be told, for the time being I'm enjoying seeing him getting crushed--let's face it, the smooth brutality of sumo is one of its chief joys--but you do worry for him. Ikioi whacked him hard off the tachi-ai and knocked him pretty far back. Ikioi would have been wise to do this again: it was working. However, when he moved too cautiously to try to complete the assassination, Enho grabbed the front of his belt, brought him in close, put his other hand in on the belt around the side, moved to the side himself, and used his momentum to drag Ikioi to the ground, shitate-nage. When it ended, the force of it all made Enho fly through the air himself and land on his back away from the fray. Sheesh. This guy is really something. What kind of something?

M5 Onosho (8-6) vs. M3 Mitakeumi (10-4)
I fear Onosho has looked pretty good this tournament. Why should I fear that? Because this guy is compromised goods, has too much sloppy sumo, and I'm not looking forward to seeing him make a regular mess of things in the Top 16 again. He did his job here, staying low, pushing up, and moving Mitakeumi ever backwards, clinching an oshi-dashi win. He also collected the Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Award). Mitakeumi was less than inspiring, doing little to nothing, even waving with some little pulls near the end--that is not his game.

M3 Yutakayama (7-7) vs. M15 Chiyomaru (7-7)
Chiyomaru shaded a little bit to the left at the tachi-ai to try to make up for his obvious skill disadvantage, but it didn't seem to be working for him, as Yutakayama soon had him stood up. Nevertheless, Yutakayama ended up being the one moving backwards, seemingly unable to move Chiyomaru's considerable bulk. Fortunately for Yutakayama, he dragged the rotund Chiyomaru down just as he himself went over the straw; it was a close one, but it looks like Chiyomaru's leg did in fact kiss the dirt before Yutakayama's foot stepped out, giving Treasure Mountain (Yutakayama) the tsuki-otoshi win. Hey, any kachi-koshi between M4 and Sekiwake is a good kachi-koshi, though Treasure Mountain was inconsistent this tournament and didn't inspire a lot of confidence. We'll see.

M7 Tamawashi (5-9) vs. M2 Tokushoryu (4-10)
Ooh, can I ever not wait for #42 (Tokushoryu) to get thee thither back to where he belongs, back in the bottom of maku-uchi. There he can be entertaining and inconsequential. I may even start to call him Special Sauce again. Tamawashi readied him for saucing, making mincemeat of him. He started him with hard hitting slaps. There was a moment where Tokushoryu surged in on him, they went body to body, and Tamawashi went backwards. Good for #42. However, it was impressive how easily Tamawashi shifted this, wrenching Tokushoryu's body to the side and forcing that big ball off of him. Then Tamawashi initiated a devastating series of neck thrusts on his way to an oshi-dashi win. Mismatch.

M2 Okinoumi (7-7) vs. M13 Kotoshogiku (7-7)
I keep thinking, "maybe this will be the basho that ridiculous Kotoshogiku will crash and burn. Maybe this will be the tournament he goes 3-12, slides to Juryo, and quits." I'm ready. And since he was M13, I thought it might finally be the one… and, as usual, no, here he is, doing fine. He's also added over the last year or so a new ridiculousness, where he dramatically circles both arms through the air in a whirling movement before the tachi-ai fist-touch to give some drama to his performance--prima donna all the way (and foolish to boot, as it lets your opponent time you). In the bout, he and Okinoumi went chest to chest and each had one arm in and one arm out around the body, but nothing on the belt. Kotoshogiku gaburi'ed away fiercely, and I think Okinoumi was left thinking, "my goodness, this fish still has some life." Okinoumi spent some time near the edges, and I thought he was going to lose. However, he is the superior wrestler, and in the end he whacked the fish on the head real good with a hammer: gave a good strong wrench to his left and dropped Kotoshogiku unceremoniously and definitively to the dirt, uwate-nage. Yessir, good stuff.

M1 Daieisho (8-6) vs. M8 Kiribayama (8-6)
We already know Daieisho is good, and Mike is proving right as usual: Kiribayama is also looking very good. In just his second basho in maku-uchi, he has been competing on an even level with some of the best wrestlers in the upper division. Daieisho gave it to him straight and hard, like a veteran pitcher showing a rookie hitter nothing but fastballs: "here it is, hit it. Once you prove you can, I'll respect you with a curveball." Kiribayama went back swiftly under this pressure… and moved to his right along the straw and pulled Daieisho to the unforgiving dirt, uwate-nage. Time for Daieisho to get out those curveballs.

M7 Takarafuji (8-6) vs. K Endo (7-7)
To be frank, I keep waiting for Endo to quietly start putting together a late-bloomer Ozeki run, and this strange, limelight-free tournament, ranked at Komusubi, would have been a good place to get that going. He didn't though, and sealed that by getting worked in this bout by the eminently solid Bus Driver (Takarafuji). Endo stood Takarafuji up with a few neck shoves, but Bus is just too steady, just too big, just too strong: he kept his feet apart, leaned down, grabbed Endo by the right arm, pushed him to the straw, and finished him off with a one-two combo of a sharp neck and chest shove. Hell, maybe Takarafuji should put together a late-career Ozeki run.

K Hokutofuji (4-10) vs. M8 Shohozan (3-11)
Shohozan had an absolutely awful tournament; what is he doing here fourth bout from the end? It is another indicator of the weakness of the banzuke: it is disorienting these days when you find yourself with matches like this at the end. Shohozan still had nothing today, and so played 100% defense: big henka to start, then little deaking pulls, circling around the ring. Hokutofuji knew it and went for him hard, but this match was also a demonstration of something else disappointing: how effective purely evasive sumo can be. Shohozan never did anything but run away, and it worked: at a certain moment Hokutofuji overshot him, and Shohozan was there to push him out and pick up the quick, deflating victory, yori-kiri.

M9 Takanosho (11-3) vs. S Shodai (8-6)
I was tempted to save my mini-rant about bad matches left for the end of the last day for this bout, but actually, looking at the special three-bout last-day ("kore yori sanyaku") set, it was pretty good. Yes, Takanosho was a nobody through last basho--but he is a leader this basho, so I can go with him. Yes, Shodai's career has been a great disappointment so far--but this guy may yet make Ozeki, and has been slowly solidifying his place on the banzuke. As Gary has repeatedly pointed out, we are in the transition, and this match taking place in the sanyaku is part of that. Shodai was slow off the tachi-ai, and Takanosho got two big hands inside on him and striking upwards; bad news for Shodai. Immediately, Takanosho had Shodai sideways to him, leaving Shodai with no purchase. Shodai tried to turn the tables by pulling awkwardly at Takanosho's left arm, and this did fell Takanosho, but it was too late: Takanosho had Shodai going out and down as well, delivering the coup de grace with a thrust down at the armpit. Takanosho picked up the oshi-taoshi knock-over win, and any ozeki run talk for Shodai will have to wait. However, he did go 8-7 as a Sekiwake, and for where he is in his career, that's just fine.

O Takakeisho (7-7) vs. S Asanoyama (10-4)
There was plenty of intrigue for this one; I felt legitimate interest. They were fighting over the right to the sole Ozeki (kind of). My money was on Asanoyama: he isn't Mr. Excitement, but he has been quietly very good for a couple of years now. He has a big, supple body, deals well with trouble, and has solid basic skills. I don't think he's super marketable, but why should we care about that? Takakeisho had the better tachi-ai, low and forward moving, but Asanoyama was able to knock Takakeisho's hands away once or twice, and then he let Takakeisho get in close and Asanoyama grabbed his mawashi: very bad for Takakeisho. From here, Asanoyama moved Takakeisho backwards. Near the other end of the dohyo Takakeisho's rubbery, wiggly frame managed to break off the grips Asanoyama had, but at this point the Ozeki was running out of room, off balance, and desperate, and a few moments of concentration by Asanoyama to not fall down himself and to keep Takakeisho in front of him was enough: Takakeisho fell over under pressure, oshi-taoshi. That's 32 wins over three tournaments for Asanoyama; he had 10 the tournament before that, and has a tournament championship under his belt. I would promote him, and I think they will too. As for Takakeisho, it's kadoban again, and his career is feeling a lot like driving too fast on a gravel road.

Goodbye--and see you in May.

Day 14 Comments (Justin Williams reporting)
Greetings Sumotalkers, and I do hope you are all in as rude health, CV-free, both lungs at optimal capacity, energy levels 100%, as say Mr Keg on legs himself, Chiyomaru, who as little as week ago was the physical embodiment of our direst fears of a cancelled basho. That he has recovered is both a relief and a reason to celebrate. Plus, a win today against Terutsuyoshi has him achieving his kachi-koshi. I've read a rumour that if this happens, he will be using the Destiny's Child song, "Survivor" as his future entrance song; if given the chance, that is. I've also heard that this basho's grand champion will receive a 12-month supply of hand sanitizer and their own personal GP, both donated by Carnival Corporation & plc, the owners of the "Diamond Princess" cruise ship. Maybe.

Leaderboard situation:
11-2 Hakuho, Kakuryu and Aoiyama
10-3 Asanoyama, Mitakeumi and Takanosho

The three bouts that influence the championship are in order of play as follows-
Takanosho vs. Mitakeumi, Hakuho vs. Aoiyama and finally Asanoyama vs. Kakuryu. If the bouts finish with highest ranks prevailing, then tomorrow Hak and Kak will be competing for the yusho, and all in sumo world will be righted after the freakishly unexpected result from Hatsu.

I am keenly anticipating the Aoiyama and Hakuho meeting. If the Yokozuna resorts to the slap-happy and disrespectful antics he employed against Onosho and Shodai, then Aoiyama could pull off a huge upset. When Aoiyama moves forward with that double cannon arm-blast leading his attack, he more than a match for anybody, if he can stop himself from falling over. Too often and frustratingly, he does as he did yesterday, thinking a mere stand and pull move earns the win. It didn't and rarely does.

Gary is of the opinion that Hakuho is no longer number one. I think he is, though more and more rikishi are no longer in awe of him and don't just submit to his presence on the dohyo. As I alluded to earlier, his two losses were clearly a result of his fooling about in the ring and whilst he may not have deliberately lost, he understands the value of a tight basho and gave his opponent every chance to win. We'll never know if this is just his arrogance or a genuine ploy. If he does yaocho, then he does so with more vitality and showmanship than most. His right ankle also looks suspect.

Juryo watch and Terunofuji completely over-whelmed Wakamotoharu (great name, the wonderfully-zany English comedian, Kenny Everett, had a song with lyrics that sound just like it) which is the right form to take into Makuuchi in May.

Today I'll firstly cover the bouts that affect the top six on the leaderboard, and I'll be mentioning the term, "kach-koshi" often.

M9 Takanosho v M3 Mitakeumi
A Gratifyingly and satisfying "woomph" at the tachi-ai meant these two weren't holding back. Takanosho dominated from there on, grabbing a belt and driving Mitake back whose only recourse was a pull allowing Takanosho to continue the charge for the oshi-dashi win thus eliminating Mitake and maintain his hopes for a play-off. I think. The basho permutations are quite fluid.

Y Hakuho v M13 Aoiyama
Hakuho was playing mind games with Aoiyama as he took an extended period in his pre-tachi-ai routine in perhaps trying to unsettle his opponent. It didn't. Daniel was implacable, and it was Hakuho who false-started. Second time around they started with a shoulder clash with Daniel intentions of firing his oshi attack, but Hakuho kept Dan's arms clear and using Dan's forward momentum to his advantage, he was able to push down and throw him to the floor. It was now up to Kakuryu to decide if was going to keep pace.

S Asanoyama v Y Kakuryu
Asanoyama dominated this bout but lost due to an errant elbow and some miraculous balancing skills at the death from Kakuryu. Earlier Kak had managed a right mawashi grip from the initial clash, but Asa had him upright and unable to pitch for any leverage. Kak was doing his best to prevent Asa from bodying over the edge and managing to divert the fight back to the ring centre, but Asa kept driving and at the other edge of the ring he wheeled Kak around in an attempted overarm throw which had both guys teetering on the ropes, one leg planted, t'other pointing at the roof. Kak showed incredible survival skills from this position in complete disregard for his own safety and resisted throwing an arm out for protection as both guys hit the dohyo edge in unison with Asa's elbow touching an instance before Kak crashed to the floor. Spectacular finish. Asa was unlucky as he had directed most of the bout, but credit to Kak who tomorrow faces Hakuho for the yusho.

Now on to the rest of interest.

M18 Kotonowaka v M14 Nishikigi
I'm with Harvye regarding the physique of newcomer, Kotonowaka. Pillow soft in its bulk, it looks more attune to a giver of warm cuddles than an offensive wrestling weapon. Time will tell. He achieved his kachi-koshi in a bout where both guys had tentative belt holds and Nishi, attempting a throw, lost his footing enabling Waka to complete a pull-down uwate-dashi-nage victory.

M16 Shimanoumi v M12 Ikioi
Shimanoumi worked hard for his kachi-koshi in a lengthy and even tussle. From the start both were intent on keeping t'other from any belt holds and were jostling for position. Shima advanced and Ikioi decided on a throw without any proper leverage, and Shima held his ground whereupon the two settled in the ring centre, shoulder to shoulder, to decide how next to proceed. Shima instigated the action, driving forward then completing a pull-down move that had Ikioi collapsing to the floor. Shima's reward is joining Ikioi at 8 wins apiece.

M11 Chiyotairyu v M13 Kotoshogiku
Both guys looking for their 8th win and Tairyu was willing to henka to achieve it. Regulation tactic against Giku who with his blind charge tempts this outcome each bout. He was grumbling a little about how he don't get no respect these days, looking as though he'd just been kissed by a pangolin, but it ain't the first time he has lost this way and shouldn't have come as a surprise.

M15 Chiyomaru v M11 Terutsuyoshi
Maru rumbled forward with his oshi attack, but Yoshi stepped inside and from there stayed inside and drove Maru out with his own oshi offensive and also achieving kachi-koshi.

M17 Daiamami v M7 Tamawashi
Tama was at his relentless bullocking best today, bludgeoning Daiamami at the tachi-ai then finishing him off with those thunder shoves of his. A performance the quality of which is becoming less each basho. Still, good to watch as he is now 5-9 with Daiamami 6-8.

M4 Enho v M6 Myogiryu
Like Gary, I am worried about Enho's health. He often cops a diaphragm crushing end in his defeats and one day his little body will break under the pressure. He has entertainment appeal, and I wish to see him for several years to come. He is the Ray Misterio of sumo, a crowd favourite, but Ray has more moves than Enho and WWE is obviously more staged in the outcomes. Today he was willing to take on Myogiryu without any trickery and couldn't keep him from grabbing a rear belt hold, then been driven over the ropes. Myogiryu won with a slamming throw down that again could have seriously hurt Enho. Enho bounced back up but one day it won't end well. Nothing at stake in this bout, both guys having a poor basho.

M3 Yutakayama v M9 Tochinoshin
Yutaka has turned his basho around in the second week winning 5 from his last 6 and looking for kachi-koshi today. He did his best to deny Shin the belt but in doing so he over-extended himself as Shin stepped back to assist in a slap-down win, his 6th. Yutaka faces the survivor, Chiyomaru tomorrow in a crucial battle for them both.

M2 Okinoumi v M8 Kiribayama
Two guys both on 7 wins in a crunch bout. Kiri was in quick with a left belt grab and then a loose right and from here he was able to wrench Oki in an over-arm throw to the dirt. Impressive means to gain his kachi-koshi as he continues his successful entry in the top division.

M1 Daieisho v M5 Ryuden
Also impressive is Daieisho. In particular his strength today as he held off Ryuden with firm fends even when slightly off-kilter, then kept up a busy and vigorous oshi attack ramming Ryuden over the ropes. Kachi-koshi is his reward and hopefully tomorrow he can earn a 9th win, something he hasn't achieved since January last year.

K Hoktofuji v M6 Kagayaki
Fuji exploded from the blocks headfirst into Kaga's lovely titties, kept the power surging, and drove Kaga past the edge. Timing is everything for Fuji and today it was spot on. I'm expecting Kagayaki to bounce back and gain his 8th win tomorrow against Meisei.

M4 Abi v K Endo
A quick win for Abi denying Endo kachi-koshi. He used his reach to hold off Endo, then timed his release perfectly for Endo to tumble forward to the floor.

M7 Takarafuji v S Shodai
Takarafuji has added a little bit of venom to his usually benign grappling this basho. His brief lifting of Tochinoshin last week, even though he lost, an example of his more upbeat attitude. Today he wasn't showing any urgency but Shodai was. Shodai was up quicker and stronger, both hands inside Fuji's, lifting him up then continuing the drive for a yori-kiri victory and kachi-koshi. Shodai is one of the big improvers with his last 3 basho racking up 32 wins and a potential 33rd tomorrow.

O Takakeisho v M5 Onosho
Taka has looked vulnerable this basho, his low energy levels and limited sumo have him at risk of make-koshi against his rival Onosho. Despite the difference in ranks this is an equal battle. Or so I thought. A hefty collision between the two squat boulders had Taka clearly on top of Onosho with Taka the aggressor and Onosho moving back defensively. Taka maintained his oshi thrusts and Onosho could only offer token resistance. Win number 8 for Takakeisho.

Tomorrow, Harvye will have time enough for countin' when the dealing's done.

Day 13 Comments (Gary Jones reporting)
Hello to all, this has been a very giving basho. It gave us a chance to appraise the Hatsu Yusho winner without the colossal advantage of being ranked directly above Chiyoshoma. It has given us a rampaging Aoiyama moving forward and putting some impact on his wanna be rivals. And we should all be grateful for the gift of seeing Takakeisho succeed or fail (yes, actually fail) as he tries to develop another, less fanciful style of sumo. Some days he's hit 'em just right and some days he's been running for his life. The basho gave us something precious, the knowledge that a basho without Goeido will be alright. We don't need to be afraid anymore, we can do this. We will survive.

This basho also went and gave us the spectacle of Enho battling against a Yokozuna, a fun filled attention grabber for all the family. But he does tend to take too big a slice of the attention pie, little Enho does. Leaving only slivers of thin crust for the other 25, 26 year-olds. Guys like Kagayaki, Yutakayama and today's opponent Daieisho. All are strong dudes with really good stability. When was the last time we saw Kagayaki flung out of the dohyo, his limbs flailing around out of control? It's so rare I'm not going to look for it.

These boys are going to form the next cohort in sumo. Maybe not the very best in talent that sumo has in store for us but they will replace the Okinoumi, Ikioi and Tochiozan brigade that for a decade have been the gatekeepers of sumo. I am grateful to them for the 1000 times they prevented an over optimistic rookie from wasting the Yokozuna's time. And mine. Only the most capable made it past them for more than one outing. And they routinely dispatched them using good sumo. What is Enho's future in sumo? I seriously doubt any of the above. I fear a traumatic injury to the C5 vertebrae and an early retirement is more likely than joining his peers as the next generation of veterans. This basho has given us Enho against the Sanyaku. It was a distracting spectacle but I don't need to see it again. For his sake.

Time for the Juryo-Not-Juryo watch. And Ichinojo did eventually manage to walk back some random guy (Hidenoumi) in an unspectacular fashion for the yori-kiri eighth win. Ichinojo's left calf is looking swollen and riddled with varicose veins. There's also a lump the size of an egg sitting in the middle of the less than sexy limb. Or it could be that his right calf is shrunken and smooth and looking uncharacteristically healthy. It's hard to tell with him.

With his kachi-koshi taken care of now, Terunofuji can slowly limp his way over the Maegashira finish line over the next two days. Not quite the 4 minute mile breaking elation it could have been, but with the rest of the Juryo top boys lacking any fire this basho it looks like he's going to finally make it back for May. It might just be the finest example of gritty determination in sumo ever. At least since Mainoumi clawed his way out from under Konishiki with a broken leg. Today he walked back a half asleep Hakuyozan in an unspectacular fashion for the yori-kiri ninth win. It might be enough on it's own, although one more should sill the dill as they say in Yokohama. Just don't expect him to get much higher for a while.

Chiyomaru (M15) 6-4-2 vs Tochiozan (M10) 1-11
This is what impotent sumo looks like. We all know they are so far from their peak of physical fitness (Chiyomaru needs at least three more good meals) but it was still eye-wateringly painful to watch. A bout where an early isami-ashi call from the Gyoji would have improved the quality. Tochiozan lost it by a half hataki-komi, half hiki-otoshi, half two lame guys both falling over.

Watching Tochiozan struggle to survive amongst men he could have confidently handled a dozen basho ago has not been pleasant. More an exercise in futility. Why show up at all if, in realistic terms, you can't beat any of the lower Maegashira. He could just have stayed home and healed an extra couple of months, ready for the Juryo. Which is where he's heading anyway. Unless this is it? Unless he's been told he's not going to heal at all and this is his last gasp of sweet, sumo air. He gets Azumaryu for day 14. Come on Azumaryu, show the love!

Kotoshogiku (M13) 6-6 vs Tochinoshin (M9) 5-7
Amidst all the second or third time meetings going on this year with the multitude of rookies populating the top division, this is one of the last pairings that has any personal history between them. Today the former Ozeki semi-rivals go at it for the 35th time. This could be the final page of a rapidly closing book.

Tochinoshin performed a perfectly good tachi-ai. He got the timing just right and got the jump on the former M9 from Sadogatake. And then slowed it up mid move. Yes, you read that right. This resulted in Kotoshogiku getting there at the same time. And off he went chug, chug, chug. No lateral movement today thank you. Tochinoshin hung on at the edge just long enough for a tiny bit of old man gaburi. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Takanosho (M9) 9-3 vs Aoiyama (M13) 11-1
Well he had his chance didn't he? He could have gone into the Hakuho match tomorrow with a one-win buffer. But Aoiyama blew it. He went for the do or die trick of a pull down from the tachi-ai. It didn't achieve much beyond messing up the sweet smelling top-knot of the rookie. Takanosho is young, uninjured and has plenty of bounce in those meaty legs. Just the wrong sort of opponent to try this on. Oshi-dashi and an easy tenth win for Takanosho who next draws Mitakeumi to see who moves to 11 white stars.

Takarafuji (M7) 8-4 vs Mitakeumi (M3) 9-3
There's something wrong with Mitakeumi. He's still winning enough of course but the bulldozer of the first week is gone. Now he looks a bit limp in his movements, more Shodai than Daieisho. A concussion would happily do that for you. Or too much sumo groupie action in the small hours.

Mitakeumi won his tenth bout but he was completely held up by the big red stop sign that Takarafuji was holding. Mitakeumi went quiet, he just seemed to wind down in the middle of the dohyo. Then Taka turned his sign around to green and moved back behind an arm pull, which spurred Mitakeumi onwards. Takarafuji moved back a bit more and Mitakeumi moved forward a bit more, all very gently. Mitakeumi picks up a subdued yori-kiri win.

