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Senshuraku Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
With the yusho having taken place yesterday, let's wrap up the basho and this year of sumo focusing on a few bouts from the day and a few of the graphics NHK prepared for the weekend. I think the most telling graphic is the Nenkan Saita-sho, or the most wins in the calendar year posted by a single rikishi. This year's award goes to Asanoyama with a whopping 55 wins this year...the lowest number since they started tracking such data. Last year the award went to Tochinoshin with 59 wins and the year prior to that, Hakuho posted the most wins in 2017 with 56.

Those three years in the fifties mark the first time since 1957--the first year they began tracking this--that the number has dipped into the fifties. The average from these 60 plus years of data is 72.5 wins per year, and the highest number of wins ever posted was by Hakuho who did it in 2009 and 2010 respectively with 86 wins. It's been my opinion for nearly a decade that Hakuho could post 90 if he wanted to, but all you have to do is go and look at the years of Hakuho's domination vs. the number of tickets being sold to all those empty seats, and then you know why Hakuho's numbers have tapered off the past decade despite the waning competition.

I could look at data like this all day and pick out certain stages in sumo like in 1998 when the number suddenly dropped to 67 as everyone just sat back and let Wakanohana become a Yokozuna, but what really jumps out to me is the trend we've seen the last half decade.

As you can see from the numbers posted at right, things really started to dip starting in 2015, and so it's worth reviewing key events that happened just prior to that in order to explain how you go from the 10 year span from 2005 - 2014 where the average number of wins from the top rikishi that year went from 78 wins all the way down to an average of of just 61 wins the past five years. We know that the content of the sumo has dipped greatly these past five years, but what changed to cause this?

An obvious change that occurred in 2014 was the Endoh phenomenon. For the first time ever you had a superstar rikishi who had achieved nothing in the Makuuchi division in order to earn his popularity. I mean, even the Kardashians were looking at this guy and saying, "How do we get in on this scam?" From Endoh's very first basho in the division, his opponents were throwing bouts in his favor resulting in inflated records and then the media hype that follows. Coupled with Endoh, you had the forced promotion to Ozeki for Goeido, the sudden reoccurrence of Japanese rikishi taking the yusho, and then the false Yokozuna run for Kisenosato. All of this was achieved with major bout fixing, and you cannot throw wins around in favor of these Japanese darlings without taking them away from other rikishi. It stands to reason that with forced parity in sumo, the number of wins in a calendar year for rikishi is going to drop.

That yaocho is occurring so frequently is obvious to anyone who hasn't lost their eyesight, but there was an equally if not greater occurrence in 2014 that has led to this current state of sumo. Prior to 2014, the Sumo Association was classified as a "Zaidan Houjin," or more simply, an Association (or foundation). Sumo was obviously a for-profit enterprise, but as a Zaidan Houjin, the Association received sweet tax breaks, and they could receive donations from any organization without limits. Up until about 2014, they used to publish high-level financial information for the Association every year to show whether the Association posted a profit or a loss for the operating year. Now, we all know that accounting numbers are easily manipulated, and every year the Association would usually show a modest profit to the tune of less than a million dollars (USD), so they would have to pay a minimum of taxes if any. During the really lean years, they would post modest losses and pay zero taxes, but whatever.

On the heels of the gambling scandal and the yaocho scandal and the yakuza scandal, there was a big push to have the Association's status change from a Zaidan Houjin to a Koeki Zaidan Houjin to force more accountability from within the Association. The "Koeki" part of it tacked onto the front literally means "For the benefit of the public," so in other words, the Sumo Association went from a foundation with no limits as to who they could accept money from to a Koeki association in 2014 that could be more closely scrutinized from outside sources.

When an organization becomes a "Koeki" association, they can now be audited and investigated more closely by government organizations. There are now three officials on sumo's board (beyond the 12 oyakata that are elected every two years) that come from government organizations, and because of these new audits, the Sumo Association can no longer hide where the money is coming from. The overall result is that sumo has had to be more accountable and open in regards to its finances.

The majority of clean money that comes into the Association is from ticket sales, television rights, and sponsorships, and while NHK will never abandon the sport, it's important to post high viewership numbers in order to increase sponsorship. Ticket revenue is also key, and so in order to have the highest ticket revenue possible and sponsorship money, you have to have Japanese rikishi succeeding in the sport.

Sumo tried their best to play things straight up at the start of the decade by letting the foreign rikishi dominate as the last legitimate Japanese Ozeki (Kaio, Tochiazuma, Chiyotaikai) faded, but who can forget the empty arenas? I mean, the Kyushu basho would have the first four or five rows populated and a third of the cheap seats, but that was it. It was downright embarrassing, and so with literal survival on the line and internal scrutiny from the outside world in place, the Association had to decrease the success of the foreigners and increase the status of the Japanese rikishi in order to remain viable. It really is as simple as that, and no one can dispute that the sumo in the ring the past five years has been atrocious. And so when we get to senshuraku of the Kyushu basho and the Nenkan Saitasho winner is a first-time Komusubi with just 55 wins, it's just further evidence of what's taking place in sumo.

Okay, that went a bit long, and so let's move to some of the key bouts from senshuraku.

The marquee bout on the day featured Yokozuna Hakuho vs. Takakeisho, and as he has shown throughout all of week two, Hakuho came with his hari-zashi tachi-ai looking to get the right inside and left outer grip, but before he could get settled, Takakeisho fled to his left in an effort to escape. Hakuho caught up to him at the edge of the ring still maintaining the left outer belt-grip obtained at the tachi-ai, and it didn't take him long to shore up the right inside position. With the bout now chest to chest, Takakeisho had zero chance of winning, but the Yokozuna waited for about a minute making it appear as if Takakeisho was a threat, but this was all part of the show of building up the Japanese rikishi. With Takakeisho unable to counter, Hakuho said enough is enough and knocked Takakeisho upright and dispatched him with ease yori-kiri style.

You look at this bout with the best the foreigners have to offer vs. the supposedly best that Japan has to offer, and what you had was the foreigner completely dominating start to finish with the Japanese guy running for his life. It's telling folks.

In second place on the Nenkan Saita-sho list this year was none other than Komusubi Abi who came into the day with 53 wins. Yes, Abi!! That's when you really know that sumo is completely fake. Today against Sekiwake Mitakeumi, the firehose tsuppari was in full force as Mitakeumi mawari-komu'd left in an attempt to avoid the spray, and even though Mitakeumi was able to square up near the edge, the slippery Abi moved left and went for the do-or-die pull that worked. Abi ended the basho at 9-6 with 54 total wins on the year...good enough for second place...at the hands of another Komusubi. As for Mitakeumi, he ends the basho at 6-9 coming off of his fake yusho in September.

You can tell it's a lousy basho when your kore-yori-sanyaku bout features M4 Kotoyuki and Komusubi Endoh, and in this one Kotoyuki just kicked Endoh's ass with a linear tsuki-dashi attack that was over in about two seconds. This bout featured two guys coming into the day at 7-7, and that produced a nice straight-up bout, and it's quite telling to see who dominated this one.

The aforementioned Komusubi Asanoyama was paired against M10 Shodai, who would pick up a Kantosho award if he won today. The two hooked up in migi-yotsu with Asanoyama groping the side of Shodai's right side with his left hand in perfect outer-grip position, but Asanoyama would never grab it. The bout looked decent with both guys chest to chest, but Asanoyama never grabbed that outer grip despite being in the perfect position to do so. The end result was Asanoyama's just walking back with Shodai in tow gifting Shodai the win, an 11-4 record in Kyushu, and a Kantosho to boot. Easy fake sumo call here as Asanoyama also finishes the day at 11-4 and picks up the Ginosho award. Before we move on, NHK posted another interesting graphic at the end of Day 13 that listed first-time sanyaku guys in the Heisei Era who posted double-digit wins in their sanyaku debut:



That's a short list for good reason, and the names in order are:  Takahanada (Takanohana), Wakashoyo, Takanonami, Miyabiyama, Hakuho, Terunofuji, and now Asanoyama.

All of those guys except for Wakashoyo were promoted to at least Ozeki, and in the case of Wakashoyo, the dude had so many stablemates (from the Futagoyama-beya) high in the division in 1993 that his competition was greatly watered down since you don't fight members of your own stable.  I didn't see that basho, so I can't comment further, but the top three guys on the list were all from the Futagoyama-beya and all accomplished the feat within a few years of each other.

After that, the feat became less common with occurrences happening about six years apart, and now all of a sudden we have Asanoyama on the list.  I watched all of the previous dudes fight, and Asanoyama ain't close to any of them in terms of strength and ability in the ring.  And I like Asanoyama and always have, but his showing up on that list is another example of Japanese rikishi being elevated beyond their ability.

Moving right along, the Shukunsho award went to M1 Daieisho was was paired against M6 Enho (speaking of rikishi elevated beyond their ability). In a ridiculous bout, the two hooked up in hidari-yotsu where Daieisho just went backwards as Enho pressed. Near the edge, Enho went for a scoop throw that resulted in Daieisho's landing squarely on his two feet across the straw. That's the first sukui-nage I've ever seen where the loser lands upright and was never in danger of touching the dirt, but that's a clear sign of a fake bout. I mean, Daieisho did nothing here to combat his opponent, and with eight wins already in the book (not to mention the gift Shukunsho for beating Hakuho on Day 2), why not give Enho kachi-koshi? As is usually the case, they showed the most popular bout from the day before, and of course, Enho was number one, so expect this charade to continue. Anything to keep sumo's popularity as high as possible among the sheep.



M12 Takanosho completely bought his 10-5 finish, and capping off the farce was his bout against M1 Okinoumi. It was comical to watch Okinoumi's complete refusal to get the left arm to the inside from the tachi-ai despite Takanosho's inability to do anything, and after a quick pull miss from Okinoumi, Takanosho attempted a weak pull of his own, and of course the result of that was his opponent being pulled down so wildly that Okinoumi's feet were actually higher than Takanosho's head. As if. Just another typical fake bout and a bought-and-paid-for basho from the Takanosho. Okinoumi fell to 6-9 with the loss but continues to hoard cash for his future purchase of a shiny share of oyakata stock.

M4 Tamawashi completely dismantled M7 Sadanoumi with a straight-forward oshi attack that lasted maybe two seconds. I bring this up just to point out the start difference between the foreign rikishi and the Japanese rikishi.

A good contrast to that was the M5 Aoiyama - M9 Kotoshogiku matchup where the Happy Bulgar slid around needlessly after a bad tachi-ai henka from the Geeku. Because the henka was so bad, Aoiyama didn't have enough to go down, and so the two squared back where Aoiyama pushed aimlessly without causing harm. Kotoshogiku went for a stupid swipe that turned him 90 degrees and gave Aoiyama a stifling right outer grip, but Aoiyama let that go, relented in any sort of attack, and then just allowed the Geeku to force him back after a failed maki-kae and push him down with a tsuki to the side. You watch this bout in slow motion (or even fast motion), and Aoiyama let this guy off the hook at least five times. It's just a typical example of how the Japanese rikishi are made to look equal to if not better than the foreigners. Both rikishi end the tournament at 6-9 and the Kotoshogiku invested some serious yen down the stretch to keep this guy in the division.

I think it's worth noting M13 Kagayaki's complete dismantling of M8 Shohozan. Kagayaki got his right hand up and under Shohozan's left armpit lifting him up just enough to where he was able to crush the Dark One back and out using a fierce oshi attack. You will never see guys like Takakeisho, Goeido, or Takayasu defeated an opponent like this, and I think Kagayaki is one of the best Japanese rikishi in the division. His 10-5 finish in Kyushu from the M13 rank will send him high enough the charts for January where he'll have plenty of room to start selling bouts en mass again.

Let's finish with the M15 Daishoho - M11 Ishiura matchup in a bout that saw the two hook up in hidari-yotsu where Daishoho did what he does best when the fix is in: just stand there. It didn't take long for Ishiura to attempt an inside belt throw, and Daishoho's reaction was just put a knee and a palm to the dirt. I single out this bout to highlight Daishoho's mukiryoku nature, and we have far too many bouts these days that end like this:



Well, I can't say I was encouraged by anything that I saw in Kyushu. There wasn't a single day where the arena was 90% full, and while Kyushu is always the first basho to show signs of wear and tear attendance-wise, you just can't sustain fan interest with horrible sumo like this.

I hate to end the year on a sour note, but what exactly is there to look forward to in the coming year? The Sumo Association's decision to force parity in the sport is not only obvious, but it's leading sumo towards a slow death in my opinion.

Day 14 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
I was interested in a stat Mike threw out on Day 4: he pointed out that at that point the tournament had seen a grand total of three overarm throw (uwate-nage) wins in the upper division. Anyone who has watched sumo for a long time will agree that throws have declined in the last twenty years and tsuppari and oshi are way up, but to see a number like that was stunning: less than one per day? Really? Wow.

It wasn't a fluke; I went back through and counted the number of kimari-te with the word "nage" ("throw") in it, and we are at only eighteen throws of any kind through the first thirteen days of the tournament. That's an average of less than one and half per day, folks, and includes the backwards-moving uwate-dashi-nage. There have been four days with no throws. None--zero. This means if you attend an average day of sumo, you, the lucky fan who spent your hard-earned cash, made the effort, turned up, probably for your once a year experience, you can expect on average to see one throw. One. And you shouldn't be surprised if you see none.

What's my favorite move in sumo? Probably uwate-nage, the overarm throw. It was the first sumo move I ever heard of. It is the stereotypical move of the sport, its image. It's a home run, a touchdown pass into the endzone, a goal in soccer--yet it seems to be fading away. Kaio was never my personal number one favorite wrestler--though I liked him plenty--but I do think of him as consistently throwing people, and I loved that. It felt like the norm: Kaio was going to throw somebody, several times a tournament. I looked it up to make sure: Kaio's wins were 24% throws; he once did four uwate-nages alone in a single tournament. And we don't have even one guy who does that now? That's kind of depressing--and puzzling.

I've theorized before that this is about desiring more chaos to even the playing field: if you're not as good as the other guy, or even just not as confident, you will think you have a better chance of winning if you can get the match off balance and take advantage of an opportunity than if you go in and try to beat him straight up. You want the match to be out of control so that you have a chance, because if things are orderly, you're going to get beat. So, chaos is good for mediocre wrestlers--and as we have discussed this tournament, there are a passel of those. But is it good for the sport? No.

Just to make sure I'm not imagining all this, I went back exactly 20 years and looked at the kimari-tes for the Kyushu tournament of 1999, exactly 20 years ago (and the year before I started watching). There were 38 throws across the fifteen days--about twice as this tournament.

In this age of decadent cynicism and decline, Hakuho seems like something from that bygone era: while even he is rarely throwing, he has three this tournament (second only to Shohozan, with four. The only other guys with more than one are Tsurugisho and Okinoumi at two each). Let's cover Hakuho's chance to wrap it up today: the yusho was his with either a win, and/or with losses by Shodai and Asanoyama.

THE YUSHO

M2 Myogiryu (6-7) vs. M10 Shodai (10-3)
First up amongst our leaders, right after the 17:00 mid-way point, was Shodai, and Myogiryu made sure we would not be getting any silly Shodai yusho nonsense. Myogiryu won the tachi-ai with a smart, sharp punch of his head into Shodai's chest, took a moment to force Shodai's arms up, then drove his legs hard on an all-out force-out-charge. 100% committed; it saw him actually flying into the air a bit as they both got to the edge, so hard was he driving against the dirt to propel his body against Shodai's. It worked, yori-kiri, smashing Shodai emphatically out of the yusho race.

M5 Ryuden (6-7) vs. K Asanoyama (10-3)
I like Asanoyama a lot and he did a nice job in this manful match-up between two solid dudes. The tachi-ai was a hard-hitter, with Asanoyama averting his face in order to preserve its integrity as his body slammed into that of Ryuden. Each guy got an arm to the inside and an arm to the out, and it was on. The initial charge went to Asanoyama as the drove Ryuden well back. However, he nearly lost when he tried to shore up the position of his right arm, which was on the inside but had no grip; in that moment of Asanoyama trying to change it around Ryuden took advantage by turning Asanoyama's back to the straw and driving; for a split second Ryuden, through keeping them tight, Ryuden was also able to have both his arms on the inside. However, Asanoyama repented of his right-arm strategy in time and committing all the way to the solid left-outside belt grip he had: he wrenched Ryuden around with that by main strength, got Ryuden's back once again to the straw, and, continuing to work with that left hand, Asanoyama lifted, pushed, forced, and threw Ryuden that last inch across the bales, yori-kiri.

This preserved some drama: Hakuho still needed to win to clinch.

S Mitakeumi (6-7) vs. Y Hakuho (12-1)
As expected--and I am grateful, for it only happens one tournament a year or so nowadays--Hakuho had no other plan besides wrapping up another dominant performance and showing us who is king. He slapped Mitakeumi hard in the face, then grabbed dual grips: inside on the left, outside on the right. Mitakeumi didn't give in: he bodied up, tried a maki-kae with his left arm to get better position. But he was already being smothered by The Judge (Hakuho)--it was over: Hakuho knocked him over flat on his back, smack dab in the center of the ring, falling on top of him. The ruling was soto-gake--a leg trip--and this did indeed happen: Hakuho hooked his right leg around Mitakeumi's left when they were smashed up against each other, and certainly that made the final difference. But make no mistake: this was belt business by Hakuho, controlling the match at the waist. He had any number of paths to victory, chose the trip, and that made the whole package look very, very good. A dominant wasting of the defending champ and an ostensible rival. But there is no rival. This--this is the Yokozuna. Three different announcers subsequently used the phrase: "kibishii sumo." In the literal translation this means "strict sumo," but you can also take it to mean tough, hard, fierce. All great words to describe this great wrestler.

OTHER BUSINESS

J3 Chiyoshoma (7-6) vs. M15 Daishoho (3-10)
Ugh--is Chiyoshoma going to come back to us? Probably. He did his best to ensure a return from Juryo by leaping quickly to his left at the tachi-ai, whirling to the side, and dragging Daishoho down by the belt, uwate-dashi-nage. Quick, but not painless, at least not for me, because if this is what Chiyoshoma is made of, better for him to stay in Juryo.

M10 Shimanoumi (5-8) vs. M12 Takanosho (8-5)
Linear force out in favor of Takanosho. Smacked him, backed him, whacked him. Shall I let you know that Takanosho got one arm inside on the body on the left first, then easily put the other hand inside under the armpit too? I shall. Yori-kiri, easy-peasy.

M9 Kotoshogiku (5-8) vs. M15 Daishomaru (4-9)
There is no way around it: when you get to the last few days and look at the records of the participants of some of the match-ups and think of the tournaments they have had, the pairings just seem comically bad. Like this one. Then I try to remember that there will be other tournaments and that the individual matches of the guys involved may have more meaning. But for today, I always think: why even bother? But sometimes we get good sumo from these matches when nobody has a vested interest anymore. Anyway, of course I know that Daishomaru is capable of a force-out--if it were you or me up there he could get one--but it doesn't feel like he should be capable of one in maku-uchi. Yet in this match Daishomaru immediately got double-inside position on a wide-open Kotoshogiku, stood him up, and backed him out, even putting in a little dame-oshi action at the end to drive Kotoshogiku off the mound and complete the oshi-dashi victory.

There was something else going on here, though. Let me say that the gyoji should be sat down for a collective tongue lashing, because the refing has been awful this tournament on the starts. Sometimes there is a false start and they don't call it, and sometimes the start is perfectly fine but they call it back. Sometimes this happens in the same match: they say no twice for no good reason, then finally say "oh hell, go ahead" the third time when fists were still clearly in the air. Before this one Kotoshogiku still had one fist well in the air when Daishomaru jumped; there was a moment when Daishomaru looked kind of surprised he was being allowed to continue, probably Kogoshogiku too, but as the gyoji said nothing Daishomaru undoubtedly thought, "whelp, if you're going to let me go for it, I might as well take advantage." I'm tired of this crap; sumo should use a robot ump on this, tradition be damned. The gyoji is purely for show anyway these days; keep him out there doing his thing, but have the computer call it back with a big loud "weeeerrrrtt!" sound like in tennis if all four firsts aren't down. The technology is available and it would be easy to do and well worth it.

M13 Kagayaki (8-5) vs. M9 Yutakayama (8-5)
Yutakayama didn't make Kagayaki work hard enough and paid for it. He had Kagayaki going back, pushing up at his face, but Kagayaki is a big dude and good at going forward; he's just not good at going side-to-side. So, he got his hands underneath Yutakayama's and started up-thrusting shoves of his own, and lo, the line of the match changed, slowly but surely, and a moment later it was Kagayaki shoving Yutakayama out, oshi-dashi. One step to either side by Yutakayama sometime during the middle of this and it probably would have belonged to him in the end instead. But he didn't, and it didn't.

M11 Ishiura (7-6) vs. M8 Sadanoumi (7-6)
Ishiura survived by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin: it looked like Sadanoumi was simply driving him out, but a half meter from the edge Ishiura did a nice job of twisting his body, pushing into Sadanoumi's left side, and driving his opponent down, tsuki-otoshi. Next.

M7 Tsurugisho (5-8) vs. M14 Nishikigi (3-10)
This one was very similar. Tsurugisho "naka ni haita"--got inside--and was driving Nishikigi around the ring with both arms in on the body, smothered up against his foe. How do you lose this? Well, Nishikigi pivoted his upper body to the side while holding onto Tsurugisho's arms, throwing Nishikigi to the dirt at his side while going backwards, kote-nage. "Good enough." Ain't gonna complain. Just ain't gonna do it.

M11 Chiyotairyu (7-6) vs. M7 Kotoeko (4-9)
Last chance for me to see a Chiyotairyu detonation this tournament, so let's do it, man! The result? Meh. Chiyotairyu did manage to drive Kotoeko straight back and out oshi-dashi, but this looked to be more the result of indecision and pull thoughts on behalf of the barely-there Kotoeko: there was no oomph in the forward movement supplied by Chiyotairyu, but it didn't matter because Kotoeko was like tissue paper in the wind. Unfortunately a lot of Chiyotairyu's wins have looked like that this tournament: yeah, he got his kachi-koshi, but he hasn't looked sharp, and my interest is waning. It's late for him anyway; he is 31 and already has eight years in the upper division (with three separate demotions to Juryo during that span).

M14 Terutsuyoshi (8-5) vs. M6 Enho (6-7)
Yeah, I play the role of "analyst" here, but I'm in greater part still just a fan, and I admit I was happy to get this match-up, like most of the crowd. We had here the two new-hot-stuff little guys; cherub-faced Enho, reminding me of the baby-faced Yoda-thing in The Mandalorian, and Giant Salt Spill himself, Terutsuyoshi. I always think of Terutsuyoshi as Enho-light. Not that he is physically lighter: he is less popular, less unorthodox, less exciting. But his sumo is built the same way as Enho's, based on getting low and spinning around and leprechaun hijinx, so I was intrigued to see what these two would do with each other. The crowd was sufficiently into it: lots of excitement for Enho in general, and plenty of clapping when Terutsuyoshi took as much salt as he could, using both hands, and pitched it as high in the air as possible, scattering a trail clear to the bales all the way across on the other side. I say, go for it even more, man! Sling a bunch of it into the crowd! Decorate the gyoji's hat! Dump it in the head shimpan's lap! Whip it into your opponent's face and see how that works out for everybody! The unexplored possibilities here are dizzying. Well, I suppose I must report on the sumo itself. This one was Enho all the way. Terutsuyoshi became another rikishi unwilling to follow my directions and surge forward hard at the tachi-ai, thereby neutralizing and obliterating the tiny Enho. Like most guys, instead hje kind of jitterbugged a stutter-step and stayed in stasis; it was Enho who surged in and got a totally dominant, good-looking combo of one hand right on the front of the belt above the groin strip and the other all the way around 180 degrees at the butt strap. Enho then spun Terutsuyoshi around once or twice and upended him hell's-a-kilter over his left leg, splattering him all over the dirt shita-te-nage just like the salt Terutsuyoshi had just wasted in the same manner.

