I covered the round of sixteen yesterday; the quarterfinals were held today. Here was the bracket:
Everyone on the East side won. Enho was in control in his bout with Gonoumi, patiently working to acquire a belt grip and then immediately finishing off his opponent with a nifty underarm throw. His heya-mate Toshinofuji held off Tochimaru’s initial tsuppari attack, but fell for the first hand pulldown attempt. So we’ll have a straightforward 4-man elimination race to the yusho, with Nobehara vs. Fukai on the undercard and Enho vs. Tochimaru in the headline bout. They split their two prior meetings, which took place in Juryo back in 2022.
Here are the updated standings in the promotion zone. As usual, all the relevant round 6 action is being saved for Day 11, so come back then to see where things stand.
Day Nine. No kyujo announcements. “Well, Andy, what do you make of that?” I am surprised. I thought for sure the Yokozuna would drop out since they’re injured and they both lost yesterday and dropped out of the lead. Nope, we got two Yokozuna dohyo-iri. Will they bounce back today?
In Juryo, Sadanoumi beat Kitanowaka and Fujiseiun beat Kōtokuzan to remain in the lead with two losses. Sadanoumi’s two-handed bear hug sukuinage is included in today’s videos. Sadanoumi will fight Hitoshi and Fujiseiun will take on Nishinoryu on Day 10. Wow, Day 10 approacheth — already. “Who knows where the time goes?”
Oshoumi (7-2) defeated Asakoryu (4-5). Oshoumi got both hands inside high in Asakoryu’s armpits and charged forward, forcing him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Shishi (7-2) defeated Ryuden (4-5). Ryuden pulled and Shishi reacted well to drive him back over the edge. Oshidashi.
Hatsuyama (1-8) defeated Tomokaze (3-6). Hatsuyama chaged forward as Tomokaze pulled and slapped him down. Gunbai Hatsuyama. Mono-ii. Tomokaze died first. The judges upheld the gyoji’s decision. Interestingly, I don’t think this comes down to Tomokaze touching first. The way they phrased it makes me think it’s because Tomokaze’s foot left the ground while Hatsuyama’s was still inbounds, therefore Tomokaze “tai-ga-nai.” Oshidashi.
Asanoyama (6-3) defeated Tobizaru (2-7). Tobizaru pulled and Asanoyama charged forward, forcing Tobizaru off the dohyo. Yorikiri.
Nishikifuji (6-3) defeated Asahakuryu (5-4). Nishikifuji drove forward and forced Asahakuryu over the edge with a firm left-hand inside, right-hand outside grip. Yorikiri.
Mitakeumi (4-5) defeated Chiyoshoma (3-6). Henka! Mitakeumi stepped to the side and Chiyoshoma was toast. Hatakikomi.
Kotoshoho (6-3) defeated Abi (7-2). Henka! Abi stepped to the side but Kotoshoho adjusted well. Both men lashed out at each other with tsuppari but Kotoshoho stood his ground. Kotoshoho drove forward and shoved Abi out. Oshidashi.
Tokihayate (5-4) defeated Midorifuji (3-6). Midorifuji grabbed Tokihayate with a bear hug, a deep morozashi but could not move forward. Tokihayate grabbed Midorifuji with his left hand outside. Tokihayate shifted his right-hand grip (makikae) to the inside and that allowed Midorifuji to drive forward but Tokihayate pivoted and threw Midorifuji to the ground. Uwatenage.
Fujinokawa (6-3) defeated Roga (3-6). Henka! Fujinokawa stepped to the side and Roga was toast. Hatakikomi.
Gonoyama (3-6) defeated Onokatsu (3-6). Onokatsu drove forward a few steps behind strong tsuppari. Onokatsu pulled and ceded all of his territorial gains. Gonoyama charged forward and shoved Onokatsu out. Oshidashi.
Hiradoumi (6-3) defeated Kinbozan (3-6). Hiradoumi charged forward as Kinbozan tried to throw. Hiradoumi wrapped Kinbozan up and forced him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Halftime
Churanoumi (6-3) defeated Shodai (4-5). Churanoumi pulled and tried an uwatenage. Shodai didn’t fall but Churanoumi used the momentum to shove Shodai out. Oshidashi.
Tamawashi (3-6) defeated Oshoma (5-4). Oshoma negated Tamawashi’s usual tsuppari by grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. The kotenage failed but Oshoma wrapped up Tamawashi with a migi-yotsu grip. Oshoma forced Tamawashi to the edge but the veteran dug in and would not go over easily. Tamawashi pivoted and turned the tables on Oshoma, driving him to the edge and then walking him over. Yorikiri.