Shohozan (M8) 2-10 vs Tokushoryu (M2) 3-9
Tokushoryu has been nothing less than shambolic in Osaka. The man has no dance moves out there on the floor. And I don't think he cares. He's still dining (rather too well) on his sole career Yusho. Is it too early to say that, does he have another one in his destiny?

Just how bad is Tokushoryu this time around, as distinct from his usual Juryo level mediocrity? Well Shohozan beat him. The bout was as low grade as you'd expect as Toku walked forward without a notion of what he was doing with his gal and Shohozan just buzzed around him trying not to get dragged into a sumo bout. They both fell out of the dohyo, and not in that exciting "determined not to lose" kind of way. More in that "how did we get here?" bewildered kind of way. But both men fought to their full capacity today so I'll cheer the effort if not the skill.

Okinoumi (M2) 6-6 vs Yutakayama (M3) 7-5
Seven win Yutakayama must be feeling really healed up and genki as he elected to meet Okinoumi straight on and chest to chest. I applaud the go get 'em vibe, but he bit off more than he could chew. And a healthy Okinoumi is a very big chew. Oki went looking for his deep grip but Yutakayama succeeded in kime-clamping the intrusive arm.

Okinoumi is not stubborn about what he chooses to do up there. When he couldn't bully Yutakayama back he switched gears and began to pivot away, taking Yama's center of balance with him for a very well played tsuki-otoshi. Yutakayama still has two to go for his kachi-koshi, he starts with faded star Tochinoshin. And veteran Okinoumi takes on rookie Kiribayama for the first time, winner gets his eight.

Daieisho (M1) 7-5 vs Enho (M4) 4-8
So here it is. One of the highlights of the day. Two young, uninjured, genki rikishi fighting for rank, pride and supremacy. Just the way it should be. Let's begin.

On the first day Daieisho flung himself without care,
against a little man who wasn't there. Mono-ii.
When Daieisho looked around the hall,
there was no help at all. Torinaoshi.

The little man wasn't there again today.
Oh, how I wish he'd go away.
Daieisho was heard to say.

As he just about,
had to throw himself out.
He did it a time or two.
Ric Flair style. Whooooo!

Kagayaki (M6) 7-5 vs Endo (K) 6-6
So here it is. One of the highlights of the day. Two young, uninjured, genki rikishi fighting for rank, pride and supremacy. Just the way it should be. Let's try again.

They're five a piece in their mano-a-mano rivalry, which considering Kagayaki has never made his kachi-koshi past M8, is pretty good going for the 25 year old. Kagayaki messed his start up a bit here, not too much but enough for an Endo on fine form today. Before the big boy could get his thing going again Endo slid a very long left inside and latched on. Kagayaki tried to squeeze the right hand that was fingertips away from his mawashi, and backed up as he did so.

Wriggle, wriggle and Endo's little wormy fingers were home and chewing on silk. Two inner grips against one outer. Endo wanted even more advantage and stretched his hips away and his shoulder upwards so the grip pinged off, leaving Kagayaki without a pot to piddle in. Both are now 7-6. With semi-crippled Hokutofuji picked for day 14, Kagayaki is still quietly on course for his best ever basho result.

Hokutofuji (K) 3-9 vs Ryuden (M5) 4-8
Speaking of semi-crippled Hokutofuji's, here's semi-cripple Hokutofuji. For the first time this basho he tried to get his normal routine going. The head went down, the hand flew to the neck and the feet went to the side. Left I believe. Ryuden was the same passive target he's been all through this March and was actually driven back to the tawara. But powerless Hokutofuji was "charging" so slowly there was no momentum for a final oshi-dashi. Ryuden made heavy work in forcing out the Yoko-killa. If Ryuden doesn't perk up for the Natsu I'm going to suspend his honorary Mongolian status. Where's all the skills gone brother?

Abi (M4) 5-7 vs Shodai (S) 6-6
Shodai has been the weather vane of the top ranks this basho. Take a look at this list of the guys Shodai has beaten. Tokushoryu, Takayasu, Enho, Ryuden, Takakeisho and Hakuho. This is the same list as the "top rikishi not doing well in Osaka" list. Only one of them has more than 6 wins. There's a prize of a signed photo of Mike in his date night underwear if you can guess which.

All the rikishi he has beaten are on course for make-koshi, with one notable exception and you could argue that Hakuho is below par for him. Shodai seems able to pick off the weak and the lame with his defense first style. But then he struggles with anyone at the top who is on good form. These are the ones who passed the Shodai "Hot Or Not?" test. Mitakeumi, Endo, Daieisho, Okinoumi, Asanoyama and Kakuryu. Every single one of them has at least 7 wins with a couple of days still to go. So the question for today's "Hot Or Not?" Shodai show is... Is Abi hot or not?

Not. He tried of course, he always does. Abi did succeed in moving Shodai around a bit, but the non former Ozeki was fine with this as he just concentrated on keeping his balance and stance longer than his opponent, again. And it worked. The now make-koshi Abi crumpled to oshi-taoshi as soon as he was required to back up. Those long legs sometimes make him look like a newborn foal in the field. And Shodai has never lost to one of them critters yet.

Takakeisho (O) 6-6 vs Kakuryu (YO) 10-2
We've made it all the way to day 13 without a single Ozeki vs Yokozuna bout. Boy were we spoiled before. Oh Goeido, why did you leave us so soon? Kakuryu bonked into the boneless amphibian head of the tadpole and crossed the shikirisen into his personal space. Takakeisho tried a nothingness pull down and when that failed he was backed up, without much effort, all the way to the straw. It was at that very moment that Takakeisho initiated his counter attack, the dreaded wave action of doom.

Kakuryu didn't notice. Instead he grabbed a hold of the silk clothing that the Ozeki was wearing. Takakeisho looked over at the Gyoji expecting a foul to be called but was informed that such a move is indeed allowed, though very rare. One second later Takakeisho was lightly tossed out of the dohyo and onto the floor. Kakuryu turned his back to it all and looked bored. The Yori-kiri puts tadpole one loss away from make-koshi. And that's not a good thing for an Ozeki is it? Onosho carries Takakeisho's fate in his hands tomorrow.

Hakuho (Y) 10-2 vs Asanoyama (S) 10-2
It seems a bit strange that these two have only met twice before. Both went to Hakuho. Asanoyama has been in the division just two and a half years and he's really only been ranked high enough to get a Yokozuna on his card for the last year. And then Hakuho has been missing, presumed dead, for half of those. So here we are, two Yusho title holders going at it for only the third time. Sumo fans are living in strange times.

Hakuho got the win, yes he did. He won alright but in doing so he lost some of his hard won unbeatable reputation. It's one thing to lose a sumo bout when the other guy does really well. Nobody is too troubled by it. It's quite another thing to have the bout go your way from the start and still end up with your weaknesses exposed. Such was the bout for Hakuho today.

He swept the Sekiwake up from the tachi-ai and had him backed straight towards the edge with such tremendous speed it looked for a moment like the Hakuho of old. But today his legs didn't deliver the final death dealing stroke. Instead they stumbled (the right one) and without Hakuho's consent made him lurch over until his head was down at the mawashi level. Hak desperately pushed at the middle of Asanoyama reduced to hopping and hoping that Asa touches out first. Hakuho could not stop himself going out to the floor. From a developing migi-yotsu he had lost all control.

It's a win by oshi-dashi in the books for Hakuho. But it looked weak. It may be a double dose of heresy but I think this may be the worst bout I've ever seen from Hakuho. And that includes the mistakes made in his rookie year in 2004, when he was um, ass-kickingly awesome. He's spoiled me with his peerless career. If anyone else performed like this I doubt I'd think much of it. A bit of praise for the tachi-ai and a bit of luck for the finish. Heck, if Takakeisho does exactly the same tomorrow I'd say it's his best bout of the basho. But this is Hakuho we're talking about and he is judged by a whole other standard. Unfair perhaps but true. If the Olympics is postponed for a year due to the virus, I don't think Hakuho can make it.

I said double dose of heresy, so here we go. Hakuho isn't the best rikishi anymore. It's March 2020 and Kakuryu has overtaken the master. When I say this, I'm discounting the losses by both men. They have both performed most un-Yokozuna like sumo during these horror show moments. I'm looking at the victories. When Kakuryu has won the sumo has been quietly confident. He's looked strong and performed with such competence that there's been little hope left for the opponent. Most tsuna worthy.

Not so for Hakuho. He has been bashing and crashing all around the dohyo like, well, if I may quote Mickey from the Rocky movie "like a goddamned ape". He's now avoiding going chest to chest with a bunch of guys he wouldn't have thought twice about just a few years ago. Not once have we seen the super long and low step inside and grab sumo that was for years his main style. He tried something like it against Okinoumi, though not as low and with more bending at the waist than the legs. He couldn't make it work. He missed the grip and generated no forward power. Okinoumi came out of the tachi-ai best and only blew it when he went for the second grip and missed as he drove forward, leaving the master to win from behind. Hey, he's still Hakuho. But I think he's been dethroned as sumo's number one.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to my safe space for a good cry. Justin pats us on the back and makes it all better tomorrow.

Day 12 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
I've been curious what the TV ratings have been for the basho thus far. I'm positive that the Sumo Association gets them every day, but the numbers rarely get published in the press, especially during the basho. I think the overall sumo experience this basho has suffered greatly without the audience laugh track in place, so I'm wondering if this sudden movement among the leaderboard is due to falling numbers in the ratings department.

Regardless of what happens with the yusho race, it's obvious that Hakuho is pulling back, and so whoever ends up coming out on top, the yusho is still tainted. It's been interesting over the years and even the decades to self introspect and look at the aspects of yaocho in sumo that I gradually began to accept. I think the first anyone ever hears of yaocho as a foreigner is that tired study that was done who knows when that talks about the high winning percentage of rikishi who enter senshuraku at 7-7. That type of bout fixing doesn't bother anyone, and the next step to recognizing yaocho for me was watching rikishi let up for struggling Ozeki at the end of basho. Like the 7-7 rank and filers, it's easy to just accept that people are going easy against Oldzeki, and who cares? It doesn't impact the yusho race, and everyone has a heart, so why not let a guy get that eighth win when the implications are completely meaningless in the grand scheme of things?

The yusho taiketsu between Takanohana and Wakanohana in Kyushu 1995 was an obvious yacho, and I also noticed early on that Akebono and Musashimaru would always defer to whomever had the better record of the two and thus the better chance to take the yusho, but once again I justified it thinking what does it hurt?. Kaio and Musoyama had a similar arrangement as well, and I was okay with it because at least everything else was straight up right?

And then they let Wakanohana achieve the Yokozuna rank. I knew that was fake, and so even the Yokozuna rank lost some of its luster after that. Little by little certain aspects of sumo became irrelevant to me because I knew that yaocho was involved.

The last thing to fall for me was the yusho. I always felt that the yusho rikishi earned the cup or at least was "worthy" of it. When guys like Harumafuji and Baruto and Kotooshu achieved their first yusho, I knew that a few elite guys let up for them to let them get the yusho, and I so in order to protect the sanctimony of the yusho, I reasoned within myself that at least those guys were "yusho worthy."

That all ended with the Kotoshogiku fiasco a few years ago, and now there isn't a single aspect of sumo left that is untainted. Maybe that's why all those years ago when I lived in Japan that my male co-workers would just give me that look when I'd try and talk to them about the sport. I was curious why they weren't interested in sumo, and every time I'd try to get them to talk to me about it, they'd just give me that look that I now understand as, "Should I tell him?"

It's been interesting to watch my own progression over the years in coming to accept the rampant yaocho in sumo, but it's actually quite liberating when you get to such a place. Sumo can be a real sport, and you see elements of real sumo in the keiko-ba and in the lower ranks, but the sekitori ranks are completely compromised. And it's a real shame. When Asashoryu was in his heyday, we got glimpses of what sumo could be, but there's just too much politics in the sport that completely ruins it for me.

Sorry if I've ruined it for you, but I am not going to come in here day after day and lie through my teeth pretending that something is real when it isn't.

With that, let's get to the bouts starting from the bottom up:

M13 Kotoshogiku hurried his charge against M14 Nishikigi getting the early right arm inside but moving forward without his gal in close and snug. As a result, Nishikigi was able to move left and fire on a kote-nage throw that didn't work outright, but as Kotoshogiku looked to square back up and shove his way towards the belt, Nishikigi just retreated again causing Kotoshogiku to lose his balance fall forward. They ruled it hiki-otoshi, but it was really old age on the part of Kotoshogiku and his inability to keep his balance. Easy win for Nishikigi who moves to 4-8 while Kotoshogiku is an even 6-6.

M18 Kotonowaka looked to come with a moro-te tachi-ai, but M12 Ishiura was already shading left forcing Baby Waka to turn and square back up. As they did, you could tell that Kotonowaka was worried about more lateral movement from Ishiura and for good reason as Ishiura moved left again going for a shoulder swipe and tug of Kotonowaka's right arm, and that gave Ishiura the path to moro-zashi. With the action still moving circularly to Ishiura's left, Kotonowaka largely tripped over his two feet trying to evade that moro-zashi. This was a frilly bout start to finish with no major contact from either party as Ishiura picks up kachi-koshi at 8-4 while Kotonowaka needs to pony up more cash for his as he falls to 7-5.

M11 Terutsuyoshi henka'd to his right getting the easy right arm inside as M17 Meisei whizzed on by, and before Meisei could recover and square back up, Terutsuyoshi had him forced out in maybe two seconds. Terutsuyoshi moves to 7-5 with the quick and dirty win while Meisei falls to 5-7.

M16 Azumaryu kept his arms limp and low at the tachi-ai allowing M10 Sadanoumi to easily gain moro-zashi, and Ryu's response was a threatened kubi-nage with the right arm that never formed before feigning a right kote-nage, but it was just for show as Sadanoumi easily worked the mukiryoku Azumaryu over and out. Sadanoumi moves to 4-8 with the win and needs one more win to stay in the division. As for Azumaryu, he falls to 5-7.

How silly was M10 Tochiohzan's first "win" against Tamawashi yesterday? Well, I suppose things were back to normal today as M17 Daiamami forced the bout to migi-yotsu from the tachi-ai where Daiamami grabbed the firm left outer grip, and there was nothing Tochiohzan could do as Daiamami scored the easy force-out win moving to 5-7. As for TochiOldZan, he definitely lived up to his name here falling to 1-11.  When you come away from a Daiamami bout thinking, "Hey, maybe the kid's got something there," it's time for the dude he just defeated to retire.

M15 Chiyomaru came with a weak moro-te-zuki from the tachi-ai, and as soon as M9 Tochiohzan chose not to grab moro-zashi (or even just one arm inside), I knew the outcome of this one. The two stood there for a second or two with Shin having the table set for him, but he stood there like a dumb ass until Chiyomaru moved left going for a weak tsuki-otoshi. It didn't matter because Tochinoshin just crumpled to the dirt on his own making a fake grab for a left outer on his way down. Oh so close!! Or not as Chiyomaru buys his first win after coming back from his three day break leaving him at 6-6. As for Tochiohzan, he falls--literally--to 5-7, and this is how you know sumo is fake:  Chiyomaru can sit out for three days and still have a better record than Tochinoshin from the lower depths of the banzuke.

M8 Shohozan moved left at the tachi-ai not really going for a henka against M14 Kaisei, and as Kaisei looked to square back up, Shohozan next darted right and slipped into moro-zashi. Taking a page out of Ozeki Terunofuji's book, Kaisei used his height advantage to grab two outers over the top and lift Shohozan upright with brute strength. A fairly good battle ensued from here with Shohozan maintaining the better grip, but Kaisei being the bigger beast. The beast won out in the end as he was able to just wrench Shohozan over and out after about 10 seconds leading with those dual outer grips over the top. Kaisei is safe to sell bouts now at 8-4 while Shohozan is in danger of falling to Juryo at 2-10. Kaisei did give quite a personable kachi-koshi interview afterwards, which was nice to see. He's a really likeable rikishi.

M8 Kiribayama grabbed the quick and dirty left outer grip from the tachi-ai shading to that side against M16 Shimanoumi, and to be frank, Shimanoumi just doesn't have the tools to counter a move like that. I guess the Umi did get a right inside against that left outer grip, but Kiribayama was moving laterally and grabbed an even better frontal grip with his own right hand, and Shimanoumi was cuffed and stuffed at this point by Sheriff Coltrane as Kiribayama waltzed his way to the easy force-out win coo coo. Both rikishi end the day at 6-6.

M11 Chiyotairyu slapped both palms against M7 Takarafuji's chest at the tachi-ai, but he wasn't driving with the legs. As a result Takarafuji was able to shade left to set up a pull, and before he could actually do that, Chiyotairyu just ducked right and started to go down to the dohyo. Takarafuji caught up with a right tsuki-otoshi, but Chiyotairyu was clearly already mid-dive. I was actually thinking to myself that it's been a pretty clean day until I saw this one. I don't care about the politics behind this as Takarafuji picks up kachi-koshi at 8-4 while Chiyotairyu dives to 7-5.

I think M7 Tamawashi took notes of the previous bout because he came with the same light-hearted oshi "attack" against M12 Ikioi keeping his hands busy but not really putting his weight behind anything. Credit Ikioi for standing toe to toe and countering with attempts to get to the inside, but it had zero effect against Tamawashi, and finally the Mongolian just ducked into an Ikioi pull attempt ditching right and flopping to the dirt giving Ikioi the improbable win considering the condition of these two dudes. Tamawashi is a laughable 3-9 after the bout while Ikioi buys a win moving hisself (as we say in Utah) to 7-5.

M4 Abi was giving M3 Yutakayama the business with his firehose tsuppari highlighted by a wicked right choke hold that had Yutakayama forced back to the edge with his back arched, but Abi curiously never finished his foe off allowing Yutakayama to sorta attempt a left tsuki at the edge, and of course Abi just hit the dirt putting both palms down first. I mean, Yutakayama's positioning was horrible start to finish, and the dude took a pounding, but he miraculously came away the victor here as we often see in compromised bouts. The loser does everything start to finish including taking the obligatory dive to the dirt. T'was the case here as Yutakayama is gifted 7-5 while Abi falls to 5-7.

In our first bout with yusho implications on the day, M13 Aoiyama just pounded M3 Mitakeumi back from the tachi-ai, and all Mitakeumi could do was shade back to the left and then to the right, but Aoiyama was moving forward with his feet, and that makes all the difference to his sumo as he just clobbered Mitakeumi oshi-dashi style moving to 11-1 in the process. I mean, Mitakeumi had no answer for the Happy Bulgar's attack as the former yusho rikishi falls to 9-3. Before we move on, who was the last "elite" Japanese rikishi to defeat anybody like this? I know Chiyotairyu is capable, but I'm talking about the frauds we see higher up on the banzuke. Who was the last JPN guy to legitimately win in the manner that Aoiyama won today?

People may wonder, "Why doesn't Aoiyama fight like this everyday?" or "Aoiyama's condition must be very good this basho." That line of thinking completely misses the target as the answers to those questions are obvious. What really matters is why Takakeisho or Asanoyama or even Mitakeumi is unable to perform such sumo. And yet, the guy who can do it is ranked at M13.

Moving right along, M6 Kagayaki won the tachi-ai against M2 Okinoumi using some nice shoves to knock him upright before lurching into the moro-zashi position. Okinoumi tried to move left and escape the position, but Kagayaki stayed snug, and so Okinoumi finally went for a maki-kae with the left arm to try and halt Kagayaki's momentum, but the maki-kae should be a do-or-die move in sumo. I say "should" because so many bouts are fake these days that sometimes you have multiple useless maki-kae within a few seconds, but this bout was real, and when Okinoumi's maki-kae failed, it gave Kagayaki the momentum he needed to score the final oshi-dashi win in the end. I'm glad I typed what I did after the Aoiyama bout because the same applies here with Kagayaki. It was such beautiful sumo today from the giant that it's a shame that politics in sumo keeps him tamped down like this. He moves to 7-5 with the win while Okinoumi falls to 6-6.

M2 Tokushoryu is simply a useless joke in sumo these days. Today against M6 Myogiryu, the latter scored on a quick hari-zashi tachi-ai slapping with the right hand and getting the left arm easily to the inside. He immediately began forcing Tokushoryu back and had the right hand positioned perfectly for a frontal outer grip, but he refused to grab it and just stayed low waiting for Tokushoryu to fire on a mediocre tsuki with the right hand that of course sent Myogiryu down at the edge. Myogiryu dominated this one from the start, but whatever negotiations went on behind the scenes dictated that Tokushoryu win here, and so the two rikishi end the day at 3-9. For the record, Tokushoryu has paid for all three of his wins this basho.

M1 Daieisho fired a few tsuppari up high at the tachi-ai against M5 Onosho, but then Daieisho quickly just kept both hand up around Onosho's dome as if to pull, but the pull would never come allowing Onosho to secure the quick moro-zashi position a few seconds in. Once obtained, he marched Daieisho back towards the edge where Daieisho offered a stupid counter kote-nage attempt where he just pulled Onosho into his body as he retreated down across the straw. Easy yaocho call from start to finish here as both rikishi end the day at 7-5.

Komusubi Hokutofuji had to be relieved today to see an easy win staring at him across the starting lines in M4 Enho. The two never really were in sync from the tachi-ai resulting in Enho getting a quick start and ducking his way into an early moro-zashi after shading left, but Hokutoriki just grabbed the lil' one tightly around both arms and wrenched him over to the edge before literally body slamming him down just beyond the straw. Hokutofuji drove a forearm into Enho's gut as he fell, and you could audibly hear the air go out of Enho as he crashed down to the clay. Damn, that had to have hurt, and can you imagine how short Enho's career would be if he lost like that everyday? Dude is clearly in the wrong division as he suffers make-koshi at 4-8 while Hokutofuji is barely 3-9.

I was a bit surprised to see that Sekiwake Asanoyama actually bought his win today against M9 Takanosho. I mean, we are talking about Takanosho here, but apparently Asanoyama didn't have the confidence to beat him in a straight up fight. The two rikishi assumed migi-yotsu after a good tachi-ai, and both dug in without an outer grip in a bout that looked to be shaping up as a nice contest, but as Takanosho shaded back and to his right, he suddenly just flopped to the dirt without any doing from the Ozeki hopeful. Watching the replays, you could see that Takanosho was anticipating some shoves to the chest from Asanoyama, but they never came, and so there Takanosho was falling backwards towards the center of the ring and putting his elbow down quickly after having suffered no visible blow from Asanoyama. What an obvious fake bout here as Asanoyama is gifted his 10-3 record. As for Takanosho darn the luck...he falls out of the yusho hunt now at 9-3.

Before we move on, several days this basho they've reviewed Asanoyama's "wins" at the start of the broadcast, and I've noticed during all of those replays that the NHK Announcer never mentions Asanoyama's name until the bout is over. They mention his opponents' names often because they're the ones pressing the action, but they never once have mentioned Asanoyama's name as the aggressor. Even today, it was clear that Takanosho had the advantage until he just sunk back and right before flopping over as if he were trying to draw a penalty in the box. And while we're on that subject, why can flopping exist in soccer but not in sumo? If you scrutinized the bouts the same way you would a flop from a dude on the opposing team in soccer, you'd see what I see.  The media largely used the picture at right/above to define Asanoyama's win because it kinda looks like he's doing something with that right arm, but there was nothing there to warrant  Takanosho's dive back to the middle of the ring.