M3 Takarafuji (5-8) vs. M13 Chiyomaru (8-5)
Chiyomaru has had good luck hoisting dudes on his shelf-gut and bumping them around this tournament, but in this match he was more in the mood of "don't you dare try to touch my belly!" He kept Takarafuji at arm's length with a series of smart thrusts to the neck, then, when Takarafuji managed to belly up to him anyway, backed up as if saying, "no, no, no, you stay away from my belly, you!" and thrust the offending Takarafuji to the dirt, tsuki-otoshi. Good ol' Chiyomaru; with a gut like that, you never have to worry that there won't be anything to say about the match.

M8 Shohozan (8-5) vs. M2 Meisei (5-8)
I actually thought Meisei, who opened 4-1, might be one of our shadow-contenders this time around, but he has been quietly ineffectual since, going 1-7 to leave him a surprising 5-8 coming into today. Oh well. Darth Hozan on the other hand has been noisily vacuuming up wins with wild, violent-looking, crowd-pleasing Big Action sumo. This one fit the pattern: there was a wild bit of rapid bang-bang-bang at each other with hard, fast hands to start things. Then they slalomed here and there about the ring after Meisei caught Shohozan's arm to put a brief stop to the pummeling. Then they separated, and there was pulling and so forth--Big Action. In the end Meisei managed to pull Shohozan into a compromised position, with Shohozan's head down while holding Meisei around the back of the knee, so Meisei reached out and finished the dangling Shohozan off with a little uwate-nage throw. And so, while the hometown fans did not get to see a Shohozan win, they got their money's worth in Big Action (personally, I would have preferred something more stable).

M1 Daieisho (7-6) vs. M6 Onosho (7-6)
Nice mutual pop of a tachi-ai, then nice sustained attack by Daieisho, who never ceased scooping up and moving his feet forward until Onosho was blasted out, tsuki-dashi. This is a good one to take a look at on slow-mo in instant replay to see what worked and what didn't in terms of the pusher-thruster stuff we see so much of these days. At first glance, you could say this was like any other wild slap-battle, but really it wasn't; one guy employed much better technique. What was it? Daieisho had his hands lower, palms facing up, and hence his attack by design stood his opponent upright and drove him back by compromising his center of gravity. Did this leave his face exposed? Sure, and Wilted Flower (Onosho) went for it: his shoves were hands to the face. But a lot of times that just isn't that effective; these guys are trained to withstand this, and the head just doesn't give you much leverage on the body. So which technique was more effective? That underhand, up-shoving work by Daieisho.

M4 Kotoyuki (6-7) vs. M1 Okinoumi (6-7)
Sigh. More Kotoyuki, eh? Okay, fine. He pushed. He thrusted. He did this as quickly as ever he could. Okinoumi stood and took it: maintain, maintain… and tried to get inside on the body. Eventually it started to work for Okinoumi: he got Kotoyuki moving backwards under his counterattack. However, Okinoumi never had a hold of any kind, and when he got near the edge Kotoyuki stepped to the side to save himself. Okinoumi stumbled, Kotoyuki re-engaged, and the final attack was a pushing-out-while-flopping-down over-commitment by Kotoyuki. Nevertheless, it worked: Okinoumi stepped out before Kotoyuki hit the deck and rolled out of the ring, giving Kotoyuki the oshi-dashi win. Sigh. I sure hope he loses tomorrow, because I have no appetite for this guy in the jo'i.

K Hokutofuji (5-8) vs. M5 Aoiyama (6-7)
The Wild Fat Man (Hokutofuji) against The Warm-Up Spectacle (Aoiyama). Actually, Hokutofuji is a pretty good warm-up spectacle himself, going through overamped gyrations to psych himself up during his final visit to the corner. The more I watch him, the more I'm wondering if he's not very bright. The sumo was typical crap on Aoiyama's part: little pushes, little pulls, hoping the other guy falls down before he gets pushed out. But his hopes were dashed: since Aoiyama wasn't doing anything useful, Hokutofuji happily kept after him with low, focused shoves, and out Aoiyama went, oshi-dashi. Both of these guys have massive knee braces and aren't going anywhere higher than they already are, but at least Hokutofuji is trying.

M4 Tamawashi (7-6) vs. K Endo (6-7)
It was good to see Tamawashi appear with a winning record. I still think he belongs at Ozeki, but I'll take what I can get. He has had some good bruising wins this tournament, and I hoped for another here: Endo is good for either a pounding when losing or a good technical display when winning. It is a matter of physics with him: he can be overwhelmed by superior power, but he is like a dam: he holds the water back efficiently with good control until there's just too much water, at which point all hell breaks loose on him. Tamawashi worked hard to breach Endo's banks, but Endo kept the turbines chugging and these two ended up making a meal of a match that could have been a snack in lesser hands. Tamawashi had the initial advantage, working Endo back with his thrusts, but near the straw Endo was finally able to get both arms inside through main concentration and patience. From there the back and forth was on. Tamawashi got a second chance and again drove Endo to the straw, but Endo darted out of there and Tamawashi had to spin 360 degrees to survive. He grabbed Endo's arm coming out of it and got a third chance, but by this point Endo had gauged the flow of the flood and wasn't so easy to shake; Tamawashi ended up falling down, yori-taoshi, during yet another momentum reversal. There was a lot of action here, but in the end the dam held and the flood waters subsided.

O Takakeisho (9-4) vs. K Abi (7-6)
And fittingly, somehow, I get to end today's report with The Future of the Sport. These two guys? Yep. They're part of it. Think about it: expect to see them wrestling for another ten years or so. Expect yokozuna from Takakeisho. Do not be surprised at Ozeki from Abi. Some of you may like this; some of you will not. Either way, bar injury, this is the kind of thing that is going to be happening. Hakuho remains the greatest, not just of all time but still of right now, amazingly enough, but ten years from now that will not be the case--even he won't be fighting when he is 44. Takakeisho, however, will be 33 in ten years, and will be looking back at a long career in the spotlight--take that to the bank. If that is psychologically unhandlable, it is time to tune out and turn off. But if that is tolerably okay, here it is looking at us: The Next. I once tried to nickname Terunofuji "The Future." Nope. It is these guys right here and their cousins. As for the match, Abi did as he should and as I expected: got out of the way. He didn't do it right away--too risky, and Takakeisho had to be guarding against it at the tachi-ai--so instead Abi gave one and a half or so punches to Takakeisho's face before slipping to the side, pulling hard, and escorting the compromised Tubby (Takakeisho) over the straw, okuri-dashi. Oh, the future is making me furrow my brow.

Tomorrow Mike gets justice done in Mega City One.

Day 13 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
As we enter Day 13 there are no contenders for the yusho other than Hakuho. It is entirely up to the Yokozuna to choose to lose or to choose to continue to win after his obvious yaocho on Day 2 against Daieisho. In my opinion, the compromised sumo this basho has been so obvious that the Yokozuna camp is being very careful how they handle things down the stretch. Early on, Hakuho's sumo was quite vulnerable and erratic, but have you noticed that in week two he's been very direct in his attack dismantling his foes in mere seconds? I'll never fully know why these guys make the decisions that they do, but I do know fake sumo when I see it, so let's get right to it.

M15 Daishomaru moved left at the tachi-ai going for a weak henka against J1 Azumaryu, but Ryu put on the brakes nicely and dragged the compromised Daishomaru down by the back of the neck. Pretty cool way to start the day as Daishomaru packs his bags for Juryo at 4-9 while Azumaryu will be back in the big dance for January at 9-4.

Two guys famous for bout fixing met today in M10 Shimanoumi and M10 Nishikigi, and the fix was definitely in here as Shimanoumi weakly moved left while Nishikigi didn't even bother looking his opponent's way just stumbling forward with arms outstretched as if he was a wounded duck flapping his wings. There was a lot of ugly in this bout for only two seconds, but it was obviously fixed and uncontested as Shimanoumi moves to 5-8 with the gift while Nishikigi falls--literally--to 3-10.

M15 Daishoho has more ability than any Japanese rikishi on the banzuke, but the dude is completely immersed in bout fixing, and I don't think there's anyone who is more mukiryoku day in and day out than this guy. It was on display again today against M9 Yutakayama as Daishoho came with his left arm down and limp and the right out wide just allowing Yutakayama to catch him with some early shoves and then a left tsuki that was Daishoho's cue to just turn and walk out. I mean, the ending to this bout was so awkward because Daishoho just stepped sideways and out, but Yutakayama didn't realize it at first, and so he was still getting frisky at the edge with the Mongolian who was already standing straight up stiff as a board. Yutakayama picks up kachi-koshi--I guess--at 8-5 while Daishoho will count all the cash he's hoarding in the Juryo ranks falling now to 3-10.

M11 Ishiura henka'd to his left in crazy fashion against M9 Kotoshogiku but he wasn't trying to use the Geeku's momentum against him to pull him forward and down...something that is very easy to do against this guy. As Kotoshogiku recovered and looked to square back up, Ishiura got moro-zashi and did what any sane rikishi would do with the most advantageous position in sumo. He just backed up this way and that stepping out with no pressure at all from Kotoshogiku. I mean, Kotoshogiku was just along for the ride in this one, which was why they couldn't rule it yori-kiri because there was no "force" in the force-out. So...they ruled it kime-dashi, but it was really just an ugly yaocho as Ishiura falls to 7-6 while Kotoshogiku improves to 5-8. After that 2-8 start, it's clear that the Sadogatake faithful have been pumping cash into the Geeku's cause to keep him in the division. Three wins in three days just like that.

M13 Kagayaki dominated M8 Sadanoumi from the start using his tsuppari attack to methodically drive Sadanoumi back, but instead of finishing his foe off, Kagayaki just stopped mid-bout and allowed Sadanoumi to get the right arm inside, and so this bout quickly turned into a yotsu contest--if you can call it a contest because Kagayaki did nothing to contest his opponent's sumo just backing up across the length of the dohyo and giving his opponent the easy left outer grip resulting in the simple force-out in favor of Sadanoumi.

I just don't know how anyone can watch these last four bouts and think that they're seeing the finest sumo possible. I mean, think of any professional sport and how the skill and action gets better as you move up from the high-school level to the university level and then the minor leagues of pro teams and then the actual professional level. This is just ridiculous as Sadanoumi moves to 7-6 while Kagayaki still has plenty of room to sell at 8-5.

M13 Chiyomaru focused his tsuppari attack up high against M8 Shohozan, and with Maru not really driving with his legs, Shohozan was able to easily assume moro-zashi and then force Chiyomaru clear back across to the other side and out. Of course Chiyomaru made zero effort to counter even though he had plenty of room to do it. Oh well, I suppose I'm used to this already as both rikishi end the day at 8-5.

It says something when the biggest reaction from the crowd on the day is M14 Terutsuyoshi's throwing a bucket full of salt into the ring before his bout. Today against M7 Kotoeko Terutsuyoshi ducked under his opponent's arms at the tachi-ai coming away with the right arm to the inside, and the bout could have been classified as migi-yotsu if Kotoeko had bothered to get his own right arm positioned to the inside. He didn't actually pulling his right arm away from an inside grip and allowing Terutsuyoshi to keep him upright as the two grappled, and you could see that Terutsuyoshi was clearly uncomfortable fighting from this position. Unable to wrench his opponent back and out, Teru looked to set up a pull, and so he began to retreat before pivoting right and then hopping out left and going for a do-or-die tsuki-otoshi. It was a weak move indeed, and the dude was so exposed for Kotoeko to just move to his right and bulldoze Terutsuyoshi out, but instead he dutifully put both palms to the dirt as he "fell" with his legs ending up in the splits...a totally natural position that we see all the time in bouts of sumo. Or not. I'm nigh unto speechless as Terutsuyoshi moves to 8-5 while Kotoeko falls to 4-9.

I really liked M7 Tsurugisho's tactic today against M11 Chiyotairyu of doing absolutely nothing from the tachi-ai. I mean, the dude was just standing there allowing Chiyotairyu to assume moro-zashi and force Tsurugisho back and across in about three seconds. Tsurugisho was completely mukiryoku at the end and didn't even bother going for a counter move. Was this bout fixed? Who knows, but Tsurugisho displayed zero effort or determination here resulting in another very awkward bout of sumo that has no place in a professional sport. Chiyotairyu moves to 7-6 with the easy win while Tsurugisho falls to 5-8.

Hey, we finally got a straight up bout where both dudes were trying their hardest in the M10 Shodai - M6 Enho contest. With this bout real, that meant that Enho was in serious trouble from the start, and he tried to duck in low and catch Shodai off guard at the tachi-ai tripping him up with a right hand to back of Shodai's left leg, but Shodai got the left arm firmly inside and the right outer grip over the top at the back of Enho's belt easily neutralizing his opponent's attack a second in. After gathering his wits for a bit, Shodai began his charge and just hoisted Enho over and onto his back across the edge in easy fashion. I mean, when Shodai looks like a Yokozuna, his foe probably doesn't belong in the division, but every day they show the most popular bout from the previous day as streamed by the fans, and Enho's bouts are always in the top 2, so you can see why they're throwing bouts for him. Shodai moves to 10-3 with the win while Enho falls to 6-7.

M6 Onosho jumped the gun just a bit at the tachi-ai against M12 Takanosho, but I think it was still a legal start as Onosho reached up and grabbed Takanosho by the neck with both hands and then moved to his left pulling the youngster down in less than two seconds with a tsuki to Takanosho's right side. Takanosho went down pretty easily here catching himself with both palms and not even coming close to getting dirt on any other part of his body. Easy does it again as Onosho creeps closer to kachi-koshi at 7-6 while Takanosho is already there at 8-5.

In a silly bout, M5 Aoiyama battered M5 Ryuden around the ring for a bit with his tsuppari attack while Ryuden fumbled around with a pull, and Ryuden was completely exposed early on, but Aoiyama curiously never went for the kill. After six or seven seconds of this, Aoiyama suddenly let up and allowed Ryuden to grab the left outer grip in the center of the ring. Ryuden had to really stretch to get it and he was completely exposed, but Aoiyama just backed up to the edge, arched his back for no reason, and then stepped across as Ryuden looked to follow along. I mean, the two never did go chest to chest here, so it was just an awkward, slow ending that involved very little force as Aoiyama clearly deferred to his Japanese opponent. Both guys end the day at 6-7, and I actually think Ryuden is probably the best Japanese rikishi on the banzuke right now.

Wow, say it isn't so...an actual bout of real, textbook sumo that ended in a nage-no-uchi-ai. The culprits today were M2 Meisei and M1 Okinoumi, and Meisei looked to keep Okinoumi away from the belt (for good reason) with his tsuppari attack, but it just wasn't powerful enough to bully Okinoumi around, and so the latter finally got the left inside coupled with the right outer grip, but Meisei didn't just stand there and take it. Instead, he went for an early left inside throw that threw Okinoumi off balance, but Oki never lost that outer grip and was able to finally take this thing chest to chest, and so over to the edge they went where Okinoumi attempted a throw with the right outer while Meisei went for another left inside throw. It was as good of a nage-no-uchi-ai as you could hope to see, but Meisei's elbow barely touched down for Okinoumi, and finally, we're treated to the kind of bout that you'd expect from the top division in a sport. The two were reportedly reprimanded afterwards for showing everyone else up, but somebody's gotta do real sumo. Okinoumi is still alive at 6-7 while Meisei falls to 5-8, and we get another rare uwate-nage from the Umi.

While the ending to the next bout wasn't as spectacular, the bout was still real and hotly contested. M1 Daieisho used his good tsuppari attack to keep M2 Myogiryu upright and in pull mode, and so Myogiryu evaded to is right looking to set up a pull, but Daieisho was driving forward with the legs and easily chased Myogiryu around and out in about five seconds. Not a whole lot of technical analysis needed here as the proper oshi attack with the legs overcomes the pull sumo. Daieisho moves to 7-6 with the win while Myogiryu falls to 6-7.

In a bout with yusho implications, M4 Kotoyuki caught Komusubi Asanoyama with a few tsuki from the tachi-ai and had the upper hand, but instead of driving forward, Kotoyuki relented and moved to his right for no reason, and that momentum shift allowed Asanoyama to regroup and use a few mediocre shoves to harmlessly push Kotoyuki back and across. Asanoyama is clearly the better rikishi of these two, but there's no question that the bout was fixed.

Yesterday, Asanoyama got caught in that trap where a rikishi and his camp start to believe that they really are as good as their record, and so they come up against a guy reeling like Mitakeumi and they think they can just show up and when. Uh no. Asanoyama got his ass-kicked yesterday, so the Takasago camp decided pony up the cash today to keep their horse in the race. Asanoyama moves to 10-3 with the gift while Kotoyuki falls to 6-7.

M4 Tamawashi decided to beat Komusubi Hokutofuji and so he did. Hokutofuji actually came outta the gate well with some nice thrusts that drove Tamawashi back a step, but The Mawashi caught his charging opponent with a perfect left tsuki to the side that turned Hokutofuji around, and so it was the Mongolian's turn to chase his foe from behind around the ring and out. Hokutofuji was actually able to turn back around near the edge, but that just meant it was oshi-dashi as opposed to okuri-dashi. I enjoyed the effort from both guys here as Tamawashi moves to 7-6 while Hokutofuji ends the day at 5-8.

M3 Takarafuji stood straight upright at the tachi-ai against Komusubi Endoh, and the instant I saw that I thought, "This is gonna be easy." And it was as Endoh didn't even need both arms to the inside to score the uncontested force-out. He got the left and prolly coulda gotten the right inside as well, but with Takarafuji voluntarily backing up, the force-out was quick and required little effort from either party. Ho hum as Endoh stays alive at 6-7 while Takarafuji suffer make-koshi at 5-8.

All I'll say about Takakeisho's loss yesterday to Ryuden's henka is that if Ryuden had done that same tachi-ai against say an Asashoryu, Ryuden would have found himself in the second row flying over the head of the chief judge on his way outta the ring. Paired against Sekiwake Mitakeumi today, Mitakeumi just stood upright from the tachi-ai and let Takakeisho do whatever he wanna. Takakeisho's charge consisted of putting a right palm at Mitakeumi's left shoulder, but with Mitakeumi upright and willing, Takakeisho finally executed a few shoves with Mitakeumi moving back in concert that resulted in about a two-second bout. Fujii Announcer declared this one "ippo-teki" or one-sided in favor of Takakeisho, and indeed it was as Mitakeumi was completely mukiryoku here. If you watch Mitakeumi's actions from the tachi-ai, he's lightly moving his arms around with no purpose whatsoever. So, as we've seen in all of Takakeisho's wins the last week, his opponent's are upright and just moving backwards assisting in the charge as Takakeisho is gifted his 9-4 record while Mitakeumi falls to a dangerous 6-7.

Prior to the day's final bout, the crowd was really worked up chanting Abi's name and clapping in unison, and I think it was just an instinctive reaction as if to say, "C'mon, is the yusho really going to be this ippo-teki in favor of Hakuho?" Through the first 13 days, the answer is "yes" as Hakuho used his patented hari-zashi tachi-ai where he used a quick face slap to set up the right inside and outer left grip, and he got that position today, but before he could shore it up, Abi just darted to his left looking to escape the beast, but Hakuho caught him mid-run and pushed him off of the dohyo in a bout that lasted about two seconds. This was a dominant performance and something that Hakuho can do of course any time he wants to. With the win he moves to a cool 12-1 while Abi falls to 7-6.

With the lack of action today, there was hardly any dust left to settle, but the yusho race does look like this going into the weekend:

12-1: Hakuho
10-3: Asanoyama, Shodai

Hakuho draws Mitakeumi, Asanoyama gets Ryuden, and they're taking Shodai's chances so seriously that he's paired against the 6-7 Myogiryu. I think it likely ends tomorrow, but it's completely up to the Story Teller.

Hopefully Harvye has better bouts to comment on then.

Day 12 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
It has been a sleepy tournament in sleepy Fukuoka. The fun of it for me has been watching Hakuho remind us, "hey, I'm still here." Is he ever?! As the yusho-race-relevant matches happened to be bunched together at the end today, let's take those three before going back to 16:00. As we enter the final weekend, the leaderboard stands as Hakuho on top with one loss, Asanoyama alone behind him with two, and Takakeisho as the dark-horse "it" guy still with a chance at three losses. Technically, Kagayaki and Shodai also started the day with a chance to take it with three losses each so far, but I hereby guarantee you it will not be one of them. Your candidates:

TOP SHOP

S Mitakeumi (5-6) vs. K Asanoyama (9-2)
This was a good match-up; Asanoyama is our leaderboard guy, of course, but Mitakeumi is no slouch, and of course our defending champ. Mitakeumi made the most of what he's got: his attack was consistent and forceful. He was slightly late on the tachi-ai, but he got both hands inside on the sternum and got the first backwards movement. He knocked Asanoyama upright, then got both arms inside. Asanoyama initially had a left outside grip, but he was able to do nothing with it, and it broke off as Mitakeumi squeezed farther and farther up and in, driving Asanoyama's shoulders high until he was only holding onto a bit of sagari string. Mitakeumi kept the drive going and finished it off with solid force, yori-kiri. I was a little surprised at this, as it gave Hakuho a two-match lead, which on the final Thursday pretty much should mean that if Hakuho were to beat Endo later, he would have the yusho all but sewed into his pocket for the weekend. There are tournaments like that, though: would this be one of them? Or not? I also immediately wondered about the possibility of a Takakeisho win and then a Hakuho loss, which would have put Hakuho at two losses and Asanoyama and Takakeisho each at three: a great set-up for the Association...

O Takakeisho (8-3) vs. M5 Ryuden (4-7)
Sometimes it is hard to find enough to say about a match to create enough text for Mike to put a picture next to the match that is bigger than a thumbnail. But who would want to see a picture of this match anyway? It was a simple, straightforward henka by Ryuden. They did bump heads, but Ryuden was already on his way off to his left. Takakeisho had his face pointed at the ground, and was about to see it even closer: Ryuden pushed him down the rest of the way, tsuki-otoshi.

Yipes. Well, this cleared up things for me right away: after back-to-back losses by Asanoyama and Takakeisho, I instantly jumped back to assuming Hakuho would destroy Endo and proceed with taking this tournament. There hasn't been much drama in the yusho race all along, period, so why not go ahead and put it in his bag: this one would belong to The Storyteller...

K Endo (5-6) vs. Y Hakuho (10-1)
But let us not assume too much, but rather report on what actually did happen. The loud "pop!" sound at the tachi-ai was distinct and satisfying. Hakuho smacked Endo in the forehead with his left hand, then arm-barred him hard in the chin with his right forearm; after the match Endo would hold a cloth to his nose as he walked down the hana-michi, and in the slow-mo you could see that after this he was grimacing with one eye half-closed and his lips pursed like he was holding back vomit. And how would you feel if you were hit in the face twice by a Yokozuna? Hakuho, continuing to feel violent rather than methodical, swiped with a wild pull rather than wrapping Endo up at the belt and flinging him seventeen rows deep into the crowd. The pull didn't come close to working, but Hakuho was in complete control here because his opening savagery had led to Endo's subsequent doddering vulnerability, and Hakuho went ahead and hit Endo in the face very hard again. He then immediately shoved him down at his feet, hataki-komi. Endo might have gone down anyway--this was close to a knock-out--but the kimari-te was officially the pull down. Man, this guy, Hakuho. How fun would it have been to marvel at him dominating like this the last four years, rather than withdrawing half the time?

