Asashosakari

I'm not sure I'd consider it luck either way. Isn't it likely that Gurowake's system just happened to be much better adapted to handle the relative stability we used to have than the competitive chaos of the last 12 months or so? It's not good or bad luck when a system has varying levels of success because it doesn't take trends into account and just uses a "one size fits all" approach.

The DB says: empty east, empty west In the 1920 case every West-side sanyaku bar the yokozuna was actually absent, in 1960 it was partly a scheduling fluke (one East-side sanyaku absent, the other two scheduled against the East-side yokozuna). As for cases where one sanyaku was scheduled but missed his bout (like today), the DB has one more case on the West side, but it's simply the day before the full absences in 1920. What's also interesting is how rare it apparently has been to even just have one non-yokozuna sanyaku rikishi representing a side...only around 100 times in nearly 7000 tournament days.

You know that was gonna happen anyway, right?

And the former sekitori in the lower divisions. After intai, kyujo and suspension only 30 of them proceeded to start the Natsu basho, and former maegashira Masunoyama has since joined those on the sidelines. After the most crowded section of the banzuke was Ms6-15 last basho it's Ms16-30 this time around. Toyonoshima and Chiyoarashi remain in the makushita yusho race for now. Notes in the opening post in the basho banzuke thread. Record Rank Shikona Heya Age Out 0-4 Ms1e Amakaze Oguruma 26 1 1-3 Ms2e Tochihiryu Kasugano 31 2 2-2 Ms2w Jokoryu Kise 29 12 2-2 Ms3e Kizenryu Kise 33 2 1-3 Ms3w Akua Tatsunami 27 2 2-2 Ms4w Kitaharima Yamahibiki 31 4 1-3 Ms5w Dewahayate Dewanoumi 29 11 2-2 Ms6e Enho Miyagino 23 1 3-1 Ms6w Higonojo Kise 33 24 1-3 Ms8e Tenkaiho Onoe 33 12 1-3 Ms8w Fujiazuma Tamanoi 31 7 susp. Ms9w Takayoshitoshi Takanohana 21 1 4-0 Ms14e Toyonoshima Tokitsukaze 34 10 3-1 Ms18w Daiseido Kise 25 3 1-3 Ms19w Yamaguchi Miyagino 29 2 3-1 Ms20e Toyohibiki Sakaigawa 33 2 3-1 Ms21w Sagatsukasa Irumagawa 36 25 3-1 Ms22e Satoyama Onoe 36 5 2-2 Ms22w Tokushinho Kise 34 15 4-0 Ms23e Chiyoarashi Kokonoe 26 29 intai Ms23w Oiwato Hakkaku 37 27 3-1 Ms28w Keitenkai Onomatsu 28 34 3-1 Ms30e Nionoumi Yamahibiki 31 29 kyujo Ms31e Kagamio Kagamiyama 30 12 1-3 Ms32w Sakigake Shibatayama 32 20 0-2-2 Ms38w Masunoyama Chiganoura 27 19 intai Ms39e Amuru Onomatsu 34 8 2-2 Ms41e Takaryu Kise 26 17 1-3 Ms46w Asahisho Tomozuna 28 6 kyujo Ms50w Ura Kise 25 2 3-1 Sd3e Chiyootori Kokonoe 25 3 0-4 Sd18w Hitenryu Tatsunami 33 40 1-3 Sd21w Dairaido Takadagawa 38 70 2-2 Sd55e Yoshiazuma Tamanoi 40 22 1-3 Sd57e Kaonishiki Azumazeki 39 40 kyujo Jk12e Masakaze Oguruma 35 33

