Tiger Tanaka

That was a masterclass in sumo by Hakuho & Mitakeumi. Tremendous footwork by both and Hakuho showed his elite defense in stifling two very strong pulling attacks by Mitakeumi to swing Hakuho to the tawara. Mitakeumi's Ozeki bid is still very much alive. When saying he needed to go 11-4 or 12-3, if you were to ask where one of those losses came from, most would say Hakuho. The Ikioi loss was killer and he clearly didn't expect such a strong initial charge and following surge from Ikioi, who's strength can be underrated. However, if 11-4 is the goal, winning 2 of 3 against Kise, Kakuryu, and Takayasu is the key before taking care of the three remaining Maegashira opponents. I would consider him a favorite against Kisenosato given how much difficulty he is having with oshi sumo. Kakuryu will be difficult, but he is 3-4 against Kak in his career. Mita struggles against Takayasu, but he has some extra motivation after the "loss" he had last basho to him. He needs to get his emotions in check though, Kakuryu will absolutely exploit an overzealous attack if Mitakeumi comes out too hot.

7 rikishi at 5-0! Mitakeumi off to a great start trying to cap his Ozeki run. Tochi trying to pile up week 1 wins and clear kadoban before the tough week 2 schedule, all three Yokozuna undefeated including the make or break basho for Kise. What a great start. Looking ahead to day 6, all 7 undefeated rikishi have very winnable match-ups, with Mitakeumi having the toughest task against Goeido. I like that the schedulers have Mitakeumi getting some of the tough matchups in week 1, might ease the mounting pressure instead of having him go through the gauntlet all at once. He gets Takekeisho day 7.

I'm not sure 11 does it unless he has 2 wins against Y/O (unless there is a mass kyujo of the top ranks again). 12 should do it though. Personally, even though Mitakeumi has been my favorite since following the sport during the beginning of 2017, I don't want to see him promoted too soon. The purpose of the 33 win guideline is that you very likely have to be challenging and beating Y/O rikishi regularly to amount that win total consistently. Mita has shown the ability to hang with that crop, but I want to see it again to cap off the run. Last thing I'd want is to see him get promoted with 11 weak wins (Y/O go kyujo in mass again), and then Mita struggles and goes on the kadoban carousel because he wasn't ready. I do think he's on the brink though and week 2 should be very interesting. First thing's first, take care of all the maegashira and get off to a 7-1, 8-1 start.

Great first day of action. Yoshikaze with a truly remarkable maneuver, Mitakeumi with a steady effort to begin his quest for Ozeki, Hakuho & Kakuryu looking very genki, an upset in the Y/O ranks with Kaisei defeating Goeido (after a 4-14 career record against him, losing his last 5), and most importantly Kisenosato looking confident and showing a solid effort to hopefully help calm the nerves with all eyes on him. And I got to enjoy it all while making Chanko in front of my TV. Cheers sumo fans, it looks like we're in for a great basho!

If it means he stays healthy and doesn't effect his performance in the basho, then it is a perfectly reasonable approach. If he puts up a dud MK, then it might be a sign he needs to adjust is training regimen. There's a delicate balance between training to become the strongest rikishi one can be and preserving one's health and longevity in the sport, which can be overdone in either direction.

Had a reminder for myself and completely fell asleep early last night, oh no. My first missed basho since joining, good luck everyone!

Mamiko is tied for 4th entering the final round of the Women's British Open, which has just begun. Ganbatte!!

Hanakaze shared a banzuke with Oshio Kenji when he debuted in 1986. Oshio debuted in 1962. Someone in sumo today nearly shared a banzuke with someone from the pre-6 basho era. Tonight is going to be one of those nights where I spend hours exploring the Sumo DB

Great fight by Yutakayama, he has shown great resolve off his hard fought 2-13 Natsu basho. Wanted Mita to get 14-1 and have the near perfect basho after the controversial Takayasu bout. I think 11 is now guaranteed needed for Ozeki consideration and 12 to force the issue. A win against a Y and an O would also help if they are standing by week 2 when Mita would be matched up against the, I thought I saw this earlier, but can't find it. Is Mitakeumi's 21 ozumo tournaments the quickest progression to winning a yusho? I can't imagine there being too many faster progressions!

Congratulations to my favorite rikishi Mitakeumi! Have always enjoyed his style of sumo, as well as his great sportsmanship, it seems that his peers all respect and like him a lot. Always offering to help a fallen rikishi and bracing those he's pushed out from falling off when he can, Mita is one for Japan to be very proud of. Hope he can stay focused in the face of all the emotion he is going through to get win #14. Every win counts on his next goal to get to Ozeki!

Three of the Four rikishi to ever go 0-15 in the top division retired within the next two tournaments as well.

Very disappointing there was no torinaoshi. I hope this doesn't rattle Mitakeumi and cost him, but if he can re-rally now it will just be one more mental leap he's made on his growth in taking his sumo to the next level. LETS GO MITA!!!!

