autotroph

In addition to staying one off the pace, I'm very happy to see Takakeisho put up a proper Ozeki record for the first time. Earning the rank, losing it (through injury), earning it back but getting another injury: a tough few basho! The Orbular One's iron will is an inspiration.

I am going to be a pedant here and point out that I said "if he has detached his pectoral" - wasn't his injury a tear of the muscle belly, rather than a full detachment? Still a serious injury, of course.

If he has actually detached his pectoral his career is over without surgery. Even with surgery, you would typically be prescribed recovery time on the order of 6 months. This can probably be reduced by 4 to 6 weeks by taking advantage of the drug-test-free sumo environment, but that would still see him lose his rank. Heartbreaking, I really like the guy. As someone else said about sumo success "deserve has nothing to do with it".

According to this query, the 17th and 20th Yokozuna were both shorter than him by 5cm.

Poignant moment watching Tomokaze after his win. Very happy for him.

Salute to Fiesty Yoshikaze! Those of us who enjoy honest sumo deployed with indomitable spirit have lost a good man today.

It would be great if someone with more knowledge of sumo and Japanese society as a whole comment could on this. From my naive and ignorant viewpoint it seems absurd that they could deny him that (modulo his acquiring Japanese citizenship). EDIT: the 'more' above means more than me. I didn't mean to imply that I wanted someone more knowledgeble than Akinomaki

Tough to watch :( Has an ambulatory rikishi ever forfeited a redo?

Another member from the North East?

I agree there are bad referee decisions in every sport. What I meant was that in other sports very bad or controversial decisions have the chance to be addressed by committees, other refs, yadda yadda yadda. For example, in rugby, if a player was to punch another and it was missed during the game, at any time the governing body can review the video evidence and issue a punishment. In sumo, decisions like this are instantly concretised and will now stand until the ice caps melt. There is no recourse or appeal in any way. If the judges are reprimanded it will occur behind closed doors and nothing but rumour or conjecture will reach the surface. That's just the way it is.

I apologise if I have missed an obvious source of this information. I have noticed ranks such as O2eHD and Ms10TD on the database recently. They do not appear on the legend (or if they do I can't work it out). What do they mean?

What a bloody day! I am in utter disbelief. Another reminder that if you try to think of sumo in the same way as other sports, you'll have a bad time. I hope very desperately that Tochinoshin can get his 10. As others have said, it's sad that this will inevitably overshadow Asanoyama's yusho, if he claims it.

Thanks so much!

Anyone who's spent enough time at a bodybuilding gym knows what they are. Those marks are scar tissue from injecting (slang "pinning") PEDs. The glutes and inner thigh are popular sites for this. I presume those square plasters are covering some of the fresher ones. There is a very good photo of a former Mr Olympia about to go on stage with a backside that looks identical to Tochinoshin's, but it's eluding me at the moment... (For the record I have no problem with an informed consenting adult using PEDs, and I am not attacking Tochinoshin. There are many PEDs that do not require pinning, too.)

Cruella De Vil came to my mind

" My life as a sumotori is a joyless exercise in futility." paraphrasing Robert Fripp

I was born, raised, and lived most of my life in Newcastle until recently coming to Canada to work. I've been confusing the locals with my mealtime terminology ever since.

In my neck of the woods (the North East of England) dinner means lunch, and tea means the evening meal.

T_T Potential heartbreak for Mitakeumi T_T I really hope that it's not that bad, but it really didn't look good either...

Thanks so much!

I apologise for sneaking this question in here, but the topic of this thread reminded me: there is a term for an ozeki who does not perform well during their time at the rank, and is considered to not to be fully deserving of the rank. I have forgotten it - could somebody remind me?

In my limited experience the dead body rule seems to be the least consistently applied rule (or at least the most impenetrable to understanding). However, it has at least been applied consistently in the final bouts of day 3 and day 4. Kakuryu lost because of it, and Hakuho won. Is it a coincidence that both uses appeared in the final bout of the day?

It was a freak accident that caused the injury. And the fact that he came back the next day, with one arm tied behind his back, and won two in a row against Terunofuji to clinch his back to back yusho is the stuff of legend: "I would rather be ashes than dust". The decision not to undergo surgery to fix the tear was very bad though, and the rest of the "healing naturally" nonsense...

With his loss today, Kisenosato is on the ropes (no pun intended). How many losses do people think he can suffer before he has to go? Three and he's out? Five? More? It's very sad to see him this way. While his footwork is still there, I think, he has no strength in his upper body at all. He can't defend his belt or other attacks. I think he has checked out mentally. (I apologise if there is another thread discussing this issue elsewhere.)

Thanks so much Mbovo!