Juryo yusho race: 7-1 Meisei, Yago, Tsurugisho 6-2 Kotoeko, Terutsuyoshi 5-3 Onosho, Azumaryu, Daishoho, Seiro, Tokushoryu, Takanoiwa I normally don't swear on the forum, but I can come up with no better description for Yago's sumo than "basic as f***". As far as I can tell he's not even been doing much of anything different this basho, compared to his previous three tilts at juryo which all ended at 7-8, so I'm at a loss to explain how he's 7-1, and I can only hope that regression to the mean will be catching up to him over the rest of the tournament. Meisei and Tsurugisho on the other hand have been doing some excellent sumo and are deservedly in the yusho race here. That's particularly surprising with Tsurugisho who looked like a broken man the last two tournaments and was probably on a number of people's short lists for demotion to makushita. None of the pursuers have really excelled in getting their KK-trending records, so outside of Onosho on name value I'd be inclined to make this a Meisei-Tsurugisho race. But of course it's still juryo we're talking about here, so probably everything I've just written will be exposed as only so much nonsense by around Day 11... Kotoeko (6-2) - Azumaryu (5-3) and Terutsuyoshi (6-2) - Tokushoryu (5-3) are tomorrow's only matchups among the 11 leaders and pursuers. Lower division yusho races (Day 7/8 results and links to video where available, plus the aforementioned Chiyonoumi loss in juryo on Day 6): 4-0 Ms7w Gokushindo (Nishikido) 4-0 Ms14e Toyonoshima (Tokitsukaze) 4-0 Ms23e Chiyoarashi (Kokonoe) 4-0 Ms35w Kiribayama (Michinoku) 4-0 Ms40w Mugendai (Fujishima) 4-0 Ms47w Koba (Kise) 4-0 Ms57e Asakishin (Takasago) 4-0 Sd8e Ayanoumi (Yamahibiki) 4-0 Sd16w Shingaku (Otake) 4-0 Sd23w Kotodairyu (Sadogatake) 4-0 Sd30e Okinofuji (Hakkaku) 4-0 Sd40e Kizakiumi (Kise) 4-0 Sd49w Karatsuumi (Tamanoi) 4-0 Sd59e Takiguchi (Onomatsu) 4-0 Sd67w Kotorikisen (Sadogatake) 4-0 Sd70e Tagonofuji (Tagonoura) 4-0 Sd85e Satoyama (Hakkaku) 4-0 Sd91e Kotokumazoe (Sadogatake) 4-0 Sd99w Hidano (Arashio) 4-0 Jd11e Naya (Otake) 4-0 Jd17e Rikito (Tokitsukaze) 4-0 Jd25e Miyanofuji (Irumagawa) 4-0 Jd30e Mitsumune (Onomatsu) 4-0 Jd42w Hoshoryu (Tatsunami) 4-0 Jd47w Kaiyuma (Asakayama) 4-0 Jd58e Sasakiyama (Kise) 4-0 Jd66e Kayatoiwa (Minato) 4-0 Jd73e Kotomiyakura (Sadogatake) 4-0 Jd83e Amanishiki (Hakkaku) 4-0 Jd89e Yamato (Dewanoumi) 4-0 Jd103e Okuniasahi (Nakagawa) 4-0 Jd108w Satozakura (Shikihide) 4-0 Jk8w Ryubu (Musashigawa) 4-0 Jk11e Shuji (Kise) 4-0 Jk23e Kotokume (Sadogatake) 4-0 Jk27e Kojima (Asakayama) 36 rikishi at 4-0 for the first time in five tournaments, and also four unbeaten rikishi in jonokuchi again after the same period. That should mean smooth sailing until we're down to 9 rikishi at 6-0, unless makushita drops to just three unbeaten records tomorrow and they decide on something special there for round 6. No real favourite stands out in makushita to me. Purely on rank we'd favour Gokushindo, of course, but while the 21-year-old likes to string together wins and has plenty of 6-1 records he's never made it to a Day 13 bout while still zensho. On talent I'm inclined to mention Kiribayama as favourite as he has the tools to beat anyone, but he hasn't managed to demonstrate that talent much over the last year or so amidst some injury issues. And of course there's Toyonoshima, far from the sanyaku-quality rikishi he used to be, but perhaps with more experience than the other six contenders combined. Sandanme arguably has the same deal going as two months ago: Tsukedashi entrant Kizakiumi is the favourite until he gets dumped from the race by somebody. It's happened last time so it could well happen again, but there's certainly nobody else that I would consider a bigger individual favourite. Do keep an eye out for 23-year-old Shingaku who's near his career-high rank, but is riding a 17-1 combined record (7-0, 6-1, 4-0) since returning from two missed tournaments. Worth a look among the lower-ranked contenders could be Kotorikisen who took a 50-rank tumble off three consecutive 3-4 records but may be much stronger than his current ranking indicates. The jonidan race might be oddly compelling this basho. There are top talent rookies Naya and Hoshoryu, of course, but also makushita regular Sasakiyama after missing the last four basho. They're spaced sufficiently far apart in the contenders list that Naya and Hoshoryu should only be possible as a Day 13 meeting at 6-0, and Sasakiyama even just as a playoff opponent for the winner of that. (Hoshoryu and Sasakiyama might be a possible Day 13 matchup if Naya gets knocked out of the race by one of his next two opponents - both from sandanme - and the jonidan race gets reduced to three 6-0 scores. Caveat: the aforementioned possibility of makushita shenanigans.) The jonokuchi race lost its two obvious yusho candidates - the two university rikishi from the Haru rookie class - very early. Collegiate #1 Terasawa knocked off collegiate #2 Kawamoto with a quick pulldown victory on Day 1, but looked somewhat sluggish even there, before he proceeded to pick up two one-sided losses en route to a kyujo exit from the tournament. The clear favourite among those who remain has to be Shuji, the 22-year-old who has been sent back to the bottom of the banzuke through injury for the second time in his career. Last time he won the yusho in both jonokuchi and jonidan, following which he went as high as Ms54 before the latest tumble.