Daieisho (3-6) defeated Hakunofuji (5-4). Daieisho’s tsuppari machine is back as he blasted Hakunofuji back. Hakunofuji pivoted to gain space but Daieisho blasted him back across the ring and over the edge. Tsukidashi.
Yoshinofuji (5-4) defeated Takanosho (1-8) Takanosho blasted Yoshinofuji back and forced him to the edge. Yoshinofuji, though, escaped to his left along the tawara and thrust Takanosho down to the side with his left hand in Takanosho’s armpit. Tsukiotoshi.
Sanyaku
Oho (4-5) defeated Ichiyamamoto (1-8). Ichiyamamoto blasted Oho to the edge with his tsuppari. Oho then countered and forced Ichiyamamoto back a few steps. This gave him space to pull and slap Ichiyamamoto down. Hatakikomi.
Kirishima (8-1) defeated Ura (1-8). Ura tried some fanciness at the edge as he rotated and tried to hoist Kirishima up on his back. Kirishima slipped Ura’s grasp, though, and let Ura fall to the ground. Sakatottari.
Aonishiki (7-2) defeated Wakatakakage (4-5). Aonishiki moved really well, keeping pace with Wakatakakage. Aonishiki finally landed that left-hand inside belt grip. Wakatakakage pulled away but Aonishiki tripped him over his left knee and forced him to fall back onto his butt. Kirikaeshi.
Kotozakura (6-3) defeated Takayasu (6-3). Kotozakura showed some initiative here, reaching around and grabbing Takayasu’s belt. He drove the Papa Bear to the edge. As Takayasu tried to charge forward, Kotozakura shifted and thrust Takayasu down as he passed. Solid, aggressive work from the Ozeki. Tsukiotoshi.
Wakamotoharu (3-6) defeated Onosato (6-3). WMH got a solid left hand inside and drove the Yokozuna back with ease, similar to Hakunofuji’s quick win yesterday. One wonders why Onosato showed up if he is injured and defeated this easily. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji (7-2) defeated Hoshoryu (6-3). Hoshoryu pulled but Atamifuji did not go down. Instead, Atamifuji adjusted and shifted right with the Yokozuna, charged forward and easily shoved Hoshoryu out. Kinboshi! Oshidashi.
Wrap-up
Thankfully, Prime Minister Takaichi waited for sumo to end before giving today’s speech. Priorities.
Kirishima tops the Leaderboard, alone. Aonishiki is the lone sanyaku wrestler in the hunt group with five rank-and-filers. These two guys have been walking highlight reels this basho. Beautiful stuff.
At the other end of the leaderboard, three men join Hatsuyama with makekoshi records: Takanosho, Ichiyamamoto, and Ura. Ichiyamamoto fought well but will slide down the banzuke. He’ll need to claw his way back if he hopes to crack into sanyaku.
The field will narrow tomorrow as Abi will fight Oshoumi and Shishi will fight Fujinokawa. Today’s bouts featured a real celebration of the henka. Abi’s did not quite go to plan, though. Will we see more on Day 10?
In sanyaku, Wakamotoharu will fight Ichiyamamoto and Takayasu will take on Yoshinofuji. Then Kirishima, our leader, will fight Kotozakura. Aonishiki is paired with Takanosho. To close out the day, Hoshoryu must go through his nemesis, Oho and Onosato will take on Atamifuji. If they show up. Surely, after today’s easy losses, the two Yokozuna will watch the action from the couch with a beer-in-hand and feet resting nicely on an ottoman.
Since our first post covering the third division, the 4th round of bouts has been completed. Here’s how it played out:
In notable bouts, promising newcomer Ms60TD Wakanofuji was upset by Tsurubayashi, who has never risen above Makushita in 100 career basho. Tochimaru used a big ole henka to get past an overeager MatsuiArashifuji, while SeihakuhoToshinofuji took a big step toward Juryo by getting the better of Mineyaiba on the belt. And Enho displayed excellent footwork in keeping Haruyama moving around the dohyo until the latter couldn’t keep up and tumbled to the dirt. So here’s what’s in store on Day 9:
The two highest-ranked 4-0 men, Isegahama heya-mates Toshinofuji and Enho, can’t face each other, so they will instead face the next two undefeated rikishi. Former sekitori Tochimaru has already eliminated Kaki and Arashifuji from the race; let’s see if Toshinofuji can figure out an answer to his unique style. Tochimaru will do his best to keep his opponent off his belt with his rapid-fire tsuppari and finish him off with a pull-push attack; if Toshinofuji can survive that and get on the belt, the bout should go his way. Enho defeated Gonoumi by yoritaoshi in their one previous meeting in November. I don’t have much to say about the two undercard bouts.