I know I sound like a broken record at this point again, but MItakeumi working the belt again in today's victory. In previous losses to Geek when his oshi sumo wasn't effective, once his momentum stopped it was all Geek who was able to walk him back to the tawara. Today, Geek again started to push Mitakeumi backward, but this time Mita dug in, got a hold of the mawashi and was able to regain his forward momentum, even picking up Geek momentarily. This 7-0 start is far different than January's undefeated first week. While the caliber of rikishi is similar, the style of sumo seems much more versatile. Still a long way to go with week 2 bringing higher ranking rikishi, but with a depleted sanyaku, anything less than 12-3 would be disappointing. Then we can begin the obligatory Ozeki run talk, though he still has more to prove against the Y/O crew once they are healthy. Aminishki looking great! Makuuchi return looking likely and a KK in Aki would mean Makuuchi at age 40!

Tochinoshin out for day 7? Goodness this basho has been brutal.

Mitakeumi using yotsu sumo again to get Shodai turned around and out. Marked improvement in this area as he moves to 6-0 and leading the basho. I put him and Tochi as the co-favorites for this basho with Goeido a notch below who has looked much more aggressive and focused in the last 2 days.

With Hakuho and Kakuryu out now, it would be extremely disappointing if Mitakeumi didn't end with 11+ wins and the start of an ozeki run. Let's go Mita!!!!

Mitakeumi showed some great sumo today. In previous losses to Takekeisho, it was from getting into an oshi battle. Today, Mita got pushed slightly back at the start, but the reason was his immediate attempt to go for Takekeisho's belt while keeping his ground. Once he got a firm grip on the front of the mawashi, Mita had control from here on out. It's this development of yotsu sumo that will take Mita to the next level on a potential Ozeki run. His combination of strength, oshi techniques, and superior balance & ability to keep firm center of gravity have gotten him this far, and if he can continue developing the yotsu techniques, he too will realize his Ozeki potential.

Hattorizakura wins by letsjustbefriendshidashi!

I thought Hattorizakura had a good chance of picking up his 2nd win in sumo, facing the 16 year old, 67kg Wakaoyama who went 0-5 in Maezumo. But alas, he was handled pretty easily. I expect Goeido to start using some tachiai tricks to get some desperate wins. With Hak, Kak, Tochi, and Takayasu all looking very genki, and Tamawashi/Mitakeumi/Ichinojo always dangerous, the loss to Shodai on day 1 makes for an uphill climb to clear his kadoban status.

I think I wrapped up around 44, had a case of the off by one's where rikishi were flip flopped at the W and next rank down E, which washes out to 0. Thems the breaks! And then Yutakayama only going down to 9 destroyed a lot of the middle to lower half of my banzuke.

Meisei seems to have a more clear cut case for Makuuchi than other hopefuls from Haru. Nishikigi was spared demotion, but it was either him or Onosho that was going to stay since the next promotable candidates from Juryo were Gagamaru (8-7 from J5) or Kotoeko (10-5 from J8). With Meisei being 10-5 from J4 this go around, I don't see anyway they can keep him out of Makuuchi.

Very happy for Kakuryu to get his first back to back yusho. I've heard a few say he was an undeserving Yokozuna since following sumo, but this should hopefully put that to rest forever. 5 yusho, including back to back in the Hakuho era. His additional 6 jun-yusho were all runner up to Hakuho, including two playoff losses. His resume is formidable with this latest career resurgence, and I hope he continues to compete for as long as he can.

Kakuryu has a very tough opponent against the surging Mitakeumi to stay firmly in the yusho race tomorrow. Mitakeumi has beaten Kakuryu in 3 of the last 4 matchups. Kakuryu has been relying heavily on hatakikomi of late, a kimarite that Mitakeumi has only lost by in 8 matches during his sumo career. Furthermore, with Kakuryu pulling a henka and seeming ashamed about it in interviews after, he will likely be kept honest on the tachiai tomorrow. If Mitakeumi gets off the blocks quickly, Kak could be in big trouble. Shodai has looked good and Geek has shown the ability in the past to beat Tochi regularly (though this is not the same Tochi). So it could be very likely we see one of the three yusho contenders drop a match today. Things are heating up!

Still a ways to go, but could be setting up for an amazing final three days. Tochi has the inside track, but he's 0-25 and 2-21 against Hak and Kak respectively for his career (though 1 of his 2 wins was last basho). So zensho seems unlikely, but neither Hak nor Kak have looked at their recent best. With Tochi already facing the rest of Sanyaku, only Chiotairyu, Geek, or a similar level maegashira are available, so it's up to the yokozuna to show their pride and stop the man possessed for ozekiship. Just re-reading my post and realized Hak and Kak does not sound great when read aloud.

He did look quite winded after the Day 5 win over Ichinojo, I wonder if he aggravated an injury then. Shame as it happens when he's made a career resurgence and finally broke into the sanyaku. Hoping he can return to form soon.