orandashoho

And rightfully so... I am curious now... how long does the NSK retain image rights? For the duration of a rikishi's active career? Until his danpatsu-shiki? Beyond that? What if he stays in the NSK, what if he doesn't?

As duties and responsibilities of high ranking rikishi increase, they may have more tsukebito. That might become a real problem for Takanohana-beya when Takayoshitoshi rejoins the sekitory and Takakeisho gets into the sanyaku. Where would these be coming from? Takanohana really has to start recruiting.

He did lose a lot of weight - still around the 200 kilo mark. Much less than at his peak, but still-massive.. Entering hamburger eating contests isn't exactly striking me as the best way to lose weight. He's looking good, though. Great that you got to talk to each other. Nice picture, too.

Strange picture. The couple is holding up glasses as if they're going to toast, Tochinoshin doesn't and his hands aren't visible, they seem to be stuck under the table with not enough room for them. The perspective in the picture looks off, it doesn't look like a still but a fake.

With hindsight, we know that Terunofuji 's medical condition was not sudden thing but a hidden problem that would bring him down sooner than later, and he put a good last-ditch effort into a tsuna run. That is really why I was thinking that their demise was connected -- Terunofuji must have known and wanted to go out with a bang, while Kisenosato could have been expecting years of successful Yokozunahood competing when he suddenly got injured. I can understand the denial and wishful thinking surrounding Kisenosato's return, and the YDC's wish to give the miracle a chance. But a lot would have to happen before Kisenosato can be in the yusho race -- a lot of wins in serious training against stong, heavy yusho contenders (do you see that happening? I don't); being able to compensate for the loss of power with a new style of sumo (for all I know he has been working on it, but has anyone seen him succeeding at this?); and a good big throw of salt. Time will tell. This impasse cannot go on indefinitely.

Oops. I stand corrected. It somehow got stuck in my mind that it had been Terunofuji, perhaps because he needed the double victory against him. I do not blame Harumafuji for anything. It was a genuine mistake brought on by faulty memory, now corrected. BTW, I would like to know how Harumafuji is doing. I presume he is still an Isegahama consultant, but it's very quiet around him. I hope this quiet has resulted in a number of nice paintings.

Or else he could have been promoted in May 2014, when his promotion to Yokozuna has been actively blocked by a loss against Hakuho. Or even earlier. All the more heartwrenching is that his debilitating injury was caused by the man who would drop out of contention a mere month after Kisenosato did, Ozeki Terunofuji, a very ill man who is now dropping to mid-Makushita.

I don't think you can call Terunofuji very active at the moment.

I said it once and I'll say it again. When Kisenosato, his Oyakata or both decided to NOT have surgery for the injury, they opted for a path in which the body would heal without the muscle fully reattaching itself, accepting a loss of power. If he'd had surgery, he MIGHT have regained more power, but how much was not certain, so they opted for the non-invasive healing route, at the same time accepting that Kisenosato would need to adapt his sumo to the new situation. He cannot rely on that muscle the way it had brought him victories before ==> the old way is gone. He needs to reinvent his sumo. Use different techniques. Change a style that he has successfully used for years. Not easy. All the signs say that he has not been able to rebuild his arsenal, and fears that what he's got now is not enough. The degeiko was telling, the session with Hakuho too. He is still a strong man but very likely not strong enough to perform as expected, and he knows it.

As Yokozuna he is supposed to be in contention with his peers -- the Y/O -- for the yusho, nothing less. To be in the race till the last when they face each other. If he cannot do that, there will be no point in entering. But a yokozuna cannot stay away indefinitely either. He must return, or retire -- and if he returns, he must perform as expected. Hence the dilemma...

Takanohana slimmed down quite neatly.

How true this has turned out to be, sadly.

The thing is, a run normally starts to count from the first kachikoshi as sekiwake, and isn't a run until afer the second consecutive kachikoshi as sekiwake. Now for Mitakeumi to be on an Ozeki run now, it normally would be the start of an Ozeki run, not counting his 9-6 as Komusubi. So he would need two more basho as sekiwake to complete the run. But his outstanding performance this basho and his yusho might induce them to consider his result in Natsu basho as the start of his Ozeki run, just like they considered Tochinoshin's hiramiku yusho as the start of his run even though he wasn't sekiwake then. Plus, I think they'll also take it into account that Mitakeumi was sekiwake five basho in a row before a 7-8 result dropped him to komusubi and he climbed right back to sekiwake after that. That is showing the kind of constancy that they want and an Ozeki should have. So, if he can manage 11+ next basho with good quality sumo against Y/O next basho, there'd be no reason not to promote him.

It may not be a record, but for once it's much more evenly distributed at the top. Also amazing that Hakuho, who only fought on the first three days, is still in the op 10 after 15 days.

Day 15 -- Myogiryu