Toshinofuji leads the promotion race, though he could use another win to pretty much guarantee a Juryo debut. Enho, of course, must finish 7-0 to make his long-awaited sekitori return. I would love nothing more than for the two to go undefeated and face off in a title playoff. In the rest of the Ms1-Ms5 promotion zone, no one is exactly beating down the door:
As a very rough rule of thumb, a 4-3 record usually suffices at Ms1-Ms2, a 5-2 is needed at Ms3-Ms4, and a 6-1 at Ms5, though of course this depends on banzuke luck and the demotion picture in Juryo. In any case, everyone except Toshinofuji has either been eliminated from contention already or needs at least two more wins to stake a claim.
Day 8, the middle day, is upon us. Maezumo wrestlers were officially introduced to the sumo world as “Shinjo,” and we look forward to seeing these guys fight in Osaka. Among the men is Kyokugosei who is shifting sports from baseball to sumo. Kyokurenma and Kyokutaiyo join him at Oshima beya. We also have Asasubaru and Shosei, along with Ito pictured here. There’s another recruit, Nakazato, who has been kyujo for a couple of days. Apparently not feeling well? I’ll try to get the story there and find out whether he’ll have to do maezumo again or not, if he sticks with it.
Enho earned his kachi-koshi and remains in the Makushita yusho race. The Juryo race heats up as both Fujiseiun and Kayo fall. They’re joined by Sadanoumi and Wakanosho with two losses each. Tomorrow, Kayo will fight Kazuma, Wakanosho will take on Hitoshi, Sadanoumi battles Kitanowaka and Fujiseiun faces Kotokuzan.
Shishi (6-2) defeated Asahakuryu (5-3). Shishi put his big mitt in Asahakuryu’s mug and shoved, hard. This sent Asahakuryu sprawling into the crowd. Oshidashi.
Asakoryu (4-4) defeated Mitakeumi (3-5). This was all Asakoryu as he shoved Mitakeumi back to the edge and over the bales. Oshidashi.
Tobizaru (2-6) defeated Oshoumi (6-2). Oshoumi charged forward but Tobizaru shifted to his left as the pair approached the bales. While shifting, Tobizaru slapped Oshoumi down. Hatakikomi.
Ryuden (4-4) defeated Tomokaze (3-5). Tomokaze shifted left at the tachiai and tried to slap Ryuden down. Ryuden stumbled forward but caught himself and re-engaged. Tomokaze charged forward and tried again but Ryuden remained upright. Ryuden then showed Tomokaze how to execute a successful hatakikomi.
Chiyoshoma (3-5) defeated Hatsuyama (0-8). Chiyoshoma grabbed Hatsuyama’s belt with his right hand uwate and pulled Hatsuyama forward. As Hatsuyama stumbled forward, Chiyoshoma finished him by shoving him down to the ground. Hatsuyama make-koshi. Tsukiotoshi.
Nishikifuji (5-3) defeated Asanoyama (5-3). Nishikifuji shoved Asanoyama to the bales. Asanoyama tried to escape by retreating along the bales. Nishikifuji made that difficult as he wrapped his left hand onto Asanoyama’s belt. Asanoyama stumbled to the ground. Yoritaoshi.
Abi (7-1) defeated Tokihayate (4-4). Tokihayate hit Abi hard at the tachiai but Abi jammed his right hand into Tokihayate’s throat, driving back to the edge and over. Tokihayate tried desperately to knock Abi’s arm away but was not successful. Relief only came with defeat. Oshidashi.
Midorifuji (3-5) defeated Roga (3-5). Midorifuji got his right hand up under Roga’s left shoulder and it looked like he was going to try a katasukashi, but it was actually trapped there by Roga. Roga tried swinging Midorifuji around for a kotenage but Midorifuji kept his balance and then drove forward, forcing Roga over the edge. Yorikiri.
The Imperial family arrived at Kokugikan. It’s their first visit since January 25, 2020…just after Naruhito was installed as Emperor and right before the pandemic shuttered the sumo world.
Shodai (4-4) defeated Kotoshoho (5-2). Kotoshoho pulled and then attacked Shodai as he was off balance. Shodai caught himself before going over the edge and engaged Kotoshoho. Shodai shoved Kotoshoho to the ground with his right hand as he shifted right along the bales. Tsukiotoshi.