Takakeisho is just reeling this basho as he further exposes himself as a fraud, but fortunately today they found an agreeable opponent in M5 Ryuden. Takakeisho's feet were painfully aligned at the tachi-ai giving Ryuden the easy path to the left inside and moro-zashi had he wanted it, but he just stood there like a bump on a log waiting for a girly left tsuki to come from Takakeisho. It barely touched Ryuden but down he dutifully went touching both palms to the dirt and sorta hopping over towards the edge. As I like to say, if the only part of a rikishi's body that touches down are the palms of his hands, it's yaocho without exception. That was the case here as Takakeisho buys his way to 6-6 while Ryuden suffers make-koshi at 4-8.

Yokozuna Hakuho connected on a pretty good right hari-te against the Sekiwake Shodai bopping him in the left ear, and the Yokozuna could have taken full control at that point getting his right arm to the inside, but this bout ended up being a carbon copy of Hakuho's loss against Onosho a few days ago where the Yokozuna misfired on a series of moves before just putting his hands up high as if to pull and then the pull never came. Shodai finally got moro-zashi without setting anything up, and then from there, the Yokozuna whiffed on a fake right kote-nage attempt and barely touched his opponent as he just moved backwards along for the yori-kiri ride.

If you have the means to listen to the Japanese broadcast, you should hear Sawataishi Announcer's climax at the end of this bout when he realized that Shodai had silled the dill. Dude, they're called girls. Try being with one, and this sumo business won't seem so exhilarating after all.

The end result is Hakuho's giving up two bouts in the last three days to lower his record to 10-2, and don't look now but Aoiyama is your sole leader. As for Shodai, how sweet is it to get your ass kicked and still come away at the end of the day with a win over Hakuho and a 6-6 record to boot. In his interview after the bout, he used the typical line that we often hear after fake bouts, "Oboete inai desu," or I don't remember anything. I was incredulous as a newbie to the sport when I first heard that line because the dude just fought mere minutes ago, so how could he have forgotten so soon? I eventually realized it was the perfect line for the gifted rikishi to use so he didn't have to explain the phantom win.

I was almost afraid to watch the day's final affair that featured Yokozuna Kakuryu vs. Komusubi Endoh, but this one was over nearly as fast as it started. Endoh came in low looking to cut off anything to the inside from the Yokozuna while getting his own left arm in tight, but Kakuryu shaded right grabbing the easy right outer grip and just pivoting that way as he slung Endoh down to the clay while grabbing a small fistful of hair with the left hand...but whose watching right?? Kakuryu restores a bit of order on the day moving to 10-2 while Endoh finishes at 6-6.

The entire reason why I questioned the ratings at the start of my comments because three days ago the leaderboard contained Hakuho, Aoiyama, and Takanosho in that order. At the end of Day 12, it now looks as follows:

11-1: Aoiyama
10-2: Hakuho, Kakuryu, Asanoyama
9-3: Mitakeumi, Takanosho

Nice work fellas. Gary's back tomorrow.

Day 11 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
Here we are on Day 11, and your yusho favorite is... Aoiyama. No, seriously: why not? Remember a few years ago when Tochinoshin convinced his oyakata to reel in a yusho for him: "let me do it," I imagined him saying. Or when Tamawashi got his honorary "thanks for playing along all these years" yusho? Or when #42 (Tokushoryu) got his? Why not Aoiyama? Really, why not? He was tied for the lead as we entered this day.

…and he was fighting first today. First. At 16:15. Therein lies the problem. I continue to be dyspeptic about this situation where guys who don't fight the top competition still can hoist the big trophy.

Anyway, let me not kid: I do think Hakuho is the actual favorite for the yusho still. But you never really know; all the air has gone out of the yusho balloon of late, leaving it truly available even to a flabby dugong like Aoiyama.

M18 Kotonowaka (7-3) vs. M13 Aoiyama (9-1)
Aoiyama certainly is offering his best self though. Kotonowaka shaded away out of there a bit, and I thought this would be trouble for Big Blue (Aoiyama), but Blue successfully kept Kotonowaka in front of him, moved forward instead of backwards, and struck with his hands instead of giving wincy little pulls. This, of course, worked, because Aoiyama is giant. They gave him the tsuki-dashi thrust-out kimari-te. Could it be? Could it be…?

M13 Kotoshogiku (7-3) vs. M15 Chiyomaru (5-5)
Well, Chiyomaru can now forevermore tell his grandchildren, "yeah, for a brief time I was the center of attention in the sumo world." (He missed three days with a fever which, if it would have been coronavirus, would have closed down the tournament. Turns out it was cellulitis, and he is back. He might as well have stayed away, though…) Chiyomaru stood there stolidly, accepted Kotoshogiku's advances upon his shelf-gut, and was easily moved across the straw, yori-kiri.

M17 Daiamami (4-6) vs. M12 Ikioi (5-5)
Daiamami had the first grip, a solid-enough left outside. However, when he bodied up to Ikioi, this allowed Ikioi's hand to extend farther in, getting a counter grip on the right inside. That's all you really have to know, ‘cause inside is better than outside, and because Ikioi remains far better than Big Sweety (Daiamami). Ikioi yanked hard, slung Daiamani most of the way to the straw, and pushed him out, yori-kiri.

M16 Azumaryu (5-5) vs. M11 Terutsuyoshi (5-5)
With his slow, lazy-and-dumb-looking sumo, Azumaryu has solidified his status with me as one of my least favorite wrestlers in the upper division: what a waste of a perfect body type. Without Daishomaru and Kotoyuki around to pick on, I can sense my storm of displeasure gathering about Azumaryu's noggin. Today ‘Ryu stood up straight and fished around over Shining Strong Boy's (Terutsuyoshi's) back for the belt, which of course meant Shining was down in underneath, bulling and lifting. He pushed Azumaryu out like dirty laundry, oshi-dashi.

M11 Chiyotairyu (7-3) vs. M14 Kaisei (6-4)
This was a good one; it demonstrated some physics: hard to move a big object. It also illustrated Mike's repeated assertion that the gap between even the lesser ranked of the foreign wrestlers and some of the best Japanese wrestlers is massive. Chiyotairyu smacked into Kaisei at the tachi-ai, and was stopped. Plain. Cold. In his tracks. It wasn't dramatic: it looked like a damp towel being tossed against a gym mat: splat. Was Chiyotairyu's attack today that weak, or was it what he normally does, but it looked weak because Kaisei stopped it so easily and completely? Kaisei calmly moved forward, alternately holding onto and shoving Chiytotairyu, and removed him from the dohyo yori-kiri without issue. Such is as it is.

M10 Sadanoumi (3-7) vs. M17 Meisei (4-6)
Sadanoumi charged, Meisei moved out of the way, Meisei pushed Sadanoumi out after he went past, hikkake. You know, for a while I thought tough little Meisei had the makings of a Daieisho in him, but here he is sitting here at the bottom of the banzuke with a losing record, he has not looked very interesting for quite a while now.

M9 Takanosho (8-2) vs. M12 Ishiura (7-3)
There are always one or two wrestlers I can't remember anything about: "who is this guy again? How long has he been around? Was there some story about him?" All I've got is a name: "okay, here he is, some guy named Takanosho. Presumably I've written about him, perhaps even a dozen times, who knows, and yet he has left zero impression on my brain. Nothing. No residual information." Right now that guy is Takanosho. And egad, looks like Ishiura gave this one to him, so I hope we're not prepping for a Takanosho yusho. Could happen... Like everything... Ishiura give a little slap at the tachi-ai, but that was the end of his offensive moves. After that he moved back in a linear fashion while offering no defense; he showed a pull right at the tawara, where it had no room to even possibly work; he was already going out, and lost, oshi-dashi. Here is how uninspiring and boring Takanosho remains: I'm not even going to go look him up on Wikipedia to see if I've forgotten anything important about him. I'm just going to let him be who he is.

M14 Nishikigi (3-7) vs. M8 Kiribayama (4-6)
Here we learned that it is possible to throw someone down by the sternum. Misty Mountain Hop (Kiribayama) hopped out of the way quick in this one, successfully getting behind Nishikigi, but they were still in the center of the ring, so Misty had some work to do. He wrapped Nishikigi up from behind, then started to work a helpless Nishikigi to the edge. That was too hard, though, so, realizing that it would work just fine, Misty instead pulled backwards on Nishikigi with the arm he had wrapped across his sternum, unbalancing him to his dirt-slathered doom, okuri-nage.

M8 Shohozan (2-8) vs. M16 Shimanoumi (5-5)
I am so not a fan of the cat slap at the tachi-ai; I just can't really see the point of it. I think it is for show, and feels clever and sassy to its perpetrators, but it just wastes time while your opponent, who is plenty used to getting hit, ignores it and goes to work. Darth Hozan offered one here, and in a few moments the manifestly unfazed Shimanoumi had completed his process of consequently bullying Shohozan around and pushing him out, oshi-dashi. I should do a little statistical study and see what the record is in matches where guys do this slap.

M10 Tochiozan (0-10) vs. M7 Tamawashi (3-7)
There is a macabre enjoyment of watching guys slide towards a possible 0-15. Macabre not only because of the grim fascination of a tournament that bad, a bit of schadenfreude, but also because you know it will never happen: in all my years of sumo watching, I don't think I've seen a guy complete a tournament 0-15 without an injury, because the culture doesn't work that way: someone is going to help you. Today these two bonked heads, Tochiozan pushed Tamawashi upright a little, I guess, then Tochiozan dodged and shaded and pulled, getting out of the way so Tamawashi could fall to the dirt, hataki-komi. Lo. Another 0-15 sadly avoided. Maybe someday…

M9 Tochinoshin (4-6) vs. M6 Kagayaki (6-4)
Despite the lackluster record, as usual Tochinoshin has been involved in several very entertaining matches. This was not one of them. In a day full of evasive and dispiriting sumo, Tochinoshin henka'ed hard, gave Kagayaki a little pull on the armpit, and let Fried Mosquito (Kagayaki) roll to the ground, hataki-komi. So it goes.

M3 Yutakayama (5-5) vs. M7 Takarafuji (7-3)
I liked Yutakayama's low, hard, upwards-blasting tachi-ai, but I liked better Takarafuji's success in stopping it in its tracks. Takarafuji has been fighting well this tournament, and I figured he'd take this one after that start. However, after a few moments of stalemate Yutakayama regrouped his energy and resumed pushing; oshi-dashi followed for him.

M4 Enho (3-7) vs. M2 Tokushoryu (2-8)
Comical match up here, Hype Star Enho against Unlikely Champion Tokushoryu, both ridiculous yet entertaining in their own way. Sideshow time at the circus. (One of the things I notice when I look at Tokushoryu is that his belly is so big that he has flaps of fat sticking out below his mawashi. Not everybody can accomplish this feat.) Tokushoryu followed the first part of my anti-Enho instructions: grab. However, he failed in the second part of said instructions: kill. After the grabbing and the moving back of his gnat-like opponent, at the edge Tokushoryu found he hadn't grabbed Enho tight enough, because Enho escaped in the nick of time and twirled like a doll on the tawara as Tokushoryu flopped heavily and pathetically to the dirt, tsuki-otoshi. Mike's 2-13 prediction for Tokushoryu remains solidly withing reach.

M2 Okinoumi (5-5) vs. M6 Myogiryu (3-7)
Myogiryu thought he was going to give it to Okinoumi with a wicked neck squeeze. However, oops, turns out Okinoumi had grabbed onto Myogiryu's arm before his hand ever got to the wattles, and Okinoumi neatly laid it to the side. Okinoumi also embraced Myogiryu at this moment, and, well, that was all she wrote, so that will be all I wrote too: yori-kiri win for Placid Sea (Okinoumi).

M1 Daieisho (7-3) vs. M3 Mitakeumi (8-2)
Blap! Nice tachi-ai. Then Daieisho tried to tear Mitakeumi's head off: that neck-thrust thing that didn't work for Myogiryu in the previous match looked to be working just fine here for Daieisho. But I had to write "looked to be," which should be your clue to the actual outcome, because it didn't actually work in the end: while Mitakeumi was staring at the ceiling, he also was knocking Daisieho arms up and off him with smart upsweeps, and the last time he did this he also stepped to the side, allowing him to get behind Daieisho and push him out okuri-dashi. Not inspiring sumo from one of our potential champions, but here we are.

M5 Onosho (6-4) vs. K Endo (5-5)
Onosho had a good pushing attack going here, but at the edge he thought he'd just reverse and pull Endo down rather than go through the hard work of finishing the push-out. However, Endo is too good of a technician: the change of momentum was instantaneous and decisive, with Endo in no danger of falling down but instead cudgeling Onosho rapidly out, yori-kiri.

S Asanoyama (8-2) vs. M5 Ryuden (4-6)
I liked Ryuden's two-handed sharp jab at the tachi-ai, but it didn't faze Asanoyama; like Okinoumi did to Myogiryu, Asanoyama calmly removed those offending arms from his line of sight, taking them and placing them elsewhere. Asanoyama then got his left arm inside on the belt and finished a quick, good-looking oshi-dashi win. I will continue to be a Asanoyama booster as long as this keeps up. He's big, he's got good basic skills, he's calm. This has the makings of something.

O Takakeisho (5-5) vs. M4 Abi (4-6)
This was sloppy, uninspiring, and keyed by evasion, like many of today's bouts. It also featured a weak, odd looking tachi-ai that might should have been a redo, but the gyoji let it go. Takakeisho stood up meekly and extended his arms, but Abi wasn't coming forward either, so their first contact looked something like two scared teenagers getting going with some trepidatious and ungainly first-ever touchy-feelies. Abi evaded backwards first, then to the side, whereas Takakeisho kept going, leaving him standing at the straw with a foolish look on his face, waiting for Abi to bump him out oshi-dashi. This Abi did, with a solid blow to his fat that made Takakeisho look like an old mattress being dropped off a stairwell. So many memories of love.

S Shodai (5-5) vs. Y Kakuryu (8-2)
Kakuryu is quietly having a very good tournament; when he has won he has looked efficient, effective, and workmanlike. Don't be shocked if he ends up with the trophy; he controls his own destiny and just has to win out, beating Hakuho once or twice. Could happen. The match was primarily a bunch of slappery. It wasn't going much of anywhere until Kakuryu started putting his calloused palms hard into Shodai's neck, and pretty soon Shodai was rolling on the mats down below; oshi-dashi win for Kakuryu. Yokozunae are yokozunae: note that in earlier matches the head-tear-off/neck-thrust thing did not bring ultimate success for Myogiryu, Daieisho, or Ryuden. It did for this Yokozuna.

Y Hakuho (9-1) vs. K Hokutofuji (2-8)
Speaking of yokozunae, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Hakuho. Hokutofuji false started on the first try, and Hakuho kind of looked up and away to the side and gave a little "it's okay" hand chop of forgiveness. Except it wasn't okay; you could just tell he was thinking, "don't f*** with me, man." I don't think Hakuho respects guys who can't get it together for a clean start: "I'm the f***ing Yokozuna, don't do that with me." So, when they tried again Hakuho knocked Hokutofuji out of the ring with two clean, vicious meat pulverizations: a strike-and-block with his right arm hanging down and slamming into Hokutofuji off the lines, then a tremendous solid body blow that sent Hokutofuji sailing out of there to never-never land, oshi-dashi. My goodness. Hakuho's sumo is a joy. Powerful, contained, effective, dominant. I hope he finishes it.

Tokushoryu's 42nd-seeded January victory has me well soured on yusho races, but as we are on Day 11 I will go ahead and give the leaderboard; szczerze mówiąc (honestly speaking), it is a pretty good one, too, with only one silly pretender in there:

10-1: Hakuho, Aoiyama
9-2: Kakuryu, Asanoyama, Mitakeumi, Takanosho

I'm rooting for The Master, but with the exception of Takanosho I'll take any of these guys as a consolations prize—they've all had solid, good-looking tournaments.

Mike stockpiles twenty gallons of Mountain Dew tomorrow.

Day 10 Comments (Gary Jones reporting)
Hello to all, I'm afraid there's no real intro today. There is a very good reason for this. I'm lazy.

Aaaand whilst we're on the subject of being lazy, listless and otherwise reticent to put forth one's best effort. How about them Yokozuna? I'm beginning to think they do it to me on purpose. Kakuryu started it early when he lost to Hokutofuji on day 2. My first day on Sumotalk this basho and he lost in a fashion that had me a teeny tiny bit incredulous. Just a wispy little unformed notion that he could have done better. And I failed to actually talk about the bout itself. I apologize unreservedly.

Then on day 6, again my day to report, Kakuryu had a bit of an off day and got himself destroyed in the ring by an equally startled Tokushoryu. To my shame I was inspired only to write a bit of fiction as my response. Blame Harvye Hodja for setting a precedent. But I'm deeply sorry.

Which brings us to today, day 10. My turn on Sumotalk. Unfortunately it's gone and happened again. Hakuho this time. Hakuho and his incredible backward pressuring technique. Once again I just couldn't bring myself to describe the action. Instead I found myself pondering the reason for it. I should probably say sorry for that as well but then the Yokozuna don't seem like they're going to apologize to me so to heck with it.

Shimanoumi (M16) 5-4 vs Aoiyama (M13) 8-1
To the action then. After smashing his way through the scrubs, Aoiyama is now an astonishing 9-1. Way to go big D. In the west, sumo is generally known as two big boys engaging in a pushing match until one gets shoved out. If only the rikishi would stick to this basic (and half true) premise then a healthy Aoiyama would be a wrecking ball forever in the Sanyaku. When he gets a big guy willing to stay right in front of him and test their forward pressure, Aoiyama is unstoppable to the majority of rikishi, Japanese or not. But that's not sumo, not all of it anyway. You're allowed to get the hell out of the way. Which is precisely what his opponents have been failing to do in Osaka.

Take a look at Aoiyama's dance card so far. Kaisei, Ikioi, Kotoshogiku, Nishikigi, Daiamami and Chiyotairyu. All big dudes and none have a reputation for the henka. Daniel knows they are going to be there for the hit and his tachi-ai has reflected that. Full of confidence and weight.

But he doesn't like a moving target. He was lucky to get a win over Meisei, the smallest of the bunch who gave him his most trouble. Against Meisei, Big D reverted to his other start, the one where he goes backwards and tries to do it with his arms only. His only loss came against the smallest man in Terutsuyoshi, who unbalanced him. No, big Aoiyama doesn't like the pesky little ones.

Fortunately for him Shimanoumi is both big and brave enough to step up and try a pushing match. It didn't work. Not even a little bit. Shimanoumi stood up and Shimanoumi went back. With Aoiyama's big mitts in his face. Tsuki-dashi after only a short argument. The Aoiyama rumble roadshow pulls into Kotonowaka's hometown tomorrow.

Daieisho (M1) 6-3 vs Abi (M4) 4-5
I know Abi is far from his peak form with his bum knee and all, but Daieisho just came close to walking right through him. Abi did manage to deliver his trademark moro-te-zuki opening move but Daieisho was so secure in his footing that he soaked it all up until there was nothing left. Once the Oitekaze boy started his push back Abi had no resistance at all. He ended up going for a quick tour of the seating arrangements instead of hanging around to contest a sumo bout. He later gave the bench layout his full approval.

For an entire year Daieisho has been managing to keep himself buzzing around the top three ranks of Maegashira. The chunky guy has been remarkably unremarkable, recording only 7 or 8 wins each and every time out. But he wasn't dislodged either. It's been enough for him to repeatedly face whoever are considered to be the top guys in each basho (Goeido for instance). During 2019 he became a sort of poor man's Mitakeumi. The top of the banzuke was in flux (or shambolic disarray, take your pick) during 2019, a fact mentioned once or twice on Sumotalk. But one guy dared to be consistent. He didn't quite hold it together well enough to join Mitakeumi in the Sanyaku slots. But Daieisho was only ever a win or two away from such glory.

Now he already has 7 wins with 5 more days still in hand. With the established old order fading at an alarming rate sumo needs a few strong backed, tough minded farm boys to carry us through until the next uber talented Mongolian, sorry uber talented rikishi, rises to the fore. Daieisho may just be about to step up into that role. I hope so, I really do. The idea of a bow legged Takakeisho going on an uncontested five Yusho win streak in 2021 gives me chills. And not the good kind.

Hokutofuji (K) 2-7 vs Myogiryu (M6) 2-7
The empty arena vibe the JSA are going for this season, they obviously have a new creative director, again added to the impact of a bout. My speakers felt a great disturbance on the dohyo, as if millions of brain cells suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced at the tachi-ai. To the joy of neurosurgeons everywhere reaching for the price list of the latest luxury sports cars, these two morons sought to inflict equal amounts of brain damage on each other. Thud. Over and over again. I dare you to listen to it with the bass (or even worse a sub woofer) turned up fully. The head clash here was sickening. And fantastic. Bok!

In a few years time both these guys will be retired and may take a chair in the JSA. There they will begin to make decisions that affect a multi-billion Yen business. With the eighteen functioning neurons that remain. And this sort of start used to happen all the time. It was even encouraged. No wonder we get subjected to so many inept managerial edicts in sumo. The old guys are all punchy.

Myogiryu won but the bout itself was nothing to write about, so I won't. No the star of the show was the sound effects emanating from the participants skulls.

Mitakeumi (M3) 7-2 vs Endo (K) 5-4
Endo lasted about four seconds in there. Most of them spent being moved backwards. Again he tried to stand directly in front of a bigger, more powerful opponent. And again he paid the price. He needs better advice on how to approach each bout if he wants to make a name in sumo for being anything other than a pretty poster boy. His mawashi Jedi skills are strong but they are not magic.

Mitakeumi had him as soon as Endo attached himself to the mae-mawashi. Now Mitakeumi knew where Endo was (right in front of him) and that he intended to stay there. This lack of deceit in Endo's game allowed the 385lb (175kg) bull to charge forward without fear of his opponent side stepping past his right otsuke. Oshi-dashi gets the eighth win and a return to Sanyaku looks likely for the Natsu basho. He might just take Endo's slot.

Asanoyama (S) 7-2 vs Enho (M4) 3-6
How quick is little Enho? Asanoyama knew that Enho coming in close and low at the start was a likely gambit, we all did. So Asanoyama put his hands up to catch the pesky hummingbird. And he still missed him. Eventually the little bird was trapped and devoured by the 390lb predatory hippo, but it was a messy business with feathers and blood strewn all around. A fun half-time show before the Ozeki steps in there and demonstrates the highest levels of sumo attainment.