Or would I have been bored? No, I think I would have enjoyed it: as I've said before, part of the fun of watching sports at the highest levels is watching the best be the best. We're getting some of that this tournament, and mmm, mm, it is delicious. Missed you, buddy. Would not surprise me if Hakuho wraps it up officially tomorrow, Friday; this gave him a lead of two clear with three days to go.

THE FOLLOWING ALSO OCCURRED

J2 Yago (1-10) vs. M15 Daishoho (2-9)
And I thought Yago was bad in Makuuchi... here he was, off to a 1-10 strat in Juryo. His tachi-ai looked kind of slow to me; Daishoho was able to smack up into him hard, get his right arm inside, then push Yago with his chest until he went easily over the straw, yori-kiri. These two can repeat this battle in Juryo in 2020.

M11 Ishiura (6-5) vs. M13 Kagayaki (8-3)
Ishiura dominated this one in a series of lightning quick and entertaining moves: performances like this are why lots of people like the smaller guys. Ishiura started with a mild henka and pull to his right, then surged in underneath. He put one hand on Kagayaki's belt at the back butt button, while on the other hand he and Kagayaki ended up holding hands and actually really and truly swinging those hands up and down like two guys dancing at the high school hop. Ishiura smartly let go, however, and put that hand around the back of Kagayaki's knee before using this crippling positioning to crumple a befuddled and befaddled Kagayaki at the edge, kiri-kaeshi. I am not sure of the effort level of Kagayaki here--was he befiddled, or was he fiddling along?--but I'll take a strong effort like this from Ishiura.

M14 Terutsuyoshi (6-5) vs. M11 Chiyotairyu (6-5)
Terutsuyoshi must have been inspired by Ishiura, because he too was light, quick, and good here, making the small-man thing work. He didn't move forward at the tachi-ai much, but he did duck straight down and straight in, so that Chiyotairyu's belly hit him in the face. We are meant to believe that this neutralized Chiyotairyu's nuclear-detonation tachi-ai, and again, I suppose I'll take it. With Chiyotairyu stopped in his tracks and his arms stuck out uselessly above Strong Shining Boy (Terutsuyoshi), Shining drove up and back, getting the barrel-bodied Chiyotairyu rolling backwards, and knocked him wickedly over at the edge, yori-taoshi. As my language teacher used to say when I screwed up the grammar really bad but could at least be understood, "okay, good enough."

M15 Daishomaru (4-7) vs. M10 Shodai (8-3)
Back to the leaderboard we go. As predicted, Shodai is having a nice tournament. He stood up too tall in this one, and Daishomaru had a superior, lower position. However, Daishomaru's game doesn't have push or belt in it, just pull, and hence he turned out to be no problem for Shodai, who just tried to move consistently forward, succeeded, and wheelbarrowed Daishomaru out of there, yori-kiri.

M9 Kotoshogiku (3-8) vs. M14 Nishikigi (3-8)
Kotoshogiku is having a terrible tournament in front of the hometown fans, but Nishikigi is having a terrible year, so Kotoshogiku poached one from him. It was classic Kotoshogiku stuff: drove hard, grabbed Nishikigi around the body, and pump-thrusted him out in linear seconds flat, yori-kiri. Okay, fine.

M8 Shohozan (6-5) vs. M10 Shimanoumi (4-7)
Darth Hozan, the dark lord of violent movement, was treated to some rhythmic clapping before this one. Another hometown guy. And why not? I like him too. He made quick work of Shimanoumi, wearer of the dirty white practice mawashi. Darth Hozan slapped Shima once on the top of the head at the tachi-ai (useless), moved to his right and grabbed a huge mighty handful of outside belt (very useful), then spun Shimanoumi around his own body a time or two like a guy thowing a discus before allowing Shimanoumi to be flung to the dirt, uwate-nage. Shohozan is good fun. I'll take it.

M13 Chiyomaru (7-4) vs. M8 Sadanoumi (6-5)
Early on today seemed to be the day of guys grabbing dominant wins from compliant/limp looking opponents. Chiyomaru put his shelf-gut on wheels and rolled it down the tachi-ai hallway, crashing it into Sad Sea (Sadanoumi) and lifting and pushing him with it. Sad Sea actually had both hands inside, but it didn't matter as Chiyomaru had momentum and massive weight behind it en route to a linear oshi-dashi win. Mainoumi, the smoothest of the announcers, said that Chiyomaru's belly (hara) was in the way (ojama), blocking Sadanoumi off from doing in anything effective. "Good enough."

M6 Onosho (5-6) vs. M9 Yutakayama (7-4)
Time for the Oh! No! Show! Against Yutakayama, who has been looking good, I imagined a ravenous feasting on Oh-no-sho's flesh. Unfortunately, instead the match was a mess. First, it looked for a moment like the previous match: though Yutakayama was standing up straight and had let Onosho get significantly inside and under, Yutakayama had momentum: he was driving Onosho back to what looked like it would be another simple linear force out for the bigger man. Lo! Suddenly Onosho took advantage of Yutakayama's uprightness and extremely high grips (or something) to turn the momentum of the match on an unknown dime and bodily knock Yutakayama over backwards, abise-taoshi. To use Mike's phrase, this did not look natural. No matter; with that bit about uprightness and high grips maybe I can be the next Mainoumi: I'm halfway through my practicum in "Making Shullbit Up 101."

M12 Takanosho (7-4) vs. M6 Enho (6-5)
As usual, the tachi-ai was a mess here, as guys have decided they need to be cautious against Enho (which is a mistake; they should just get low themselves, move forward, then grab and squash Enho). Enho took advantage of the hesitation to get inside and low in front anyway (like I said!), grabbing the front of Takanosho's belt. Now, if you're an Enho believer, at this point he should be able to just drive out Takanosho, using his superior position. Problem was, Takanosho didn't want to lose, and was going nowhere. He did take a step back, but it was in order to give himself room to push down on Endo's head and tumble him onto the clay, hataki-komi. Did Enho hesitate too long? Yes, and I do wonder why. But would he have won if had driven forward? I say no. These guys are not amateurs out there; Takanosho had Enho's arms twisted up and trapped but good, his feet in a good position, and he was ready to win. Meanwhile, Enho's Achilles Heel of late is affixed to the top of his neck: a lot of guys have been taking advantage of that head nestled right there in their arms and using it to lever Enho down to the dirt. That has been kind of entertaining, so I look forward to them continuing to do more of it until Enho figures out how to respond. It is odd, though: think how resilient most rikishi are when their head gest pushed around (like the amazing Toyonoshima, Sky Gazer). Then there is Enho, whose head has looked like a magic button: "Push Here and Watch Your Doll's Feet Pop Off the Floor!!!"

M5 Aoiyama (5-6) vs. M7 Tsurugisho (5-6)
Justin has Aoiyama exactly right: he is pure spectacle, nothing more. Just imagine this is your first time watching sumo, and you see this fat-draped behemoth waddle out. What will you think? You will think, "wow! Now this is going to be really something!" Then the match happens and Aoiyama does nothing besides backpedal gingerly while pawing meekly at the other guy with eensy little pulls, some of which work sometimes in a boring kind of way, most of which don't. Then you, as first time fan, think, "must have been a mistake." That was what I thought for years: one of these days Aoiyama is going to Turn It ON! and use that big body to good effect. No: his sumo is some of the crappiest sumo in the upper division, not that different than Daishomaru. Well, I still enjoy the warm-up spectacle of just looking at him--but once the match starts, forget about it. (And once his career ends, I sure hope he gets a good nutritionist.) Today was mostly more of the same. He pushed up once, then played with Tsurugisho's head for a moment like a monkey examining a mango to decide where it will be best to bite in, but he must have decided he didn't like the mango much, because he flung it to the ground at his feet. The problem for Tsurugisho was that his body was attached to the mango, felling him to a hataki-komi loss. Well, if you're going to waste your food like that, Aoiyama, no more mango for you!! (Good ones can cost, like, eighty dollars in Japan.)

M3 Takarafuji (4-7) vs. M7 Kotoeko (4-7)
There was once a Japanese noise band called The Boredoms. You could rename this pair of rikishi The Boredoms, except that they make no noise. The match was pretty good, though. They engaged strongly at the tachi-ai; Takarafuji kept diagonal in order to keep Kotoeko from getting in on him. Bus Driver (Takarafuji) then worked with his left arm inside, fishing low for a grip. When he didn't get it, he put that hand on the belt on the outside instead, which proved decisive. Once he had Kotoeko under control that way, the Bus Driver bodied Kotoeko up and forced him full-press out, yori-kiri. Though he is boring and frustratingly willing to give matches away, like Mike I quietly admire Takarafuji because he is quite good when he wants to be, as he showed here.

M1 Daieisho (6-5) vs. M4 Kotoyuki (5-6)
Slappery. Once upon a time I really enjoyed the slapper guys, because they were novel and there were so few of them. If I remember correctly, for example around 2002 there were just two: Chiyotaikai and Toki. Now it is common. Anyhoo, Daieisho had the momentum in this face-whapping bout, but Kotoyuki stepped rather easily to the side and Daieisho flopped rather easily to the dirt hiki-otoshi. This guy is rarely sloppy. ...And so Kotoyuki continues his hard-to-buy-into return to success in the upper reaches of the banzuke. He was here a few years ago, then flamed out and was gone to Juryo and good riddance, and now suddenly no one can deal with his entirely predictable and not particularly impactful-looking slap-attack? I am not on board.

M2 Myogiryu (5-6) vs. M1 Okinoumi (5-6)
Myogiryu worked hard to keep moving forward, mounting three force-out charge attempts, and finally succeeded on the third one, yori-kiri. The key was to stay nice and low. During the second and third attempts he had both arms inside, and at the end put one of them on the back of the belt. He dominated this one and looked good doing it, though of course I wonder why the strong and limber Okinoumi couldn't do any better than get slid around like this. Oh, but let's do that thing we do: I have no problem with Myogiryu's sumo here.

K Hokutofuji (5-6) vs. M2 Meisei (5-6)
You know what I decided about Hokutofuji? He's a bad finisher. His bouts are often long, and he gets beat in messy ways. This wouldn't happen to him if he could get guys over the edge, but he struggles to do so. Maybe he should think about moving ahead forward at the tachi-ai instead of his perpetual shading-left move, which, while it helps him get position, of course also robs him of all potential momentum. I've always like him, but he's a frustrating guy to root for because his matches are such a mess all the time. Dare I say shades of Goeido? He is far from having a signature move, and often looks like he won by mistake or got lucky. This match was a thorough demonstration of that (and yes, I typed the previous text before watching the bout). Meisei is relatively small, but Hokutofuji bumped into him at the tachi-ai and yet couldn't move him back. Hokutofuji then had to try a shoulder shove, then move to the side, then get separation, then move to the side again, then pull, then get turned around and spin a full 360 degrees, then finally slap down Meisei when he found him in front of him again once he'd completed his whirligig, tsuki-otoshi. Whew! He won, but how did he look? He looked foolish, that's how he looked. He'll take it. I'm not sure I can.

K Abi (6-5) vs. M4 Tamawashi (6-5)
This is the kind of match that would be promising if you could guarantee that it would be straight up: the straight armed long-shoves of Firehose Abi against the roundhouse slaps and punches of the focused and scary Tamawashi. Quite a boxing match. However, this is also the kind of match Tamawashi is prone to letting up in: Abi has juice, while Tamawashi does not, and holds back aplenty. To me the indications are that he also did so here, as the match was lame. They didn't move forward smartly at the tachi-ai, and Abi then tried a head pull rather than his usual strong-arm stuff. When it didn't work, rather than taking advantage of Abi's mistake by driving forward, Tamawashi was standing there upright looking at Abi, so Abi responded as he should and attacked hard, driving Tamawashi right out with high hard hits, as if Tamawashi was an American Football tackling dummy, tsuki-taoshi (and I know should know because I used to hold the damn things in junior high school after I foolishly volunteered to be the manager of the football team in order to gain extra credit for gym class. It really sucked). Look, I'm fine accepting that some guys just have bad days sometimes, can be taken by surprise, and/or are caught looking curveball and fail to swing at a fastball down the middle and end up looking silly for it, but this kind of thing happens way too often with Tamawashi to be credible. Look how good he is on his "on" days and compare.

But let us not end on such a crabby note. Tomorrow Mike summons wild deer with his special whistling.

Day 11 Comments (Justin Williams reporting)
With the large spread of genuine contenders putting their hands up for a yusho these days depending on Hakuho's mood, injuries to minor digits or whether he'd rather be attending a Burgundy wine tasting in France, perhaps this is to the benefit of the inclusionist state of affairs we are settling in to.

Let's face it, compared to 6 years ago your chances of winning a basho have risen dramatically. I'm surprised that now the Mongol's powers are seemingly waning, clearing space for others to win; that there isn't a huge surge in keen young men who don't mind dormitory life, love to eat hearty stews day in day out, drink plenty of Japan's delicious and refreshing lagers and have a genuine desire to perhaps weigh over 200 kgs, that are knocking on sumo stable doors all over the country, eager to grab some of the glory, along with a years supply of M & M's or whatever is included in the yusho winnings. Along the way they might have to endure a beating or two, but the best part is you, one day will be allowed to dish out the floggings in the time-honored fashion.

Some people are appalled that the best rikishi don't seem to be competing at 100% or not at all, thus demeaning this noble sport. I say to those crusty curmudgeons, cheer up, accept this millennial age. We all know that the best music arose in the '70s (fact), milk tasted better when you were a child and a tweet used to refer to the sound of bird. We now realise that Takakeisho is the most gifted athlete on the planet and that Kisenosato's fall and exit was worse for the Japanese than Hirohito's surrender announcement.

So now, onto the bouts that matter.

M14 Terutsuyoshi v J3 Ikioi
Ikioi was the first ever rikishi I googled after seeing him interviewed one day about 8 years ago. I was struck by the unusual growth on his right shoulder that seems to have been formed by continually slamming it against a wooden pole, "teppo-style." That intrigued me. From then on, he was always one of my faves until it became painful to watch him compete. I hope his shoulder ligaments are still in place? It's good to see him back in the top ranks today and armed with 7 wins.

The smaller chap, Terutsuyoshi, was a bit of a handful for Ikioi. 'Yoshi was intent on staying low and moving forward and Ikioi after fumbling for a belt hold or some position of strength, decided that the quick retreat and pull was in order whilst Terut the terrier chased him round like a dog after a car. Terut was over-eager and Ikioi used his height well in assisting Terut to the floor. It was a shaky win for Ikioi and if he can't hold his ground against little'uns such as shown today, his next foray into top div won't last long.

M10 Shimanoumi v M15 Daishomaru
Mike is being unduly harsh on Daishomaru. Sure, he has his limitations on the dohyo, but I've been doing some research on various rikishi and did you know that in his spare time he makes and then donates Takoyaki for fund-raising events in Osaka? Perhaps.

'Maru was determined to stay low and drive hard onto Shima and it paid off, continual lifting Shima with each foray until Shima had nothing left and exited for the oshi-dashi win for the much maligned Daishomaru. He's hanging in this division barely, and maybe Shodai tomorrow, might trade a win for some piping hot octopus balls...


M13 Chiyomaru v M9 Yutakayama
Fun fact. Chiyomaru has ambitions to learn how to play the didgeridoo. Probably.
Both guys came in with high shots to the neck region with Yutakayama moving forward as 'Maru circled around in retreat. This went on for a complete 360 degree lap of the ring until 'Maru was spent and backed across the rope. No harm done as both guys are at 7 wins apiece.

M9 Kotoshogiku v M11 Chiyotairyu
Giku trivia- He smokes Camel cigarettes in secret but blames Kotoeko if his wife picks up on the smell. Maybe. They false-started and both guys eased up but Giku thought for a mini moment it was game on and looked to cheekily take out the unwitting 'Tairyu. Thankfully they had to re-set for round two. They then slapped chest to chest but Giku came up his opponent's right armpit and used this leverage to reach around, grab the back of Tairyu's belt and heave ho for a satisfying under arm throw, shitatenage. He is now 3-8 and likely drop further come January.

M10 Shodai v M8 Sadanoumi
This was an interesting bout. The two locked together standing upright, each with a double belt-grip as if determined to get as close together as possible, both on their tip-toes. Sadder initiated forward momentum and looked to in sight of victory but Shodai, at ropes edge managed to twist Sadder around both toppled with a heavy OOFF, with Sadder and none the wiser, the first to touch out. Excellent ring sense from Shodai who was willing to take a heavy fall to secure the win. When have you seen someone such as Ichinojo or Aoiyama be prepared to risk injury in this fashion? Shodai made his kachi koshi so for some it's worth it.

M8 Shohozan v M12 Takanosho
Fun fact about Shohozan. He has a lisp! He pronounces his own shikona as if he were Spanish. Theriouthly. He didn't offer much today. From tachi-ai he was angled sideways and back by Takanosho in a display that doesn't deserve any more attention. "Pesimas."

M11 Ishiura v M7 Kotoeko
Happy Birthday Kotoeko! Also, happy Birthday, Bo Derek. My first teenage year in 1980 has you as the highlight along with Richmond annihilating Collingwood in the VFL Grand Final. Ishiura was keen to be the boss today as he first buffeted then latched onto Kotoeko's belt for another shitatenage victory. Points to Kotoeko for his acrobatic closing circus tumble.

M7 Tsurugisho v M13 Kagayaki
It won't surprise anyone that Kagayaki is a neat freak who has been known to "lose it" if anything of his is out of place. "It belongs where it belongs" is his favourite expression. He owns a collection of expensive lacquerware including a bento box with his name inscribed which no-one else is allowed to use. Tsurugisho started well as he bounded forward, knock back Kaga who was left vulnerable bent over. Gisho attempted a feeble pull down, I mean, timid, whereupon Kaga burrowed into Gisho's chest along with a nasty shove to the neck and drove him back and out with a bit of a parting dame-oshi. Win number 8 for Kaga!

M15 Daishoho v M6 Enho
80 kgs advantage in Daishoho's favour here today, so I expected plenty of nimble nippiness, or nippy nimbleness from Enho. He went sharply, directly into Daishoho's chest then rebounded looking for an arm to grab, any opportunity and succeeded in having the big guy stumbling forward. They re-engaged and Daishoho was acting the bully-boy handing out a series of right hand swipes aimed at Enho's sweet cherubic face (bad Daishoho, Hak will sort you out later) which connected twice but three times a fool and Enho, sweet darling little Enho ducked the third, nipped under like a spiteful ferret, got hold of a bit of rump and drove him out, quick as you like, yorikiri. Echoes of Marty Mcfly dishing it out to Biff Tannen.

M14 Nishikigi v M4 Kotoyuki
There was some violent fun on display with Kotoyuki, benefitting from a strong tachi-ai and headbutt that had Nishi on the back foot, dished out blow after blow of eager throat shoves that Nishi withstood for a lap of the ring until it was time to submit. Good win for Yuki, his 4th.

M4 Tamawashi v M6 Onosho
Tamawashi likes to bake. We all know that bit of trivia.
At tachi-ai the two lined up opposite each other as close as two guys could possibly be. What followed was some serious oshi power from Tamawashi who once he revved up the gears, snarled forward and smeared Onosho across the dohyo and into the spectator seats. Third row back he had a look of bemusement that he was thinking to himself, "what just happened?" Embarrassed by his performance, though such a loss to Tama is nothing to be ashamed of, his skin turned a darker shade of mediocre. A V8 vs a two-stroke.

K Abi v M1 Okinoumi
Okinoumi won hataki-komi in a flat performance. Okinoumi false-started and second attempt Oki baulked, and Abi hesitated, never had both hands on the clay, wasn't ready, was off-balance and easy pickings for Oki.

M3 Takarafuji v K Asanoyama
One guy who won't ever be vying for the yusho is Takarafuji. I like him. He has three kin-boshi, but I can't recall any of them. He does know how to lose whilst not making it look like a joke. He didn't give a full account today, but neither did he roll over or give some lazy fall. But really, his lack of effort stuck out like a leg in a cast that left me colder than a well-digger's arse (simile over-dose, I know).  He welcomed Asa into his arms and hopped backwards for a comfy loss. He actually hopped over the ropes. Asa still in striking distance with this 9th win.

K Hokutofuji v M2 Myogiryu
I thought Mike was a bit harsh on Myogiryu's win yesterday v Endo. 'Giryu was just too quick. He did well today in withstanding charges and thrusts of 'Fuji with plenty of head clashes in the mix, he was pushed near the edge, evaded to his right the advanced up and in to Fuji then grabbed a left arm hold and rolled Fuji to the floor, and though the kimari-te was list as tsuki-otoshi, I thought there was a good slice of tottari arm bar throw in it.

S Mitakeumi v K Endo
Endo sure is persistent. Both guys went in search of the belt but it's Endo forte not Mitake's. Endo claimed a left outside grip but wanted the inside which was achieved with some nifty maneuvering but Mitake broke that shackle though his energy levels were dropping rapidly. Endo found the belt again and finished the bout on his terms. Good win, his 5th.

Ozeki Takakeisho v M5 Aoiyama
Aoiyama is listed at 199 kgs in weight. About 40% of that supports his nipples. Come on Daniel! Upon next year I expect you to top the 200 kg mark. If you can't wow the crowd with your ineffectual push and pull sumo, then let's see some serious bulk added, say another 50 kgs to reach the Ľ tonne mark for astonishment factor. Every bout from then on you have, Enho will be a YouTube sensation. This is about the only interest I have for him. I'm tired of hoping he might start throwing his considerable size about and start generating some respect. Daniel started well, hefty, weighty arms keeping Keisho clear, then as expected, and despite holding his ground, he chose to walk back and hope his opponent falls over. Of course, he didn't and Keisho advanced for his 8th win.

M5 Ryuden v Yokozuna Hakuho
Hakuho just shades Ryuden in height, 192 cms -191 cms and again slightly in weight, 158kgs -154kgs. However, that's where the similarities end. Forget their respective records, I'm talking about stature, attitude and demeanor. When Hakuho enters the stadium and steps onto the dohyo he looks completely different from every other boring person in the basho. Like Darth Maul walking through a shopping mall on a Wednesday afternoon. George Orwell regarded sport as a mere substitute for war, which is also it's strongest justification. Pre- fight, Hak is all zen and placid demeanor. When you see his icy pale eyes of Hakuho as he regards his opponent as today's plaything to torment, this is not just sport to him. And its on his terms, no-one else's. Witness his recent treatment of Tamawashi. That ring of clay is his domain and once he's on it, the killer emerges and it's gripping to watch.

I was surprised that as he and Ryuden were in position and set, Hak was hesitant. He rose, re-gathered and re-set. At tachi-ai he was quick with the left on the belt but Ryuden had closed in tight and Hak's right arm was tucked out of harm's way and useless. Not for long. He managed to free it and gain the right outside grip on the mawashi and now both Ryuden's arms were pinned. From here the end was near and Hak breathed deep, lifted him once, then another up and over for win number 10 and an outright lead of one over Asanoyama.

Harvye returns tomorrow which I know will please everybody.