Day 8 (results, text-only results): 7-1 Kakuryu Y1 Hakuho 7-1 kyujo Kisenosato Y2 kyujo Takayasu O Goeido 3-5 8-0 Tochinoshin S A very credible basho by the numbers for our two active yokozuna so far, but both have looked far from dominant. Kakuryu does seem to be roughly his usual self, while Hakuho is having one of these increasingly frequent kitchen sink basho where he seems to be forced into completely different styles from one day to the next - still successful, but a far cry from the times when he was able to impose himself on his opponents. The yusho leader, however, is unbeaten sekiwake Tochinoshin as he guns for promotion to the rank of ozeki. If nothing else, this strong start into the tournament should be looked upon favourably by the banzuke committee, as dominance over lower-ranked (= mostly first-week) opposition is after all one of the expectations placed upon ozeki. The sole active ozeki, Goeido, has been having a significantly tougher time of it, and while I'd normally be inclined to say "well, at least the short sanyaku means he won't have to face too many high-rankers this basho", it might not matter that much when you're already in a 3-5 hole by the middle Sunday. Fellow ozeki Takayasu was forced to skip the basho altogether with various arm and shoulder problems, as was stablemate yokozuna Kisenosato due to his never-ending pecs issue. Also struck by injury was komusubi Endo a couple of days ago, particularly sad as it's his sanyaku debut and he was actually doing very well up to that point. Ichinojo at sekiwake and Mitakeumi at komusubi are alright in win-loss terms so far and are decent bets to stay in sanyaku, although both still have more high-ranked opponents remaining than usual after the first week (and Ichinojo seems to be flirting with disaster in any case). The top maegashira have been beaten up rather badly so far, with the main bright spot arguably joi debutant Abi's three wins. Tamawashi in the #1 slot - after bad banzuke luck, M1w 9-6 -> M1e - is also 3-5. He hasn't looked as good as in some past tournaments, but of course from this position he'll have the inside track to promotion with a simple 8-7 finish. Shodai, Kotoshogiku and Ikioi are all 6-2 further down, but they've had a combined zero sanyaku opponents so far, and at least the first two of them should still get plenty during week two. (Ikioi may get mostly spared as he's essentially withdrawn Endo's replacement, and Endo already got through all his sanyaku opposition bar Hakuho. However, it's possible that they'll spread the wealth a bit by giving him some of Shodai/Giku's nominal sanyaku slate.) Way down the maegashira ranks we find the main hiramaku yusho contender with Chiyonokuni joining the two yokozuna in the 7-1 runner-up position to Tochinoshin. 6 other maegashira (and no sanyaku) follow at 6-2. S Ichinojo 4-4 5-3 Mitakeumi K Endo 3-4-1 3-5 Tamawashi M1 Kaisei 2-6 2-6 Shohozan M2 Abi 3-5 2-6 Daieisho M3 Yutakayama 0-8 (x) 4-4 Chiyotairyu M4 Shodai 6-2 6-2 Kotoshogiku M5 Ikioi 6-2 M6 Takarafuji 5-3 M7 Chiyomaru 3-5 4-4 Yoshikaze M8 Kagayaki 5-3 6-2 Daishomaru M9 Hokutofuji 4-4 M10 M11 Chiyonokuni 7-1 Myogiryu and Nishikigi were extremely lucky to survive the last maegashira culling after Haru, but both look like a good bet to earn their continued stay properly this time. Top division debutant Kyokutaisei has also done very well and if he keeps going he might even get promoted high enough to not have to worry about demotion for a basho or two. Returned veterans Sadanoumi and Takekaze have performed about as well as one can expect from them at this stage of their careers, while oldest-ever returnee (topping his own record) Aminishiki has been looking pretty dreadful and seems to be headed straight back to juryo this time. Nobody else is really in huge danger at the moment, though several rikishi's records are perilous enough that they can't afford a really bad second week. Kotoeko and Gagamaru were the flipside to the Myogiryu/Nishikigi luck, and their fortunes have diverged significantly over the last 8 days. Kotoeko has arguably looked more shaky than his 6-2 record implies, but that's still two-thirds to three-quarters of the work done (depending on whether you think he'll need 8 or 9 to get promoted), so he has built himself an excellent starting position for the second week. Onosho and talented Meisei are the other main contenders - or maybe I should just say