Takakeisho (O) 5-4 vs Shodai (S) 4-5
This was not great sumo. It was however as good as both men could do today so I'll take it for what it is. Solo Ozeki fired out at a very, let's be kind and say committed, angle. He obviously needed to disrupt any attack from Shodai because if the Sekiwake gets any type of hold on the bloated tadpole it's over. Such is the level of the Ozeki's grapple game. Shodai had it pretty easy in there and was patiently waiting for each wave to develop before he shut it down. It fits nicely with Shodai's vibe. He's not known for aggressive sumo, he tried it once in 2015, and was sore for weeks after.

Takakeisho had his 6 or 7 seconds of wave action and then gassed out. Shodai was too mobile to be caught and kept turning circles. Tadpole decided he could do no more and launched a do or die flop in the general vicinity of Shodai. Who was still quite content to keep moving and circling. Oh, so soon? Asked a cocky Shodai. Tadpole has a lung capacity of a cigar smoking three year old from Havana. Hataki-floppy-komi as Takakeisho needs a respirator and some love from Abi tomorrow or he is looking a likely kadoban candidate going into the last few days.

Hakuho (Y) 9-0 vs Onosho (M5) 5-4
So the guy coming off defeats to Enho and Tokushoryu gets to be the one who wastes the unbeaten Yokozuna? Okay then. Let the thrills commence. I guess we can all be happy that the Yusho race is back on. Lucky you Onosho, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Way to go. I particularly admired the way you maneuvered the Champ for the straight line kill by going backwards and turning around to face him with so very little contact. Imagine what you could do Onosho San if you touched him next time?

Whilst there is no point in talking about the bout IMAO. I'm going to take a stab at the reason for the bovine ejecta on display. There aren't any tickets to sell for once so we can forget that straight away. And Onosho isn't on the verge of anything big so there won't be any rush to put money onto the donation plate just so he can feel better after his loss to the other champ, Tokushoryu. How about a three-way? (Put your hand down Justin). Enho beats Onosho if Onosho gets to beat Hakuho, possible? Sure but not probable because Enho is already on the make-koshi slide, one more at 3-7 will push him down anyway. Perhaps if Enho wins the next 4 in a row we can revisit this.

I know Mike's a big fan of the kind hearted Hakuho theory. It's good for sumo, soooo pretty please? But that still leaves the problem of explaining why today, why Onosho? Mike often mentions that a rikishi has “one to spare”. A little social grease on the machinery of the sumo world. But it would be better for sumo if he saved his spare one for an Ozeki who might turn up kadoban (missing you already Goeido). Or for an aspiring Ozeki candidate on day 13. Still, why Onosho?

I've talked myself out of any sumo based reasons. I'm left with the old chestnut tree of man's eternal greed. Cash, Moolah, Greenbacks, Makin' Paper, Gettin' Arab Money. Or in this case Yen. Everything that appears on Sumotalk is just talk. Sumo fan talk. Hey I get the website name now! Except I'm going to offer one fact as well. The gambling odds on Onosho to win were freaking astronomical.

All the good loyal fans of sumo who believe that everything, absolutely everything is straight up in the world of sumo must just flock to put next months rent money down on a sure thing. Hakuho is unbeaten and Hakuho is far, far better than Onosho (both were true). With each battering that Hakuho gives out their confidence must simply spiral upwards towards the heavens. And up the odds go too. Until day ten, when we hit the peak of Hakuho betting confidence. A juicy Maegashira 5 West. The lowest rank the Yokozuna will face In Osaka.

The one single known fact is that if a Mongolian, any Mongolian, any number of Mongolians, put 1000 dollars down on Onosho yesterday they got back 6000 in the hand. For a two horse race that's ridiculous. Especially with one horse smart enough to work out the odds for himself. And he can still win the prize for best horse in the show anyway.

I rather suspect Hakuho and his associates are far richer than we know. My hats off to him. If he's good enough to toy with his opponents, manipulate things in his financial favor, not get caught and still be a record breaking champion, then I can only watch from the sidelines and applaud. As a footnote, Hak is still a big favorite (vs Hokutofuji) tomorrow. Onosho (vs Endo) despite his awesome straight line kill of the king, is not.

Ryuden (M5) 4-5 vs Kakuryu (YO) 7-2
Talking of straight line kills, Kakuryu delivered one here, yori-kiri style. It was as passionless as any overwhelming destruction of a rikishi as I have seen. To describe it would make it sound exciting but the previous bout had thrown a heavy blanket over the musubi no ichiban. I think Kakuryu knew his bout was already overshadowed and just did his job as the quiet Yokozuna. A sub-par Ryuden must have known he wasn't going to get lucky after the earlier Hakuho performance as well. Two in one day would be too much to bare.

For me, Daieisho is stealing the show with his energy and go get 'em attitude. His bout with Mitakeumi promises to be the most splendid fun on the morrow. Hakuho against Hokutofuji, not so much. On the bright side, Chiyomaru does NOT have the corona virus. Instead he is a walking, bacterially infected bag of fevered cellulitis. So that's good news. Harvye will give us all a dose of proper sumo talk for day 11.

Day 9 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Regardless of what's going on in the ring, the main storyline this basho in the short-term is focused squarely on the condition of Chiyomaru. He was forced to withdraw from the tournament on Sunday after posting a fever in the high 39 C range, and then as of Day 9, his fever has reportedly touched 40.0 C. So far in the media they are downplaying the likelihood of this being the Corona Virus, but this is the same media who has never once questioned the outcome of an Enho win.

If it is confirmed that Chiyomaru does have the Corona Virus, the Sumo Association has indicated that they will suspend the rest of the basho, so it's easy to see why all the focus now is on Chiyomaru's thermometer. I guess there's also the fact that the current leaderboard heading into Day 9 isn't exactly giving anyone a stiffie:

8-0: Hakuho
7-1: Takanosho, Aoiyama

There's a host of rikishi checking in at 6-2, but until Hakuho chooses to drop a bout, the two-loss line is irrelevant. Then again, who am I kidding when it comes to taking the yusho seriously? I mean, Tokushoryu did in fact hoist the Emperor's Cup at the end of January proving that anything in sumo can be bought.

With that in mind, let's just take the bouts one at a time in chronological order starting with sumo's latest fraud, M18 Kotonowaka. Today's opponent visiting from Juryo was Hidenoumi, who actually won the tachi-ai firing a nice shove into the rookie's gut before forcing the bout to migi-yotsu. To Kotonowaka's credit, he did grab a left outer belt grip over the top, but he was in defensive mode as Hidenoumi had the lower stance. Problem was, Hidenoumi just stood there waiting for Kotonowaka to make a move, and said move was a paltry left outer belt throw. Hidenoumi's normal response would be a counter inside belt throw with the right or a scoop throw with that same arm, but he just kept his right arm outward in no man's land, and so a nage-no-uchi-ai never formed as Hidenoumi instead just flopped to the dirt.

The "win" moves Baby Waka to 6-2, and the only legit aspect about him is that double boob action he's got going that resembles multiple layers of frosting on a cupcake. Mmm...cupcakes.

Up next was M16 Azumaryu vs. M17 Daiamami in a migi-yotsu bout where Azumaryu just gave Daiamami the left outer grip with no resistance, and speaking of no resistance, Azumaryu just kept himself upright as he allowed Daiamami to walk him back and out just like that. Like the previous bout, if you have access to the slow motion replays, just focus on Azumaryu and that right arm to the inside. Look, the inside position is the key to all sumo fought at the belt, so to watch Azumaryu keep his right hand midway on the side of Daiamami's torso choosing to feel his flab instead of grab an inner belt grip or go up high in scoop fashion to lift Daiamami off balance and counter is telling. Azumaryu was completely mukiryoku in this one as both rikishi end the day at 4-5.

Credit M17 Meisei for coming in hard at the tachi-ai against M14 Kaisei, but it was akin to bouncing off of a brick wall. With Meisei unable to establish anything, Kaisei just plodded forward unleashing a solid oshi attack that Meisei couldn't escape. This one was obviously legit as Kaisei pummels his way to a 5-4 mark while Meisei falls to 3-6.

In an ugly bout, M12 Ishiura henka'd wildly to his left against M12 Ikioi, and because Ikioi didn't necessarily have a ton of..uh..ikioi from the tachi-ai, he was able to put on the brakes and attempt to square back up. I say attempt because Ishiura just moved left the entire bout looking for that pull opportunity. After dancing around the ring a time or two, Ishiura faked a move right to get the arm to the inside before of course darting back left, and that caused Ikioi to stumble forward at the edge of the ring providing for the perfect okuri-dashi fodder in the end. Horrible sumo from Ishiura, but the bout was real as the dude moves to 7-2 while Ikioi falls to 5-4. Should Hakuho choose to lose later on, Ishiura is going to be one of those names that pops up on the leaderboard. Can't wait!!

M11 Terutsuyoshi put his left arm up high at the tachi-ai with his right arm sorta to the inside as he looked for the instant pull against M16 Shimanoumi. As Terutsuyoshi shaded to his right, Shimanoumi just followed him in tow shoving Terutsuyoshi down into a heap just a few seconds in. My personal opinion is that Terutsuyoshi's intention was not to win here due to his horrible footwork, but you gotta credit Shimanoumi for keeping pace and unleashing that oshi-taoshi finish. Shimanoumi one-ups his gals at 5-4 while Terutsuyoshi rests at 4-5.

Don't' look now, but here comes our first representative from the leaderboard, M13 Aoiyama. Today he faced M11 Chiyotairyu, a rikishi who famously just gives up when fighting beefy foreigners, and I think Chiyotairyu actually meant well today rushing forward at the tachi-ai exposing his palms as he is wont to do, but Aoiyama gave him the business completely rebuffing his charge and then just beating Chiyotairyu back and across in mere seconds. Aoiyama could do this sort of sumo all basho long here among the rank and filers because who down here can stop such a charge? On the flip side, what Japanese rikishi out there can actually execute this kind of charge? The answer is Chiyotairyu, and you saw what just happened in a straight up bout against a foreign rikishi who everyone just classifies as ho-hum. Aoiyama moves to 8-1 with the win while Chiyotairyu falls to a respectable 6-3.

M13 Kotoshogiku came with a right kachi-age at the tachi-ai against M10 Tochiohzan while also getting the left arm to the inside against his defenseless opponent, and Tochiohzan redefined the term limp making no attempt to evade or counter allowing the Geeku to just force him back and across. Pretty ho-hum bout that was likely bought as Kotoshogiku not only moves to 5-4 but also picks up his 706th Makuuchi win, which puts him in a tie with former Yokozuna, Moose-ashi-Maru. As for Tochiohzan, he falls to 0-9, and I'm sure he's just shoring up that bank account as he finances his share of oyakata stock.

M8 Shohozan's hari-zashi tachi-ai was beyond ugly as he did go for the right face slap, and he did get his right arm inside, but he did this all while shading to the right, so with no pressure being applied to M14 Nishikigi whatsoever, the latter just secured the inside position with his own right hand, kept his gal snug with the left, and then easily walked Shohozan back and across the straw in two uneventful seconds. With both rikishi at 2-7 here, I'm not sure of the politics behind this one, but that was a horrible display of sumo from Shohozan.

M7 Tamawashi won the tachi-ai against M9 Takanosho driving the youngster back a few steps, but The Mawashi kept his arms high and wide allowing Takanosho to execute a light scoop throw with the right. Tamawashi just played along and used that to work his way over to the edge, and just as he turned back around, Takanosho finished him off with two uneventful shoves to the chest. I always give credit where credit is due, and Takanosho's right scoop throw attempt was a nice counter move. Granted, his opponent gave him the opening for it, and Tamawashi was mukiryoku, but it was a nice move none the less. Takanosho's 8-1 record is a complete joke, and the same money that is attempting to keep Takakeisho afloat as a faux-zeki is also behind Takanosho here.

While we're on the subject, if you wonder why a guy like Takakeisho is propped up instead of someone with actual game like Ryuden or Daieisho, I think it all goes back to the money that drives these major stables. Now, Chiganoura isn't a major stable by any means...in name, but it absorbed the Takanohana-beya, and it still has the Futagoyama-beya money behind it. The Futagoyama-beya was the stable that produced the Hanada brothers and was run by their father when I started watching sumo. A long line of elite rikishi have come from that stable, and Takanohana took it over when he retired, so there has always been a ton of money behind it. Even when Takanohana got all rebellious and tried to shake up the board of directors elections process all those years ago, he still had a lot of support and a lot of money behind him even though about two-thirds of the Association despised him.

Anyway, I still think there is a lot of money that wants to see the rikishi raised by Takanohana succeed, and Takakeisho and Takanosho are two such rikishi. This is speculation of course, but I think I'm correct. As for Tamawashi, he gracefully accepts his 2-7 record, which is a complete farce in and of itself.

Warning: I'm about to report on a real bout of sumo that was actually good and had two rikishi each trying to win.

M7 Takarafuji and M8 Kiribayama hooked up in hidari-yotsu from the start where Kiribayama opted to use his right arm to pinch in tight on Takarafuji's left wing to render it useless. This move forced Takarafuji to fight defensively, and Kiribayama attempted a few low-risk maki-kae with the right looking to secure moro-zashi. Takarafuji denied both maki-kae attempts forcing Kiribayama to finally grab the right outer grip, and he choose to grab it close to the front of the belt. At that point, Takarafuji used his ring sense to free up his left arm and bring it to the outside. Yes, he did sacrifice moro-zashi, but it was so shallow for Kiribayama that Takarafuji was able to pinch in from the outside tight enough to force Kiribayama upright and back for the nicely executed win. T-Fuji has been in a knife fight before, and he knew he could pull the move off, and Kiribayama's standing there at the base of the dohyo holding his right elbow in pain indicated just how much force Takarafuji put behind the move. Great bout of tactical sumo here that we rarely get to see anymore as Takarafuji moves to 6-3 while Kiribayama falls to 4-5.

Speaking of sound sumo, I love it when M6 Kagayaki goes all out. He rarely does it, however, opting to sell bouts for cash, but today against M10 Sadanoumi it was full throttle ahead for the former Tatsu. Kagayaki won the tachi-ai and used a beautiful tsuppari attack to knock Sadanoumi upright from the start, and then Kagayaki exhibited perfect de-ashi to thrust Sadanoumi back and across in wham bam thank you ma'am fashion. I was glad to see them award Kagayaki with the tsuki-dashi kimari-te because this was an ass-kicking. Kagayaki is now 6-3 if you need him while Sadanoumi falls to 3-6.

M6 Myogiryu henka'd to his left against M9 Tochinoshin who needlessly stumbled forward playing along. Myogiryu limply pushed at the back of Tochinoshin's belt, but it had little effect, and Tochinoshin could have easily recovered. That wasn't his MO, however, and so he did one of those lame 360 moves in the ring and then reached back across his body to try and do who knows what to Myogiryu's left arm, but the end result of this mess was an uncontested oshi-dashi win in favor of Myogiryu. Tochinoshin was mukiryoku here start to finish as he gracefully falls to 3-6 while Myogiryu is just 2-7.

M5 Onosho fully exposed himself against M2 Tokushoryu using a right arm up high at the tachi-ai just begging Tokushoryu to grab the firm inside left, but he didn't do it. No matter as Onosho just moved left to the edge of the ring and squared himself back up so Tokushoryu could body him across with no resistance. Even after watching a slow motion replay, I really couldn't identify anything that Tokushoryu did to win this because it was all Onosho throwing the bout in Tokushoryu's favor. Onosho is still 5-4 despite the loss while Tokushoryu has been thrown two bones to kinda sorta make it look as if last basho's victory had some legitimacy to it.

Up next were two of my favorite rikishi in M1 Daieisho and M2 Okinoumi, and from the tachi-ai, Okinoumi looked to have a path to the left inside, but before he could get established, Daieisho had him shoved upright and onto his heels. Daieisho clearly had the de-ashi working and he pushed Okinoumi back so quickly that his only hope was fishing for a counter pull. He was barely able to do that as Daieisho's superior oshi attack crushed Okinoumi back and across for the largely uncontested win. I think youth won out here as Daieisho moves to 6-3 while Okinoumi settles in at 4-5.

Probably the most compelling bout on the day for all of the wrong reasons was the M4 Enho - Komusubi Endoh matchup, but this wasn't even a contest simply because Endoh was trying to win. Knowing the fix was not in, Enho skirted to his right attempting to sneak attack Endoh with a henka at the tachi-ai, but it was highly ineffective as Endoh squared back up with ease and began pummeling Enho back with an oshi attack. Enho flinched as if he was going to dart left near the edge drawing a quick pull attempt from Endoh, but he quickly repented of his ways and trusted his oshi charge to knock Enho over and out for good. You just compare this bout to say Enho's "win" over Ryuden, and the contrast is so stark between Enho wins and Enho losses that I can't believe anyone (not Japanese) could be so gullible as to believe this guy is a legit Makuuchi rikishi. The result here is Endoh's moving to 5-4 while Enho's 3-6 record is still inflated by three wins.

M3 Mitakeumi completely exploited Komusubi Hokutofuji's tachi-ai using a nice thrust attack to knock Hokutofuji upright and force him back to the edge with rotating paws to the Komusubi's throat, but with Mitakeumi focused so high around Hokutofuji neck, it gave the Komusubi some room to sneak the right arm inside and attempt to move that direction in hopes of scoring a counter tsuki-otoshi. Mitakeumi was just too dominant, however from the initial charge and so he was able to shove Hokutofuji across before that counter move would come to fruition, and I thought this was one of the better efforts from Mitakeumi that I've ever seen. I loved this bout as Mitakeumi moved to 7-2 while Hokutofuji drops to 2-7.

Up next was Sekiwake Asanoyama who is in the midst of a fraudulent run to Ozeki. I've never had anything against this guy, and I've always felt he had decent sumo, but certainly not among the elite ranks of this sport. By his own admission, his 6-2 start this basho has not contained good sumo, and that was evident yesterday when Yutakayama left him in his wake.

There are a few positions in sumo where a losing rikishi should never find himself. One is laying at the base of the dohyo in the fetal position with his opponent standing over him at the edge of the dohyo. Prominent rikishi who assumed the fetal position often were Kotooshu and most recently Kisenosato. It should never happen to a guy high on the banzuke. Never.

The next embarrassing method of losing is when your opponent kicks your ass so badly that he leaves you lying in the middle of the ring as he walks back to his side essentially leaving you in his wake. There's no shame in losing a bout of sumo, but you should never be forced to assume the fetal position at the base of the dohyo, and you should never find yourself in someone else's wake...which is exactly where Asanoyama found himself yesterday at the hands of Yutakayama. I mean, this whole Ozeki run is a complete fraud, and the sumo bears that out.

Yesterday the Asanoyama camp made the mistake of assuming he could beat Yutakayama in a straight up bout. They wouldn't make that mistake today, however, against Sekiwake Shodai. From the tachi-ai, Shodai flirted with the right arm inside, but as Asanoyama shoved him away from it (a decent move), Shodai one-upped him again with a quick left tsuki to the side. The two ended up in migi-yotsu for reals as the dust settled whereupon Shodai allowed Asanoyama to take charge and body him near the edge. Neither dude had an outer grip, so there was still a lot of flexibility to move laterally, and Shodai instinctively did just that moving quickly to his left and flinching on a left tsuki-otoshi at the edge that would have sent the loose Asanoyama out for sure, but you could visibly see Shodai renege on the move and just square back up with Asanoyama as the faux-zeki hopeful walked his mukiryoku opponent back across the straw.

I'm not saying here that Shodai is the better rikishi than Asanoyama. There's far too much bout fixing going on to make a definitive statement there, but I am saying Asanoyama paid Shodai to lose this one. Shodai dictated the early pace, but then he quickly relented and just went with the flow pulling back on that counter tsuki-otoshi at the edge and just walking back across in the end. There was nothing from Asanoyama that set up this win, and it's another perfect example of someone buying their way to an elite rank (and yes, the Takasago-beya has a lot of history and a lot of cash behind it not to mention an entire Ichimon named after it).

At 7-2, Asanoyama still has some work to do. He gets Enho tomorrow, which better be a sure win for him, and then he can easily pulverize Takakeisho. He'll have the two Yokozuna at some point as well, and it goes without saying that the only way he'll win either of those bouts is to buy them outright. I guess that's the remaining drama left in this phony Ozeki run. As for Shodai, he moves to a quiet 4-5.

Up next was Takakeisho facing the Asanoyama-killer from yesterday, M3 Yutakayama, and fortunately for the faux-zeki, Yutakayama wasn't bringing the dogs from the tachi-ai. The two engaged in a brief tsuppari affair before Yutakayama backed up and let Takakeisho move forward only to have the M3 move left in an effort to evade. As Takakeisho gave chase around the ring, it was Yutakayama who scored points with his jab and pushes to the neck, and as the two continued to circle, Yutakayama locked up Takakeisho's right arm as if to yank him sideways. Before such a move would come to fruition, however, Takakeisho attempted to shake loose and pull Yutakayama's right arm in hopes of yanking him out, but the faux-zeki slipped in his attempt, and his forward momentum carried him off the dohyo and five rows deep into the vacant suna-kaburi.

This bout never did have continuity to it, and I'm not so sure that Yutakayama was trying to win it. What I do know is that neither rikishi practiced sound sumo basics from the tachi-ai, and neither dude grabbed the bout by the horns. If you ask me, that's inexcusable for a legitimate Ozeki...which is of course why Takakeisho is not a legitimate Ozeki. This is just Kisenosato-lite, and the problem is that Takakeisho presumably has a lotta years left in him on the dohyo. Regardless of what took place here, Takakeisho falls to 5-4 with the loss while Yutakayama moves to 4-5.

And that takes us to the two Yokozuna, and let's be honest, if they don't lose, the sumo ain't inneresting. Up first was Kakuryu who faced an easy task in M4 Abi, and the Yokozuna showed good patience weathering the fire hose tsuppari until the Kak was able to turn Abi 90 degrees with a nice right tsuki to the elbow area before rushing in for the oshi-dashi kill. I think you have to credit Abi here for at least giving the Yokozuna his best shot, but it wasn't near enough as Kakuryu watched his opponent well and took the first real opening that came. Kakuryu is a quiet 7-2 while Abi falls to 4-5.

And that leaves us with Hakuho paired against M5 Ryuden, and I guess it wasn't time yet for Hakuho to suffer a strategic loss. The two didn't go chest to chest from the tachi-ai opting to fire defensive shoves towards each other in the center of the ring after an initial kachi-age from the Yokozuna with the right arm. This lasted for about four seconds before Hakuho finally moved left, wrapped up Ryuden's extended right arm, and then yanked the M5 towards the edge. Ryuden was off balance and tried to square back up, but an easy peasy shove from Hakuho sent him packing for good. If you're Ryuden, you're just glad to come out of this in one piece without having been thrown to the ground, so he'll take his 4-5 record and live to fight another day. As for Hakuho, he's in command at 9-0, and it's of course all up to him.

There's no change to the leaderboard, so I won't bother rehashing it here. The big drama still surrounds Chiyomaru and his fever, so don't forget to disinfect your shelf guts nightly and check back in with Gary tomorrow.
 