Hiradoumi (5-3) defeated Gonoyama (2-6). Hiradoumi grabbed Gonoyama’s belt with his left hand and hugged Gonoyama with his right arm. Hiradoumi charged forward and forced Gonoyama out. Yorikiri.
Kinbozan (3-5) defeated Onokatsu (3-5). Kinbozan henka! Kinbozan shifted left and slapped Onokatsu down. Hatakikomi.
Halftime
The Imperial family came out to their seats to applause from the fans, ushered by Hakkaku.
Fujinokawa (6-2) defeated Tamawashi (2-6). Fujinokawa wrapped up Tamawashi, negating Tamawashi’s usual thrusting attack. Tamawashi tried a kubinage. Shitatenage.
Atamifuji (6-2) defeated Oshoma (5-3). As Atamifuji charged forward, Oshoma tried to shift right and catch Atamifuji out. Atamifuji was unfazed, turned to meet Oshoma again and shoved him over the bales. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (5-3) defeated Takanosho (1-7). Churanoumi grabbed Takanosho’s right arm and hauled him forward to the bales. As Takanosho tried to reclaim his appendage, Churanoumi shoved him out. “Ok, now you can have your arm back.” Yorikiri.
Wakatakakage (4-4) defeated Ura (1-7). Wakatakakage blitzed Ura and shoved him out. Ura tried to stay on the tawara and pull Wakatakakage out but their combined momentum carried the pair into the crowd. Oshidashi.
Sanyaku
Wakamotoharu (2-6) defeated Yoshinofuji (4-4). Yoshinofuji pulled back to try to shift his right hand grip from outside to inside. Wakamotoharu used the opportunity to drive forward and force Yoshinofuji out. Yoritaoshi.
Takayasu (6-2) defeated Ichiyamamoto (1-7). Ichiyamamoto pulled but lost his footing as he tried to shuffle left, so Takayasu slapped him down. Hatakikomi.
Oho (3-5) defeated Kotozakura (5-3). Oho moved forward and was rewarded. Kotozakura tried to twist and topple Oho at the edge but Oho’s footwork was solid. He wasn’t going anywhere. Oshidashi.
Kirishima (7-1) defeated Aonishiki (6-2). Kirishima did not let Aonishiki get his left hand inside. Rather than continue to fight for that grip, Aonishiki pulled. Huge mistake as that allowed Kirishima to grab Aonishiki in a big ole bear hug and drive forward. Aonishiki tried to pull Kirishima down with a kubinage but Kirishima continued to press forward into Aonishiki and both men crashed out. Gunbai Kirishima. No mono-ii. Yoritaoshi.
Daieisho (2-6) defeated Hoshoryu (6-2). Daieisho pulled and slapped Hoshoryu down at the edge. Daieisho pivoted to his left. Kinboshi! For Hoshoryu to stay up and effectively counter Daieisho’s move, he would have had to dig in and move laterally on that left knee which would not be advised with the torn meniscus. Well, walking probably isn’t advised, so this might be the most eagerly anticipated kyujo in quite some time. Will the Yokozuna bow out? Will he get surgery and allow his knee to fully recouperate? Will we see him on the dohyo before Aki? We shall find out. Hatakikomi.
Hakunofuji (5-3) defeated Onosato (6-2). Hakunofuji hit Onosato hard at the tachiai and shoved him clear of the dohyo. Kinboshi! Another kyujo incoming? Oshidashi.
The assembled throngs of fans remain in their seats for the bow twirling ceremony, in relative silence. Usually, half the crowd are gone before the first, “Yoisho!” Kamito has likely never seen a crowd this large and must be pretty chuffed to perform today. The fans stand and cheer after the ceremony is over as the Imperial family bow and wave and head out.
Wrap-up
Kirishima and Abi are now tied for the lead with 1-loss. Eight men follow with 2-losses. The leaderboard is as follows:
Kirishima will face Ura tomorrow with a 9-4 head-to-head lead. Abi fans will likewise be happy to see that Abi is scheduled to face Kotoshoho, with whom he owns a 6-1 lead in their rivalry.
For the rest of the sanyaku bouts, Oho will face Ichiyamamoto, Aonishiki will take on Wakatakakage and Kotozakura will fight Takayasu. If the Yokozuna show up tomorrow, Onosato will fight Wakamotoharu and Hoshoryu will take on Atamifuji.
Other bouts for those in the hunt group include Fujinokawa fighting Roga, Shishi versus Ryuden, and Oshoumi versus Asakoryu.