Day 10 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
As we wrap up the first 10 days of the tournament, I'm not even going to pretend there is a yusho race going on. Yeah, I know they can post a leaderboard using win-loss records on paper, but based on the sumo content thus far, does it feel as if there's a yusho race going on? Everything down the stretch is incumbent on Hakuho's purposefully dropping bouts, and I'm quite sure he'll drop at least one more. Until then, I feel like I'm judging an ice skating competition giving rikishi scores based on their actual effort.

In lieu of discussion on the yusho race, I'll introduce an interesting graphic that was shown by NHK on Day 8.



This graphic focuses from left to right on the years 1972, 1991, and 2019. Each of these years is distinguishable because a different rikishi took the yusho in each of the six hon-basho. That may happen this year as well if they can somehow get Hakuho to lose three more times and give Takakeisho the yusho, but we'll likely have a repeat this basho in either Hakuho or Asanoyama.

Regardless of that, the reason they showed the graphic and the point that NHK wanted to make is that these years occur when there is a changing of the guard. At the conclusion of 1972, there was no one dominating as Taiho had retired the year before, but that would change in the next year or two with the onset of Yokozuna Wajima and Kitanoumi. In 1991, Yokozuna such as Chiyonofuji, Hokutoumi, and Asahifuji were gone or on their way out, and that ushered in the new era dominated by Akebono and Takanohana.

NHK stopped short in speculating who the rising stars will be, but we all know who the NSK would love for them to be. The main point then in displaying this graphic was to indicate a changing of the guard taking place now in sumo giving them an easy way to gloss over the fact that the foreign rikishi are being phased out of the elite ranks.

The Sumo Association hasn't gone as far as to eliminate foreigners from the banzuke altogether, but I would be very surprised if another foreign-born rikishi achieves the rank of Ozeki or higher in the next few years.

With that said, let's get to the day's action starting with J2 Yago taking on M14 Nishikigi, and the bout saw the two lugs hooking up in hidari-yotsu from the tachi-ai and snuggling in tight chest to chest as each looked to grab a decisive right outer grip. Nishikigi had his gal upright just enough to where he was able to force Yago near the edge grabbing the right outer in the process, but Yago reached for and got his outer shortly thereafter leading to a very nice bout of gappuri yotsu-zumo near the edge. The problem for Yago is that his back was already against the ropes, and so he had very little room to maneuver, and Nishikigi kept him pinned in nicely. Still, Yago didn't go down without a fight as the two struggled at the edge, and when Yago realized he had one last chance, he attempted to move left and set up a counter inside belt throw, but before it could form, Nishikigi bumped him back and across for good. Wow, what a great way to start the day, and isn't it obvious when both rikishi are trying to win? Nishikigi moves to 3-7 with the victory while Yago falls to 1-9.

I think things are getting so bad in terms of a yusho race that NHK's News 9 actually led the sumo coverage today with M13 Kagayaki's bout. Hopefully his mother recorded the news because that ain't happenin' again. His opponent was M14 Terutsuyoshi who shaded right at the tachi-ai getting his right arm inside, but he had to be careful about going chest to chest with a dude like Kagayaki, and so you could see Terutsuyoshi holding back a bit possibly looking for a chance to pull. From early on I've pointed how a great strategy against Kagayki is to make him move side to side, and you could see he was uncomfortable with Terutsuyoshi's mild henka from the tachi-ai and the unorthodox nature of this bout in general, and so instead of trying to use a nice tsuppari attack to keep Terutsuyoshi on his heels, Kagayaka went for a dumb pull that his opponent read like a dirty manga on the subway, and amen to our first two-loss rikishi. Terutsuyoshi moves to 6-4 with the win while Kagayaki now stands at 7-3.

Wow, 2 for 2 in terms of legit bouts.

That would change quickly with the next bout that saw M15 Daishoho keep his left arm out wide and right arm limp at the tachi-ai against M10 Shimanoumi. And limp is the best way to describe Daishoho's sumo because he could have easily gotten his right arm in tight and given Shimanoumi some trouble. As it stood, though, Daishoho just let Shimanoumi dictate the pace of the bout, and after a few seconds of mild action, Shimanoumi let go of his left outer and just pushed Daishoho upright and back with no resistance. When a guy is turning around to find a soft landing spot before he's even left the ring, you know he's mukiryoku. And Daishoho was just that falling to 2-8 while Shimanoumi is looking to stay in the division at 4-6.

Easily the most useless guy in the division this basho (and this year) is M15 Daishomaru, and he was paired against M9 Yutakayama who came with a left face slap looking to get the left arm inside using the hari-zashi move, but before he could fully get inside, Daishomaru spun away to his left hoping to spring a trap somehow. Said trap would never come, however, as Yutakayama adjusted easily and just pushed Daishomaru back and across with ease. Yutakayama moves to 6-4 with the easy win while Daishomaru falls to 3-7.

M11 Chiyotairyu pounded M8 Shohozan today leading with an effective right face slap followed by some quick shoves as Shohozan looked to squirt to his right out of harm's way. Chiyotairyu had already done too much damage, however, from the tachi-ai and he was able to grab onto a right outer grip near the front of Shohozan's belt and use that to pull his gal in snug before scoring the quick force-out win. Chiyotairyu shows his true ability here as both rikishi end the day at 6-4.

M8 Sadanoumi completely let up for M12 Takanosho in a bout that looked to go to migi-yotsu after a nice early neck thrust from Sadanoumi, but the Sadamight just stayed upright and then backed himself up of his own volition with Takanosho just following along for the ride picking up the cheap yori-kiri win in the process. No doubt that Sadanoumi was paid for this one as both rikishi end the day at 6-4.

M11 Ishiura henka'd to his left against M7 Tsurugisho coming away with the deep left inside position as he pinned Tsurugisho's own left arm inside against his body, and from there the larger Tsurugisho had no leverage from which to counter, and so Ishiura just spun him around by that left arm inside and finally out for the quick and dirty okuri-dashi win. Both rikishi end the day at 5-5.

M7 Kotoeko awkwardly (and likely intentionally) whiffed on a face slap against M10 Shodai at the tachi-ai in a bout where the two rikishi hooked up in a lighter version of hidari-yotsu. I say lighter because Kotoeko was just looking to back away and yank at Shodai's right arm in the process, but before he could do any damage, Eko just tripped over his own two feet and landed on his widdle bum at the edge of the dohyo. This was a matter of Kotoeko being mukiryoku from that initial face slap whiff, and the result is the Kyushu favorite Shodai's moving to 7-3. As for Kotoeko, he falls to a harmless 4-6.  Before we move on, Yoshida Announcer sounded a bit too aroused as he announced that the Kyushu favorite, Shodai, has managed to kachi-koshi every Kyushu basho since his debut  in the sport in 2014.  Who'da thunk?!!

M6 Onosho secured moro-zashi from the tachi-ai against M9 Kotoshogiku and just forced the Fukuoka native upright, back and onto his behind across the straw resulting in the easy yori-taoshi win in maybe three seconds. Kotoshogiku's make-koshi is official now at 2-8, and isn't it time for him to retire already? As for Onosho, he rights the ship at 5-5.

In the useless trivia department, NHK showed a graphic today that listed the six rikishi in the last 10 years who scored kachi-koshi in their first basho ranked in the sanyaku (Komusubi or Sekiwake).  This list includes Myogiryu, Ichinojo, Terunofuji, Kaisei, Onosho, and Abi.

M13 Chiyomaru proudly showed off his shelf gut for M6 Enho as if to say, "You wanna piece of this?" Enho clearly didn't as he stutter stepped at the tachi-ai as Maru just charged leading with his gut, and he caught Enho in a nice choke hold with both hands before attempting a quick pull. Enho survived that initial pull, but Chiyomaru was right back into his craw firing shoves and looking to set up another pull. Enho attempted to move to his left, but Chiyomaru was in hot pursuit causing Enho to trip on the straw and just stumble to his left and out. May as well. It was better than getting his ass kicked by more Chiyomaru tsuki attempts. Chiyomaru moves to 7-3 with the nice win while Enho falls to 5-5.

M1 Daieisho and M4 Tamawashi engaged in a very nice tsuppari contest trading thrusts in the middle of the ring where Daieisho actually managed to push Tamawashi back a step, but the Mongolian recovered quickly and caught Daieisho with a perfectly placed right tsuki to Daieisho's left side, and that threw Daieisho off balance enough to where Tamawashi pounced for the solid oshi-dashi win. Both fellas end the day at 5-5.

M3 Takarafuji and M1 Okinoumi hooked up into a methodic hidari-yotsu stance, and I say methodic because these guys weren't really pressed in chest to chest. Takarafuji looked as if he wanted no part of this contest because he quickly looked to back up and set up a pull, but it never formed as Okinoumi gave him brief chase before pushing him back and across. Either Takarafuji owed Okinoumi a bout or he didn't want to bother with a straight up belt fight because he ejected in a matter of seconds as both dudes now stand at 4-6.

Komusubi Asanoyama received little challenge from M2 Meisei who just gave Asa the easy left outer grip from the tachi-ai, and coupled with the right inside, the force-out was swift and unopposed in favor of Asanoyama. This is one of those bouts where I have to give Asanoyama credit for doing his job and executing flawless sumo, but his opponent was still mukiryoku. Sumo just can't afford to have Hakuho run away with this thing, and so Asanoyama is given the win leaving him as the only two-loss rikishi now at 8-2. NHK also couldn't wait to add Asanoyama's name to their previous chart that listed kachi-koshi rikishi over the last 10 years in their sanyaku debut.  Dude's number seven now!! As for Meisei, he knows his place at 5-5.

Komusubi Abi caught Komusubi Hokutofuji with some nice thrusts from the tachi-ai, and in particular Abi had a nice choke hold against Hokutofuji driving him back quickly. As Hokutofuji went back, he just let his foot sweep across the straw sending a pile of sand off of the dohyo, and when I see that, it raises some alarm because these guys know where they're at in the dohyo at all times, and footwork like that is just sloppy. I mean, when Chiyotairyu blasts is foes back like that in linear fashion, do you ever see copious amounts of sand flying around? The answer is no, and the last time I saw skid marks that bad was when the fat guy at the office stunk up the loo.



 I'm led to believe that Hokutofuji gave up the win here as good as Abi looked. Abi moves to 6-4 with the win while Hokutofuji falls to 4-6.

Komusubi Endoh did nothing with his hands at the tachi-ai against M2 Myogiryu allowing the latter to work his left arm inside and force Endoh back and across in ridiculously easy fashion. I mean, the signature piece of Endoh's tachi-ai is his ability to get to the front of the belt or at least to the inside, but his whole focus was sledding backwards nicely as Myogiryu drove him out of the ring in about two uncontested seconds. Easy yaocho call in this one as both rikishi finish the day at 4-6.

Sekiwake Mitakeumi and M5 Ryuden hooked up in hidari-yotsu, and Ryuden seemed content to let Mitakeumi drive him back a bit in exchange for the right outer grip. Near the edge, Ryuden perfectly timed a move to his right that eventually cut off Mitakeumi's right outer and gave Ryuden the advantageous grip with the right instead, and from that point he was able to turn the tables forcing Mitakeumi back to the center of the ring. From that point, Ryuden never did allow Mitakeumi a sniff of the outside belt as he easily forced Mitakeumi back and across. At first glance, I thought Ryuden was mukiryoku in this one, but it turned out to be the ploy that Kyokutenho used so well where he'd let his opponent charge forward only to set up a surprise counter move near the edge. Good stuff from both parties I suppose as Ryuden ekes forward to 4-6 while Mitakeumi falls to 5-5.

It's been interesting to watch Takakeisho's opponents' demeanor the last few days. I mean, his start to the basho was pathetic, and even in his first three wins the bouts were so unorthodox and obviously fixed, and so the agenda the last few days has been for his opponents to just stand upright and let Takakeisho drive them back in linear fashion. I know it looks good, and I can see how people will watch it and say, "Yep, looks like an Ozeki to me," but how soon do they forget the first few days of the basho.

M4 Kotoyuki was no different today as he put both hands into Takakeisho's shoulders before just backing up. If you watch the slow motion relay of the tachi-ai, Takakeisho barely makes contact with the left arm against Kotoyuki's torso, and so the only thing causing Kotoyuki to retreat is himself. As Takakeisho followed with his tsuppari attack, Kotoyuki looked busy keeping his hands high and moving in a flurry but never actually making square contact to thwart his opponent's advances. Sounds fresh I know, but this was yet another Takakeisho opponent backing up on his own and letting Takakeisho score the linear win. I ain't buying it, but whatever. Takakeisho is 7-3 now while Kotoyuki calmly falls to 4-6.

In the day's finale...if you can call it that, Yokozuna Hakuho absorbed some decent thrusts from M5 Aoiyama brushing them aside and working his way into the right inside left outer grip position. I submit that the Yokozuna can do this whenever he wants against any opponent as the two dug in in the center fo the ring with Aoiyama knowing he was had. Still, the Happy Bulgar put up a decent fight, but when he went for a maki-kae with the left at the edge, Hakuho used the momentum shift to force him back and across for good. Easy peasy Japaneasy as Hakuho moves to 9-1 with Aoiyama finishing the day at 5-5.

At the start of the broadcast, NHK only posted the leaderboard down to two losses, but at the end of the broadcast, they expanded it down to the three-loss rikishi, which is understandable because you add four more Japanese rikishi to the mix, and so the leaderboard after 10 days looks like this:

9-1: Hakuho
8-2: Asanoyama
7-3: Takakeisho, Shodai, Chiyomaru, Kagayaki

Ya gotta believe that Hakuho is going to drop one more to maintain some drama, and there's a lot that can happen over the final five days, so we'll just see how it plays out.

Justin makes his return tomorrow.

Day 9 Comments (Justin Williams reporting)
Nine days in for my first appraisal of this basho and what has been confirmed? Firstly, if Hakuho is serious, and he seemed very serious in his bout with Tamawashi, he wins. Big deal. This has been the case since Asashoryu was ousted in February 2010.

Secondly, if he pulls out injured which doesn't surprise anyone anymore, then there are a group of about 11 rikishi below him who could haul in the grand prize. All these contenders are Japanese born, which if you pay heed to Mike's opinions, and you should, would be pleasing to the Japanese public and the Sumo association.

Say what you will regarding the quality of the sumo these days, it sure is an open race in trying to pick a winner each basho. Since Kisenosato's first yusho in January 2017 there have been 9 different grand champions out of 17 meetings. From Asashoryu's last win in January 2010 until Kisenosato's first win there were a total of 8 different champions. Who is to say we won't have another set of 8 or 9 different champions crowned over the next two years? There is no certain contender for title of Top Dog when the time comes for Hakuho's retirement and none that seriously capture the public attention apart from Enho, who despite being adorable is no more than an interesting novelty. This is highlighted upon checking the Japan Times for the main sumo headline after day 8, and there was a retrospective feature on Chiyonofuji. Where is the discussion on youngsters such as Asanoyama, Takakeisho or Mitakeumi, the guys of the future?

On this topic, why are there no rikishi on the banzuke with a physique that resembles the late Chiyonofuji? Is the main training dictum being taught at sumo stables that of eat more food and spend less time in the gym? The closest physique in comparison I've seen is that of Ishiura and in no way will he ever be considered a potential yusho winner or Yokozuna.
I spend my days pondering such issues, so you won't have to.

As is my want I'll be focusing on the bouts of the day that mattered or are of interest.

J2 Tochiozan returned to the division and received an early Xmas present in being gifted the wet tissue paper of an opponent that is Daishomaru. If the desired outcome of this bout was for nobody to get hurt or raise a sweat, then mission accomplished.

M11 Ishiura met M14 Terutsuyoshi literally head to head, no need for either to henka, as each tried to drive the other out. Terutsuyoshi had little problem in succeeding with the oshi-dashi force out and I was surprised by the lack of resilience from Ishiura.

Former Sekiwake Shodai now at M10, had little problem in a straight up yori-kiri victory over M15 Daishoho. Daishoho came in high with a halfhearted shoulder charge which Shodai absorbed easily, then with both arms under Daishoho's armpits it was an easy walk forward for the win.

Sumo's page 3 candidate M13 Kagayaki is part of the large group of contenders coming in today at 6-2. We all appreciate his straightforward, determined, unfussy approach, but really, he has no variation, no plan B. He either wins via force out or more often than not, unfortunately loses. But he never loses badly. I cannot recall him ever been flung into the spectator seats, for example. In this way he's not much different than the benign bus driver, Takarafuji. He has his limitations, but he is committed to his technique, can absorb an opponent's initial hit, keeping front on, trying to stay low and maneuver his opponent out. Which was exactly how it eventuated today vs Shimanoumi. Win number 7 for Kagayaki.

Chiyotairyu fans would have been happy to see him bouldering forward with all his might. He threw everything into the effort bar a war-scream. Trouble was that the guy on the receiving end, Sadanoumi had gained a right belt hold and, using that for balance, was able to pull and turn and then bundle the big guy down to the clay. Excellent defensive sumo from the sadder but wiser guy who is now 6-3.

At M14, Nishikigi stocks have been steadily decreasing since the start of the year when at one stage he had defeated two Ozeki and a Yokozuna in successive bouts. He had the better of the tachi-ai today against half-man, half-space oddity M7 Kotoeko, driving him back to the ropes. Kotoeko, whose NHK profile shot resembles that of a drug-crazed psychotic rapist, is adept at wiggling free of bigger guys and today he did so with a twist one way and then the other, off-balancing Nishi who was then finished , yori-kiri style for Kotoeko's 4th win.

One guy who clearly doesn't have Chiyonofuji as an inspiration is M13 Chiyomaru, whose height in numbers is less than his weight (178cms, 191kgs). M7 Tsurugisho thought he'd take on the full frontal belly-charge of Chiyomaru and would have regretted doing so as he was bellied back and over the ropes for win number 6 for Chiyomaru.

M6 Enho wasn't going to take on M9 Kotoshogiku front on. He jumped left and nearly gained an arm hold, neatly skirting the ropes, but settled for a left belt grip and nearly pulled off an uwate-nage belt throw, lost his grip, then dodged right to avoid The Giku who couldn't keep his balance and stumbled off the dohyo for Enho's 5th win.

M8 Shohozan and M6 Onosho met in the bout of the day so far. From the tachi-ai Shohozan unleashed some rapid-fire thrust to Onosho's chin, was driven back a couple of steps before firing out some more thrusts. They then went chest to chest with Onosho gaining the advantage but Shohozan, his heels on the rope, shimmied sideways, grabbed a right hand belt hold and heaved a lovely arm-throw to finally dispense Onosho to the dirt. Shohozan moves to 6-0.

Komusubi Asanoyama defeated M1 Daieisho by holding him up, absorbing the drive of Daieisho, then stepping back for the pull-down with a sure hand on the back of Daieisho's head to assist in the hataki-komi win and moves up to 7-2.

I enjoyed this bout between M1 Okinoumi and Komusubi Endo. The two grapplers both went in low looking for the mawashi with Endo gaining a left and then worked hard for the right. Oki also had a left grip and they both jostled at the edge in an effort to heave the other out. Endo was in the better position, but his right belt hold was ineffectual as the belt had slipped high. From here Oki showed his strength, hoisting Endo around for another uwate-nage victory.

M5 Ryuden did little to avoid the straight arm thrusts of Komusubi Abi and was walked backwards meekly for an easy win to Abi, his 5th.

I could barely believe it when I read that Mitakeumi holds a 17-2 win advantage over Tamawashi. Today he won again, in emphatic fashion by coming under and up Tama's thrusts then tractoring hard under Tama's armpits for a solid yori-kiri force out.

Ozeki Takakeisho and Komusubi Hokutofuji engaged in a series of collisions and thrusts with 'Fuji happy to lead with the forehead and Taka wearing the brunt of them. With each head-first lunge from 'Fuji, Taka withstood firmly and delivered his own weighty shoves until after wearing one in a full-on blow to his nose, he evaded to the left from where 'Fuji flew forward from the dohyo, fully airborne in the process. Win number 6 and a bloodied nose for Takakeisho. He earned it today.

The Hak had an easier time of it vs M4 Kotoyuki. He led with his customary swipe to the face, nearly grabbed a left belt grip, shouldered into 'Yuki then stepped back with a light swipe down and let his opponent fall face forward to the floor. Hak is still in the lead at 8-1.

That's it from me.  Mike is back for real tomorrow.

Day 8 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
As it has been in so many tournaments for so many years, the yusho race this time appears to be headed to a will-he-or-won't-he outcome dictated by The Storyteller, Hakuho. Despite his ridiculous Day 2 loss, Hakuho is already alone in the lead with just that one loss, and a host of plausible challengers--Kakuryu, Goeido, Ichinojo, and Tochinoshin--have all withdrawn, while the highest ranked Japanese yusho winners of the last few years, Mitakeumi and Takakeisho, have struggled to stay above .500. Hakuho hasn't taken a tournament since March, so it is time and he has left a decent interval.

Looking around at the second place guys, can we forecast anything for the second week? I think yes: it is going to be Asanoyama against Hakuho for the yusho race because Asanoyama is the only plausible guy who is just one off the pace. Here they are: Chiyomaru (out of the question--an M13 with no juice, more useful for comic relief than competitive performance), Shodai (could happen, but he isn't good enough and would have probably needed to have 6 or 7 wins at this point to set up that narrative), Kagayaki (will wilt under any pressure placed on him), Sadanoumi (an uncharismatic perpetual also-ran at M8), and Asanoyama.

Which would all point to Hakuho dropping at least one more in order to get Takakeisho back on the leaderboard. Will he? Won't he? I think he goes ahead and takes this one without too much drama--sometimes you just need the Yokozuna to be the Yokozuna, and this talent-poor time is ripe for that.

M13 Chiyomaru (5-2) vs. M15 Daishoho (1-6)
Shelf Gut (Chiyomaru) stood up and Daishoho bumped him with the chest and pushed him out yori-kiri. You're not supposed to stand up like that in sumo. And there's one guy off the leaderboard.

M15 Daishomaru (3-4) vs. M12 Takanosho (3-4)
A lazy little bit of pushing and pulling by Daishomaru, while Takanosho burrowed in hard and pushed him out, yori-kiri. Takanosho did what he needed to do here, standing up Daishomaru at the tachi-ai, then getting on him underneath and driving.

M11 Ishiura (3-4) vs. M14 Nishikigi (2-5)
Remember when Nishikigi was up in the high Maegashira ranks, performing well? A quiet year later, here he is at M14 with more than twice as many wins as losses. I think this is the real Nishikigi, though. This was a pretty cool-looking match. Ishiura kept low and they did quite a bit of arm grappling, Nishikigi trying to fend the little man off and the little man trying to get as far inside as possible. After a bit of this Ishiura popped out of there and re-attacked, changing the line and flow of the match. It worked: he got the surprised Nishikigi to the edge. There, with his back to the straw, Nishikigi grabbed Ishiura's arm and tried to throw him down to his left. It would have worked, but Ishiura wrapped his muscular left leg around Nishikigi, simultaneously preventing himself from being thrown to his right and providing a second fulcrum for Ishiura's own throw attempt in the other direction. Down they both crashed in a dramatic heap, Ishiura on top and Nishikigi on the bottom--quite simply, Ishiura blocked off Nishikigi's route to victory by clamping onto him like a barnacle. They ruled it soto-gake for Ishiura, focusing on the trip. For his part, Ishiura rolled a couple of rows deep into the crowd--this one was hard-earned and he committed in full to get it.