Day 8 Comments (Justin Williams reporting)
Greetings Sumotalkers. In 1988 I watched on TV the title fight between Mike Tyson and Tony Tubbs at the Tokyo Dome. The fight was nothing memorable, but I was struck by the rather hushed tones in the stadium, the relative lack of vocal noise from the audience in comparison to bouts fought elsewhere, that is, not in Japan. The clearest background noise was that of encouragement from each boxer's trainers. "How strange", I thought at the time. The subdued character trait is remarkably different from ours. I remember reading about music performers touring Japan who observed similar behavior in that only after each song would polite applause emanate from the crowd. Of course, now I realize that the Japanese can be just as raucous and enthusiastic as anybody, but watching the Sumo this week brought back my recollection.

"Like watching 'The Brady Bunch' without the canned laughter." I think Mike has summed up viewing this audience-less basho, perfectly, though in the relative silence I find myself appreciating the stylized, religious rituals of Sumo that are unique to the sport.

Onto the bouts and like Gary I have been keenly observing the rise of Terunofuji. Now ranked at J3 he is the dominating presence in the division but has now lost 2 from his last 3 bouts which has me wondering if he is physically stalling after starting the basho in such confidant form. His loss today against Chiyoshoma was particularly discouraging. He is 6 and 2 which means he should return in May, but I'd prefer to see him crash through rather than just shuffle in.

The withdrawal of Chiyomaru due to a fever is disconcerting. According to the Japan Times he has consented to a test for the corona virus. If he is tested positive, the basho may be cancelled. Have I got this correct?

It's times like this when I miss the AIDS virus.

I'll jump right to the leaderboard after the day's action before reviewing any bouts.

Hakuho 8-0
Takanosho, Aoiyama 7-1
Kakuryu, Mitakeumi, Asanoyama, Chiyotairyu, Ishiura all at 6-2.

Since the Great Hak has made it undefeated after 8 days, one would assume he has the title. As we have seen, just one teeny twinge to his toe or toenail could mean his withdrawal, but I am sensing a determined, focused effort this basho from him and despite not receiving the customary crowd adulation he feeds from, his intentions are to win and win well. I suspect he will be the one resting each evening in the massive goemonburo of vinegar, leaving nothing to chance.

So, from the top down is where I'll start.

M3 Mitakeumi v Y Kakuryu
In this strange era of sumo, it's odd that Mitakeumi is a twice champion yet is ranked this low. Sure, not compared to the topsy-turvy weirdness of the last basho but if Takakeisho is an Ozeki, Mitakeumi is his equal?  Kakuryu then underlined the ranking difference with some power sumo, bull-dozing Mitakeumi backwards and out at a rapid rate. A victory worthy of Kak's Yokozuna standing as he awakes from his typical "panda-mode."

Y Hakuho v M4 Abi
Abi's reach can be unsettling to most rikishi and for a split second they were to Hak, bending him backwards. Hak was only slightly hindered as he just grabbed one arm and used it to lever Abi to the floor for the tottari arm bar win and stay undefeated. Emphatic win for the Hak, using his opponent's strength to his advantage.

O Takakeisho v K Hokutofuji
Takakeisho advanced with strong shoves forcing backwards Fuji, then decided a pull was the best tactic allowing Fuji to recover and drive Taka to rope's edge. Taka evaded with a swift left swipe, about-turning Fuji who was then easy pickings for Taka to shove out with some finishing jolts. Taka is now 5-3 and looking for another comfortable basho, however, his comical waddling gait seemed a little more waddly as he may have a slight knee injury to his knee which could threaten his upcoming bouts, whereas Hokutofuji is in trouble regardless at 2-6.

M5 Ryuden v S Shodai
I like this renewed version of Shodai that emerged in January and showing signs of continuing this basho. He is perhaps letting a bit of character come to the fore and bring on some aggression. Heck, he must be ruing his missed opportunity of taking the last yusho and realize that his time may be soon.
Shodai came out just a little too quickly for Ryuden, wrapping him up in a body hug and shove for a simple yorikiri win. He had too much bulk and speed today and both guys are at 4-4.

S Asanoyama v M3 Yutakayama
I recall these two make their top div debuts at the same time and noting how similar in build they are. Both hefty lads close to 180kgs and cementing their reputations as solid performers with Asa stealing the spotlight. Yutaka has had a mixed career, dropping to Juryo and now steadily working up the ranks. This bout was a good contest. A healthy thwack at the tachi-ai boded well. Yutaka won this with a relentless low attack to Asa's body, keeping him upright and thus enabling Yutaka the means to gain an under the armpit hold and wheel Asa to the floor with a sukui-nage victory, his 3rd, whilst Asa is steady at 6-2.

M2 Okinoumi v K Endo
Okinoumi yesterday looked the goods against Shodai and today was even better with a Hakuho-like performance. First, he led with the right forearm and quickly snaffled a right belt hold and using considerable strength, heaved Endo over the ropes. Class and power too much for Endo. Both chaps are at 4-4.

M1 Daieisho v M2 Tokushoryu
If Okinoumi was channeling Hakuho, then Daieisho was doing his Tamawashi impersonation and doing it well.
Tokushoryu started well but Daieisho withstood the initial blow and proceeded to batter Tokushoryu with Mongol-inspired pummels to the body and all Tokushoryu could do was accept them and retreat with a bewildered guppy-mouthed look on his face. Daieisho is looking comfy at 5-3, with Shoryu likely to lose some rankings at 1-7.

M4 Enho v M5 Onosho
At first, I thought Enho had sprouted wings, like an astronaut bouncing on the moon, such was the height he gained with his flying henka. Did Onosho cough? Spirited start. Onosho didn't waver and followed him intent on blasting the flea into the seats. Enho, the elusive mosquito that he is, slipped from Onosho's grasp then came in as Onosho was slightly off-balanced, went searching for an arm-hold, was very nearly crunched on the ropes, recovered quickly using terrific agility, and gained a underarm shoulder hold and finished off Onosho, pulling him down with the shoulder throw listed as kata-sukashi, sending Onosho tumbling to the clay. I know some think all Enho's bouts are dubious when he wins, but it's still great to watch. Enho now at 3-5, with Onosho 5-3.

M6 Myogiryu v M9 Takanosho
Takanosho is proving a steady and consistent rikishi without any outstanding attributes. Another way of saying I haven't been paying him much attention. After his win today, the type I deplore- a short and meek hiki-otoshi giving him his 7th win, I should give him more time. If only his bouts lasted longer. Tamawashi should test him tomorrow.

M9 Tochinoshin v M7 Tamawashi
A heavyweight battle I always look forward to. Ok, these two are on the decline but they are still to be feared on their best days and the clash of differing sumo techniques will be intriguing. The bout was as even as I'd hoped. A bruising thwump at the tachi-ai from which Tama was doing his heavy tsuppari blows trying to keep Shin from getting close and ion the belt. Tama almost had an underarm throw at his disposal but Shin steadied precariously on his right knee, grabbed the belt he was after, then wrenched and heaved Tama along with a slight push down and the heavyweight tussle was over. Neither of these guys will feature at the pointy end of the basho but their opponents will be wary upon facing them.

M7 Takarafuji v M10 Sadanoumi
I watched a film recently about a bus driver, played by the actor, Adam Driver. A role he was born for. The movie is called, "Paterson." If ever a Japanese version is made, then Takarafuji is perfect for it. It's a slow moving affair with Driver quietly going threw life, happy in a peaceful routine, reveling in its mundanity. Each day of his week is nearly a complete copy of the week before. Takarafuji IS the bus driver; routine is everything. Today he was in dominant wrangling mode as he out-muscled and maneuvered Sada to the ropes and finished him off with a slight shove, sending Sortasadder into the empty seats. Oshidashi win and number 5 for this basho.

That's all I have time for today for which I apologise. I must admit that at the start of this basho I wasn't really interested in the outcome, but I've become accustomed to the different aspects an audience-less event provides. I do hope that Chiyomaru is cleared of the virus and am looking forward to some willing sumo this next week. Something that Mike is always up for and which he will describe tomorrow.

Hoping all sumotalkers are healthy and stay that way.

Day 7 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
In this intro I was intending to dwell some more on Tokushoryu's farcical win in January, and what it means for the sport, but over the last few days I've finally been able to let that go a bit; I think. Paradoxically, him beating Kakuryu helped: it made it all feel a part of the normal ebb and flow of the give-aways that we see. He was struggling along at 0-5, and it was embarrassing and weird, and no one cares about Kakuryu, so here you go, buddy, have a win, and we'll pretend it is all good, slap the grit off our palms a bit, and move forward. I guess I have to do the same.

The other thing is, I'm kind of liking the sumo this tournament. Our main contenders this time out are Mitakeumi, Asanoyama, and Hakuho, and all are fighting well and looking like legitimate winners. That's a relief and a change of pace. And much as I've defended Takakeisho over the years, I admit his sumo looks awful right now, and that this isn't uncommon for him, so him taking a little break from the "will he or won't he be a Yokozuna" effort and so on is a relief.

Also, hey, I'll be the first to admit when I'm wrong, and a bunch of stuff that I confidently predicted would happen manifestly did not: Takakeisho did not win the yusho in January and is not on a racetrack for pre-Olympic Yokozuna promotion. Goeido did not get his eight and is not continuing to wrestle as a fifth former Ozeki in the ranks. Tokushoryu did win the yusho, and I did not quit in protest. All that (with the possible exception of me not quitting) is to the good, so let's march forward.

You know what the bottom line is? I just continue to like sumo. That shines through this time around: the weirdness of it all and the empty seats are just another new frame for something that has drawn my steady attention for twenty years now, and will continue to do so: these guys battering each other around up there. The frame doesn't seem to matter: I like sumo when played hard in the ring. So let's get to it.

M16 Azumaryu (3-3) vs. M16 Shimanoumi (3-3)
As if to validate what I just wrote, these fellows treated us to an excellent bout. Lots of back and forth action, full effort. Shimanoumi had the advantage throughout, pushing on Azumaryu's neck, slapping him in the shoulder to change his line, getting his own right hand inside on the belt and wrenching Azumaryu around. However, Azumaryu retained two big advantages: his size, and his own effort this time out. In the end, for all his work, Shimanoumi couldn't force him out, and Big Lazy (Azumaryu) got Shimanoumi's back to the straw at the right moment and yori-kiri'ed him out. Thanks dudes.

M27 Daiamami (2-4) vs. M14 Nishikigi 1-5
This was kind of a similar result, with less quality or length. Nishikigi looked to have the better moves, first lifting Daiamami up with low, centered pushing, then grabbing his arm and trying to spin him down. However, for whatever reason Nishikigi has been a shadow of his former self lately, and had zero power behind any of this, and Daiamami just turned the tables on him and pushed him out yori-kiri via main strength. Nishikigi probably needs to regroup in Juryo.

M14 Kaisei (3-3) vs. M18 Kotonowaka (4-2)
I think Gary put it right yesterday: the quality that strikes one when looking at Kotonowaka is "baby soft." Kaisei was all over him at the beginning and looked well-positioned to fat-slather him for a smothering win. However, Baby Soft smoothly slid one of his arms off the outside and underneath in on Kaisei, giving Kotonowaka the favorable moro-zashi dual-inside position. After that it was a little bit of tilt him Kaisei way, a little bit of tilt him that, and in a moment or two Kotonowaka had the yori-kiri win. Kaisei very sleepy-looking here.

M13 Kotoshogiku (3-3) vs. M17 Meisei (2-4)
Low solid charge from both men, left hand inside for both men, then a sudden and mighty body throw by Kotoshogiku, leaving Meisei dead in the sukui-nage dust.

M12 Ishiura (5-1) vs. M15 Chiyomaru (4-2)
Neither guy ever went for a grip, and they pushed and shoved at each other a lot. This, of course, favored the enormous Chiyomaru; it never really looked plausible that Ishiura would shove such a mound of flesh out. Ishiura needed to get the side, or under, or otherwise unbalance Chiyomaru; he didn't, and the tsuki-dashi win for Chiyomaru inevitably followed.

M13 Aoiyama (6-0) vs. M11 Terutsuyoshi (3-3)
Going back to the intro, the other guy who is looking great--and different--this basho along is Aoiyama. Given the Tokushoryu model (and, significantly, the Tamawashi and Tochinoshin model), there is no reason not to take his run seriously. Could he win the championship? Absolutely--he could. Welcome back, heavy ham hocks of hell! New-model Aoiyama was on display today: no backing up, moving forward, striking with those hands. Also, he wasn't afraid to go to the clinch and try to smother Terutsuyoshi body-on-body. Teru is small enough that I thought this would work, but it sure didn't: Aoiyama was high up, and his squeezing of Terutsuyoshi's arm drew a counter pivot and throw from the little man that toppled Aoiyama to the clay, shita-te-nage. Terutsuyoshi had a pretty huge fistful of inside right belt in there, and made Aoiyama look like a stack of moldy bricks: one good tug and the whole thing tumbles impressively. So much for New Model Aoiyama--for today at least.

M11 Chiyotairyu (5-1) vs. M12 Ikioi (4-2)
Chiyotairyu looked to me to be too high at the tachi-ai here, but this was a simple one-two affair in his favor nonetheless: after sufficiently standing Ikioi up with the high charge, Chiyotairyu pulled out and slapped him down, hataki-komi. Ultimately, because Chiyotairyu's charges are impactful enough, some of his pulls are going to work.

M10 Sadanoumi (2-4) vs. M10 Tochiozan (0-6)
This is the kind of bout I'm not wild about: one guy charging but falling down, the other guy getting obliterated out of there but trying to win with a pull down at the edge. Tochiozan was your charger-and-faller, Sadanoumi your retreat-and-try-my-dangest-desperationer. Advantage Sadanoumi: it took a mono-ii to get it right, but he was clearly still standing on the straw when Tochiozan's body went flying dead through the air and hit the loser-land clay, tsuki-otoshi.

M7 Takarafuji (4-2) vs. M9 Tochinoshin (1-5)
Great stuff here; Tochinoshin proving to us in his decline that he can still give us a tense bout of belt power-sumo. He started off desperate, trying to use whatever weapon he can scrounge: he bounced out with a weak little henka that did nothing for him. Takarafuji was instantly all over him, deep in under against him, and took him straight to the bales where it looked like he would summarily axe the big man. However, Tochinoshin wasn't done, beginning a survival plan based on sheer effort and main strength. Takarafuji had both arms inside, Tochinoshin both outside and over, standing up high, but he resisted with all of his considerable strength, drawing out of him the signature grizzly-bear growls we used to hear so often. Amazingly, he was able to drive the match back to the center through sheer grit. There, Takarafuji tried to turn the tables on him by using one of his own tricks against him: Takarafuji briefly lifted Tochinoshin up tsuri-dashi style. However, it was a fleeting moment, and when Takarafuji put the bear down, Taka was essentially spent: Tochinoshin pulled strenuously on his belt and slung him to the plague-ground clay, uwate-nage. Younds! Did I mention that I still love sumo?

M9 Takanosho (5-1) vs. M6 Kagayaki (4-2)
Kagayaki looked pretty useless here, getting bullied around the dohyo by the flavorless Takanosho, who didn't stop pushing and prodding and bodying up on him until he won, oshi-dashi. Fine.

M6 Myogiryu (1-5) vs. M7 Tamawashi (1-5)
I guess Tamawashi decided he wanted to win today; after a few moments of going backwards he counterattacked with his signature thrusts, big and bold and bad, and quickly knocked Myogriyu away, away, and out, oshi-dashi. Neither man is going to end up with an impactful tourney; let's move on.

M8 Kiribayama (4-2) vs. M5 Onosho (4-2)
I dunno. This looked weird, and you know what that means. Onosho was really low, your basic upside-down-L position, but not driving at all; he did have a big handful of belt on his right. He used that to very easily drag the static Kiribayama down by uwate-dashi-nage. Okay.

M5 Ryuden (3-3) vs. M8 Shohozan (1-5)
While I like Darth Hozan, he hasn't shown much lately, and Ryuden dominated him in this kinetic affair. T'hoz tried to evade, but Ryuden stuck tenaciously with him, giving him some righteous jaw-rearrangement upper-thrusts to keep him honest--which gave Ryuden a chance to slip an arm in underneath on the belt against the distracted Sith. By this point Ryuden was looking huge and very much in control, and he bulled forward with the advantage of a left side belt grip and a strong right hand right on the front. Being that close and having that overpowering of a position, in the end Ryuden ran him over, knocking him flat on his back like a disoriented hobo standing on the train tracks when the East-West express rolls in: abise-taoshi. Yes, I enjoyed this.

M1 Daieisho (3-3) vs. M3 Yutakayama (2-4)
In this one Yutakayama played punching bag and tackling dummy, and Daieisho worked the pliant flesh, battering him, up, down, and all around on the way to his oshi-dashi win.

K Hokutofuji (2-4) vs. M4 Abi (3-3)
Abi certainly is lithe and limber, and it did get him the win here--though only by a fraction of a second, and only after looking a bit silly. His vast henka did leave Hokutofuji stranded and a bit befuddled, but it didn't take him out, so Abi had to put in Big Movement part two: the world's longest, most emphatic, most distance-covering head-pull. This put Hokutofuji on his belly sliding off the mound, but it also put Abi flying through the air off of said mound as well. Lucky for Abi he kept his heel the straw just barely long enough to draw the hataki-komi win. Okay, sure.

M2 Okinoumi (2-4) vs. S Shodai (3-3)
Shodai did a lot of leaning on Okinoumi, but this did little for him, as Okinoumi had him under control around the body throughout and eventually yori-kiri'ed him out.

S Asanoyama (5-1) vs. K Endo (4-2)
Asanoyama, taking a page from Hakuho's book, tried to blam Endo upright with his right forearm; it worked pretty well. He then proceeded to smother Endo backwards, like butter on bread. However, in an un-Hakuho-like moment (and no, I am saying Asanoyama compares favorably with Hakuho), Asanoyama found he had given up dual inside arms to Endo. No matter. Asanoyama is not particularly huge, but this close in on little Endo, he looked gigantic, and he was dominant from this position despite the inside grips against him: Asanoyama bodily pitched Endo to the side like a discarded wad of clay halfway through the vase-making process at ye olde spinning wheel, kote-nage. Yeah, I like this guy Asanoyama.

O Takakeisho (3-3) vs. M2 Tokushoryu (1-5)
I think Mike had it exactly right: think 2-13 for Tokushoryu. This was a good one for showing why. Some like Takakeisho, some don't, but I think both would confirm he has been fighting badly this tournament. However, beating #42 (Tokushoryu) was child's play for him: he pushed dolefully for just a moment or too, then stepped nonchalantly to the side, hum de ho, and Tokushoryu plummeted forward and plopped his massive jelly-guts onto the wet clay, tsuki-otoshi. Did I already say that you can't allow your sport to be constructed so that the 42nd ranked guy takes a championship, as if to spray-paint a gigantic "MEANINGLESS" grafitto all across the word "yusho"? There are plenty of sports that let there be no winner from time to time, and that is what I would do in sumo: no one ranked beyond #16 should be given a yusho, though they are certainly welcome to win the most matches and have really nice tournaments. But I said I was feeling better about Tokushoryu after yesterday, so I guess I'd better heave a deep sigh and get back to that mental space. SIGH!

M4 Enho (2-4) vs. Y Kakuryu (4-2)
Kakuryu grabbed Enho by the neck, swung him around his head in the air a few times, then whipped him twenty meters up into the stands where the little man-let landed with a loud bang on the empty wooden palettes. Okay, not really. But the effect was much the same: two slaps to the head and one doink on the shoulder had Enho reeling all over the place like a Penner at your least favorite bar in Deutschland, or the guy on the Aecht Schlaenkerle cap, perhaps, so by the time Kakuryu caught up with Dancing Inebriate his finishing oshi-taoshi shove was academic: Staggering Man was going down anyway. Honestly, I think any of Kakuryu's four contacts with Enho might have done the job all by themselves against Spinning Whiskey Top today, but Kakuryu kept piling on for good fun. You just got to. Kakuryu looked kind of bemused afterwards, like "and yet I have to lose to Tokushoryu??"

Y Hakuho (6-0) vs. M3 Mitakeumi (6-0)
Lo! We got a marquee match-up between two of our contenders today. Hmmm... could be Hakuho is on a mission this time, as he was efficient and dominant against Mitakeumi, who has otherwise been sharp, and is no joke out there. Hakuho gave him a light slap in the temple with his left palm, then took a brief light grip on the front of the mawashi with his right hand while working with more fabric gathered in left fist outside. This was just set up, and Hakuho had a lot of options at this point: in the event, he let go of both grips, grabbed Mitakeumi around the chest, bodied him back, then shoved him out, oshi-dashi. How many times have I written here that Hakuho is, was, and always remains amazing? Not enough times: he is amazing. Amazing! It is a joy to watch him do what he does best--something no one else has done so consistently for so long. Ever. Anywhere. It is not everyday that you get to throw around sincere compliments like that. So, still enjoying it; yessir.

Tomorrow Justin makes his Haru debut. sitting in a massive goemonburo of vinegar.,

Day 6 Comments (Gary Jones reporting)
Hello to all, history really does repeat itself doesn't it? We are all watching the historic and thoroughly remorseless turnover to a new era in sumo. Some folks embrace it as they thrill to the unpredictable novelty of it all. Others recoil in frustration as they lose their once certain footing on the shifting sands of time. In the ancient Roman Empire there was just such a tumultuous time. 193 AD, they now call it the Year of the Five Emperors.

Following the err, "retirement" of the Dai-Emperor (and undefeated veteran of bouts held in disease infected arenas) Commodus, all the wanna-be little worms came out of the woodwork and laid claim to the title. Five men at the top of the rotten tree fought it out between them for the chance to lord it over the un-salaried scrubs in the empire. The people watching it unfold didn't enjoy this time. The instability caused havoc with the economy. Infectious diseases were rife. Entertainment at the once noisy arenas ceased. The plebs in isolated areas were left unprotected and often brutalized, sometimes even losing their life as law and order broke down. Does any of this sound familiar?

But after they had finished fighting amongst each other, there was just one man from the five left standing. He went on to solidify his status and reigned supreme for many years. Now considered one of the big names on the ranking sheet, Septimius Severus brought the yearned for stability back as he grew into his position, earning respect and establishing a dynasty.

Now five men have again stepped forward and made their claim to be worthy of the Yusho title recently. Mitakeumi, Takakeisho, Tamawashi, Asanoyama and of course Tokushoryu. History will ultimately choose from this list. Like him or no, the next emperor will rise. Soon.

Another crow guts portent of the churning Makuuchi ranks in 2020 is that before we get to the Sanyaku only three of today's match-ups have faced each other more than a handful of times. And this is all topped off by the awkward situation (perhaps unprecedented?) of the musubi no ichiban between the reigning sumo yusho champion and a reigning sumo grand champion being a first time meeting. Ever. These are strange days indeed.