contenders, as the rest of the field is only marginally present in the race and will need an excellent finish to the basho to get a word in promotion-wise. Injury demotee Onosho looked very good for a few days - but perhaps not 5-0 good, and some of his luck seems to have simply run out over the past three days. Unless he's managed to re-injure himself he should still have enough left in the tank for a kachikoshi though. (1) 1-7 Chiyoshoma M6 (2) 1-7 Ryuden M7 M8 M9 M10 Takakeisho 3-5 (2) (2) 3-5 Daiamami M11 (3) 2-6 Arawashi M12 Asanoyama 5-3 (1) (4) 2-6 Ishiura M13 Aoiyama 3-5 (3) (2) 4-4 Sadanoumi M14 Takekaze 4-4 (3) (2) 5-3 Tochiozan M15 Kyokutaisei 6-2 (1) (1) 6-2 Myogiryu M16 Aminishiki 1-7 (7) (3) 5-3 Nishikigi M17 --- (5) 3-5 Sokokurai J1 Onosho 5-3 (3) (3) 6-2 Kotoeko J2 Gagamaru 2-6 (7) (6) 3-5 Kyokushuho J3 Takanosho 2-6 (7) (3) 7-1 Meisei J4 Hidenoumi 4-4 (6) (6) 4-4 Kotoyuki J5 Akiseyama 4-4 (6) (6) 5-3 Azumaryu J6 Daishoho 5-3 (6) (6) 5-3 Seiro J7 Shimanoumi 3-5 (~) J8 Takagenji 4-4 (~) J9 (~) 5-3 Tokushoryu J10 J11 Takanoiwa 5-3 (~) (7) 7-1 Yago J12 (~) 6-2 Terutsuyoshi J13 (~) 7-1 Tsurugisho J14 The three promotees to juryo haven't exactly torn up the dohyo so far. Hakuyozan has certainly been the best of them, and may have been a bit unlucky to be just 4-4 at this stage, so KK should still be within reach. (I expected him to have a good shot at 9+, hmm.) Wakatakakage has been fighting valiantly, but his physique might not be quite up to juryo level yet after one year among the pros, and a trip back to makushita for more seasoning looks likely right now. The sole returnee Asabenkei turned in a week to forget, streaking to 7 losses before he turned on the afterburner today to overwhelm Tokushoryu (who'd been doing rather well before). Even that Asabenkei probably won't be good enough to avoid the demotion now from 1-7, but performing like that a few more times would at least keep his record from becoming catastrophic. There's no shortage of further candidates for demotion in any case, with kyujo ex-ozeki Terunofuji very likely headed to the unpaid ranks again after five years (or intai...), and Homarefuji and Tobizaru making it four rikishi who will need to collect more wins than losses across the final seven days of action. Homarefuji has had his moments, but 2-6 is probably a good reflection of what he has delivered so far, so it might be difficult to turn things around this time. Tobizaru of course has the same physique issues as Wakatakakage, except he's adding lack of height as an additional handicap. Amakaze was one of the three post-Haru demotees, and he won't be returning to juryo this time after an 0-4 start to his basho. (Personally, I think he's headed down the Masunoyama road...) Enho and Takayoshitoshi were even dropped so far that they're not in the promotion zone for Natsu basho, and Takayoshitoshi is of course suspended anyway due to his backstage altercation with one of his tsukebito in March. The main promotion contender is top-ranked Chiyonoumi at this point, although he was taken out of the makushita yusho race in a Day 6 visit to juryo. The former top collegiate rikishi who's had to come back from a major right elbow injury just might be fulfilling the early promise from three years ago now. He's still only 25 years old, but of course it's anyone's guess how much of his potential was sapped by his injury woes. The rest of the race is wide open as always, especially if we do get 4 or 5 demotable juryo rikishi. Two rikishi outside the top 5 but within the top 15 ranks will be battling for one 5-0 record tomorrow, and the possibility to secure promotion with a 7-0 final score. J7 Shimanoumi 3-5 (1) (5) 0-4-4 Terunofuji J8 Takagenji 4-4 (1) (2) 3-5 Chiyonoo J9 Mitoryu 3-5 (2) (1) 5-3 Tokushoryu J10 Homarefuji 2-6 (4) (2) 4-4 Hakuyozan J11 Takanoiwa 5-3 (1) J12 Asabenkei 1-7 (6) (1) 6-2 Terutsuyoshi J13 Tobizaru 3-5 (4) (1) 7-1 Tsurugisho J14 Wakatakakage 3-5 (5) (x) 0-4 Amakaze Ms1 Chiyonoumi 3-1 1-3 Tochihiryu Ms2 Jokoryu 2-2 2-2 Kizenryu Ms3 Akua 1-3 3-1 Kizaki Ms4 Kitaharima 2-2 3-1 Ichiyamamoto Ms5 Dewahayate 1-3 ... Ms7 Gokushindo 4-0 ... 4-0 Toyonoshima Ms14 Explanation of symbols used: numbers = wins needed until favourable outcome (getting promoted / not getting demoted) o = favourable outcome achieved x = favourable outcome definitely missed ~ = favourable outcome missed "by the numbers", but still achievable through banzuke luck