M10 Shimanoumi (3-4) vs. M11 Chiyotairyu (4-3)
Shimanoumi is one of those guys I gained a slow-creeping respect for: he's big and pretty straightforward, savvy and patient. Chiyotairyu, however, had no respect for him: jumped up, pushed down on his head, and immediately beat him hataki-komi with this well-executed henka. I liked this fine: Chiyotairyu's attack is all about the tachi-ai blast-off, and he needs to balance it every once in a while by doing this. Otherwise guys can sell out for power against him without a second thought. Chiyotairyu is putting together a workmanlike basho, and this was part of it.

M14 Terutsuyoshi (3-4) vs. M10 Shodai (5-2)
This was kind of interesting: I will say Terutsuyoshi faked the henka, then halfway through that split second of bailing out, bailed back in: lurched down and in and grabbed Shodai around the lower right calf. This was plenty effective: Shodai was discombobulated and vulnerable, and Terutsuyoshi followed with the oshi-dashi immediately. I didn't like this as much as the Chiyotairyu henka, because stuff like this is all Terutsuyoshi has got--where is the balance?--but it worked. And another also-ran falls off the leaderboard.

M9 Kotoshogiku (2-5) vs. M13 Kagayaki (5-2)
There are plenty of big, strong, young wrestlers willing to make Kotoshogiku look spent when they want to beat him. Kotoshogiku did his normal bit, surging in hard and low and starting his hip-thrust gabburi force-out charge. However, it only moved Kagayaki back about 50 centimeters; Kagayaki stopped him plain, put one forearm under each of Kotoshogiku's armpits, and drove him right on out, yori-kiri, like a forklift. Bigger. Younger. Stronger. Better. And Kagayaki became the first guy to stay one off the lead.

M7 Tsurugisho (4-3) vs. M8 Sadanoumi (5-2)
Sadanoumi went for the belt against his much bigger foe, and he got it on both sides, but it didn't do him much good. After absorbing the vigorous charge by the Sad Man, Tsurugisho pivoted while holding onto Sadanoumi's belt in turn, then bumped him backwards with an upward thrust of his massive gut. Cool. It didn't quite finish Sadanoumi off, but Tsurugisho stuck with it and pushed Sadanoumi out a moment later, oshi-dashi. Like Shimanoumi, I wrote Tsurugisho off immediately upon his appearance in the upper division, but he hasn't been half-bad. As for Sadanoumi, he becomes the third of our four two-loss guys thus far to slip back to three losses.

M6 Onosho (4-3) vs. M7 Kotoeko (2-5)
Wilted Flower (Onosho) thought he was on the way to a "densha-michi" ("train-road") linear force out, and so did I--there has never been much to Kotoeko. However, the problem with the linear force out is it is usually easy to get out of if you can swallow your pride, and Kotoeko was willing: he stepped to the side at the edge and forced Onosho down, tsuki-otoshi, trampling Onosho's precious petals in the mud.

M9 Yutakayama (4-3) vs. M6 Enho (4-3)
Enho, Enho--if I had been pushed down into splits and lost by touching my perineum to the dirt the way Enho was the other day, both of my legs would have been torn right off. So I'll give him credit for being limber. But who loses by perineum-tsuki? And then: we had the stupidest tachi-ai(s) of all time: ahead of the first try Yutakayama kept backing up and backing up, inching further towards the straw, trying to give himself room to see what Enho was going to do. Then when they both touched their fists down they just stood there: nobody moved forward, and Enho actually took a step back. Enho then looked to the gyoji for what to do, and the gyoji made a disgusted face and told them to start over. Much as I dislike him (it was Konosuke) and this didn't match my understanding of the rules (they both clearly put both fists down), this felt organically like the right decision: while Konosuke could have let them figure it out on their own ("okay dumbasses, if that's the way you want to fight, your move"), probably better to have said "homie don't play dat" like he did and try to get a real match going.

So, back to the blocks. The second try was a false start by Enho, after which Yutakayama disdainfully shoved him back towards his starting line and the crowd scolded the doleful-looking cherub too. The third try was another no-go: both men stood and looked at each other. This time Konosuke had had enough, however, and yelled at them to get it on, gesturing emphatically with his arms that they should move towards each other. So they engaged; Yutakayama, looking angry at this point, tried the straight force-out, got close, but didn't finish it. Wild slappery followed until Yutakayama pushed down hard on Enho's very-low-to-the-ground head and Enho's feet popped off the dirt behind him and he went down in a heap hataki-komi between Yutakayama's legs; Yutakayama proceeded to stumble over him. It was kind of scary for moment, as if Enho's forehead was going to be smashed into the all-too-near dirt or his neck broken. He was of course fine--but defeated.

What do I think of all this? This? This was a farce. Keep in mind that it was also probably the most anticipated match of the day for many fans. Think about that for a second.

M8 Shohozan (4-3) vs. M5 Ryuden (3-4)
Not much to see here: Shohozan banged hard at the tachi-ai, but immediately retreated away to his right while pulling forcefully down. Ryuden crumbled down hataki-komi before he had a chance to fully stand up. As with Chiyotairyu's henka earlier, if you are going to win this way, this is how you do it. It looked impressive on Darth Hozan's part: strength, speed, efficacy.

M2 Myogiryu (3-4) vs. M4 Kotoyuki (3-4)
This was a linear force out by Kotoyuki, oshi-dashi, in two movements. Slap, slap, slap, and back went Myogiryu. Whoops, a pull there at the end by Kotoyuki instead of finishing it off. Okay, slap, slap, slap on try number two, and out went Myogiryu, who never did anything in this but make silly-looking, ineffective pull attempts.

M1 Daieisho (4-3) vs. M1 Okinoumi (2-5)
And here was a linear force out in one movement by Daieisho. Okinoumi showed all the absorbent power of roll of paper towels dropped in a bathtub: he got all wet and soggy. Quick oshi-dashi win for Daieisho.

K Hokutofuji (4-3) vs. K Endo (3-4)
A merry-go-round of grabbing, pushing, and shoving that travelled all over the ring in various directions but consistently favored Endo. There was too much pulling and not enough pulling by Hokutofuji, and Endo stayed focused in his bent-over position, not committing too much, but not giving up on a) attacks, and b) knocking Hokutofuji off to the side when he got too dangerous. As a result Hokutofuji could never establish anything, and after several trips around the ring Endo found a moment to shove Hokutofuji hard in the belly and sent tumbling over one of the sidelines judges, oshi-dashi. I continue to be an Endo revitalizationist, to coin a new word. He has had three phases to his career: rapid, ecstatic rise with literally the most hype I have ever seen for any rikishi in nearly twenty years of watching sumo, then several years of correspondingly severe and demoralizing disappointment as he proved small and underpowered in Makuuchi and was repeatedly destroyed, but now finally this quiet, mature phase--once everybody forgot about him and let him be, he started to put it together, using solid technique and taking advantage of a weakened banzuke to be one of the most reliably consistent performers we have.

K Abi (4-3) vs. K Asanoyama (5-2)
Abi did his thing as always: used those ridiculously long looking loose-firehose arms to drive and strike at his opponent's face. As for Asanoyama, who I continue to really like, he reminded me of Toyonoshima for a moment: though his head was bent back getting pummeled and he was looking at the ceiling, he didn't let it bother him and didn't let it move him back: just another day in the ring. Legs planted apart, he endured it, then moved forward in his own right and pushed Abi out, oshi-dashi. With this he joined Kagayaki as the only two guys to stay one off of Hakuho's pace today.

S Mitakeumi (3-4) vs. M5 Aoiyama (4-3)
This was a longish affair involving Aoiyama taking a lot of pressure and absorbing Mitakeumi's attack but not doing much in return. There were a few serious-looking shoves by him in there, but it was mostly pulling and mawarai-komu backwards-circling. Mitakeumi was cautious, not wanted to fall prey to the pulls, letting this match grow to a ripe old age for a non-belt contest. Ultimately Mitakeumi was able to get in under: wrapped both arms around Aoiyama's massive bulk on the inside. Blubber-tub Aoiyama had no hope after that, was stood up and with no grip or separation, and Mitakeumi forced him out, yori-kiri.

O Takakeisho (4-3) vs. M2 Meisei (4-3)
Takakeisho was his best self here: push-pause-push-pause-push. It was rapid, and the pushes had force and upward trajectory (in baseball terms, his launch angle was good). Meisei chose to stick with it though he should have avoided; when he did finally decide to tiptoe away along the straw at the very end it was too late, as Takakeisho bumped him out to finish off this dominant oshi-dashi victory. Hmmm… that leaderboard stuff… all it would take is one little loss by Hakuho to put Takakeisho right back in it…

M3 Takarafuji (3-4) vs. O Takayasu (3-4)
Oh my--Takayasu withdrew. That means he will drop to Sekiwake next tournament and we'll have just two Ozeki, Goeido and Takakeisho, next time around. While this is somewhat of a relief--Takayasu won in double digits just once in 2019 and has been increasingly feeble as an Ozeki--the deforestation of the rank proceeds apace, exposing a barren wasteland beneath.

M4 Tamawashi (4-3) vs. Y Hakuho (6-1)
This match featured the first solid dame-oshi (unnecessary extra shove) I've seen before a match (they are usually after): following the second of two false starts, Hakuho shoved Tamawashi forcefully and angrily back where he came from. Oh, that Hakuho: temper, temper. When they went for reals, Hakuho hit Tamawashi hard in the temple with his left hand, then grabbed the outside belt on the same side. Meanwhile his right hand was on the inside and it was curtains: Tamawashi is no belt fighter, and this match was all belt. Hakuho summarily forced Tamawashi out yori-kiri, and with so much mustard they both ended up hopping off the clay mound. Hakuho looked like he wanted to deliver some extra dame-oshi down below, and certainly would have if they were still in the ring, but he had no excuse down there and just barely contained himself. He's fiery this tournament and has little real competition: yep, I'm giving him the yusho.

Tomorrow Justin rakes up all the leaves and rotten pumpkin marrows.

Day 6 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
I've mentioned this before, but my daily routine during a basho is to watch NHK's News 9 broadcast as I get ready for work in the morning. Due to the time difference, it works out to where the News 9 sports segment begins right about the time I eat my breakfast, and I can tell so much regarding the day's sumo events based on the demeanor of the news casters, the order in which they show bouts, the actual bouts they choose to show, and even the way they label opponents of hyped Japanese rikishi.

For example, on day 1 NHK's Sunday's Sports News obviously led with the Takakeisho bout, and the graphic in the upper right of the screen didn't just say he was fighting Okinoumi, but it labeled Okinoumi as a "jitsuryokusha," or a highly-skilled rikishi. On day 2 when Takakeisho lost against Asanoyama, the label that introduced Takakeisho's opponent read, "Asanoyama...who yusho'd in May."  It's just interesting to see they way in which they attempt to subtly manipulate the viewer in order to further the narrative that these Japanese rikishi are actually legitimate.

Well, this morning I sat down to my Cheerios and News 9 didn't even start off with the Takakeisho bout, so I knew at that point that Takakeisho not only lost but got his ass kicked. They chose to start off with Asanoyama, who coincidentally got his ass kicked by Endoh...er...the highly-skilled Endoh. Those were the only two bouts they showed, and they couldn't get away from the sumo news and onto the tired Paralympics coverage fast enough.

My purpose in starting off with this today is to illustrate just how subjective the results in sumo are and the pending coverage by the Japanese media. I get it that nobody is buying seats these days or flipping on the news to watch Hakuho, but he is the best Yokozuna of all time and the current yusho leader. I mean, when you have an event that lasts only two weeks, and the winner of the event is based solely on his record, you'd think that maybe they could bother to mention Hakuho or show his bout, and I'm trying to remember if they've shown any of Hakuho's bouts other than his loss to Daieisho.

I thought Harvye's intro yesterday was brilliant as he posed the question of where are all the Yokozuna and Ozeki?  In Hakuho's case, yes, he is still there and able to dominate as he has always done, but can you see how even he is being phased out? He's there but it doesn't really feel as if he's there because all of the focus is taken away from him and centered on these useless guys who are ranked as Ozeki, but there's no substance involved whatsoever, and so even if they do get all of the press coverage and hype, there's really nothing there.

It's a dire situation for the sport, and I'm afraid the long-term remedy is to simply eliminate participation from foreign rikishi and let the remaining Japanese rikishi organically re-create a new hierarchy. Even so, yaocho and politics has always been part of sumo, and it always be part of sumo. I do think that currently there are jitsuryokusha among the Japanese rikishi (Chiyotairyu, Okinoumi, Takarafuji, Daieisho), but for whatever reason they are not allowed to shine. It will be interesting to watch all this play out long term, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's focus on Day 6.

In a bout whose flow just wasn't natural from the start, M13 Kagayaki and M15 Daishoho looked to hook up in migi-yotsu, but can you call it that if Daishoho doesn't bother to get an arm to the inside even if he could have? Instead, he latched both arms around Kagayaki's right arm in kote fashion in an attempt to force him out with that posture. The action suddenly stopped at the edge where Daishoho put an arm up high as if to pull, and all that did was give Kagayaki moro-zashi, which he used to easily force Daishoho back and out with little resistance. You cannot watch a bout of sumo like this and say that both parties were fighting with 100% effort because they weren't. Daishoho who fell to 1-5 likely owed Kagayaki a bout here, and that's what happened as Kagayaki lands at 4-2.

In another mukiryoku contest, M14 Nishikigi kept his arms exposed at the tachi-ai gifting M12 Takanosho moro-zashi, and as T-Sho quickly began forcing Nishikigi back, the latter's only response was as a feigned kote-nage that amounted to nothing in this two-second affair. Takanosho bought this one as he moves to 3-3 while Nishikigi falls to 2-4.

The most useless guy in the entire division is M15 Daishomaru, but hey, he's really good when he buys a win! Or not. Today's seller was M11 Chiyotairyu, and the first go-around had Daishomaru's catching Chiyotairyu with a surprise (wink, wink) pull a second or two in, but the ref actually called it back and lectured Daishomaru for an improper tachi-ai. He should have lectured him for fake sumo because we'd get it even worse in the second go-around. Daishomaru skirted to his right for round two attempting to get a kote grip for a kote-nage??  Who knows because it failed miserably, and so the two traded weak tsuppari before Chiyotairyu put his right hand against Daishomaru's left shoulder and just stood there. From this stance, Daishomaru pivoted left going for a weak tsuki-otoshi swipe that barely connected, but there Chiyotairyu was just diving sideways to the dirt in obvious fashion. Both rikishi end the day at 3-3, and sumo like this is just unwatchable to me.

M14 Terutsuyoshi put both hands to the back of M10 Shimanoumi's head in pull fashion at the tachi-ai as he moved left, but it took Shimanoumi a few steps to catch up, and when he did he swiped Terutsuyoshi to the side using a shove from the right hand creating separation between the two. As they hooked back up, Shimanoumi grabbed a left outer grip with no resistance from Terutsuyoshi, and from there he just dragged his foe down to the dirt with Terutsuyoshi seeming all too eager to go down. Hooboy, is it too much to ask for some normalcy here? Shimanoumi moves to 3-3 with the result (I can't really use "win") while Terutsuyoshi falls to 2-4.

M13 Chiyomaru used a moro-te-zuki tachi-ai catching M10 Shodai by the neck and keeping him upright, and from there, Shodai was forced into an oshi bout, a style that favors Chiyomaru. And it showed as Maru nudged Shodai back and over to the edge with a series of shoves before Shodai tried to move left and go for a do-or-die pull, but Chiyomaru just crashed the shelf gut into him to knock him back across before Maru himself hit the dirt. A real bout of sumo here won by Chiyomaru as both rikishi end the day at 4-2.

M9 Yutakayama got the left inside at the tachi-ai against M11 Ishiura, and Yutakayama used a right paw into Ishiura's left side as he immediately forced him sideways and to the edge. The problem was that Yutakayama didn't have his foe sufficiently contained with the right arm, and so Ishiura was able to counter at the edge with a nifty right tsuki-otoshi shove that sent Yutakayama down before Ishiura stepped out. Or so we thought. They called a mono-ii and said something like, "Because of all the crap sumo you've been forced to watch, we found a legitimate bout here, and so we think these two ought to fight again just to give you your money's worth." It was either that or they determined that Ishiura stepped out or was too far gone when Yutakayama touched down, and so they called a do-over.

In round two, Ishiura henka'd widely to his left grabbing the cheap outer grip, which he used to whip Yutakayama over to the edge before pushing him across for good. Yutakayama never had a chance here, and that was a pretty dirty henka as Ishiura picks up win #2 while Yutakayama gets greased to a 4-2 mark.

In a bout faker than fake, M7 Tsurugisho moved to his left as if to henka, but he didn't go for a pull or a swipe or anything. He just kept moving in that direction as M9 Kotoshogiku caught up with him and just forced him out with zero argument. It started out as okuri-dashi, but Tsurugisho did manage to turn about 90 degrees at the edge changing the kimari-te to yori-kiri. Whatever. Kotoshogiku limps to 2-4 with the gift while Tsurugisho had room to give falling to 3-3.

In an obviously real bout, M6 Onosho won the tachi-ai against M8 Sadanoumi catching him with a few thrusts that knocked the Sadamight up high, and so Sadanoumi moved to his right in an attempt to escape the onslaught. That move right enabled him to grab an outer grip with the right, but Onosho countered with the better position in the form of the left arm deep to the inside. Sadanoumi kept moving laterally erasing Onosho's left inside, but he countered with the right inside and was able to keep the pressure on forcing Sadanoumi across the ring and out before Sadanoumi's counter left belt throw could sufficiently form. Great effort from both parties here, and it was nice to see the guy who won the tachi-ai end up winning the bout. Loved it as Onosho moves to 3-3 while Sadanoumi falls to 4-2.

M6 Enho henka'd to his right trying to swipe M8 Shohozan over and out, and it nearly worked, but Darth Hozan was able to put on the star destroyer brakes that enable the ships to suddenly stop when they come out of light speed, and so Enho let out a sigh as he was now forced to square back up with his foe who was likely hopping mad. Enho did well to attempt to push Shohozan out that last bit, but the Fukuoka native fought his way back into the bout, forced Enho back to the center of the ring (all without a single face slap!), and then reached around grabbing the right outer grip at the back of the belt using it to force Enho to do the splits in the center of the ring as Shohozan picks up the strangest uwate-dashi-nage win I've ever seen. When a guy is entirely outmatched as Enho is in this division, the bouts are always so unorthodox from start to finish, but oh well. I think they want this guy around for awhile, and it's a sad state of affairs when Enho is about the best the Association has going for it. Both rikishi end the day at 4-2.



In a straight up bout, there is no way that M7 Kotoeko can defeat M5 Ryuden, and today's contest was a straight up bout, and so Kotoeko moved right putting both hands at the back of Ryuden's head attempting to finagle his way into a quick pull, but Ryuden responded well and was able to easily fire a single two-handed shove into Kotoeko's torso pushing the already compromised rikishi back and across in maybe two seconds. Easy does it as Ryuden moves to 3-3 while Kotoeko is just 1-5.

The sound sumo would continue as M5 Aoiyama used his size and strength advantage to force his bout with M1 Okinoumi to oshi-zumo. Okinoumi did attempt to grab Aoiyama and force the bout to the belt, but Aoiyama was moving forward with his legs and bullied Okinoumi back and across with little argument. Straight up affair as Aoiyama moves to 4-2 while Okinoumi falls to 2-4.

Komusubi Abi had his way with M1 Daieisho, but that will happen when your opponent does nothing to attack or counter, and so Abi pushed Daieisho around for about seven seconds as Daieisho arched his back and tried to absorb the blows, but he was mukiryoku here giving Abi the cheap win. Now, you can't take anything away from Abi who was proactive in his oshi-attack, but his shoves all came in so high, Daieisho could have easily slipped out of that attack had he wanna. Both rikishi end the day at 3-3.

As he is wont to do, Komusubi Hokutofuji shaded left at the tachi-ai against M3 Kotoyuki throwing enough of a change-up to force Kotoyuki into defensive shoves. With no de-ashi from Kotoyuki, Hokutofuji was able to stand toe to toe and tsuppari Yuki upright before going for a surprise pull that of course worked like a charm as Kotoyuki just rolled himself off of the dohyo altogether in exaggerated fashion...something HE is wont to do. The end result is Hokutofuji's moving to 4-2 while Kotoyuki rests at 3-3.

Komusubi Endoh got the right arm inside at the tachi-ai against fellow Komusubi Asanoyama, and the more experienced Endoh was able to sacrifice one step back in order to work his left arm inside as well giving Endoh moro-zashi and catching Asanoyama off guard. In a pickle, Asanoyama tried to maki-kae with his right while reaching for a left outer grip, but Endoh seized on the momentum shift and threw Asanoyama down with a nice inside belt throw using the left. Asanoyama was schooled here falling to 4-2, and the Sumo Association just can't seem to catch a break in having a Japanese rikishi make it to the weekend unscathed with one loss or less. As for Endoh, he's shown a lot skill wise despite his 2-4 record.

Sekiwake Mitakeumi came with his arms in tight against M3 Takarafuji denying T-Fuji the inside position at first, but Takarafuji just plodded forward and demanded that left inside position. Mitakeumi complied on the other side rendering the bout to hidari-yotsu, but it was Takarafuji who used his bulk to slowly but surely nudge Mitakeumi back. Takarafuji never got the right outer grip, but he didn't need it as Mitakeumi looked uncomfortable in this belt contest, and so the force-out was linear although it took about 12 uneventful seconds. That bump over his right eye is freaking Mitakeumi out more than it should. Dude, it's just blood. Mitakeumi falls to a disastrous 2-4 now while Takarafuji is even steven at 3-3.

I was actually embarrassed for Takakeisho yesterday as he went down due to the slightest of inashi from Takarafuji, and I think that Takarafuji was trying to let Takakeisho win. I mean, you look at Takarafuji's act today against Mitakeumi in a straight up bout...he charged forward and triesdto get to the inside. Against Takakeisho yesterday, he completely held up looking for nothing before shading left and doing that little inashi move because he had to do something.

Regardless of that, I think Takakeisho showed us something today with his back to the wall meaning he knew coming in that M4 Tamawashi wasn't going to let up for him. Takakeisho was proactive from the tachi-ai attempting a few shoves, but when they didn't have any effect against The Mawashi, Takakeisho moved left going for a quick left swipe. That's the same swipe that fells his opponents in fixed bouts, but Tamawashi wasn't bought out here, and so he easily squared up and kept up the tsuppari pressure going for a quick pull, following that up with more shoves, going for another effective swipe, and then finishing Takakeisho off with some nice pushes to the chest. I mean, Takakeisho never had a chance in this one and he was gassed at the end although the bout wasn't a marathon, but he at least showed us something in putting up a fight. Takakeisho falls to 3-3 and is further exposed as a complete fraud at these levels while Tamawashi breezes to 4-2.

Speaking of a complete fraud as an Ozeki, Takayasu actually showed a decent tachi-ai neutralizing M2 Myogiryu's charge, but he couldn't attack sufficiently to put Myogiryu on his heels, and so Myogiryu backed up baiting Takayasu to come forward with his arms outstretched, and that allowed Myogiryu to lurch into moro-zashi and completely turn the tables. Myogiryu wasted no time driving Takayasu back across the entire length of the dohyo sending him off the mound completely before Takayasu could muster any sort of counter move. Tamawashi schooled Takakeisho and Myogiryu schooled Takayasu here. As a kadoban Ozeki, Takayasu falls to 2-4, and can you imagine how ugly it's going to get if they buy eight wins for him? As for Myogiryu, he moves to a respectable 3-3.