Time now for the Juryo watch. And it was a bad day at Osaka Rock for the two Mongolian almost emperors. Ichinojo was struggling to keep up with the 20 year old Kotoshoho, the other fist in Sadogatake's one-two punch combo. Koto had a much better angle at the tachi-ai and so got a much better position on the big fella. The naive rookie then tried to power the half-Mongolian half-Mammoth out by yori-kiri. Ten seconds later he was sucking oxygen through a hosepipe and the fight stalled. A lot.

Ichinojo relied on his weight to tire out the kid and then made his force out move to the edge. He nearly got there when a quick tsuki-otoshi felled him (rather easily) at the straw. I don't know what the official time is but by my count is was 2 mins and 35 secs. That's a lesson for the youngster for when he next faces Jumbo Ichinojo. Attack the balance not the bulk.

Following Mike's lifestyle advice to all his favorite small rikishi, Wakatakakage received a napalm enema before the bout and it worked like a charm. Shooting out flames of burning hot ambition he threw himself at strengthening (but still far from mobile) Terunofuji and swung him around so his back was at the straw. Then the Percussion Kid Wakatakakage heaved up into a do or die moro-zashi based force out. And just like that Terunofuji was toast.

Kotonowaka (M18) 4-1 vs Chiyomaru (M15) 3-2
After yesterday's pathetic tsuppari does anyone fear Chiyomaru's thrusting attack anymore? Kotonowaka should. He was backed up and out by the not so terrifying assault. Koto does still look baby soft though. Let's do the time-warp again and jump to the top.

Asanoyama (S) 5-0 vs Mitakeumi (M3) 5-0
The only two men who can deny front-runner Takakeisho the noble laurel wreath of sumo emperor-ship. Well, either these two or a pain filled, spirit crushing cavalcade of debilitating sumo related injuries of course. This was clearly the pick of the match-ups for day 6. Although going into it I had my doubts it could equal the Chiyoshoma Daishoho epic from earlier in the day. Check it out, you'll thank me for it later.

The unbeaten pairing didn't disappoint. Both guys showed a bit of what they excel at today. Mitakeumi went fishing for moro-zashi and got it on the first few casts. Asanoyama kept himself in it with a strong outside left, tipping the M3 load onto one wheel and levering into it well. Mitakeumi was just too stable to heave over past the tipping point and the left grip came off as the fingers failed. Maybe Kaio the apple crusher would have got it but Asanoyama could only delaying the inevitable yori-kiri in this one. As week one draws to a close Mitakeumi has looked the most stable rikishi out there. And that includes the two Yokozuna. I'm not holding my breath just yet, as he has been know to fade in the second week.

Daieisho (M1) 2-3 vs Shodai (S) 3-2
I may be wrong but I think Shodai just tried to bully the oshi specialist (and destroyer of Takakeisho) out in a show of force. Of course it failed. As soon as the momentum ran out Daieisho levered Shodai upright with as fully committed an oshi attack as you could hope to see in 2020. From his pinkie toes to his pinkie fingers Daieisho cranked that former almost Ozeki out of there. Still plenty of good sumo left at the Haru.

That's three oshi-dashi in row for Daieisho. As M1, the first week is his toughest time. He's on course for a breakout basho in Osaka. If he can sink the floundering ship of Yutakayama on day 7, I may have to buy a temporary pass to his fan club.

Takakeisho (O) 2-3 vs Enho (M4) 2-3
Well, it took place. As mature adults we should deal with it in own way and move on. Like when you take a dog for a walk with a poop bag wrapped over your hand. Just process it with a serious disposition knowing that later you'll put it out of your mind. Let's begin.

Enho is only a few inches shorter than the tadpole so he can't expect to get in underneath Takakeisho's defenses ( "Takakeisho's defenses", ha,ha. How do I come up with such things?). So what's Enho's plan B? He didn't have one. Takakeisho just kept pushing and straining until it was out. That's it, good boy. You can have a doggie treat later. Oh look, trees. Let's go walk over there.

Hakuho (Y) 5-0 vs Yutakayama (M3) 2-3
Harite. Moro-zashi. Yori-kiri. And tiny bit of dame-oshi just for fun. Tomorrow Mitakeumi makes his attempt to topple a zensho-Yoko. I think that will be the bout that we will look back on as the one that shaped the basho. Let's hope Mitakeumi's sumo (and nerve) stays as solid under the withering stare of a full height Khan across the shikirisen. He can't possibly do any less than Yutakayama did today.

Tokushoryu (M2) 0-5 vs Kakuryu (Y) 4-1
This must surely be the true reward for doing so very well at the Hatsu. A chance to meet your heroes, the Grand Champions Of Sumo. A rare treat for an eager fanboy such as Tokushoryu. And this lifetime dream is happening for the lucky 33 year old right here, right now, in Osaka, in front of a sell out crowd. The final prize for conquering guys like J1 Chiyoshoma or the always dangerous Kotoeko. And who can forget that epic confrontation with Terutsuyoshi? This week is when all sumo pays homage to Tokushoryu, King Of The Scrubs.

I'm not sure Tokushoryu enjoyed meeting his hero yesterday as much as the sickly children did a few months back. For some reason grumpy Hakuho unleashed a shitate-nage on Tokushoryu, flinging him to the floor. Something the Mongolian never did to the children in the cancer ward, not once. As they picked him up off the floor and fussed around him a disappointed Tokushoryu was clearly heard saying " I only wanted a f#@king selfie with him!". Sometimes meeting your heroes can be a bit of a disappointment.

Today, a sad little Tokushoryu was persuaded by his Okami-san to get out of bed and pick up his autograph book. After queuing for hours with the other nervous fans, Tokushoryu finally got to meet Kakuryu for the first time ever. The excitement on his little round face was so cute. The gentle Mongolian apologized for what happened the day before and cheered the now smiling Tokushoryu up with a lovely new T-shirt. Emblazoned on it was a Pokemon holding a white star in one hand and a big gold kinboshi in the other. Cheer up little Tokushoryu, you've had quite an adventure.

Day 7 sees greedy boy Takakeisho try to make Toku-Toku cry. Whatever happens, there will be tears before bedtime. The unfortunate Harvye will get in between them and explain why it's best to make friends.

Day 5 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Each day during the broadcast NHK announces the three most popular bouts from the previous day as viewed on their website. Without fail, the top three bouts involve Enho, Asanoyama, and Takakeisho unless something out of the ordinary happens like Takayasu's injury yesterday. I get why Enho is so compelling because the dude is a novelty. I mean, his wins are all by fraud, but I get why he gives people a stiffie. As for Takakeisho and Asanoyama, theirs are the most popular bouts because that's what the media tells people they should be interested in.

Take Asanoyama who has started out 5-0 thanks to the freebie he got today due to his pairing with Takayasu who has withdrawn from the tournament. Every day in the press, Asanoyama has only commented about his sumo in negative fashion. And for good reason. He isn't taking anything to his opponents, and they are all letting up for him. Dude hasn't earned one of his five victories this basho, and he knows it. At least he's honest about it in the press in terms of not pretending that there are good aspects to his sumo.

And yet, one of the big headlines today was that he's only 7 wins away from promotion to Ozeki. Asanoyama is a decent rikishi, and he's nowhere near as hapless in the ring as Takakeisho, but there hasn't been a positive aspect to his sumo yet this basho, and dude says as much in the press.

Harvye really hit the nail on the head yesterday when comparing the empty arena to the emptiness we see in sumo these days. The substance is just not there, and watching the bouts of the most popular rikishi is proof.

With that, let's get to the..er..action starting with M16 Azumaryu vs. M18 Kotonowaka. Some of my fellow writers have commented on how we've been able to hear sounds during the fights that you normally can't hear due to a full arena, and Gary even went as far as to find a yobi-dashi go knuckle deep up his nose only to wipe the bugar on his collar. In a pinch, I use my sock, but whatever. Anyway, there was no sound today from the tachi-ai of the first bout because Azumaryu was completely mukiryoku standing straight up and keeping his arms out wide until Kotonowaka assumed moro-zashi and lightly forced Ryu back with zero resistance. Nice mukiryoku way to start the day as Kotonowaka is a fake 4-1 while Azumaryu had room to sell falling to 3-2.

M15 Chiyomaru conveniently forgot that he is a tsuppari rikishi against M17 Daiamami. I mean, he did put his arms forward at the tachi-ai, but he was not thrusting. I guess it didn't help that he also needlessly backed up near the edge, and so Daiamami pursued forcing the bout to migi-yotsu, and of course there was no resistance from the Shelf Gut as Daiamami picked up the cheap win moving to 2-3. Chiyomaru falls to 3-2.

M14 Nishikigi moved slightly right at the tachi-ai against M17 Meisei as if he was going to grab a kote grip, but he didn't even try and then let Meisei easily assume the hidari-yotsu position. Nishikigi dipped his left shoulder low as if trying to establish something with his own left arm, but he was just keeping it out of harm's way intentionally. As the stalemate ensued in the ring, Osaka Announcer said of Nishikigi, "If he can force this chest to chest, he'll have the advantage." It was a correct comment, but Nishikigi didn't even make an effort to force the bout in his favor, and the end result was an uncontested win for Meisei who moves to 2-3 while Nishikigi falls to 0-5.

In the first real bout of the day, M14 Kaisei easily got the right arm inside from the tachi-ai and didn't even need the left outer grip as M16 Shimanoumi wanted no part of the Brasilian looking to retreat and spring who knows what trap? Nothing would come to fruition as Kaisei easily bodied Shimanoumi back before shoving him out with ease. Kaisei improves to 2-3, and I guess you could call this an uncontested win as well. As for Shimanoumi, he falls to a quiet 3-2.

M13 Aoiyama picked up the freebie today as M15 Tsurugisho announced his withdrawal due to lower back issues. Aoiyama moves to 5-0 with the win, and you can be sure that he'll withdraw himself from yusho contention in due time. As for Tsurugisho, he'll finish the basho with just one win, a circumstance that will send him deep into the Juryo ranks come May.

Getting back to the fake sumo, M12 Ishiura briefly had the left arm inside against M13 Kotoshogiku, but instead of pressing in for position, he just backed up to the edge of the ring with the Geeku in pursuit. The former Ozeki wasn't really applying pressure, and he didn't even have an inside position with Ishiura's back to the wall. In fact, it was Ishiura who had moro-zashi, but he just kept shading backwards until he was out of the ring. This was as lightweight of a yori-kiri as you'd care to see, and the Kotoshogiku camp scrapes up a bit of cash to give him the win as he moves to just 2-3. Ishiura falls to 4-1 after the charitable act.

M12 Ikioi came with a pretty good tachi-ai keeping M10 Sadanoumi away from the belt initially, but Ikioi just doesn't pack a punch anymore, and so Sadanoumi was able to work his way into moro-zashi before quickly retooling his grip with a left outer as Ikioi looked to move away. With the firm inside position with the right and a left outer grip, Sadanoumi pressed the action drawing a counter response from Ikioi in the form of a right inside belt grip, and so the flow of the bout at that point called for a nage-no-uchi-ai in the center of the ring. It was close, but the outer grip won out giving Sadanoumi the nice win at 2-3 while Ikioi falls to to 3-2.

Before we move on, is there a better chief judge in explaining a mono-ii than the former Musoyama?? I think not. Now, if Musoyama had only been as good with his sumo as he is with the mic...

M9 Tochinoshin kept his arms low at the tachi-ai before bringing them up high against M11 Terutsuyoshi seemingly focused on a shove attack. There was no real attack from the Ozeki, however, and so Terutsuyoshi easily assumed moro-zashi. The problem for the pint-sized rikishi is that he ain't a belt guy, and he can't bully Tochinoshin around even with moro-zashi. Before you knew it, Tochinoshin lifted Terutsuyoshi clear off his feet as if to tsuri-dashi him, but instead of just turning a step to his right and setting Terutsuyoshi out of the ring, Shin marched across the entire diameter of the ring only to set Terutsuyoshi down in front of the tawara. Having been given new life (intentionally), Terutsuyoshi attempted a left sukui-nage type throw at the edge, but he was already gassed and couldn't budge the Private, and so as the action moved towards the center of the ring, Tochinoshin graciously pulled his own left arm from the inside to the outside, and a nage-no-uchi-ai ensued at the edge with Tochinoshin maintaining a right outer and Terutsuyoshi holding a left inner. Tochinoshin didn't even bother throwing and just touched his left elbow down gifting Terutsuyoshi the win. I mean, Terutsuyoshi is not a big, strong dude to begin with, and after watching his sukui-nage attempt at the edge, you could tell he had no strength to push Tochinoshin around, so this was all Shin's doing as he threw this bout no doubt. Tochinoshin now finds himself at a ridiculous 1-4 while Terutsuyoshi moves to 3-2.

M9 Takanosho's 4-0 start was bought and paid for, and when he didn't pony up today against M11 Chiyotairyu, the latter just came out and kicked his ass. Chiyotairyu began with a right hari-te that you could hear in the empty venue, and then he drove Takanosho back with some powerful shoves. For his part, Takanosho attempted to skirt right, but Chiyotairyu was into his craw eventually swiping him off balance and slapping him down. I love it when Chiyotairyu tries to win his bouts, and the end result here was both rikishi ending the day at 4-1.

M10 Tochiohzan is redefining the term hapless. M8 Kiribayama didn't exactly come with a bruising tachi-ai as the two traded places in the ring before getting left arms to the inside. Oh was unable to defend Kiribayama's grabbing a solid right outer grip whatsoever, and once obtained, Kiribayama scored the ridiculously easy force-out win moving to 3-2 in the process while Tochiohzan finds himself at 0-5.

M6 Myogiryu connected on a nice face slap with the right hand into M8 Shohozan's grill, and that set the tone for the entire bout as Myogiryu shoved Shohozan around and out throwing in another face slap for good measure. Both rikishi end the day at 1-4, so let's move on.

M7 Tamawashi's 1-4 start is laughable, and the fake sumo would continue today against M5 Onosho as Tamawashi just stood straight up at the tachi-ai and let Onosho bully him around and out with a nice tsuki attack. As if. I always give credit where credit it due, and Onosho's shoves were good, but they were against a defenseless Tamawashi so much so that Sakaigawa-oyakata commented from the booth that Tamawashi's sumo lacked any kiryoku. I guess that's a more polite way of saying MU-kiryoku, but you get the point. Tamawashi falls to 1-4 while Onosho is the opposite at 4-1.

I think M5 Ryuden is the best Japanese rikishi on the banzuke, but coming from the Takadagawa-beya, I dare say there ain't a whole lot of money behind him. This is pure speculation, but I wonder if oyakata from these smaller, un-established stables actually have their rikishi throw bouts to help finance the stable operations?? It wouldn't surprise me. What do you think the cost is of taking the entire stable to Osaka and housing them for a month or so? You have food expenses, rent, travel expenses, etc. I know that the oyakata are given a stipend for each rikishi in the stable based on rank, but it is no cheap operation, and the stipend is not enough to cover all stable expenses.

Today against M7 Takarafuji, the bout went to hidari-yotsu from the tachi-ai, and Ryuden was able to apply enough pressure to send Takarafuji upright to where Ryuden executed a maki-kae with the right giving him moro-zashi. Sumo 101 says that if you get moro-zashi, you pull your gal in tight and execute the force-out. Ryuden applied zero pressure and allowed Takarafuji to counter with one of the slowest maki-kae's I think I've ever seen. With the bout now in the migi-yotsu style where both rikishi had left outers, the two spun around in the middle of the ring for a bit before Ryuden just backed out of the ring. There was no pressure applied from Takarafuji whatsoever, and congrats to the Takadagawa-beya for being 10 gr richer after this one. Ryuden falls to 2-3 with the loss while Takarafuji moves to 3-2.

Speaking of rikishi earning a lot of cash under the table, M6 Kagayaki dove less than two seconds into his bout against M4 Abi. Abi largely whiffed at the tachi-ai with his firehose tsuppari up high, but no matter as Kagayaki just moved forward and down before Abi could really catch up. They showed a slow motion replay from the West side of the dohyo, and you could clearly see Kagayaki start to stumble forward with no contact coming from Abi. Abi eventually caught up with a hand to the back of the belt somehow drawing the uwate-nage kimari-te, but this was as fixed a bout as you'd care to see. Both rikishi end the day at 3-2.

If Ryuden's number one on Japan's list, M2 Okinoumi and Chiyotairyu are numbers two and three. Today Okinoumi faced the darling, M4 Enho who henka'd to his right at the tachi-ai, but there was no slap or pull attempt to throw the mukiryoku Okinoumi off balance. As the dust settled, Enho had the left inside position meaning Okinoumi had a myriad of choices: get his own left to the inside, grab an outer grip over the top, hook an arm up and under the little guy, etc. These are all moves that we frequently see when Enho gets his ass kicked, but Okinoumi did nothing. Absolutely nothing except stand there and let Enho twist him over and out. Problem was, there was no force involved in the move, so Okinoumi just largely walked out on his own. They ruled it hikkake, but the correct term is yaocho through and through. I mean, in the pic at right, the supposed hikkake comes with Okinoumi already out of the dohyo.  So obvious as Okinoumi falls to 1-4 while Enho improves to 2-3.

Just think about how gracious Miyagino-oyakata is. He calls off his Yokozuna every other basho, and beyond that, he finances kachi-koshi for Enho just so people will keep watching. That dude is definitely the Association's most valuable oyakata.

In the sanyaku ranks, M1 Daieisho (Japan's fourth best?) continued his run over so-called elite rikishi catching Komusubi Hokutofuji today by the neck at the tachi-ai and throwing a few more shoves his way before moving left and going for a dumb pull attempt. Fortunately for Daieisho, his start was good enough that Hokutofuji couldn't make him pay for the pull, and so Daieisho resumed his thrust attack baiting Hokutofuji into a pull attempt of his own, and when it came, Daieisho pounced scoring the nice oshi-dashi win. Both rikishi end the day at 2-3.

Komusubi Endoh kept his arms low at the tachi-ai fishing for moro-zashi, and because Endoh isn't big enough to hold his ground without firing a shove or two, Sekiwake Shodai just began bodying Endoh back, but Endoh was able to finally secure moro-zashi and keep himself alive at the edge as Shodai carelessly focused on pushes into Endoh's head. They slipped away as such shoves usually do, and Endoh finally had the momentum using moro-zashi to drive Shodai clear across the dohyo and out easily surviving a right counter kote-nage from Shodai. Good stuff from Endoh as both fellas end the day at 3-2.

As previously mentioned, M1 Takayasu withdrew today with zero wins this basho, so the dude is going to be saddled with an 0-15 mark when they rework the banzuke. Asanoyama picks up the freebie at 5-0.

The only bigger fraud in sumo than Enho these days is Takakeisho, but at least Enho isn't ranked as an Ozeki. Going back 25 years or so when I began actively watching each basho, the Ozeki on the banzuke were Takanohana, Musashimaru, Takanonami, and Wakanohana. Wakanohana's promotion to Ozeki and subsequently to Yokozuna was all politically-based, but Takanohana, Mushimaru, and Takanonami were the rill dill as we say in Utah. Compare those guys with Takakeisho, and you readily find that there is no comparison.

It's such a joke that sumo is attempting to pass this guy off as an Ozeki just as they attempted to pass Kisenosato off as a Yokozuna, but what are you gonna do? You have to survive somehow. The problem for Takakeisho today was that his opponent, M3 Mitakeumi, couldn't be bought off and it showed as Mitakeumi just dominated the faux-zeki getting the right arm inside at the tachi-ai and just bodying Takakeisho back and out before he needed the left inside or outer grip as well (he could have taken either). Takakeisho could do nothing here, and if you had any punch at the tachi-ai, you could have at least thrown some sort of wrench into Mitakeumi's attack. Problem is that Takakeisho doesn't have any punch, and it's Ozeki Shmozeki for Takakeisho. The result is Mitakeumi's moving to 5-0 while Takakeisho is now a paltry 2-3.

In the Yokozuna ranks, Kakuryu's sumo was completely sound as he bodied M3 Yutakayama upright from the tachi-ai getting the left arm to the inside. He coulda got the right arm inside as well, but instead of winning with moro-zashi, he decided on oshi-dashi and there was nothing the over-matched Yutakayama could do about it. Kakuryu could do this sumo everyday if he wanna as he moves to 4-1 while Yutakayama falls to 2-3.

While Yokozuna Hakuho does throw is fair share of bouts, he does pick his spots wisely, and so there was no way he was going to give a win to M2 Tokushoryu today. The Yokozuna got the left arm inside at the tachi-ai against a defenseless Tokushoryu, but instead of grabbing the right outer or moro-zashi, he graciously let Tokushoryu hang around for about 10 seconds. That was nine seconds more than was necessary, but in the end Hakuho effortlessly swung Tokushoryu over and down with an inside belt throw. The Yokozuna moves to 5-0 with the easy win while Tokushoryu is now 0-5. This is likely going to be a 2-13 basho for Tokushoryu, and those two wins will be due to charity.

Gary lights things back up tomorrow.

Day 4 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
Emptiness echoing to the rafters... so what do we all think of this closed basho? Certainly it is odd. What seems to be striking everyone most is the ability to hear sounds that are normally muffled, from Gary's comments on the smakaliciousness of bodies whapping together to Murray Johnson murmuring or Raja Pradhan stacattoing about the rustle of the gyoji's robes or the whacking of the mawashi. What has me transfixed is the red felt carpeting everything, plunging the proceedings into the atmosphere of occult ceremony. Also the idea that if a wrestler falls out of the ring wildly enough, scraping and whamming himself against the places where the levels are uneven would really hurt: I have this odd feeling that it is more dangerous, not less, with no people there: there is soft elderly human victim to break the fall when they hit the boards.

This is, of course, silly, but is the kind of mind-wandering detail this basho encourages.

Let me try to say something un-silly then. To me, the big, empty, echoing hall is a metaphor for the emptiness of the sport. For a sport that hasn't produced a legitimate new yokozuna in five years. For a sport whose number of Ozeki has dwindled to one. For a sport which allowed its #42 ranked bottom-of-the-division-barrel wrestler to take the championship last time out, a farcical result that pointed up rudderless drift moldering throughout the sport's infrastructure and approach. For a sport which seems to have abandoned throws and sound technique in favor of wild slapping, pushing, and falling about. For a sport whose litany of scandals, from bullying/murder, to organized crime support, to cheating visible, hidden, found, and concealed, has left it a shadow of what it should be. A drained husk, echoing to its own emptiness.

There was, however, some very good sumo today.

M16 Azumaryu (2-1) vs. M17 Meisei (1-2)
Gary said it well regarding Azumaryu: looks like Hakuho, but is amazingly bad. That's all you have to know. Today he backed up carefully, stepped cat-like to the side, and wrenched the advancing Meisei to the empty dust by the head, hataki-komi. This was a good look for him; he don't get many.

