RabidJohn

I'm still not rooting for Takayasu, but I do like a sustained tsuppari barrage, and that was the most effective I've seen in a while. Credit where it's due. Onosato is going backwards far too much. Suggestions that he's carrying an injury seem credible. I've got little fan investment in Kotozakura, but I'm strangely relieved he's a proper ozeki again. He's looked more in control of himself in the second week.

Hard work? My mistake. I believed that the foolish decision to announce Hoshoryu as tsunatori on the strength of a sole jun-yusho was the only thing that afforded Takadagawa-san the opportunity to unilaterally announce his promotion, railroading the NSK into closing ranks so as to not look even more foolish, though not without a little leakage of discontent to the press. Please don't expect me to get any less cynical, though. And call me idealistic, but a 13-2Y is worth way more than a 13-2D, which is itself worth more than a 13-2J. Same numbers, but ask Takayasu whether that Y matters.

If yokozuna promotion was about the number of wins, I'd agree, but it's about winning yusho. Announcing Hoshoryu as tsunatori on the strength of a 13-2J left them no option when he put in a worse performance but won the following yusho. Few would be happier than me to see Onosato promoted, but IMHO only a yusho should start an officially announced run. They can always do a day 14 "yusho = promotion" announcement at the next basho, like they did with his shisho. 13-2 ain't going to be a J this time, though: at worst it's going to be a D, but even that wouldn't convince me to announce a run if I were Hakkaku.

I will be very complimentary if he manages it, but I just don't believe he's got it in him to stick at 1 loss, so it'll be in the play-off, probably against Onosato. I sincerely hope not. They made that mistake in November and it's just come back to bite them. No need to double down. Then again, I'm fully aware that hope and sumo don't mix well.

He is Hoshoryu the Unready, for sure. He's not been a dominant rikishi and is unlikely to become one. But he's only 25, so he ought to be able to improve somewhat. --- I'm bloody annoyed with Onosato losing to Takayasu. I know there are forum members who will be thrilled if the former ozeki can get a yusho, but it feels pointless to me.

I was going by the "9-2" I saw before the bout. Even if 1 of the 2 was a fusensho, it still adds up to 10 actual bouts, doesn't it - or was one of Takayasu's 9 a fusensho, too?

I don't know. Yesterday he was up against a rikishi he'd only beaten twice in 11 attempts, and today it was a rikishi he's never beat. Going kyujo now would look shady. If he loses tomorrow against Ura, with whom he's at 8-5, then an injury kyujo would at least look more plausible. Then there's pride, face, or whatever you want to call it. Maybe he's going to be an Onokuni/Wakanohana type, who'll keep trying for a KK until he goes MK.

Seeing the h2h before the Hoshoryu-Takayasu bout was like a spoiler for the result. How is Takayasu kryptonite for the yokozuna? At that rate, the former ozeki could be getting a pay rise for nearly every basho he can remain in the joi.

Maybe among the foreign fans on social media, but I expect Japanese fans will take a very long time to get fed up of a dominant Japanese rikishi. I also suspect I'm not alone in hoping for a decent rivalry between heavyweight powerhouse Onosato and mid-weight technician Hoshoryu, akin to what we last saw with Akebono and Takanohana.

I agree that any side step is a henka, but the slight shoulder check sets 'em up for the uwatenage follow through, which makes it visually and technically distinct from a side step that totally avoids frontal contact. I see 'HNH' (Harumafuji non-henka) as a tongue-in-cheek shorthand to describe that distinction. I'm not mad about it, even though I know it's bollocks. I would've called it a Chiyonofuji non-henka, but he wasn't the originator, either - and it's still a henka. I'm just into my 10th year of watching ozumo again, so I missed Ama/Harumafuji moaning about henka. That's hilarious.

@Kintamayama Not a problem for me - I click on the videos too quickly to process the thumbnails. I'm nowt but grateful.

Yeah, it seems to have just gone out of fashion, which is a shame because it adds to the entertainment when done properly. They were all at it 40 years ago: now it's notably uncommon.

I take it you never saw Chiyonofuji. My recollection is of the 'death stare' occurring before each of his matches. It never went on for long, though. So I don't believe it breaks hinkaku for a yokozuna. The stare-down between Hoshoryu and Gonoyama that caused all the comment a while ago was problematic because it just went on and on, and time is a constraint. Hoshoryu's always musubi-no-ichiban currently, so I imagine he gets told the time available while he's waiting in the hanamichi, and it's usually not excessive.

Ah, yes. Osaka zabuton are green - when did that happen? Desultory green drizzle...

What I found most impressive about Chiyoshoma's kinboshi was that while the henka got him into a very advantageous position, it didn't work perfectly. Hoshoryu's escapology from such positions can be miraculous, but Chiyoshoma also shut that down. He's challenging my non-belief in superstition...

Tobizaru vs Takayasu was a corrida, with Takayasu playing the brave but predictable bull. He kept charging until El Mono Volador wore him out. Even the way it finished was reminiscent of a matador delivering the coup de grace. Has Tobizaru been reading Death in the Afternoon?

Did Daieisho knock the wind out of Wakatakakage? Never heard that before. Onosato's left arm seemed to have a mind of its own with that tangential shove on Gonoyama. That seemed unnecessarily risky by Hoshoryu...

The 1991 koen was a proper sold-out event with ridiculous sums changing hands on the steps on the last day. Yet I don't recall any delay getting through to the RAH box office landline, ordering my tickets and paying a deposit on my credit card. The confirmation arrived in the post a few days later, and the tickets arrived in the post shortly after I paid the balance. No problems. Internet ticket selling is wide open to abuse. It has never been and will never be an improvement on real people answering the phone. [Insert Abe Simpson shouting at clouds meme]

My initial reaction was also: what about Kotooshu? But it becomes quickly apparent that Aonishiki is aiming to become the 1st European yokozuna, and that's what they meant by "grand champion". I'm far from certain that they're wrong. Hiro Morito almost invariably says "yokozuna grand champion" whenever he namechecks a rikishi of the top rank.

Hey, at least he hasn't given away a kinboshi yet. And Abi's always dangerous, which is why he's been in the joi/junior sanyaku for what feels like ages. My expectation for Hoshoryu is 10-11 wins, because yusho and promotion partying will have taken its toll.

I'm in shock. It's a really good article that didn't go out of its way to mention any scandals - in The Guardian!

As the website stated prices would vary according to demand, and it hasn't immediately sold out, I reckon it might be worth hanging on 'til the last minute for a bargain.

You sure about them dates?

At coming up to 27, I wouldn't have thought so. It's more of a best-defence-is-a-good-offence scenario. It worked quite well for Takakeisho, although even he went from looking helpless on the belt to at least having a go (and occasionally succeeding) at defending in yotsu. Disappointing though, because the best rikishi have both offense and defense at their disposal. So I'd put it down to ability rather than age.

When I say "it is my understanding", I'm prepared for the fact that my understanding may be a misunderstanding. So I'm up for finding out that "there must be an ozeki on the east and west side of the banzuke" has as much basis in fact as the one Ian Fleming invented about what rikishi can do with their testicles.