With all of the hyped Japanese rikishi losing today, yes, I was anxious as Yokozuna Hakuho stepped into the ring against M2 Meisei. At the tachi-ai, Meisei was positioned closer to the edge of the ring than he was to his starting line, and ya know, if I saw Hakuho standing there on the other side of the ring, I'd probably back away as far as I could too. It resulted in a false start the first time around, and as they reloaded, Meisei once again stayed way back. The end result was a horrible bout of sumo because by the time Meisei traveled across the dohyo he was already gassed. Hakuho came with a left hari-te and looked to shade that way to grab an outer grip, but Meisei was already on his way down. I guess Hakuho did touch Meisei's outer belt drawing the uwate-dashi-nage winning technique, but there was a hardly an uwate there let alone any dashi or nage motion. Whatever. Meisei wanted no part of this one as Hakuho didn't have a chance to throw anything here moving to 5-1. As for Meisei, he regroups for tomorrow at 4-2.

Speaking of regrouping, I gotta do just that for Day 7.

Day 5 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
Where are the Ozeki and Yokozuna? I've been doing this for a long time now, and there is a certain rhythm to it. The first week, your last six matches or so are going to feature top guy after top guy--most of the time you'll have two or three Yokozuna and four or so Ozeki.

Lately, that's not remotely the case, and it is jarring to be fifteen minutes from the end and still wallowing amongst the Sekiwake. Last basho we had the spectacle of Goeido finishing off many days as the headliner. The sense of anti-climax is palpable. This time, we're only on Day 5 and already we're down to just two Ozeki and one Yokozuna. Only the last three matches are top-billing headliner stuff. It feels eerily thin--there is a whole layer of guys missing. And I guarantee you the run of the mill fan feels it: who are these guys? they ask. Where are the Ozeki I paid to see? The Yokozuna they advertise? This is it?

Yes, this comes partly from injuries, both real and fake. But it also comes from the lack of guys good enough to fill those ranks. When the Mongolians were being allowed to more freely show their stuff, Harumafuji and Kakuryu were quickly promoted to Yokozuna and you had a three headed monster of legit top dogs. The Ozeki ranks were populated by scary bruisers for years, from Chiyotaikai and Tochiazuma to Baruto and Kotooshu. Hell, Kisenosato and Kotoshogiku in their prime were decent Ozeki. Now, we have only hapless Takayasu, who has never felt like an Ozeki, dubious Takakeisho, who still feels like a Komusubi, and Hakuho--who is absent so often it feels like he was exhumed from the tomb to get up there this time around. He's like a hallucination.

Mike mentioned the trivia of having four Komusubi this tournament, and it is indeed trivia. However, it is also symbolic of the state of sport in general: it feels like we've got about 24 Komusubi. All Komusubi, all the time. Every guy feels like the kind of has-beens, maybe-somedays, and never-wuzzers that normally make the Komusubi rank so fun. But that's only fun when there's just two of them. When the whole store is discount goods, well, you get tired of the cheap junk.

M14 Terutsuyoshi (2-2) vs. M15 Daishomaru (1-3)
Terutsuyoshi whapped Daishomaru in the sternum with his head, borglmnuchi, then staggered about the ring as if he were cow in a Kansas slaughterhouse. Daishomaru needed only to turn out of the way, let Terutsuyoshi stumble to the edge, then shove him gently out oshi-dashi. If this is sumo, I'm sad.

M16 Wakatakakage (4-0) vs. M13 Kagayaki (2-2)
Wakatakakage had to withdraw with his injury from the previous day and will spragly drop to Juryo. Fake yusho race alert: this left Shodai in sole lead of the tournament!!

M15 Daishoho (1-3) vs. M12 Takanosho (1-3)
Battle of the 'shos. Extraordinarily easy win for Takanosho, who got low, got his right hand inside first, got his left hand inside next, then used this balsarozrivchik unassailable dual-inside position to push Daishoho upright and drive him out yori-kiri.

M14 Nishikigi (2-2) vs. M11 Chiyotairyu (2-2)
Chiyotairyu did his thing here: I loved the tachi-ai, off of which he whanged Nishikigi up and back. A flurry of slaps, then another upwards-whanging ohruvnump, and he finished Nishikigi off with a quick tsuki-dashi. That's three days in a row of easy-looking wins for him.

M11 Ishiura (1-3) vs. M13 Chiyomaru (2-2)
Ishiura's tachi-ai "hit" on the blob of Chiyomaru was so light it sounded like someone tapping a plastic water pitcher with their finger: "tch." Chiyomaru, meanwhile, obliterated Ishiura's neck with a destructive shove. Another agramaly hand to the face and Ishiura fluttered out of the ring like volcanic dust descending on Kagoshima post-Sakurajima-explosion. Yeeps! This was cool. Oshi-dashi (but I'd have given tsuki-dashi).

M9 Kotoshogiku (0-4) vs. M10 Shodai (4-0)
Here he is, our frontrunner! Our potential champion! Our sole undefeated rikishi, M10 Shodai! And a Kyushu native to boot. Woooo hooooo! The excitement of the gimpelnucker crowd was... existent! But, but... Kotoshogiku grabbed him, worked him back, and knocked him out of the ring backwards right quick, yori-kiri. The crowd was pretty excited (I guess they were cheering for Kotoshogiku, also a Kyushu native, not Shodai...). The Japanese announcer put on his best "finals excitement!" pumped-up voice for this. Oh well, I guess there won't be a zensho for Shodai. And the race tightened! A gazillion guys were back in the lead together.

Okay, enough of that. It was fun while it lasted (about fifteen minutes), this sole-leader-Shodai thing. Remember when I predicted him to be Japan's next Yokozuna? Unfortunately, I still do.

M10 Shimanoumi (2-2) vs. M8 Sadanoumi (3-1)
I liked the way Shimanoumi pushed Sadanoumi off him at the tachi-ai. I liked the way he then deftly put his hands inside on the body. I liked the way he worked further in and got a belt grip. I liked the way he shoved Sadanoumi in the shoulder to change the line of the match and seek an advantage. And... he lost. Mfubdi. Sadanoumi stuck with him, moved forward when needed, and won, yori-kiri. Sometimes them's the breaks. Both guys did their jobs fine here.

M8 Shohozan (3-1) vs. M9 Yutakayama (3-1)
I consider Darth Hozan a tough customer, and a handful: kinetic, sometimes wild, ilimolalli, moving about, often boxing. Yutakayama controlled him throughout. Shoved him upwards at the tachi-ai, spun with him when he spun, grabbed his left arm to neutralize him, and trundled him back, lifted him up, and punched him out with definition, tsuki-dashi. Another good match for the resurgent Yutakayama.

M7 Tsurugisho (3-1) vs. M7 Kotoeko (0-4)
This Tsurugisho, who I totally wrote off as an aged lump of lard at the outset of his debut tournament in September, has been making me look a little silly. Oh well, there is plenty of time--and it was Kotoeko making Tsurugisho look silly today. Tsurugisho was slapping down his lumber-arms on Kotoeko, looking huge and kind of scary, and had Kotoeko on the tychy run and desperate. But Kotoeko darted out of there at the key moment and Timber (Tsurugisho) fell heavily to the dohyo, hataki-komi.

M5 Aoiyama (3-1) vs. M6 Enho (3-1)
As Treebeard might say, Aoiyama's breasts are alamorumbalalomigichigumibuchimubalibalimunganobu. The crowd was much more interested in Enho, though. I couldn't figure out what the big applause was for when the announcer said, "jikan desu!" but when I took my eyes off Aoiyama's perpetually stunning physique and I realized he was fighting The Cherub. There was a whole lot of feinting at the air in this one, hot-zumba-shadow-boxing. At first it looked like they weren't making contact at all. Then it looked like they were playing a hyperactive contest of who-can-go-faster patty-cake. If you are Aoiyama, why would you do this? You would smother him instead. But no. Aoiyama waited until he adjudged it to be the proper moment, then made an embarrassingly fake dive forward in response to a little pull by Enho. Aoiyama put his palms on the dirt, hiki-otoshi, and some of the dupes were happy for another day.

M6 Onosho (1-3) vs. M4 Kotoyuki (3-1)
Kotoyuki kept bending Onosho's bloomply head back like a kid trying to see if he can break his new toy. However, the toy proved to be designed for small children, because it didn't break and sprang back again and again as fine as you please. The toy then bent Kotoyuki's head back, just once, and Kotoyuki said "whoa!" and broke and stumbled off the dohyo, oshi-dashi.

M4 Tamawashi (2-2) vs. M5 Ryuden (2-2)
Ryuden is one of those guys I think of as young and still having potential to make something dorsech of himself. Guess what? He turned 29 on Sunday. I hereby officially take him off of my list of "kind of interesting." He is demoted to "just a guy." Tamawashi fully agreed. In a day of powerful attacks, Tamawashi showed us what he has, relentlessly slaughtering Ryuden in the face and upper body until Ryuden shot backwards into the crowd, oshi-dashi. Man, I love me some peak Tamawashi.

K Hokutofuji (3-1) vs. K Asanoyama (3-1)
These are two of the best guys we've got. The tachi-ai was solid for both parties, but Hokutofuji immediately went up top for the pull, and it had zero effect on Asanoyama, who remained concentrated on moving forward and in, in, in. Demonstratively dominant win from the vetchbaldy Asanoyama, yori-kiri.

K Abi (1-3) vs. K Endo (1-3)
And here were the other two Komusubi. After the solid builds of the previous two, this couldn't help but feel like a Battle of Leprechauns. I trusted in Endo to bring some gravitas to the process. Instead, Abi turned on the feed and cooked with gas. Xoroxalonlo: this was a brutal and focused blistering of Endo. Abi was all over him, aggressive and fast with shooting arms, and made Endo look tiny, ineffectual, and vulnerable. Advantage Abi, with, by my count, our sixth impressive attacking victory of the day (Chiyotairyu, Chiyomaru, Yutakayama, Tamawashi, Asanoyama, Abi). Yet another tsuki-dashi kimarite.

M1 Daieisho (2-2) vs. S Tochinoshin (2-2)
Gwazdzil--here was another withdrawal, by Tochinoshin. The guys are dropping like flies this tournament. Looking forward to that mochi at New Year's, I guess. Too bad for Tochinoshin; I sense nothing good will come of this.

S Mitakeumi (2-2) vs. M1 Okinoumi (1-3)
Okinoumi was in control throughout here, and I'm glad to see it. Mitakeumi has been sputtering and seemed in need of a pick-me-up, and Okinoumi is often just the guy to give those out. Not this time. Okinoumi forearm barred him, lifted his armpit, smushed his face, octopus-wrapped him, drove, and won, yori-hugla-kiri. My god, Mitakeumi just cannot get it together when it comes time to push for Ozeki.

M2 Meisei (3-1) vs. O Takayasu (2-2)
Hey Meisei: you're back in the lead! He seems to be hanging around in important matches a lot the last few tournaments. I'm starting to pay more attention, but I'm not sold yet. Too small, no definitive performance yet. His best thus far was a 10-5 at M7; he then crashed to a 4-11 at M4, the only other time he's been ranked above M7. So, this tournament is a bit of proof-of-concept for him. So far so good up until today, but this match was telling for both guys in paliporobly negative ways. First, a spoiler: Meisei won. However, Meisei was thoroughly worked throughout this match. Takayasu had him on the run from the git-go, and chased him all over the clay. Meisei never established a single thing, just fought to not get ignominiously beat. Takayasu made him look small, underpowered, and lacking sufficient tools in the toolbox. However, more damning is the book on Takayasu: despite his thorough dominance, he couldn't put Meisei away, and after four or five tries fell down in the thick of the chase, kaina-hineri, for an embarrassing loss. As an Ozeki, it simply shouldn't be this way: you expect this kind of sloppy performance without finishing power from guys at M12, not Ozeki. Every time it seems the Ozeki rank can't bet worse, it does. Right now it is a debacle.

O Takakeisho (3-1) vs. Takarafuji (1-3)
My goodness. I was ready to write some nice things about Takakeisho, because he started with a good tachi-ai punch of knocking Takarafuji upright with a powerful blast-shove. However, Takarafuji moved lazily to the side and Takakeisho pitched forward and put his palms down, tsuki-otoshi. As I said in my intro and in my description of the jendexarazzy Takayasu match, this cannot be Ozeki sumo. We were fortunate enough to see some good work earlier in the day from rank-and-filers, but again, we only have three matches featuring an Ozeki and Yokozuna, and both Ozeki matches were embarrassing duds for the Ozeki involved. The product at the top of the banzuke these days, simply put, is low quality. It is strange to watch it.

M2 Myogiryu (2-2) vs. Y Hakuho (3-1)
Save us, Hakuho!! But it was not to be--the match was light. Hakuho was kind of hopping forward, playing his "let's see in what weird way I can win today" game. Making matters worse, Myogiryu slipped or got nerves or more likely just didn't plan on trying much, because despite the absence of meaningful contact from Hakuho, Myogiryu "fell" and put his hands on the bordeshli dirt, tsuki-otoshi, giving the Yokozuna a supremely easy and anti-climactic, silly-looking victory. As I've been saying for years, the bout fixing doesn't just go in the expected directions, and can look very meaningless and favor parties you are sure don't need it. This had all the marks of mukiryoku from Myogiryu. God knows why, but you can't deny it: this was fishy sumo, and punctuated the top-of-the-banzuke weakness today in a dispiriting way: the last three matches were a disaster for those who come to see the best be the best. That took the air out of the balloon of what had been a pretty good day for smash-blam sumo earlier on. Let's hope the sport will eventually pull out of the valley: sumo is unquestionably ailing right now.

Tomorrow Mike iftish.

Day 4 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Four days in we already have a good feel for the basho. Nobody is standing out in the Makuuchi division, and there is no one to pin hopes on for a Japanese yusho. There are still a few Japanese rikishi left with name recognition standing at just one loss at the end of today, so what's going to happen is the media is going to start to glom on to whomever can make it through Day 8 or so with just two losses or less, and then that will be the hyped rikishi. The problem is...this will solely be based on record and not on sumo content. In other words, it's going to be all hype and little substance. With that debacle against Daieisho on Day 2, Hakuho looks more than willing to stay back with the pack, so sumo will end the year on a downward note with little to look forward to as we head into twenty-twenty.

Speaking of 2020, I think the goal for the Sumo Association upon Kisenosato's retirement was to have another Japanese Yokozuna on the banzuke by the time the Lympics came around in the summer. When Donald Trump visited the sumos in May and presented the yusho rikishi with a trophy, there was NO way that he was going to present it to a foreigner, and it's going to be the same with the Olympics. If Hakuho is still around, he'll get the token mention, but the goal is to have a fine crop of Japanese rikishi to show off at the elite ranks. At the moment, all we have are a bunch of turds, and they ain't polished...at least in the ring, so we'll see if they can somehow fake Takakeisho's way to Yokozuna by then.

M14 Terutsuyoshi ducked in low at the tachi-ai against rookie M16 Wakatakakage who responded with a quick pull attempt before before darting to the other side of the ring with his right arm in kote fashion as he made Teru give chase. After squaring back up, the larger Wakatakakage simply connected on better shoves and had his opponent pushed sufficiently upright to the point where he was able to finally rush in, get the right arm inside, and then use that to body Terutsuyoshi back for the well executed force-out win. Wakatakakage is 4-0, and his sumo has been legit for the most part, but he came up hobbling afterwards likely due to a sprained ankle after landing awkwardly as the two danced off the dohyo together. We'll see if he can continue tomorrow. As for Terutsuyoshi, he falls to 2-2 after the drubbing.

M15 Daishoho and M14 Nishikigi hooked up in migi-yotsu where Daishoho had the left outer grip, and this was just a textbook bout of sumo where the Mongolian kept his chest in tight, propping his foe upright and away from his own outer grip, and then timing the perfect force-out charge wrenching Nishikigi over with the right inside position and keep him in tow with the left outer grip. This is exactly how you draw it up and so when you see Tochinoshin or Hakuho or whomever fail to use both hands in a belt contest like this, you now it's fake. Daishoho picks up his first win at 1-3 while Nishikigi falls to 2-2.

M13 Chiyomaru just rushed forward doing nothing with his hands at the tachi-ai standing there in the center of the ring and allowing the useless M15 Daishomaru to execute an easy left tsuki and then shove Maru back and out easy as you please. If this act from Chiyomaru didn't redefine mukiryoku sumo, I don't know what does as Daishomaru buys his first win at 1-3 while Chiyomaru had room to sell at 2-2.

M11 Ishiura secured moro-zashi from the tachi-ai as M12 Takanosho just kept his arms out wide at the charge. The very first thing I noticed in this bout was that Ishiura's feet were completely aligned at the start, and that's no way to demand moro-zashi, but this was simply a compromised bout where Takanosho made no effort to win let alone do anything at the tachi-ai other than gift Ishiura moro-zashi. The force-out was quickly, ugly, and undeserved as Ishiura oils his way to 1-3 while Takanosho falls to the same mark.

As much as I enjoy M11 Chiyotairyu on his good days, his bout against M13 Kagayaki was totally fixed in Tairyu's favor. Chiyotairyu didn't need the freight train attack today as Kagayaki was laughably limp at the tachi-ai sorta getting his left limb inside all the while just backing up as Chiyotairyu plowed forward. I mean, it was over in two seconds, but Chiyotairyu didn't need to kick his opponent's ass here. Just get it over in two seconds and don't get injured, and that's what happened here in this seemingly lopsided affair that left both guys at 2-2.

Speaking of obvious, mukiryoku sumo, M10 Shodai got the left arm kinda inside at the tachi-ai, but Shimanoumi was already backing up standing fully upright. As Shodai gave chase, Shimanoumi maki-kae'd with the right arm giving Shodai the left outer grip, but with Shimanoumi practically backing himself over and out, Shodai didn't need to demand anything here. This was yori-kiri here, but I've seen more force on the NHK news broadcasts when they have an oyakata in studio demonstrating sumo moves with a sportscaster dude who stands 5'5". The Kumamoto faithfully are obviously financing Shodai's 4-0 start while Shimanoumi settles for 2-2.

Two Fukuoka natives hooked up today in M8 Shohozan and M9 Kotoshogiku, and Shohozan threw a curveball at the tachi-ai moving right to grab a cheap outer grip, and as Kotoshogiku spun around to square back up, the two hooked up in hidari-yotsu. Both rikishi settled in nicely drawing mild applause from the faithful, and after gathering his wits for about 15 seconds, Shohozan spun Kotoshogiku around and down with a pretty nifty outside belt throw. This was easily the most entertaining bout of the day to this point as Shohozan sails to 3-1 while Kotoshogiku is an o'fer in his hometown at 0-4.

Another Kyushu favorite, M8 Sadanoumi, faced zero resistance against M9 Yutakayama as the Sadamight grabbed the left frontal grip at the tachi-ai and shored up his position with the inside right, and all Yutakayama did was stand completely upright and say do me now. And Sadanoumi did scoring the yori-kiri in two uneventful seconds. Obvious fixed bout here as Yutakayama made zero effort, and he may as well have garnered a bitta cash considering his 3-0 record coming in. Both fellas end the day at 3-1.

M6 Onosho is a total buyer and seller, and today against M7 Tsurugisho he sold as both rikishi traded a few weak tsuppari at the tachi-ai before Tsurugisho went for a quick one-handed pull attempt, and Onosho immediately put his left palm to the dirt followed by the right as he easily kept the rest of his body from touching the clay. This is the typical stance when a rikishi goes down of his own volition, and Onosho didn't even need to hit the showers after this one. Tsurugisho buys his 3-1 record while Onosho falls to the same mark.

M6 Enho picked up his third win this basho against M7 Kotoeko in a bout that looked pretty real. Except it wasn't. At the tachi-ai, Kotoeko had his right hand to the inside and the path to the left outer, but he quickly took his hands upright in pull fashion allowing Enho to thrust him upright, onto his heels, and eventually out of the ring. In the typical Enho bout that is fought straight up, Enho will duck his way in and dart this way and that, but this bout was like a typical, straight up affair where both dudes were trying to get to the belt. Kotoeko coulda grabbed his gal easily at the tachi-ai, he had multiple chances to get his arms to the inside, and if you watch the slow motion replays closely, he's not really pushing either. He's upright, nonchalant, flat-footed, and mukiryoku, and I know this one looked real to the masses, but it wasn't. Enho moves to 3-1 while Kotoeko falls to 0-4.

Another fake bout was M4 Tamawashi vs. M5 Aoiyama. Tamawashi looked to take charge with some early tsuppari, but he held up after sending Aoiyama back a step or two, and then he just paused waiting and knowing that the pull attempt was coming. It did, and it wasn't that great, but Tamawashi lightly dove to the dirt putting his right palm down early ensuring that he won't be part of any yusho race in week 2. He falls to 2-2 while Aoiyama moves to 3-1, but Aoiyama is another guy who is going to quietly drift away into oblivion.

M5 Ryuden kept his hands completely out of the way from the tachi-ai allowing M4 Kotoyuki to execute his usual tsuppari attack and methodically drive Ryuden back and out with no incident and no resistance whatsoever. Ryuden kept himself upright and he had multiple opportunities to get to the inside, but he just refrained and gave Kotoyuki the ridiculously easy win. Kotoyuki moves to 3-1 with the gift while Ryuden falls to 2-2.

In the Komusubi ranks, Abi's firehose attack was limp against M2 Meisei and likely on purpose. I mean, from the tachi-ai, Abi had Meisei turned sideways and completely exposed to an okuri-dashi, but he failed to turn on the spigot, and then after letting Meisei recover, Meisei was still in no position to attack or counter, and Abi coulda got an arm easily to the inside, but all of his attempts magically slipped off as Meisei was finally able to muster an oshi-dashi in the end. Unimpressive as Meisei moves to 3-1 while Abi graciously falls to 1-3.

Komusubi Asanoyama and M2 Myogiryu hooked up in migi-yotsu straight from the tachi-ai with neither guy close to an outer grip. Instead of leaning chest to chest in the center of the ring, Asanoyama easily turned Myogiryu around and forced him back thanks to no effort from the latter. This was just a soft, soft bout thrown in favor of the Komusubi...the one Japanese rikishi that probably has the most going for him these days. He moves to 3-1 and is the likely yusho favorite at this point in my opinion. I mean, the bout was fixed of course, but it still looked decent. Takakeisho's wins have look unstable and horrible, so it's a lot easier to market Asanoyama's sumo and ability in my opinion. Myogiryu falls to 2-2 with the loss, but he'll be compensated for it somehow.

One of the best and most consistent Japanese rikishi on the banzuke is M1 Daieisho, but the dude likely doesn't have sufficient financial backing. Today against Sekiwake Mitakeumi, the two traded tsuppari from the tachi-ai, but Daieisho is simply the better pusher, and he easily got Mitakeumi upright and then rushed in for moro-zashi. From that point, Mitakeumi could do nothing to defend himself and Daieisho forced him back and across easy as you please. This bout demonstrates the false banzuke we've had for years now. Nobody even knows Daieisho's name, but he's clearly the superior rikishi. He moves to 2-2 with the nice win while Mitakeumi falls to 2-2 after just four days. So much for any momentum gained from his fake yusho in September.