M15 Tsurugisho (1-2) vs. M18 Kotonowaka (2-1)
What does the Rookie-o-Tron say about Kotonowaka? 186 centimeters tall is middlin', so is 147 kilos. However, 22 years old is very good. Look for him to be a solid contender for high ranks for many years. Why so generous from me? The interesting thing about him of course is really his family. I never saw his yokozuna grandfather fight, but I did spend lots of time watching his dad fight. And I do mean time. Kotonowaka the Elder was known for his long bouts: he was a massive dude, but mostly stood there leaning, and his matches seemed to take foh'evuh; they were boring to me at first as a novice sumo fan. However, I grew to respect him: he represented a real challenge for most opponents, something different, and a recognizable style: this guy had resilience. When he retired at 37 he was the oldest guy in the division, and he was STILL doing those incredibly long matches. When you're outwaiting the other guy and you're the old dude, that's stamina. Anyway, Kotonowaka the Younger looks nothing like his father to me either physically or, so far, in style. But I have no doubt his bloodlines will help his career along. Today Tsurugisho tried to wrap him up and looked to have the dishearteningly limp-looking boy in trouble, but in a sloppy and lax bout all around, Kotonowaka took advantage of the empty space under Tsurugisho's right arm, did a quick maki-kae change, and lo!, had both of his own arms inside all of a sudden. He then easily twisted to side and yori-kiri'ed Tsurugisho out. These guys looked as lively as lutefisk left out at a picnic in the July sunshine, I'm afraid.

M16 Shimanoumi (2-1) vs. M15 Chiyomaru (3-0)
Chiyomaru was too high throughout, his shelf gut doing him no good pointed at Shimanoumi's face whereas the smaller man was able to focus on that round target and push, push, push and pursue, pursue, pursue until the Dancing Blubber Festival (Chiyomaru) was yori-kiri'ed out after a few empty turns around the ring.

M14 Kaisei (0-3) vs. M17 Daiamami (1-2)
I always thought Big Sweety (Daiamami) was empty of talent, but here he is back in maku-uchi. Kaisei seemed to agree with me: easy pickin's. Kaisei got low, bodied forward, grabbed Daiamami by a little bit of belt and a little bit of body, and yori-kiri'ed Big Sweety out as if he were you or me.

M14 Nishikigi (0-3) vs. M13 Aoiyama (3-0)
Aoiyama showed us something different here, and it was beautiful. Instead of tiptoeing around in empty ballet slippers and falling down, he growled fiercely off the tachi-ai and grabbed a tendon-snapping smother-grip on Nishikigi's right arm--then never let go. He just kept pivoting left, pivoting left, flexing and hurting that arm good'n'plenty each time he did so, until he finished Nishikigi off with a kote-nage across the unforgiving straw.

M11 Chiyotairyu (3-0) vs. M12 Ishiura (3-0)
Chiyotairyu had been playing bully-boy thus far this tournament, but in this one he played empty-head. What would you call a henka if, instead of henka-ing left or right or even backwards, you henka-ed, like, up into the air and straight forward? In other words, stood up as high as you could and let you opponent get right in under you? Played, "I can slap you on the middle of your back!" I'd call it a mistake. Lo--it was. Ishiura pushed him up, away, and out, yori-kiri. Chiyotairyu crashed awkwardly and heavily flat on his back in the empty aisle below. He also may have twisted his knee, as he spent a long time getting up and had to be taken away in the antique armchair. I think the whole thing just hurt really bad and he needed a few minutes; let's hope that's the case.

M13 Kotoshogiku (1-2) vs. M11 Terutsuyoshi (1-2)
This was a good one that showed a contrast in what they gots and what they ain't. Terutsuyoshi gots quickness and relatively youth. Kotoshogiku is empty of either of those things, just waning power and bulk and a will to still be up there. Terutsuyoshi grabbed him by the belt and started to spin him around, and it was on--this was an excellent way to take Kotoshogiku off his game and get him out of balance--but for a while it looked like Terutsuyoshi didn't have the strength to finish it. Around and around they went. However, give Terutsuyoshi credit for sticking with it: Kotoshogiku was never able to escape or mount any offensive reply, and the shitate-nage win for Terutsuyoshi was the result.

M12 Ikioi (2-1) vs. M10 Tochiozan (0-3)
Oh, sad sunset soldiers. What is there left for either of you? The great empty void? There was a tremendous pop at the tachi-ai though. It was primarily generated by Ikioi whamming Tochiozan with his forearm; he then drove with his body and his feet and oshi-dashi'ed Tochiozan out in seconds flat.

M9 Takanosho (3-0) vs. M9 Tochinoshin (1-2)
Everybody is making Tochinoshin look really old and lame. "Chotto genki nai," said Kitanofuji: "not real lively." That's one way of saying it. Takanosho kept low, drove into Tochinoshin's chest, and, despite Tochinoshin having a grip deep back on the belt, Takanosho pushed him easily over the empty edge, yori-kiri. Lots of yori-kiri today. Has the lack of fans driven them back to a calmer, more basic game? An illusion I'm sure. It does all feel like practice, though, so who knows. Maybe.

M10 Sadanoumi (1-2) vs. M8 Kiribayama (1-2)
Kiribayama won this with a couple of short, sharp turns--I liked the way this rookie guarded against the solidity of this veteran by making sure he wasn't just standing in front of him empty-handed. He pivoted out of the way at the tachi-ai, then, when Sadanoumi got him to the edge in the clinch anyway, Misty Mountain Hop (Kiribayama) pivoted again, better, more purposeful, and turned the Sad Man around a good 180 degrees and dumped him painfully down off the mound to the hard floor below, following after like a dead sack of beans himself, thereby picking up the shitate-nage win in this good tide-turning win.

M7 Takarafuji (1-2) vs. M7 Tamawashi (1-2)
This looked solid for Tamawashi at first: put your hands in, push, drive with your feet, keep at it. Solid stuff, right? But it wasn't, because wait: who is this again? When have you ever seen this sumo from Tamawashi? In the end Tamawashi caught a belt grip too and seemed to think he was just going to trundle Takarafuji out like that, but instead The Bus Driver (Takarafuji) placidly backed up and circled along the straw, and then Tamawashi rather oddly crumbled to the dirt in the empty space left between them, sukui-nage. Don't believe it.

M8 Shohozan (1-2) vs. M6 Kagayaki (2-1)
Shohozan moved to the side at the tachi-ai, but not far enough, and Kagayaki, who usually can't deal with non-linear action, followed the move successfully, kept his face and body in Shohozan's grill, and summarily oshi-dashi'ed the smaller man into the empty space beyond the bales.

M5 Ryuden (2-1) vs. M5 Onosho (2-1)
My favorite thing about this fan-free basho so far is that practically every tachi-ai sounds just great, the waves of fleshy smash echoing thought the empty air. It was a false promise in this fake affair, though. They waved their hands about and staggered, floundering, here and there, occasionally pushing each other in the face, but the end Ryuden was the first to stop pretending, and once he'd turned off the switch and stopped doing anything at all Onosho drove him all the way across the dohyo and out, oshi-dashi.

M6 Myogiryu (0-3) vs. M4 Abi (1-2)
Myogiryu tried to slap harder and faster than Abi--uh, no. Don't play the other guy's game, unless you're trying to lose. Abi sized it up for a moment, then moved sharply out of the way and let Myogiryu lurch to a palms-on-the-dirt, here's-one-for-you-pal hiki-otoshi loss. Empty win for Abi.

M3 Yutakayama (2-1) vs. M3 Mitakeumi (3-0)
I remain inordinately excited about Yutakayama; is it an empty hope? He's let me down before, but I keep telling myself it was because he was injured. His big, solid body looks good up there. Speaking of looking good up there, Mitakeumi is having the best tournament three days in with solid, aggressive wins on his chit. He did it again here: battered Yutakayama's arms up off him, drove in underneath, and took ‘im out, yori-kiri. As for Yutakayama, I too could beat a floppy sloppy drunken ‘possum, even a really big one like this.

M2 Tokushoryu (0-3) vs. K Endo (1-2)
Oh, god! I will probably have more to say about Tokushoryu's ridiculous, empty-of-meaning yusho another day--no, I'm not done chewing my bile on this one yet--but I can't go past this point without sourly pointing out that yes, as if to underscore the absurdity of his yusho, he is a feckless, embarrassing 0-3 to start this time out. This is your defending champion, folks. This is the (33 year old) young rising star who popped up take the tournament out of nowhere last time--though it would be more accurate to say that the tournament traveled to nowhere to meet him, because nowhere is where he was and always will be. Hey, I like the guy fine--but not as a topline wrestler. He. Just. Plain. Isn't. He's #42. I used to call him Special Sauce, because in Japanese his name kind of sounds like an "Exceptional Soy Sauce" we used to buy, and because I was fond of him because he was funny and silly to me with his rotund, ungainly body and hopeless lower-maku-uchi fatjinx. But from now on I will call him #42. #42 fell to an ignominious 0-4 today. In theory I suppose we could have said that Endo, with his small size and relative lack of power, was someone Tokushoryu could have smothered to a loss, and he did try that, leaning on him. But Endo is too good a technician for that, and had a deep, competent grip around Tokushoryu's body. I like watching Endo's sumo, and it was a pleasure to see him here working with the weight of Tokushoryu being slathered dangerously all over him: he balanced that weight, managed it, drove it back, and dumped it to the dirt, yori-toashi. Put an asterisk in the record books, folks; it's #42.

S Asanoyama (3-0) vs. K Hokutofuji (2-1)
Everyone including me is assuming Asanoyama will cruise to Ozeki this basho. But let's remember Mitakeumi had several clear, easy, politically-safe-looking shots at that the last few years too, and came up empty. So let's not write that story to an end too soon--I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. Meanwhile, Hokutofuji's emphatic foot-stomps sounded particularly great in the echo chamber today, like a guy whacking an elephant flank with the back of a coal shovel. He gave Asanoyama everything he could handle, pushing hard against his body and driving him back. However, Asanoyama showed speed and poise, swinging his waist to his side to launch a sukui-nage dirt-eat for Hokutofuji. It was sudden and powerful. Now, don't get all excited, but I have to be honest--the explosive finality of the winning move reminded me of Asashoryu and Hakuho. No sooner had I had this thought, that one of the announcers said this looked like Yokozuna sumo. It's true. I'm not saying Asanoyama is anywhere near as good as those guys--I'm saying he has solid skills, employed them here, and with the competition thinned out, stands out strong.

M4 Enho (1-2) vs. S Shodai (2-1)
Shodai took care of business, as everyone should in matches with The Imp. He grabbed Enho, neutralizing him with one hand arched over the back onto the butt button, then bodied up to him and forced him out, yori-kiri: the force Shodai employed was such that the ejected Enho ran maybe ten meters up the empty hana-michi before he could stop. Grab. Kill.

O Takakeisho (2-1) vs. M1 Daieisho (0-3)
Takakeisho was kind of lamely mauling at Daieisho, then put in a massive, hauling pull. Hey, dude, Daieisho is solid as a rock, and wasn't going to get played like that. Daieisho's response was immediate and effective: he kept his head down and bulled Takakeisho straight out, oshi-dashi, with Takakeisho's empty hands forced up and flapping above in the air. Hmmm; suddenly I'm feeling kind of hopeful about this tournament.

Y Hakuho (3-0) vs. M2 Okinoumi (1-2)
Empty speculation about his imminent demise is not going to bother The Greatest. Hakuho went straight to a classic chest-to-chest with one of the other best belt guys in the business. Hakuho had a right inside, held on gamely, and tried to work around Okinoumi's counter inside right. Patience, grasshopper: Lo! When the timing and positioning was right, Hakuho got his left outside grip, tilted Okinoumi off balance, and tipped him out of the ring, uwate-nage. How can you not love this guy. I mentioned Yokozuna-sumo before with Asanoyama, and I'm not taking that back--chap looked good. But Hakuho can do Yokozuna sumo every single day, and has for most of fifteen years. By god, there are so many things to celebrate with this guy: he won his first yusho in 2006, and when he wins one this year--maybe eleven days from now--that will make his fifteenth year in a row. Wow--and Happy 35th Birthday. Zoinks.

M1 Takayasu (0-3) vs. Y Kakuryu (2-1)
The tachi-ai was awesome and sounded like a Lada crashing into a Yugo. However, there was a big a mess after that, and though Kakuryu was driving Takayasu back, he didn't have a solid grip. As a result Takayasu turned it around at the edge and put the match back in the center of the ring--and with an outside left grip to boot, whereas all Kakuryu had was body and sagari string. However, when Takayasu didn't make anything of it quickly, despite adding a frontal grip with his other hand, you had to believe Kakuryu's chances were getting better every minute. Indeed, when Takayasu attacked, Kakuryu used the moment to quickly squeeze both of his hands onto Takayasu's belt, turn him at the edge, and force him into a position where he was standing awkwardly on one leg with the other stuck up in the air. From there Takayasu collapsed in a heap, tsuki-otoshi--and began to make a series of awful sounding grunts and screams. The echo chamber was doing us any favors in making these pitiable sounds audible to us. We'll see what happened to Takayasu, but this looked very bad for his knee, and he was the second guy today to make use of the wheelchair. Already at 0-4, I'm guessing this was his last day this go-round--and let's hope not worse than that. Could I see him retiring? Yes I could. And man, you can have yokozuna right where you think you want him... but when you come at the man, usually you are going to come up empty.

Tomorrow Mike explains the Buddhist concept of Emptiness.

Day 3 Comments (Gary Jones reporting)
Hello to all, and the main Sumotalk news everyone is talking about is the epidemic of kangapox currently sweeping through the tiny peninsula of Australia. It has jumped the species barrier from I Don't Know to humans. The latest information is that it did so by unsavory contact between a particularly attractive marsupial and a small boat load of homeless orphaned convict stock. For undisclosed reasons Justin is unable to attend the sumos today. The sumo fans at Sumotalk wish Justin and Bouncer a speedy recovery. His last minute replacement is reported to be nervously watching the local flock for any sign of ovine based coughing.

Juryo and rising star Terunofuji dispatched another futile challenge, this time from Daishomaru. At the edge he even felt mean enough to deliver a little dame-oshi, sending Daisho half way out the car park. The crowd was suitably unimpressed with this lack of sportsmanship and refused to applaud the yori-kiri win.

Juryo and falling star Ichinojo just leaned his greater bulk onto bulky Mitoryu for the uninspiring yori-kiri second win. The bout made the other super heavyweight clash, day one's Aoiyama Kaisei match, look amazing. Let's wander into the arena and sit wherever we want to.

Tochinoshin (M9) 0-2 vs Kiribayama (M8) 1-1
Everyone's favorite Georgian has found someone he can beat this tournament. He took an instant strong left outer and the rookie in the headlights had no reply. Now massively over-ranked at M8 Kiribayama could only manage a slight angling of his lightweight frame. That was not going to help him dig in today, the boy needs some bulk. Yori-kiri first win to Tochinoshin.

Takarafuji (M7) 1-1 vs Shohozan (M8) 0-2
We have been informed that Takarafuji has lower back trouble this basho. Anyone who has experienced this must surely sympathize with him. It could also explain why he wrestled today looking as though his new anal beads didn't quite agree with him. Shohozan is a very lucky boy to have his okuri-dashi first win.

Tamawashi (M7) 1-1 vs Kagayaki (M6) 1-1
Kagayaki as good as ran over Tama with a small truck. A straight line oshi-dashi drive to victory with no need to apply the brakes. Tamawashi's hand placement wasn't the best but it was the lack of resistance in his legs that looked the most worrying for the next 12 days.

Mitakeumi (M3) 2-0 vs Shodai (S) 2-0
On paper this was the bout of the day. Shodai is in the finest stretch of his career thus far with mumblings of Ozeki promotion happening again for him. Mitakeumi is looking healthy and focused, and in this banzuke that means he is a yusho threat to be dealt with. This is their 20th meeting and there is nothing to separate them. This one could soon develop into a “race to Ozeki” kinda rivalry.

Mitakeumi put in a solid days work on Shodai. He was wide and solid at the tachi-ai and crossed the shikirisen first with a nice solid stance, dislodging the Sekiwake. He pursued well but didn't rush it. He was blocking Shodai and threatening a grip of his own as he moved forward keeping his stance wide and flexed and solid. Pretty solid sumo stuff for Mitakeumi's third white star. I just wish I could think of a word that truly encapsulates his performance today. Oh well, moving on.

Asanoyama (S) 2-0 vs Daieisho (M1) 0-2
Daieisho pushed as hard as he could but he didn't move the heavy load in front of him after the initial jolt of the tachi-ai. Asanoyama kept himself way lower despite being the taller guy and his feet were spread wide apart. The Ozeki wannabe didn't try to bring it to grips either, he seemed secure in the knowledge he could dislodge the M1 man with plan B. Three straight wins is a good start, if he keeps this up the media flies are going to start buzzing round him soon.

Takakeisho (O) 1-1 vs Endo (K) 1-1
This was a pretty physical shove fest. All one way. The lack of crowd noise actually improved the experience for this one as the impact of the shoves could be hear loud and clear. And the big hits were all coming towards Endo. He didn't manage to get a piece of Takakeisho so got his ass kicked and his hat handed to him. Once he had Endo dislodged and lined up Takakeisho absolutely launched himself behind a pair of left thrusts. Despite excelling at keeping a low wide stance, Endo just doesn't have the mass needed to absorb that level of forward thrust and he was blasted backwards and out once the big guns connected. The Ozeki gets Daieisho for day 4, that's a pretty good match-up as Daieisho's tsuki-oshi stylings are more of a head on collision for the tadpole than Endo can bring. Daieisho can outlast the gasping fugu too.

Okinoumi (M2) 1-1 vs Kakuryu (YOYO) 1-1
Now this is Yokozuna level sumo. Kakuryu got the jump on not-so-speedy Okinoumi and planted his left foot right in the middle of the white lines. A strong statement of intent. The left mae-mitsu was latched on instantly and Okinoumi elected not to contest that grip and instead focus on denying Kakuryu his inside right. The Mongolian got it anyway and Okinoumi switched his attention to breaking the left mae-mitsu. Not today. Kakuryu had him locked in tight and the grip was strong enough to resist being snapped by the big dude. The Yokozuna won this at the tachi-ai. Yori-kiri ended one thoroughly controlled bout, made all the more impressive because of the level of opponent he did it against. I could almost forgive him for yesterday.

Hakuho (Y) 2-0 vs Takayasu (M1) 0-2
Another day, another over-powering win for Hakuho. All must be well yes? Not quite. Behind the hustle and the aggression the Yokozuna didn't want to go chest to chest with the former M1. Even at the tachi-ai he shaded right and avoided dipping inside when the opening presented itself. Instead he was determined to use his reach advantage to both get rid of his heavy burden but also to keep Takayasu away. At one point Takayasu was trying to bring it in close, and Hak lowered his head to actually prevent what was always a highly advantageous position for the Mongolian. A moment later Hakuho had his own head in close, staring right at the open teat section, and he elected to thrust a hand into the throat and stiff-armed his boy back to arms length once more.

Hakuho was moving around a lot, in fact way more than usual. So it would seem his body can take his own weight as long as he can maintain free movement. He clearly doesn't want an opponent bearing down on him as well, doubling the weight load and adding in the complications from twisting movements. Somewhere along the 6'4” (192 cm) frame he is hiding a major problem. Something bad enough to completely change his sumo style. It's definitely not his hands as he's throwing them into the fight with wild enthusiasm. He wouldn't have body slammed Daieisho from the top rope yesterday if it was his back either. It's something lower. Something more right footy. Make your own choice, but when he gets figured out by the other rikishi (and they will very soon) he's going to have a hell of a job keeping them off him. Tomorrow he's drawn against Okinoumi, just the man for the job.

As for the other bouts?

I've seen things Sumotalk wouldn't believe.
Kotonowaka fire off sukui-nage at the edge of tawara.
I watched Terutsuyoshi glitter in the dark near the Chiyotairyu maebukuro.
All those moments will be lost in time, like koala tears in the flames. Time for Harvye.

Day 2 Comments (Gary Jones reporting)
Hello to all, did anyone catch the Terunofuji bout yesterday? He had a very solid looking Yori-kiri win over so-so Daishoho. Whilst this was going on, my eyes were drawn to the more challenging battle between a young tsukebito versus his massive green nasal booger opponent. The boy was really digging in hard at the edge as his foe held on with a tight grip, resisting being dislodged until the very end. A twisting scoop throw brought the youngster relief filled victory and he paused a moment to look down in triumph at the defeated mucus. Before wiping it on his collar. I think things may be a tiny bit more relaxed in the arena than usual. Today the temporary Juryo man Terunofuji withstood a henka from a slippery Tobizaru (Who?) before firing him off the clay to go and inspect the benches. The loud crashing of a sumos heavy feet in a silent church hall was almost comedy.

Ichinojo, the former three-time Yokozuna, faded badly at the end of the Hatsu. But with the upward sucking vacuum effect from the Sanyaku he only moved down a rank to J8. Today he faced fellow 26 year-old Churanoumi (No, me neither.) and Ichi used the bout to crush any hopes sumo fans had for a return to Makuuchi. He tried to bounce the little guy off him (didn't work for long) and then as soon as he was under any pressure Ichi tucked his tail in and rolled to the clay, favoring his right leg. How long before his sumo starts to resemble Konishiki?

Meisei (M17) 0-1 vs Kotonowaka (M18) 1-0
Well, he's here. The one who will bring balance to the sumo force and in his spare time find the one ring to rule them all. Kotonowaka Jr has arrived in Makuuchi at 22 years of age. What took him so long? Baby Lute has already said he will change his shikona again when he reaches Yokozuna to honor his grand-daddy and 53rd Yokozuna, the head-splitter Kotozakura. Note he said when, not if. You have to admire the boy's confidence.

For the opening Makuuchi act Baby Harp was played like a stringed instrument of some sort. Meisei is still only 24 himself with only 9 Makuuchi outings, but he was the rock solid old veteran today, tricking Baby Harp-seal into a wonderfully set up kata-sukashi. This was the real Kotonowaka circa March 2020. Time will tell.

Daiamami (M17) 0-1 vs Shimanoumi (M16) 1-0
Hey, Daiamami's back everyone!

Don't bother reading this. Daiamami was awful yesterday and he was awful today. Straight down as fast as gravity could pull him. Which is the only attractive thing about his sumo. I was deeply suspicious of his arm flapping antics yesterday but after watching that garbage I'm reminded he's just Daiamami.

Tsurugisho (M15) 1-0 vs Azumaryu (M16) 0-1
I think I've finally come to terms with Azumaryu and his lack of career advancement. When they make a day-time TV movie of Hakuho's life (Temporary working title “I smashed them weak-backed peaches to pieces”, it may need some work for the intended Japanese pensioner audience.) Azumaryu will be cast as the stand-in for the action sequences. He looks the part of a raider from the steppes with the same height, weight and overall build as the Khan, but there the similarity ends. The 32 year-old has spent the majority of his career as a mid to upper Juryo. Hakuho had just two outings in the Juryo and then kissed them all goodbye, never to return. This Hakuho-ey appearance fooled me for a long time. He can't be that bad can he? I give in and now can see that yes, yes he can. Azumaryu is perpetually upright, he has a pointless tachi-ai and worst of all he's painfully slow. The three P's of permanent pizzle-poor performance. His Oyakata should zap him with a taser before his bouts, just to put a jolt into him.