Our persisters through Day 8 of the Natsu basho. A bit surprisingly they promoted only some of the jonokuchi 3-4's to jonidan after Haru basho, so Kotoimagawa and Koreyasu have made lucky jonidan debuts while Hayasaka and Nakano only moved to high jonokuchi. Chiyotaiko was already in jonidan in March and managed to stick despite his 2-5 record. Shikona Heya Debut MK Current Rank Highest Rank Record Win% Last Basho This Basho Hattorizakura Shikihide Aki 2015 16 Jonokuchi 34 East Jonokuchi 18 1-107-1 0.009 0-7 0-4 Sawanofuji Isegahama Haru 2016 12 Jonokuchi 1 West Jonidan 110 19-70 0.213 2-5 1-3 Satoiazuma Tamanoi Kyushu 2014 7 Jonokuchi 6 East Jonidan 100 17-36-7 0.321 2-5 2-2 Chiyotaiko Kokonoe Haru 2017 6 Jonidan 112 East Jonidan 104 18-28 0.391 2-5 3-1 Kotoimagawa Sadogatake Haru 2017 6 Jonidan 110 West Jonidan 110 14-32 0.304 3-4 2-2 Hayasaka Tokitsukaze Haru 2017 6 Jonokuchi 1 East Jonokuchi 1 13-33 0.283 3-4 1-3 Sekizukayama Tagonoura Haru 2017 6 Jonokuchi 7 West Jonokuchi 6 11-36 0.234 1-6 1-3 Koreyasu Asakayama Natsu 2017 5 Jonidan 111 East Jonidan 111 17-22 0.436 3-4 3-1 Nakano Miyagino Haru 2017 4 Jonokuchi 4 West Jonokuchi 4 14-18-7 0.438 3-4 2-2 Houn Minezaki Aki 2017 4 Jonokuchi 8 East Jonokuchi 8 3-23 0.115 1-6 0-4 I noted the most likely four KK candidates for the near future at the end of Haru - Chiyotaiko, Kotoimagawa, Koreyasu and Nakano - and in fact they're all 2-2 or 3-1 here, along with recent returnee Satoiazuma, so it's looking good for at least one graduation again. Hattorizakura (despite a gritty Day 6 bout) and fresh arrival Houn are unfortunately 0-4 already.