Sekiwake Tochinoshin and M3 Takarafuji hooked up in hidari-yotsu where Takarafuji secured the right outer grip near the front of the Ozeki's belt, and you could tell from the git-go that we had a legitimate bout of sumo on our hands. Tochinoshin shored up his left inside position and kept Takarafuji at bay with his bulk, but Takarafuji was a bulldog using that right outer grip to apply pressure and force Tochinoshin back, and just when it looked as if Takarafuji was gonna score the upset, Tochinoshin twisted him over and down with his left arm latched around Fuji's neck and then the right arm twisting Takarafuji down in tow. It was an impressive throw ruled kubi-hineri and an impressive bout as Tochinoshin moved 2-2. Unfortunately, the first Thursday morning headline has Tochinoshin going kyujo for an injury in his right torso.  The article was really vague regarding the actual injury, and so I went back and scrutinized the bout and aftermath, and at one point as he waited to hand off the chikara-mizu, he touched his right torso as seen in the pic at right.  Did he look hurt afterwards?  No.  did the announcers comment on anything?  No.  Do I think he could have continued?  Yes.  But the current strategy is to reduce the presence of the foreigners and raise the status of the Japanese rikishi, and so kyujo must have been an easy decision. Takarafuji fell to 1-3 with the loss but showed a lot here.

Takakeisho left himself vulnerable at the tachi-ai against Komusubi Endoh coming out with weak tsuppari and bad footwork, but Endoh wasn't looking to get inside, and so Takakeisho was able to reload and come forward again, and as he did, Endoh latched onto the front of Takakeisho's belt with the right hand, but instead of pulling his gal in snug, he just kept that arm extended allowing Takakeisho to push it away and then go for a quick pull. That was Endoh's cue to just hit the dirt, and he did just that putting both palms down and catching the rest of his body from touching down. Typical yaocho fall and the typical mukiryoku effort seen against Takakeisho, who moves to the ugliest 3-1 you'd care to see while Endoh falls to 1-3. Before we move, the announcers were talking about the method that Takakeisho used to cut off Endoh's outer grip by pushing into his forearm with both hands. I've never seen that before, and the reason you don't see it is because sumo protocol calls for pulling your opponent in tight once you get the grip, and so there's never an exposed foream to push away. If you're trying to win the bout that is...

Moving right along, Komusubi Hokutofuji got up and under Ozeki Takayasu's extended right arm at the tachi-ai, and used that to lift Takayasu upright and to the side a bit, and before Takayasu could even think about squaring back up, Hokutofuji had him rushed back and across in short order. In essence, this was an ass-kicking by the Komusubi who moves to 3-1 with the nifty win while Takayasu falls to 2-2.

The final bout of the day paired Yokozuna Hakuho against M1 Okinoumi, and the two clashed chests nicely at the tachi-ai coming away in the migi-yotsu position. As Hakuho took the opportunity to go for the left outer grip, Okinoumi timed a maki-kae on the other side getting his left arm inside and securing moro-zashi in the process, but Hakuho was just burrowed in too low with dual outer grips. The two dug in nicely in the center of the ring, but it was clear that Okinoumi couldn't mount a formative charge. Still, he was positioned great defensively, and so when the Yokozuna forced him over to the edge and went for a left belt throw, Okinoumi was able to counter with a right inside belt throw creating a nage-no-uchi-ai, but the Yokozuna was just too strong spilling his foe across the straw picking up the uwate-nage win.

As I typed up that last paragraph, it hit me that we just don't see uwate-nage any more. In fact, we barely see any sort of legitimate throw. Out of the 80 or so Makuuchi bouts this basho, how many do you think were won by uwate-nage?? The total is three. Today's win by Hakuho; Tsurugisho's legit throw of Enho; and Takayasu's throw over a mukiryoku Okinoumi yesterday. So really...80 bouts and two legitimate throws by the outer belt. There are just so many bouts that involve mukiryoku rikishi these days that nobody is throwing anybody around any more. Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio is right.

With that, I'll hand the keys over to Harvye for Day 5.

Day 3 Comments (Harvye Hodja reporting)
Sumo carnage. After a mess of a Day 2, in which the five top ranked guys lost, including an outrageous and inexcusable step-out by Hakuho, it looked like we were starting at another wild and wooly tournament where we will have Meisei, Tsurugisho, and Yutakayama in serious consideration for the yusho. Is this okay? As I finished the last basho by saying on Day 15, it should be--it should be exciting. Bring on the underdogs! But once again it just made me roll my eyes. If a chaos-basho is triggered by good sumo, like Endo beating Goeido, I'm all for it. But if it is triggered by Hakuho cheating against himself and by the sad pathos of weak performances of would-be-dominant-forces like Takakeisho and Mitakeumi, it points to a rudderless sport.

I try to look on the bright side. So, what was the storyline for this tournament two days in? We continue to live in a shift from one era--that of the Mongols--to the next, which appears to be the era of the next wave of Japanese stars. However, this transition has become painfully slow--I have been writing about it for years now--and the lack of a standard-bearer leaves us clutching at straws. As it has been for more than a decade, the sport is in desperate need of someone really, really good to burst on the scene. That guy is not in evidence.

M16 Wakatakakage (2-0) vs. J1 Tokushoryu (1-1)
I'd really like just to describe to you how Wakatakakage pounced in at the tachi-ai and got both his arms in around the chest area. How after that he tried a pull, but that it was quick and deft and when it didn't work he moved on quickly to going back at the inside. How he ripped Special Sauce (Tokushoryu) around and put the man's back to the clay, then pummeled him once or twice real good in the chest to force him out, oshi-dashi. Just that. But I am duty bound to wonder just what Special Sauce was doing with his limp arms, why he wasn't more active, and.. oh why, oh why.

But enough of that! Here is our lone rookie, Young High Shadow (Wakatakakage). Let's put him in our Rookie-o-Tron:

Height: 182 cm (quite short for sumo)
Weight: 124 kg (very light)
Age: 24 (middlin')

Meh. I predict a shortish career in the lower half of Makuuchi at best.

M14 Terutsuyoshi (1-1) vs. M15 Daishoho (0-2)
Much like the previous bout, the winner did what he needed to do here. Terutsuyoshi pivoted out of the way during the tachi-ai, a mild evasive tactic to neutralize the size disadvantage. This also helped him get his left hand on the belt halfway between the front and the side. Terutsuyoshi finished his pivot, leaving Daishoho with his back to the straw, then used his low, dominant position to drive Daishoho out yori-kiri. Daishoho is a big lad, and I did wonder why he just kind of took all this without much resistance or action. However, maybe he's just not very good. Hmmm... fun but probably revealing fact: Daishoho finished 8-7 in each of his last five bashos when he was in Juryo. Now how does something like that happen?

M15 Daishomaru (0-2) vs. M13 Kagayaki (1-1)
Oooh! My hated Daishomaru! You are back! Against my beloved (but weak of late) Kagayaki. Well, at least I knew who to root for. Long Arms McGee (Kagayaki) moved forward, clamped his tentacles around Daishomaru's torso, and pushed the squib back and out with his chest, yori-kiri. For the third match in a row, I liked the winner's work, but thought the loser didn't try. Or is it just me and Mike? Have we mentioned that we are tired of this??

M13 Chiyomaru (2-0) vs. M14 Nishikigi (1-1)
More fun for Harvye: His Roundness, Shelfgut (Chiyomaru). Unfortunately, he is not particularly good, and Nishikigi made quick work of him: staying square, pushing up on Chiyomaru's upper chest, then finally digging in below the giant shelfgut and pushing up on that for a clear and present oshi-dashi win. I'm happy to report I had no problem with either man's sumo here. Nishikigi is simply rather better than Chiyomaru.

M11 Ishiura (0-2) vs. M11 Chiyotairyu (0-2)
I was really glad to see Mike go after Chiyotairyu's absurdly bad, out-of-style effort the last two days. Ridiculous outings. So, I was curious about this one, a huge mismatch: Ishiura is among the lightest rikishi on the banzuke, and Chiyotairyu the most powerful. Chiyotairyu is also usually ranked well above Ishiura--he's manifestly better. This should have featured one of two results: a straight up effort by Ishiura and resultant tachi-ai obliteration by Chiyotairyu, or trickery and evasion by Ishiura. I am pleased to see we saw the former: Ishiura choose to slap straight-on at Chiyotairyu, who drove him out with evident ease, tsuki-dashi. Now, go back and review what Chiyotairyu did the two days previous. To anyone who says his focus and purpose were the same all three days, I say I'm sorry, that is just plain not so. And that is why god gave us eyes to see.

M12 Takanosho (1-1) vs. M10 Shodai (2-0)
Expect a good tournament from Shodai; he may not be very good, but he is better than M10. Heh--the way things are today, he could actually win it from here. He took his time in this one, sliding High Prize (Takanosho) back, then whiffing on a throw attempt where he never got the belt, recovered from that to live to fight another day, resisted a concerted counter-attack from High Prize, then pulled him down near the edge, kata-sukashi. Shall we say that Takanosho made some odd-looking, self-defeating moves in here? Yes, we shall! But we hope it is not true that he did it on purpose.

M9 Kotoshogiku (0-2) vs. M10 Shimanoumi (1-1)
Is Kotoshogiku finally ready for Jeff Mallock, Knacker Man? If this bout is any indication, yes. Kotoshogiku looked genki during his initial, sproingy, legs-and-body push forward. But Shimanoumi has a solidity about him and put an end to that at the straw. He then counterattacked against a sloppy Kotoshogiku, reaching one arm in way, way to the back of the belt, drove him all the way across, and dropped him kata-sukashi because that was easier than pushing ‘Giku out. This January it will be four years since Kotoshogiku's miraculous, epoch-changing victory that put an end to the decade-plus streak of nothing but foreign-born victors. What a crazy four years it has been. Kotoshogiku felt old when it began, and now feels like a mascot for something dreadful. Paimon from Hereditary.

M8 Shohozan (1-1) vs. M8 Sadanoumi (2-0)
Darth Hozan is looking angry this tournament, and showed it again here. Lots of fierce slapping between intervals of staring at his opponent and waiting for him to do something: bang! Wait... wait.. bang, bang! Wait... BANG! This isn't very effective and I've complained about it before: guys who do this tend to be infatuated with their own male aggression rather than focusing on getting solid sumo advantage out of it. True to that, despite looking really mean and scary, The Dark Side had trouble putting Sadanoumi away and getting a win out of this. In the end he did, though it was hardly a knock-out: rather, a tawara-dancing desperation pull-down, hatakikomi, which was so close to disaster it had to be confirmed by the judges after a short delay.

M9 Yutakayama (2-0) vs. M7 Kotoeko (0-2)
Here's the tale of Yutakayama in brief: he is a big young guy and got very close to the yusho in July 2018. There followed four terrible basho in which he won no more than six bouts and dropped to Juryo. There was talk of a back injury; to me he looked lost in the ring. I forgot all about him, but here is back and fighting impressively. Look, many injuries in sumo are real, though many are fake. Based on what I'm seeing, if Yutakayama's injury was and he is now recovered, he stands a good chance of making things happen. He looked legit to me when he took that jun-yusho. Today, Kotoeko wasn't much of a match for him. Yutakayama squared him up, forced him upright, and thrust him bodily out, oshi-dashi. This was a bigger, better rikishi dominating a smaller, weaker foe. Don't look now, but Yutakayama could be ready to bloom.

M6 Onosho (1-1) vs. M6 Enho (1-1)
Speaking of blooming, Onosho has been wilted for quite some time now. He has ceased to be fun to watch and has become a puzzling mess: I'd like him to go away for a while, figure himself out, then return. Or, if not, he is welcome to stay away. Anyhoo, all the focus was of course on Enho. He chose to fight this one straight up for a moment, and actually was in a brief half-upright belt battle with Onosho. However, just as Onosho was about to crush him out as a result, Enho thought better of it, let go, ducked in low, let Onosho stagger a bit, then darted out of there while pulling on Onosho's arm and slapped him down and out. It was ruled shita-te-dashi-nage, which you almost never see. Well, this is Enho. And now you're expected me to complain that Onosho lost on purpose, I suppose. Nope. As I said, Onosho is wilted and just about anybody can pick his flower right now.

M7 Tsurugisho (2-0) vs. M5 Ryuden (1-1)
As foreplay, this match featured two false starts, conducted by the worst gyoji in the upper division, Konosuke. This demonstrative showboat is loved by some for his no-nonsense demeanor and sense of command. What I see is a self-promoter with an instinct for camera time and celebrity. Hence, I fully expect him to continue to rise. Check him out: to me, he's a symbol of what's wrong with sumo today, but also a reminder of reality: this is a show, and entertainment, and he knows that. Konosuke perceives his job to be to entertain the crowd, to create a spectacle and a rooting interest (for him!) rather than do his job to the best of his ability: stay out of the way and out of the limelight and make sure the match is fought correctly. In baseball, when the umpire becomes a storyline, it automatically means he is doing a bad job. In American football, when the referees become the focus of a game, it is crap game. It is the same in sumo: if the gyoji is making a name for himself, the focus isn't where it should be. Okay, well now I have that off my chest, let's talk about the match: Ryuden was low and concentrated, grabbed fistfuls of belt with ease, and had Tsurugisho thoroughly discombobulated. Ryuden won, yori-kiri. Should I mention that this was a terrible false start, where neither of Tsurugisho's fists were even close to touching the dirt, but that Konosuke let this one go, despite calling back the previous one for no reason? Could that have anything to do with Tsurugisho's confused and lackluster performance? Man, am I tired of Konosuke's awful work.

M4 Tamawashi (2-0) vs. M4 Kotoyuki (1-1)
What the hell is Kotoyuki doing ranked at M4? The same as Tamawashi? Well, winning, it seems! He stood Tamawashi right up and bashed away at his face for a good long while, eventually punching him out of the ring, tsuki-dashi, after one revolution of boxing. Hmmm. I'm just going to move on to the next match.

M5 Aoiyama (1-1) vs. M3 Tomokaze (0-2)
Tomokaze withdrew with that leg injury we saw on camera yesterday. Freebie for Aoiyama, and bad news for Tomokaze. Leg injuries in sumo suck.

K Abi (1-1) vs. M2 Myogiryu (1-1)
Firehose (Abi) looked better in control than usual--until he wasn't. Snaking out those long arms and striking Myogiryu in the face, Firehose had his man on the run. Then he put his head down and pushed too hard, and Myogiryu was happy watch from the side, help Abi go past, and push him out, oshi-dashi. I don't see how Abi ever amounts to anything but a semi-entertaining sideshow, so he's hard to root for, but I do perk up when he comes out because at least you know it will be kind of funny.

K Hokutofuji (1-1) vs. M3 Takarafuji (1-1)
I like Hokutofuji, and I liked this. Man just got them hands in on Takarafuji's armpits and shoved real hard ‘til dude was pointed at the sky and fell out of the ring, oshi-dashi. Hokutofuji has been slow to develop and doesn't have the glam qualities needed to gain favor in this region of the banzuke these days, but he is a pretty tight package of sumo might.

K Endo (1-1) vs. S Tochinoshin (0-2)
If you haven't noticed, at this point I'm an Endo convert and now find myself waiting for his first yusho and/or rise to Ozeki. I'm telling you, it is happening one of these years. In the current environment he is as good as anyone else: less size and strength, but way better technique. As for Tochinoshin, I don't have great knees myself and know what that's like, and am willing to ascribe plenty of his difficulties to that. There is no reason for him to be as bad as he has been just for show. I think he's significantly broken down in the pins. The match was a mess, uncharacteristic for both men. They grappled right in the center of the ring, spinning around in a slow circle, seemingly trying to get a grip on each other and largely failing. Then Tochinoshin thought, "well, if it going to be like this I might as well just throw him down right here." Rather than go with his bread-and-butter force-out, Tochinoshin executed a quick and effective hataki-komi on the stagnating Endo that looked more like a throw-down than a slap down, tumbling Endo over in a heap. Tochinoshin did well here, but if his leg were better, would he have been able to get his standard yori-kiri win instead?

S Mitakeumi (1-1) vs. M2 Meisei (2-0)
Oh, Meisei, what are we going to do with you? He is reminding me of, say, Kakizoe or Myogiryu: smallish, but you have to respect him. Mitakeumi took him seriously: kept his own hands low and inside to prevent Meisei from dictating the pace, then, when Meisei went for the pull, wrapped his arms around the exposed smaller man and bodied him out, yori-kiri. Given where we are in the sport and in this tournament, this qualified as an intriguing, important match-up. Mitakeumi is back in.

M1 Okinoumi (1-1) vs. O Takayasu (1-1)
This is Takayasu's fifteenth tournament at Ozeki. During that span there have been surprising championship victories by Tochinoshin, Tamawashi, Takakeisho, Asanoyama, and Mitakeumi. Where was Takayasu? A quality Ozeki could have taken over the sport in a stretch like this. He is way, way overdue--to the point where it seems normal: he is just kind of there. No expectations for him, no glory, no excitement. I feel sorry for him--but it would have been better if he had stayed a rank-and-filer. The match start was sluggish and awkward, with a limp effort by Okinoumi, but they made good: they ended up in an uneasy chest-to-chest, then staggered to the edge and engaged in a mutual throw, heads down, leg up: Takayasu had the outside right grip on the belt, whereas Okinoumi was throwing Takayasu from up on the body. It was a matter of who would put his hand down first. Okinoumi had plenty of room, it looked to me, when he shot his palm out and planted it on the dirt to save his face, giving Takayasu uwate-nage win. Disappointing. But it ain't my face.

O Takakeisho (1-1) vs. M1 Daieisho (1-1)
These are two guys with similar styles: big pushers (with a lot more pull thrown in by Takakeisho). They went for it in a manful display of the best they had to give, and so back and forth they went. Much as he is maligned by some, Takakeisho has bulk and some power, and when pushing consistently can be formidable. He should have had this one. However, what Daieisho lacks in size and power he makes up for in effort. He simply would not give in and go out. Takakeisho, heavier and sloppier, wore down, and Daieisho got him on the run and appeared to have the winning charge. However, as so often happens in sumo, Daieisho was also falling down as it happened. It took the crows to decide it, but by an eyelash Takakeisho was still levitating above the void when Daieisho touched down, giving Takakeisho the but-for-the-grace-of-god-there-go-I hataki-komi victory. Yeesh. This is no way to make Ozeki.

K Asanoyama (2-0) vs. Y Hakuho (1-1)
Hmmm. If it weren't for yesterday's debacle, this would have looked like a good match up. As it was, I was feeling so sour towards Hakuho it was hard to gin up any enthusiasm. Asanoyama is an interesting guy: young, bland, and solid. I'm willing to get on his bandwagon. However, it was going to take a solid effort here--rather than Dancing Circus Clown by Hakuho--to make me feel it for Asanoyama today. In the end, Hakuho schooled Asanoyama like a schoolchild, simultaneously reminding us that he can still do these things and that Asanoyama certainly can't. Hakuho was quick and decisive, slapping once hard, moving ever so slightly to the side, getting BOTH arms inside on the body against the shell-shocked Asanoyama, then using this utterly dominant position--this is the Yokozuna, folks, and the greatest of all time--to topple Asanoyama bodily and hard, landing on top of him like a load of felled lumber, sukui-nage. My goodness... order restored.

Tomorrow Mike is back in the blocks, and saturates them in benzine. He's got a match between his teeth.

Day 2 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
I think I could just complete today's comments in one word and be done with it: hooboy! Yesterday I commented on Juryo rikishi Hoshoryu's sweet uchi-gake move and how we just don't see sumo like that any more in Makuuchi, and at first I stated that the Japanese rikishi can't perform such sumo and then retracted that by saying that I think they are physically capable of doing it, but that the culture of give-and-take sumo that's taken over doesn't require them to perform such moves any more. Take a random guy like Chiyotairyu who can exhibit the most potent tachi-ai of any Japanese rikishi. About three or four days a basho, he just freight trains his opponent back and out with oshi-zumo so powerful you can actually taste it. So what then is he doing on the other days??

Well, he's mixed up in the give and take of it all, and so he comes out with a bland, dispirited tachi-ai most of the time when he could be coming 100% every day with his powerful oshi attack. It's clear that he isn't trying to win every time, and it's clear that very few of these guys look as if they're doing everything possible to win every day of a basho, and Day 2 was chock full of examples, so let's get right to 'em.

Up first on the day was M16 Wakatakakage vs. M15 Daishoho in a bout that saw Wakatakakage slyly henka to his left and hook that left arm behind the upper right arm of Daishoho and just hoist him across the ropes before the bout really even began. In one sense, it was a decent move, but on the other hand, you'd like to see dominant sumo set up with a straightforward tachi-ai. Wakatakakage moves to 2-0 with the win while Daishoho showed no desire to recover from the mild henka as he falls to 0-2. I think the dude was likely mukiryoku here.

M14 Nishikigi got the left arm inside against M15 Daishomaru from the tachi-ai, and there ain't no way that Daishomaru had a prayer after that start. He knew it and tried to spin away to his left, but Nishikigi was on the move and easily forced him out in two seconds. Nishikigi rights the ship at 1-1 while Daishomaru is his usual hapless self at 0-2.

M13 Chiyomaru thrust downward into M14 Terutsuyoshi's shoulders at the tachi-ai all while shading left, and it was enough of a change-up to completely befuddle He Who Throws Mega Salt. After a nifty swipe from Maru that sent Terutsuyoshi stumbling to the edge, he barely recovered and squared up in time to have Chiyomaru push him out with a single paw to the neck. Chiyomaru moves to 2-0 if you need him while Terutsuyoshi is 1-1.

M13 Kagayaki got the right arm inside at the tachi-ai against M12 Takanosho before pushing him away and upright with a hand to the face, and as Takanosho retreated he managed the left arm feebly to the inside, but Kagayaki had all the momentum and sent Takanosho packing in short order oshi-dashi style. Kagayaki dominated this one from start to finish as both dudes end the day at 1-1.

M10 Shimanoumi executed a horrible tachi-ai hopping forward and aligning his feet in the center of the dohyo, but M11 Ishiura failed (or should I say chose not) to make him pay. Instead of just toppling his compromised opponent over with any move he chose, Ishiura moved left, and Shimanoumi's positioning was so bad that Ishiura gained moro-zashi without a fight, so he promptly did what any normal rikishi would do with moro-zashi and execute a force-out charge. Wait. Maybe not. Instead of making the logical move, he tried to back out of moro-zashi before twirling Shimanoumi around the dohyo a time or two with a left hand on the outside of Shimanoumi's belt, and then he finally stood upright and put a hand up high as if to pull, and that was Shimanoumi's cue to score the force-out win. This was one of those bouts where the loser did all of the work only to intentionally snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at the end. Ishiura falls to 0-2 while Shimanoumi buys his first win.

Today was a perfect example of what I was talking about in my intro regarding M11 Chiyotairyu (and yes I picked him and wrote that intro before watching the bouts). Against Kyushu favorite M10 Shodai, Chiyotairyu leaned forward at the tachi-ai and slapped his hands into Shodai, but he wasn't driving with his legs. Still, Shodai did nothing to knock Chiyotairyu from his perch, and so the compromised Kokonoe fellow just backed up of his own volition inviting an oshi charge from Shodai. Because Shodai wasn't dictating the flow of this bout, Chiyotairyu kinda stood at the edge with his feet on the straw and arms out wide asking, "Well, are you going to make any sort of contact against me this bout?" Shodai finally did, but it took two volleys and Chiyotairyu's just standing there upright the entire time letting him do it. What a weak bout of fake sumo here as Chiyotairyu falls to 0-2 while Shodai is an unsurprising 2-0.