The heavily bandaged (who wraps bandages around their rump?) Tsurugisho was just as slow and Azumaryu took a nice mae-mawashi grip for himself and gently escorted Tsurugisho out for the easy yori-kiri. Cruelly reminding me why I once had some hope for him.

Chiyomaru (M15) 1-0 vs Nishikigi (M14) 0-1
With Nishikigi's famously bad eyesight he really should focus more on yotsu sumo so he can feel his way through the action the way a blind man makes love to a plump chick, and not rely on seeing the threat from afar. But he insists on getting his oshi on for half his bouts. It will be tough for him to progress if he gives such an advantage to his opponents. Whilst it's not always true that Chiyomaru makes funny faces at Nishikigi during their bouts, he does always try to keep things at arms length. Today he rocked Nishikigi's head back with his first stab and then semi-henka'ed his way to a quick, efficient and dull hiki-otoshi. The crowd response was the usual for this sort of thing.

Kotoshogiku (M13) 0-1 vs Kaisei (M14) 0-1
I have no idea how Kotoshogiku has managed to beat the Brazilian behemoth so many times. I don't mean how does Kaisei not try too hard. That I get. But even if Kaisei is going soft on Koto, and he does seem like way too much of a nice guy for sumo, how the hell does Kotoshogiku ever physically move such a load? A 400Ib sack of rice doesn't fight back either but it's still a real swine to heave it around. At some point in his career he must have had some massive power in those legs. Respect to the old guy. But I'm thinking he's in his last basho. This would be a nice going-away yori-kiri present for the old guy.

Aoiyama (M13) 1-0 vs Ikioi (M12) 1-0
Frankenstein's creation, Ikioi, tends to do really well against the hefty foreigner. When his legs aren't infected with the creeping cankers, big Ikioi is a bit too stable for the big, big guy. Today he stood right in front of Aoiyama and did the same push attack over and over again. And paid the price. Aoiyama wins with a backward-moving, heels to the tawara, last gasp, desperate hataki-komi. What's wrong with that picture big Danny?

Sadanoumi (M10) 1-0 vs Ishiura (M12) 1-0
I have nothing to say about Ishiura's oshi-dashi win here except if you want to win by hataki-komi (looking at you Sadanoumi) it helps to actually push the back of the head down.

Terutsuyoshi (M11) 0-1 vs Tochiozan (M10) 0-1
A horribly easy push out win for Terutsuyoshi. Tochiozan looked lost up there. If his body doesn't play nice and start to heal he may well be the next one of his generation out. Put him on the retirement watch list along with Toyonoshima and Kotoshogiku.

Chiyotairyu (M11) 1-0 vs Tochinoshin (M9) 0-1
I'm so glad everyone in the arena was quiet for this one. The sound this pairing produced was worth the ticket price on it's own. The explosion when their flesh met was akin to a swollen beached whale finally bursting. A heavy wet boom, full of bass and blood. We may only ever hear it's like again if Aoiyama catches Enho with a flying abise-taoshi. Magnificent.

The round mound of Kokonoe destroyed his boy at the tachi-oy and his de-ashi swept up the shards of a shattered O-shakey career. Oshi-smashi-dashi.

Shohozan (M8) 0-1 vs Takanosho (M9) 1-0
Tsuki-otoshi. Shohozan went down faster than you can say it. It was that bad.

Kiribayama (M8) 0-1 vs Tamawashi (M7) 1-0
A clash of ages here as the past seeks to defy the inevitable future for just a bit longer. Today the lifetime honorary Ozeki was greased up, semi-henka'ed and put away without a sumo bout breaking out. It was truly ugly to see. Clearly the rookie didn't fancy his chances in a one on one contest against the Papa Mongol. So he pulled the old hit and shift to get himself the okuri-dashi white star. Regardless of what his opponent did today, Tamawashi is stumbling with his footwork more and more now.

Yutakayama (M3) 1-0 vs Endo (K) 0-1
I had a good feeling about Yutakayama's return to face big name rikishi. It's only day 2 and he's already taking the shine off his prime time campaign. He got nothing from the tachi-ai, no impact and no position. Endo was tucked inside and keeping low right from the jump, and he savaged a constantly yielding Yutakayama. Ugly stuff from the M3. The only time Yutakayama moved forward was when Endo's foot skidded out from under him at one point, but Endo went into an arm pull and ended Yama's offense before it got started. Endo had elbow surgery between basho so no, he's not that overpowering. I still hope Yutakayama manages to take a win or two off the top rankers this basho. Sumo fans have to be optimists don't they?

Asanoyama (S) 1-0 vs Tokushoryu (M2) 0-1
Another day another defeat. I've no doubt a genki Tokushoryu would go 8-1 if only he was still ranked at M17 again. Things are going to be a bit different now. Until the Natsu, when he might just end up at M17, giving Harvye the night terrors. An uwate-dashi-nage and a polite thank you from opponent number two. Tomorrow Hokutofuji steps up to try his luck at knocking the coconut off for a prize.

Takayasu (M1) 0-1 vs Shodai (S) 1-0
Shodai has been training with Kakuryu and been given advice on the Kak's patented reactive sumo style. If any of this is true and not just media fluff then it looks like it might have worked. Shodai chambered up a nice right shitate-nage as the ex-Sekiwake trundled forwards full of enthusiasm and not much else. Shodai fired the throw before he got to the tawara and Taka simply wasn't ready for it. Down he twists in the kind of loose, floppy way that makes you hope his knee is OK. He's fine. For as long as it lasts the Shodai show is giving us some good match-ups for week one. Mitakeumi for day 3 is another one to keep an eye out for.

Takakeisho (O) 1-0 vs Okinoumi (M2) 0-1
Somewhere on a cherry tree in Osaka Castle Park the words Takakeisho owns Okinoumi are carved inside a heart. Okinoumi hasn't really bothered to argue the fact. Until now. Oh my gosh, what a delight of a thousand falling sakura petals this bout was. Okinoumi gathered the tadpole in and had the chubby guy's arm up to the clouds in the first breath. Tadpole squirmed and tried to back out of a yotsu match with this guy, but Okinoumi was on his amphibian like pale Fukuokan skin on rice. Takakeisho absolutely crumbled under the grinding force of a true veteran 11 years his senior. Taka tadpole was schooled today. The final call of uwate-nage is only a formality, crushing yotsu power won this one. Joyous.

Hakuho (Y) 1-0 vs Daieisho (M1) 0-1
The Yokozuna to end all Yokozuna has now taken two emphatic victories in a row. Following his pair of right hooks to Endo's ear yesterday, Hakuho mauled poor Daieisho bodily to the ground as though he was a pit-bull that couldn't decide if he wanted to eat the poodle or mount it. Rather than the show of force it is so clearly intended to be, I wonder if this explosion of effort is actually an attempt to mask the inevitable weakening that the Yokozuna is undergoing. He used to be able to dismiss the pretenders with a relaxed ease. In his prime he was not adverse to giving his foe a moment to think about it before he crushed their dreams. He didn't need to rush things in order to be awesome. Perhaps now he does. We should all have such a problem.

Hokutofuji (K) 0-1 vs Kakuryu (YO!) 1-0
My jaw hit the floor nearly as fast as Kakuryu did. Of all the players in the Makuuchi division who might, just possibly maybe, move to the side at the start, Kakuryu gets fooled by Hokutofuji. Hokuto-freaking-fuji. Moving. Left.

Left! He always hits and goes left. He literally never does anything else. And Kakuryu goes sailing on past him to give up the okuri-taoshi white star. This was seriously bad sumo all the way. I sometimes say "bad" because I don't like to use excrement based language. But come on, if sumo is going to screw the fans so much it should at least provide a drink at the plague ridden arena first. I'll have something bright yellow with a firework in it.

Now would be a very good time for a sumo fan to step forwards and do a day of sumo jaw flapping (we like to kid ourselves we're reporting). You can have one of my days, I'm feeling generous. So if you like sumo and can speel bettur than me, say so now. I challenge Justin to make a proper commentary on the Kakuryu vs Hokutofuji bout in his day 3 musings tomorrow because I can't.
 

Day 1 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Welcome to the historic Haru basho of 2020. Historic because it will be the first time in the sport's history where the Sumo Association did not force the fans to pay money to watch fake sumo, and I commend them for that. Well, I think it also had a little something to do with this Corona Virus that's been going around. You have schools across the country closed the entire month of March, and then the Professional baseball folk are holding pre-season games to empty stadiums of their own, so there was no way that the sumos were going to be rebellious and allow fans into the arena.

So the question was why even bother holding the basho at all? There will be no ticket revenue, and they're still at an away basho in Osaka, so they are going to lose serious money by not closing up shop and heading back to Tokyo. When the Sumo Association first announced that they would either cancel the basho outright or hold it as normal without allowing fans into the arena, I listed the pros and cons of each scenario, and the only pro that I could come up with in regards to holding the basho with no fans was that it gave them an extra tournament before the Olympics to try and get a few more guys plugged into the elite ranks.

By making that statement, it shouldn't be construed that the Sumo Association is orchestrating anyone's rise (namely Takakeisho to Yokozuna and Asanoyama to Ozeki). Rather, it gives the two camps and maybe a few other stables extra time to try and buy their way up the banzuke. Otherwise, why hold the tournament at all? I suppose there is the money that they'll fleece from NHK, but it's still going to put them in the red. I think another reason may be that without holding the basho here in March, the country would go at least four months without sumo making a blip on the news radar. More and more red seats were showing up in Tokyo last basho, and there is so little for the fans to hold onto at this point, so with the pro baseball season around the corner and the Olympics dominating the summer, perhaps sumo thought that the PR would be worth it despite the loss of revenue.

The broadcast sure had an eerie feel to it from the start with the lack of people in attendance. Even the announcers were exiled into these makeshift booths covered in Plexiglas so the rikishi couldn't hear any talking during the bouts. What is this, the golf channel now? They showed Sato Announcer and Kitanofuji in this yellowish booth that reminded me of the cinder block dorms during my college days complete with the Coke stain on the wall that somebody created when they shook up a can of the soda and exploded it everywhere (and of course nobody cleaned it up the entire school year).



Enough of that nonsense.  Let's head into the library itself and analyze the action.  Up first was M18 Kotonowaka who bought his way into the division, so it was no surprise to see him buy his first Makuuchi win against M17 Daiamami. Kotonowaka actually looked to get the right arm to the inside at the tachi-ai, but he was in the attitude of shading backwards instead of charging forward. No matter as Daiamami lamely put his left arm up high near Waka's face unnecessarily all while just moving to his right for no reason, and that allowed the rookie to gain moro-zashi and score the easy force out win moving laterally. There wasn't a bead of sweat on Kotonowaka's body afterward, so we at least know he can follow the script on the big stage without showing his nerves.

This is the first basho that I've watched where someone's been ranked as low as M18, and the cause is the dearth of Yokozuna and Ozeki at the top of the charts. I suppose the biggest news in between basho was Goeido's announcement that he was retiring, and they say that those who are weak and old are the ones most susceptible to this Corona Virus, so I get his decision. As for the two Yokozuna, they both revealed that they withdrew from the January basho in order to pursue medical degrees, and NHK thankfully caught up with both of them for interviews just after surgery.



Moving right along, M17 Meisei is back after withdrawing last basho due to an injured left elbow, and he was paired against M16 Shimanoumi who kept Meisei at bay with hands pushing high into his shoulder and armpit area. This was a yotsu bout where neither guy was chest to chest. Instead, Shimanoumi was always moving laterally keeping Meisei off balance, and when he finally baited Meisei into a short pull effort of his own, Shimanoumi pounced getting the right arm to the inside of Meisei's compromised left, and he scored the easy yori-kiri from there. It was real, and I'll take it as Shimanoumi picks up a nice Day 1 win.

M16 Azumaryu reached for and got a frontal belt grip against M15 Chiyomaru with the left, but instead of charging forward, lifting the Shelf Gut upright, and going for the quick force out, Ryu abandoned that grip, backed up, and lamely shoved at Maru's out-stretched arms as he positioned himself at the edge of the ring. I guess you have to credit Chiyomaru for keeping up with his opponent's antics and scoring the easy peasy oshi-dashi win against the listless Azumaryu, but this was as fake as they come.

M14 Nishikigi kept both arms lamely outside and limp at the tachi-ai allowing M15 Tsurugisho to assume moro-zashi, and Nishikigi's counter efforts were just as lame as his tachi-ai, and so it was no surprise to see Tsurugisho force Nishikigi back and across without argument. At least sumo is taking the high road this basho and not making fans pay to watch this.

We rarely get straight up bouts from two foreign rikishi regardless of the circumstances coming into the bout, and today was no different where M14 Kaisei moved forward (notice how I didn't say "charged") doing nothing, which allowed Aoiyama to catch him with a left ham planted into Kaisei's right lower side. From there, Kaisei made no effort to counter and just moved in the direction of Aoiyama's shove resulting in a two-second bout with little action.

M13 Kotoshogiku attempted to get his right arm inside of M12 Ikioi's left, but Ikioi kept him upright beautifully with his own right hand shoved into Kotoshogiku's neck, and so as Kotoshogiku was forced to abandon his frontal charge, Ikioi forced his way into the left inside position and right outer grip to boot, and from this position, Kotoshogiku hasn't had the strength to counter in at least four years. And it showed as Ikioi just bullied him over and out leading with that right outer grip. I realize that this bout didn't necessarily feature two stalwarts, but it was easily my favorite bout of the first half.

M12 Ishiura went for a lame henka to his left against M11 Terutsuyoshi, and the latter wasn't even looking to recover from it as Terutsuyoshi just plodded forward and out while Ishiura looked to catch up and make contact in the form of a shove. It wouldn't hit it's mark until Terutsuyoshi was already out of the ring, but whatever. This was such a bad bout that even the Sato Announcer said, "I was expecting a more heated battle [nessen] than this." Right on, dude.

M10 Tochiohzan moved towards M11 Chiyotairyu without a plan, and that allowed Chiyotairyu to just grab him by the head and push him down in less than two seconds. Tochiohzan kicked up his leg as he rolled towards the edge of the dohyo, and that's always a sign that rikishi is rolling just as they teach them in practice. Look, Tochiohzan cannot beat Chiyotairyu in a straight up fight, and I don't know what the politics were behind this one, but both rikishi knew the outcome heading into the contest.

We already talked about Meisei who withdrew from the Hatsu basho with a left arm injury. He did have that single victory before he withdrew against none other than Ozeki Tochinoshin, and fighting from M9 this basho, the Ozeki continued to support the movement against M10 Sadanoumi. Tochinoshin blasted Sadanoumi back from the tachi-ai with dual kachi-age and that set up the right arm inside and the left outer grip. Check that. Tochinoshin promptly let go of his left outer and brought his hips in close enough to give the advantageous grip to his opponent. Once Sadanoumi grabbed that left outer, Tochinoshin instinctively went for his own left outer again and he had his hand groping the cloth for a second time, but he let it go of course and then just twisted his body towards the edge allowing Sadanoumi to force him out in a round-about contest. Easy yaocho call here as Tochinoshin continues to give inferior Japanese rikishi victories. Dude knows his place.

M8 Kiribayama sorta put his right hand forward at the tachi-ai, but like Daiamami earlier, he just turned to his right and let Takanosho catch him with a right hand to the side where Sho offered the easy shove. Kiribayama's reaction was to spin backwards wildly and face the outside of the ring as Takanosho rushed in for the kill sending Kiribayama out from behind. There was a bit of overacting here from Kiribayama, but whatever.

M7 Tamawashi easily won the tachi-ai against M8 Shohozan shoving him back a step or two, but you could see Tamawashi hold up and not go for the kill even though Shohozan was standing straight upright. They tussled a bit more at the edge before Tamawashi offered a light shove at the back of Shohozan's left shoulder, and Shohozan just hit the dirt from there. At some point during the contest, Shohozan's nose was bloodied, and my opinion here was that he knew he didn't pay for the bout, and he just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible.

M6 Kagayaki charged lamely forward as M7 Takarafuji moved a bit left going for a mediocre swipe that actually caused Kagayaki to stumble towards the edge. From that point, Takarafuji could have easily rushed his gal out from there with his right arm inside deeply, but he refused to make a move with it, and then he brought it to the outside altogether, and at that point I knew he was throwing the bout in Kagayaki's favor. Kagayaki finally responded with his own left to the inside and received no resistance from Takarafuji as Kagayaki just bumped him back and across with little force between the two. If you're not sure what a mukiryoku bout is, just watch both parties in this one starting with the footwork.

M6 Myogiryu appeared to proactively fire some shoves into M5 Onosho, but he focused squarely on Onosho's head, which is a big O-no-no. There's a reason the teppo pole is shaped like a tree trunk, or the torso of one's opponent and not a round stone like the head because Myogiryu easily allowed Onosho to get the left inside instead of bullying O-No-Show back with shoves to the torso. Regardless of that, the two ended up in hidari-yotsu where Myogiryu just went with the flow as Onosho attempted an inside belt throw. While Myogiryu's right arm was in the perfect kote-nage position, he didn't pivot for the throw and just let his knees buckle falling to the dirt instead before Onosho touched down. It was fairly subtle, but Myogiryu let Onosho win this one without a doubt.

M4 Abi used the firehose tsuppari to ruffle M5 Ryuden's neck feathers, but the shoves had little impact, and so Abi began looking for the pull. Ryuden moved well with his opponent and stood his ground well, and Abi was just up too high the entire time allowing Ryuden to slip left and spill Abi with an easy peasy Japanesey tsuki-otoshi to the side.

A rikishi whom I think will suffer without a crowd in attendance is M4 Enho. I mean, watching the broadcast to this point has been like watching episodes of the Brady Bunch without a laugh track. How do you know when to laugh or cry or get excited over a totally fake rikishi if they don't have the appropriate applause?

Who knows? Enho may turn out to have a good basho, but M3 Mitakeumi needs as many legit wins as he can get, and it was clear here that he was out to kick Enho's ass. And that he did following the blue print on how to beat Enho getting the left arm inside and under despite Enho's ducking as low as possible. With the left inside/under secure, Mitakeumi used a right kote like grip to keep Enho in check and just bodied him back to the edge and onto his heels where he shoved him wildly off the dohyo in maybe three seconds. I'm astonished that anyone would ever believe that the majority of Enho's "wins" are real after watching a bout like this.

Komusubi Hokutofuji came with his usual sketchy tachi-ai where he offers a right hand forward while shading to the left. Problem here against M3 Yutakayama was that the M3 knew what was coming and used his size advantage to just pummel Hokutofuji back and across with a beefy tsuppari attack. I mean, this was straight up sumo here as Yutakayama picks up a nice win.

You know the Sumo Association is desperate to find marquee matchups when they pair M2 Tokushoryu against Sekiwake Shodai on Day 1. Most people have probably forgotten that these two finished the Hatsu basho in first and second place in January, and the sumo here was largely forgettable. Shodai won the tachi-ai forcing the bout to hidari-yotsu, and Tokushoryu was unable to defend himself or counter as Shodai forced him back once, twice, three times a lady. It's a performance like this from Tokushoryu that shows what a farce that "yusho" run was a few months ago.

M2 Okinoumi easily got the right arm inside and the left outer grip against Suckiwake Asanoyama, but Okinoumi just let the stifling left outer go much to my chagrin. From there, Okinoumi surrendered the left outer grip to Asanoyama, and then just stood upright as Asanoyama tried to work him out. With Okinoumi keeping his left arm up in no man's land, Asanoyama worked him around the dohyo and out, but still the footwork from both parties here was awful. When Okinoumi was forced across, he was in that classic scan-the-crowd-for-hot-chicks mode when he suddenly realized, "Wait, there are no hot chicks in the arena!!"

When they showed the replay, I focused to see if Asanoyama did anything whatsoever to cut off Okinoumi's early left outer grip, and there wasn't anything there. Okinoumi let go of that grip and let his opponent win simple as that. Afterwards, they sought comment from Okinoumi, and he said, "I lost it when l let him get that outer grip." He conveniently left out the word "intentionally" in that remark.

When Asanoyama finally came back to the hana-michi, Yoshida Announcer caught up with him and reported that Asanoyama said, "My sumo was not good today. I was upright throughout and I had trouble finishing off my opponent." At least he was honest in his comments, but we see this frequently where a darling will do nothing right and still magically come away with the win. Dude shoulda had his ass handed to him in maybe four seconds after getting schooled at the tachi-ai like that.

Up next was Takakeisho, and I frequently comment that the Japanese faux-zeki could maybe keep themselves in the mid-Maegashira ranks if sumo was fought straight up. Exhibit A was the straight up bout between Takakeisho and Tokushoryu in January, a bout that Takakeisho lost. Talk about Ozeki pride in that one...sheesh. Today against M1 Takayasu, Takayasu moved forward well but curiously forgot to push his opponent. Takakeisho certainly wasn't bullying Takayasu around, and then a few seconds in when he "fired" his usual left tsuki, Takayasu played along and threw himself off balance. From that point, Takakeisho finally moved forward and used his girl shoves to lightly nudge the compliant Takayasu back towards the straw, and at the edge, Takayasu arched his back, which is something we see before a guy attempts a counter move, but there would be no countering here and Takayasu just walked that last step back. Such an obvious fake bout here, and nobody could point to a single move that Takayasu made here that indicated he was trying to win the bout.

And that brings us to the Yokozuna ranks where Kakuryu and M1 Daieisho clashed hard at the tachi-ai with the Yokozuna forcing Daieisho back a full step with Daieisho upright and feet aligned. Instead of moving forward for the kill, Kakuryu let Daieisho regain his wits and come back forward, and when he did, the Yokozuna easily moved right and sent Daieisho packing with a tsuki to the side. Because Daieisho survived at the edge hopping along on one feet, Kakuryu needed a final love tap from behind to draw the okuri-dashi win, but this was a pretty straightforward win for the Yokozuna.

The final bout of the day featured Yokozuna Hakuho vs. Komusubi Endoh, and Hakuho delivered a sharp right hari-te at the initial charge that had Endoh seeing stars and moving to his right, and before Endoh could gain his wits, Hakuho just grizzly beared him down hataki-komi style landing on top of him for good measure. Endo did nothing here to try and fight or counter, but I think after that first face slap, he just wanted to get outta there as quick as possible. Hakuho helped him do that for sure as we end Day 1 without any "upsets."

Gary gives it a go tomorrow, and I should point out that the ST crew also discussed whether or not we were going to bother with this basho. We ended up divvying out the days evenly, but I'm sure a lot of the days will be abbreviated.