And today's presentation. Errata: I had the wrong -sato kanji for Asahisato, his shikona is 朝日郷, not 朝日里. In addition it's Roman ろまん with a short -o-, not long as I had assumed. The Kyokai has also managed to produce some confusion about the kanji in his shikona - his profile is giving it as 浪漫 with a different second character than the 浪満 that Yubinhaad had reported earlier. However, Sanspo's report on the maezumo qualifiers today does give it as 浪満, which is strange considering that article ought to be based on Kyokai information... No shusshin changes from the initially listed locations. Anyway, the video. No other versions from the usual sources yet.

Day 7 (Miselet) Results: Mz1 Soga (3-3) Mz2 Asahisato (2-3) Mz9 Shiimori (2-3) Mz4 Kawamura (3-2) Mz10 Wakakosuge (0-5) Mz5 Oju (2-3) Mz11 Wakaoyama (0-5) Mz6 Mukaida (3-2) Mz9 Shiimori (3-3) Mz2 Asahisato (2-4) Lots of repeat matches in that initial block, only Shiimori-Kawamura was not a rehash. The other three matches went the same way they did the first time around, including the fact that Wakakosuge again got close to a win but wasn't quite able to pull it off. As usual at the end of the competition the guys who came into the day on 2 wins got a second opportunity if they lost their regularly scheduled match. (Actually, it was a bit of a departure from their usual habits that they didn't do the same bonus bout thing on any earlier day, too.) The final standings: 3-win target achieved: #01 Mz3 Tsushida Tokitsukaze 3-0 #02 Mz12 Tanakayama Sakaigawa 3-0 #03 Mz7 Kinoshita Kokonoe 3-1 #04 Mz8 Roman Tatsunami 3-0-1 #05 Mz1 Soga Futagoyama 3-3 #06 Mz4 Kawamura Naruto 3-2 #07 Mz6 Mukaida Naruto 3-2 #08 Mz9 Shiimori Tokitsukaze 3-3 Remaining order: #09 Mz2 Asahisato Asahiyama 2-4 #10 Mz5 Oju Naruto 2-3 #11 Mz10 Wakakosuge Nishiiwa 0-5 #12 Mz11 Wakaoyama Nishiiwa 0-5 It isn't always the case, but I think that's a pretty fair ranking of these 12 maezumo participants based on what they've shown over the past week, perhaps outside the fact that we haven't seen how Tsushida and Tanakayama compared to each other directly.

Done the whole works already (cache, forum login, Chrome restart, system reboot), didn't help. Anyway, I'm seeing the same difference on other IPS forums, so something appears to have changed in how Chrome renders certain page elements. (Or I've screwed up my system in some way in the last 24 hours, but for the life of me I can't imagine how.) Chrome version 66.0.3359.181 (64-bit) on Windows 7, if anyone cares to compare. Edit: I should add that it only affects undecorated text for some reason. Anything in bold looks the same as always.

Is text on the forum suddenly/recently looking different (that is, very thin and unsaturated) on Chrome for anybody else? I guess Chrome auto-updated and some setting changed, but I'm finding it hard to track down what exactly, and rolling it back to an earlier version to check is somewhat less trivial than on other browsers. Image (top: FIrefox; middle: IE; bottom: Chrome)

I found what I was thinking of - it's less important than I thought I remembered: Incidentally, that thread might make for interesting reading for anyone who wasn't around for the happier days of "reformist Takanohana".

I seem to recall that one of Takanohana's objectives in his very early days on the board as shimpan director was to make the arcane mono-ii explanations more accessible to the fans. Does anyone remember what he specifically did differently back then? Pretty sure it wasn't this "announce only the bare minimum" thing, but I'm hazy on the details.

One question that came to me while watching the lower divisions this basho. It's been said that the core of sumo is found in the daily practice, not so much the honbasho competition. Is there any tangible effect of this inside stables - specifically, are there significant numbers of rikishi who enjoy the "practice lifestyle" (for lack of a better word) and stick around for that, but who consider the actual competing just a necessary evil? And how are such rikishi seen by others in the sumo world (fellow rikishi, shisho, etc.)? Is it more accepted/acceptable if the rikishi in question fills some vital role in the heya, e.g. as the head cook, or does he just have to be a nice guy? Or asked another way - how important do people actually in the sumo world feel it is to strive for banzuke advancement, as opposed to personal improvement? Most of us fans obviously treat the banzuke as the sole barometer.

Sendagawa arrived about 10 minutes late to his Day 5 shift in jonidan for some reason, tsk. Can be seen coming in here after the linked match, the shift change was five bouts earlier: https://youtu.be/IMFW8wsvw10?t=2670