M9 Yutakayama and M9 Kotoshogiku hooked up immediately in hidari-yotsu from the tachi-ai, and Yutakayama had the wide open path to a right outer grip. When he refused to grab it, I was like, "I know where this is going," and so the two danced this way and that in hidari-yotsu fashion. During the melee, Yutakayama had moro-zashi, but he actually pulled out of it and let Kotoshogiku regain the left inside position right there in the center of the dohyo for all to see. And not only did Yutakayama favor the Geeku by letting him back into teh bout, he even played defense the entire way, but Kotoshogiku didn't have the strength to force his opponent across the straw. In the end, the two crossed to the other side of the dohyo where Yutakayama sorta went for a tsuki-otoshi/kote-nage with the right arm, but it was in between and half-assed showing he wasn't committed to either move. The problem for the Geeku was that he was so gassed, he just collapsed beyond the edge. They ruled it tsuki-otoshi which implies a counter shove to your opponent's side, but Yutakayama never made such contact. The Geeku simply couldn't keep up as Yutakayama moves to 2-0 with the win while giving Kotoshogiku every opportunity to take advantage of him, but the former Old-zeki just couldn't do it falling to 0-2.

M8 Shohozan was mukiryoku from the start of this bout aligning his feet and coming in high against M7 Tsurugisho, and the latter's response was to shade left and go for a weak pull/shoulder slap combination. It had little effect, and so Shohozan just started firing hari-te after hari-te into Tsurugisho's face. Four of five them connected, but Shohozan didn't do anything after the slaps. They call it hari-zashi because the slap is supposed to set up the pathway to the inside, and Shohozan had moro-zashi if he wanted it, but he just stood there slapping away until Tsurugisho finally came at Shohozan with hands high gifting Shohozan the deep inside left and then moro-zashi by default. I mean, Tsurugisho was set up for the easy force-out win from Shohozan at this point, but instead of charging forward, he allowed Tsurugisho to twist him over and down near the edge. They ruled it kote-nage, but Shohozan merely took a knee across the straw. Normally, if Shohozan had been trying to win this one, he would have countered the kote-nage with a scoop throw or inside belt throw, but whatever. I don't know why I keep wasting my time trying to explain how bouts are bought and paid for. Tsurugisho definitely bought this one moving to a fake 2-0 while Shohozan falls to 1-1 and has that pay-off money already earmarked for a night in Nakasu.

M8 Sadanoumi's tachi-ai was weak against M7 Kotoeko, and the Kumamoto native made no effort to establish any position to the inside, and so Kotoeko came way with moro-zashi from the git-go as we say in Utah. Like the Shohozan bout before, despite having the most coveted position in sumo, Kotoeko did nothing with it and allowed Sadanoumi to weakly body him back and across for the short-order force-out win. Force isn't exactly the word to use here because there was no force whatsoever coming from Kotoeko despite his having moro-zashi. He kinda sorta flinched on a counter at the edge, but there was nothing there clear cut enough to define, and so gunbai to Sadanoumi who moves to 2-0 with the gift. As for Kotoeko, he falls to 0-2 but probably has a date with Shohozan later on.

M5 Aoiyama came with a half-assed hari-te with the right hand against M6 Onosho, but Aoiyama was already shading left completely upright with his knees locked. It took the tiniest of thrusts from Onosho into the side of Aoiyama for the Happy Bulgar to just put both palms to the dirt while keeping his arse still pointed straight in the air. Who says these sumos aren't talented?? This was about as obvious of a thrown bout as you could hope to see with Aoiyama backing himself up from the tachi-ai and then putting his hands down at the slightest contact. Both rikishi end the day 1-1.

In an eerily similar bout, M6 Enho shaded to his left against M5 Ryuden, but instead of adjusting and latching onto his pint-sized opponent, Ryuden just stumbled forward with his head still ducked from the tachi-ai. Staring straight down, he waited for the first touch from Enho and then just put both palms to the dirt. Said touch was Enho's left hand slipping off of Ryuden's belt, and before Enho could actually recover and make a motion to slap Ryuden down, he already had his left palm to the dirt. What a fake bout this one was in favor of Enho, and it's sad to see what level the sumos will stoop to in order to keep the sheep interested. Both rikishi end the day at 1-1.

M4 Tamawashi used a nice tsuppari attack from the tachi-ai against M3 Takarafuji mixing in a few neck thrusts for good measure to keep Takarafuji on his heels, but Tamawashi wasn't driving with his legs, and so Takarafuji was able to evade a bit to his left and swipe Tamawashi away with a left slap to his right hip area. Tamawashi actually played it up a bit stumbling over to the edge and looking back at T-Fuji as if to say, "Are you coming?" He wasn't, and so Tamawashi squared himself back up and waited for Takarafuji to finally come forward before he deftly threw Fuji off balance with a light kote-nage and then sent him across for good okuri-dashi style. Tamawashi was not fighting at 100% effort here, but he still easily defeated Takarafuji improving to 2-0. As for Takarafuji, he doesn't have a care in the world as he settles in at 1-1.

M4 Kotoyuki used his typical tsuki/oshi charge against M3 Tomokaze whose only answer was to evade to his right and go for a dumb pull. Kotoyuki took full advantage shoving the compromised Tomokaze clear off the dohyo and down to the arena floor. It looked like a typical win for Kotoyuki until Tomokaze didn't get up...for a long time. I thought the dude might have been knocked out at first, but replays showed that he landed awkwardly on his right leg as he landed onto the arena floor. They rushed the Pawn Stars wheelchair in and carted Tomokaze out of the arena, and they eventually had to load him up in an ambulance and take him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with camel toe knee. Either that or it was dislocated. Needless to say, Tomokaze's basho is done at 0-2 while Kotoyuki moves to 1-1 with the nice win.

M2 Meisei executed an awful tachi-ai against Komusubi Endoh aligning his feet as he attempted a weak shove, but Endoh wasn't looking to move forward whatsoever. The bout looked really fishy at this point, and with Meisei doing nothing, Endoh finally rushed forward and absorbed the lightest of tsuki-otoshi shoves with the left arm from Meisei that you'd care to see, and it of course sent Endoh flying out of the ring. I'm not sure if money was involved here or if Meisei was calling in a favor, but this bout was totally fixed from the get-go as Meisei finds himself at 2-0 while Endoh falls to 1-1.

In a compelling bout, Sekiwake Mitakeumi came a bit high at the tachi-ai allowing Komusubi Hokutofuji to score a few points with some nice shoves, but as he is wont to do, Hokutofuji likes to strike and evade, and he moved right here allowing Mitakeumi to square up with him resulting in a hidari-yotsu bout. Neither of these dudes are really belt guys, and so a brief stalemate ensued where Mitakeumi kept his left arm inside while Hokutofuji used his left to push up and under Mitakeumi's right (a move called hazu). That hazu allowed Hokutofuji to keep his opponent more upright than he wanted to be, and so Mitakeumi attempted to pull his way out of the pickle. The pull attempt had no effect on the Komusubi, and so when Mitakeumi looked to charge back forward, it was Hokutofuji's turn to slip right and pull the Sekiwake down to the dirt rather easily. I enjoyed this contest to the extent that it was real from both parties, but the content was rather bland. The end result is Mitakeumi's being saddled with his first loss only two days in and both rikishi ending the day at 1-1.

Sekiwake Tochinoshin kept both elbows ridiculously high and wide against M2 Myogiryu at the tachi-ai allowing Myogiryu to move forward with the former Ozeki going for a light pull. Tochinoshin's too big for Myogiryu to muscle out straightway, and so he settled for the right arm to the inside while Tochinoshin latched onto a left outer grip, but for the second day in a row, Tochinoshin refused to grab the inside position when it was there for the taking with his right arm. I knew the fix was in at this point, so it was just a matter of watching the theater play out. With nothing secure on his right side, Tochinoshin lifted up on Myogiryu's belt and started walking him back across the dohyo, but he was just asking for Myogiryu to slip left, and that's exactly what he did offering a light tug at Tochinoshin's belt with the left hand, and of course that sent Shin sprawling down to the dirt. The basics of yotsu-zumo call for an opponent to mount a charge after he's secured his opponent in tight with both arms, so to see Shin plod forward with his right hand listless was laughable. Another light bout and soft landing as Tochinoshin willingly takes a dive to 0-2 while Myogiryu improves to 1-1.

At this point of the broadcast they announced the official withdrawal of Goeido, and the result was M1 Okinoumi's picking up the freebie moving him to 1-1.

Faux-zeki Takakeisho got his best licks in against Komusubi Asanoyama during two false starts, but when the two charged for reals, Takakeisho's feet were ridiculously aligned allowing Asanoyama to rebuff his foe and force Takakeisho into a weak pull attempt to his left. It failed miserably and allowed Asanoyama to charge forward and secure the right arm to the inside backing Takakeisho up to the edge. At that point, Takakeisho haplessly took his right arm from the inside out and used it to push against Asanoyama's left shoulder, but all that did was give the Komusubi moro-zashi. Takakeisho tried to work that right arm back to the inside, but before he could get anything going, Asanoyama just dragged him forward and down with that left grip at the side of Takakeisho's belt. Good night Takakeisho is a bad rikishi. You would think that if someone was ranked at Ozeki you could point out one positive aspect to their sumo, but not with this guy. If his opponents don't totally let up for him and back up from the tachi-ai, this guy's as useless as tits on a boar. I mean, it's embarrassing what they're trying to pass off as Ozeki these days. With the win, Asanoyama is a cool 2-0 while Takakeisho falls to 1-1.

As soon as I type what a sorry ass lot the Ozeki are, Takayasu comes out and gets his arse handed to him by Komusubi Abi. The Komusubi scored nicely on a moro-te-zuki tachi-ai to drive Takayasu on his heels from the get-go, and Takayasu's only response was a weak left tsuki attempt as he retreated aided by an even lamer pull attempt with the right. He couldn't get either counter move established before he was driven back and out in wham bam thank you ma'am fashion. Both rikishi end the day at 1-1, and you just had a bad feeling at this point after Mitakeumi, Takakeisho, and Takayasu all went down in succession.

And so up stepped Yokozuna Hakuho into the ring to face M1 Daieisho, and to no one's surprise, the Yokozuna came out light showing a right kachi-age but not really moving forward. As Daieisho came with his usual tsuppari attack, nothing really connected, but no matter as Hakuho just backed up to his right swiping down at Daieisho's extended arms while walking himself out of the dohyo. I mean, Daieisho didn't even make an attempt to score that winning shove as he just sorta kept his hands extended low watching Hakuho back himself out as if to say, "Are you a dumbass or something?" On the contrary, Hakuho is a pretty keen guy, and he knows when to time his losses, and after watching everyone fall the last 30 minutes of the broadcast, he's just trying to keep this whole affair watchable.

The problem is that sumo like this is not watchable, and not a single person attempted to reach for their cushion and heave it towards the dohyo. Daieisho received mild applause for his effort after this one, but there was no electricity in the arena as everyone knee Hakuho just walked out. This one was so bad that the media even asked Hakuho about the curious ending to the bout, and his reply was, "Ma, iro-iro aru ne," or shit happens. Indeed it does, and they have really been piling it on these last few years. The last arena shot they took during the broadcast was prior to the Abi - Takayasu bout, and the arena was half empty. They still lowered the man-in on-rei banners, but if they can call Takakeisho an Ozeki, I guess they can call Day 2 a sellout as well.



Can the fake sumo get any more obvious than these first two days? I think the media has been paying the attention to Hoshoryu that they have just because there's something there; there's something real that they can actually report on. The crap that we've been fed the first two days and frankly all during Kisenosato's "run" to Yokozuna and Takakeisho's "rise" to Ozeki has been utterly embarrassing. The Sumo Association should be ashamed of itself, and I'm still amazed that anybody is paying money for anything beyond the sheer novelty of it all.

I need a much needed break, so king's to Harvye tomorrow.

Day 1 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Welcome to the Kyushu basho, the tournament that I've always considered as my home basho. I must admit that the only thing that compels me this basho is Hoshoryu, Asashoryu's nephew who makes his Juryo debut in Kyushu. I know the guy has game, but the question will be whether or not they rein him in a bit as they've done the other foreign rikishi in order to create parity in sumo.

As for the Japanese television media, I think Hoshoryu has gotten more meaningful ink than any other rikishi including Mitakeumi and Takakeisho. I mean, they're doing the obligatory coverage and hype of Mitakeumi and Takakeisho, but it feels like the coverage of the Paralympics that Japan will host next year after the Olympics. In a word:  forced.

Japan has just come off of the Japan series in baseball; they just hosted the Rugby World Cup; and even long distance running has gotten quite a bit of ink as Japan determines their representatives for the marathon event at next year's Olympics, and so sumo is really not at the forefront of anyone's mind.

Kyushu is by far the smallest population from which the hon-basho have to draw, but the attendance today was anemic reflecting the waning interest in sumo. I don't know if they ever panned towards the ceiling during the broadcast, so I don't know if the man-in on-rei banners were lowered, but I think at the end of the broadcast the arena was only 70% full at best. Look for about 50% attendance on the weekdays.

Due to a parade celebrating the new emperor and his missus, the NHK broadcast didn't start until four bouts in, and I'm not going to look up the first four since I will cover all bouts and all rikishi moving forward.

My first bout was M13 Chiyomaru against M13 Kagayaki, who looked to hook up in migi-yotsu, but Kagayaki just kept his right arm away from the inside as he exercised a fruitless left kote-nage...if you can even call it that. After the kote-nage, Kagayaki had the clear path to get that right arm inside for reals, but he refrained continuing to stand upright and spin as Chiyomaru tried to keep up with Kagayaki's thrust attack. He could barely do that, and at one point Kagayaki had his right arm planted firmly beneath Chiyomaru's left lifting him completely upright, but instead of taking advantage, he just stumbled down and out of the ring of his own volition. Chiyomaru did nothing to win this and even his half-assed hataki-komi attempt at the edge didn't do the job, so Kagayaki just collapsed with Chiyomaru's watching him at the edge.

M11 Chiyotairyu barely used his arms at the tachi-ai just slamming forward into M12 Takanosho, who eventually moved to his right offering a light ottsuke with the right hand at the back of Tairyu's left armpit, and Chiyotairyu's reaction was to turn, put both hands up high as if to pull, and then just ride the momentum backwards as Takanosho pushed him out. Chiyotairyu was mukiryoku from the start in this one giving Takanosho the effortless win.

M11 Ishiura was busy at the tachi-ail...busy doing nothing against the Kyushu favorite M10 Shodai, and so Shodai was able to get his left arm inside and just force the defenseless Ishiura around and out in about three easy seconds. Ishiura did nothing here to win and made Shodai look like a champ, and they're going to need these Kyushu folk to shine in order to keep interest in the basho. The arena was probably 60% full when this bout took place.

M9 Yutakayama used a nice kachi-age with the right arm at the tachi-ai to keep M10 Shimanoumi upright, and Yutakayama kept up the pressure nicely with a few shoves before grabbing a left inside grip. Shimanoumi tried to wriggle out of it moving to the side towards the edge, but as he looked to square back up, Yutakayama was right there to polish him off oshi-dashi style.

Two Kyushu rikishi bumped heads next in M9 Kotoshogiku and M8 Sadanoumi in a bout that saw Kotoshogiku shade to his left at the tachi-ai as Sadanoumi latched on with a firm right grip to the front of the Geeku's belt while getting the left arm inside securing moro-zashi. Kotoshogiku knew he was in trouble here and attempted a counter kote-nage with the right, but 1) he wasn't in position to execute it effectively, and 2) his crocodile arms disabled him from applying any force, and so Sadanoumi easily bodied the Geeku back and across using his moro-zashi position.

At this point of the broadcast, our old friend Ura made his return to the dohyo only this time he was ranked at Jonidan 106 and ones of fans were in attendance to see him pick up his first win in 5 basho. The dude had bedrolls around both knees, so let's hope he can climb back up the banzuke soon. I'm all about rooting for these guys; I'm just not going to play along with the fake sumo.



M8 Shohozan's right hari-te attempt at the tachi-ai barely glanced across M7 Kotoeko's face, but it didn't matter as Kotoeko's plan was to stand upright and retreat strait back letting the Fukuoka native pick up the ridiculously easy oshi-dashi win.

M6 Enho ducked to his right against M7 Tsurugisho managing a left arm inside and right frontal belt grip. The problem was that Tsurugisho was trying to win, and so he latched onto the back of Enho's belt with the right while keeping his left arm to the inside of Enho's own right arm. The two hunkered down for a few seconds here with Tsurugisho willing to wait out his opponent, and after this brief stalemate, as Enho looked to mount a charge, Tsurugisho just picked him up by the right outer grip and dumped him to the clay in the center of the ring. This one wasn't even close so the next time you see Enho win in two seconds by oshi-dashi, you'll know the bout is fake. I mean, Tsurugisho doesn't necessarily equal prowess, but he laid the wood to Enho in this one.

At this point of the broadcast, they showed the Makushita Jo'i results, and Terunofuji picked up his first win. We'll see how he's handled when he makes it back up to sekitori status...both Hoshoryu and Terunofuji.

Speaking of Hoshoryu, they showed his bout against Akiseyama in Juryo, and he just schooled his opponent winning by uchi-gake in the end. On one hand, I want to say that Japanese rikishi aren't capable of doing sumo like this, but I think that assessment is incorrect. I think the Japanese rikishi can do this type of sumo, but the sekitori ranks are so politicized and compromised that we never get to see it. I do believe that any rikishi who rises to Juryo deserves it, but once they get there and get mixed up in all of the crap that goes on, the desire to execute pure sumo slowly wanes, and it seems as if the guys just go through the motions.

Moving right along, M6 Onosho's tachi-ai was defensive as M5 Ryuden looked to latch onto the belt to the inside, and after he failed to connect the first go-around, he used two nice shoves to the neck to set Onosho up again. With that move, Ryuden latched onto a left inside grip, and then used it to wrench Onosho over and down also pulling with the right hand in hataki-komi style. Onosho was completely overmatched in this one as Ryuden picks up a nice win.

M5 Aoiyama moved forward at the tachi-ai against M4 Kotoyuki who looked to shade left in an effort to escape, but he wouldn't get far as Aoiyama caught him with some nice shoves before slapping his sorry arse down to the clay.

Like the previous bout, M4 Tamawashi decided to move forward in his bout and win, so that's exactly what he did against M3 Tomokaze using his methodic tsuppari attack to drive Tomokaze back and across in mere seconds. Tomokaze's only attempt were a few defensive pulls near the edge, but he was completely outclassed here.

One of the more useless pieces of trivia surrounding this basho is the presence of four Komusubi. Actually, I don't know if presence is the correct term. It's more like political correctness to get as many Japanese rikishi in the sanyaku as possible while guys like Tamawashi are lingering down at M4.

First up was Komusubi Abi who came with the fire hose tsuppari attack that M3 Takarafuji easily defended by using his left arm pushing up and under Abi's right pit. Takarafuji was on defense the entire time, but it was just fine as Abi wasn't applying sufficient pressure to bully Takarafuji around, so Takarafuji pushed up and under once, twice, three times a lady sending Abi off balance and across the edge after four seconds or so.

In the Sekiwake ranks, Tochinoshin kept his right arm to the outside and left arm up high as if to pull against M2 Meisei, and that allowed Meisei to get the easy right arm to the inside. Tochinoshin responded with a left outer grip, but he purposefully kept that right arm outside gifting Meisei moro-zashi. Even without the inside grip, Tochinoshin coulda tsuri-dashi'ed his opponent over and out easy as you please, but a win for him wasn't in the script, and so he hunkered down applying no pressure and waiting for Meisei to make his move. Said move came as Meisei twisted Tochinoshin to his right with the right inside grip while pushing up into Shin's chest with the left spilling Tochinoshin to the dirt in spectacular fashion. I mean, credit Meisei for that shitate-hineri move, but with Tochinoshin just standing there, it was akin to Meisei's having his way with a blowup doll. It just bugs me to no end that I'm forced to watch Tochinoshin appear weak like this while Takakeisho is propped up as an Ozeki and possible future Yokozuna.

Sekiwake Mitakeumi received no resistance from M2 Myogiryu who actually had the path to an easy moro-zashi the fist two-thirds of the bout, but he refrained as Mitakeumi fumbled around with a tsuppari attack before finally going for a weak pull up high that was the cue for Myogiryu to just drop forward and down putting both palms to the dirt in a very controlled manner while no other part of his body touched the dirt. Such an easy yaocho call here, and it's tough sledding when you're putting so many of your popularity eggs in Mitakeumi's basket.

The other popularity eggs are heavily invested in Ozeki Takakeisho at the moment, and he received the same kid glove treatment from his opponent, M1 Okinoumi, that Mitakeumi got from Myogiryu. Okinoumi's tachi-ai amounted to his putting a soft right hand at Takakeisho's left shoulder while keeping his left arm outta the way, and standing square, he just allowed Takakeisho to push him back and across. Okinoumi's counter move at the edge was to kick his right leg forward in useless fashion while putting his left arm up high in pull fashion, and that silled the dill for the Ozeki who despite Okinoumi's lack of effort still bellyflopped to the dohyo as he executed the final push out. Takakeisho's sumo is so useless is laughable, and if they do get this guy promoted to Yokozuna, it's going to be the same awkwardness that we saw with Kisenosato at the rank.

As Ozeki Takayasu stepped into the ring, I was like, "This guy's still fighting?" His presence definitely wasn't missed the last few tournaments. Today against M1 Daieisho, Daieisho just ducked his head forward and then stood upright going through the light tsuppari motions as he let Takayasu push him back and across in four or five uneventful seconds. Takayasu's feet weren't grounded to the dohyo as they should have been, so it wasn't a smooth oshi-dashi, but with Daieisho's not looking to win, it was a nice welcome back gift for the fake Ozeki.

At this point in the broadcast, they announced the sudden withdrawal of Yokozuna Kakuryu. They cited lower back issues for the Yokozuna, but I learned long ago not to believe anything I read in the funny papers whether it regards sumo or not. His withdrawal gives Komusubi Asanoyama the nice day one freebie, and before we move on, another elite foreign rikishi, Ichinojo, is also conveniently absent due to a reported hernia.

With that out of the way, we next move to Ozeki Goeido who welcomed Komusubi Endoh. Endoh looked to latch onto the front of Goeido's belt with the right arm while the Ozeki's response was to back up to his left and pull. The move was weak, however, and so Endoh was able to square back up and force the bout to hidari-yotsu grabbing the right outer grip for full effect. I just laugh when I see an "Ozeki" getting schooled like this in the ring, especially at the hands of a guy like Endoh, but schooled Goeido was. As the two dug in, Endoh kept his opponent in tight as Goeido tried to wrench his opponent this way and that, but Endoh was a bulldog forcing Goeido back near the edge and dumping him straight down abise-taoshi style. Goeido came up limp afterwards favoring his left leg, and replays showed that it got caught awkwardly in the tawara as he looked to brace his leg against it in defense. The early morning headlines from Monday are reporting a Goeido kyujo due to an injured ankle, but I'm quite sure he wouldn't have contributed to extra fannies in the seats anyway.

The final bout of the day was Yokozuna Hakuho vs. Komusubi Hokutofuji, and if it was weird seeing Takayasu back, it was even weirder to see Hakuho still around. I mean, the sumo is so bad and the competition so weak these days, seeing Hakuho on the dohyo is like anthropologists doing a dig and coming across an iPhone in the middle of a two thousand year-old site.

The skinny on this bout was that Hakuho's intention was to win, and so he charged forward and hard into Hokutofuji not grabbing the belt, but causing enough commotion that Hokutofuji was knocked off balance to the point that the Yokozuna was able to pull him down in fierce fashion less than three seconds in.

And that's a wrap on day one, and I do believe that the schedule this basho works out to where I'm back tomorrow as well.