since_94

Good thread. Thanks for starting it. I’d add Daishoho to the list. He looked solid at 9-6 this basho and he’s only posted one MK since promotion to Juryo in January 2018 (not counting his brief appearance in 2016). The Mongolian is 24 years old. Edit: didn’t read carefully enough to note this is a thread about Japanese rikishi only

“Commemoredation.” I’m not sure English was spoken on the dohyo today.

I was once in an auditorium where a similar announcement was made. It was to herald the arrival of what I could only describe as a cult leader. Draw your own conclusions.

Shouldn’t have given him a mic. And the handshake was horribly out of place. And I went for a great bike ride rather than watch day 15.

It was “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen, cleverly rearranged is all.

Post of the year right here

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

So Takakeisho looks to be coming back to compete on day 8 according to many sources.

Sounds eminently plausible.

I’ll save others the need to google: The knee pit, known in medicine as the popliteal fossa, is the hollow region located just behind the bone forming the knee joint So yeah, it’s a thing. Who knew?

15 minutes? 5 minutes of actual fighting in makuuchi, more like it. If that, barring any marathon battles on the belt.

I concur it was a mostly lackluster day of bouts (although I only watched Makuuchi so can’t speak to lower divisions). A day at the Kokugikan, however, is about much more than the fights, which make up only a tiny fraction of the whole experience, at least time-wise. Watching rikishi come and go. Smelling the Bintsuke-abura. Getting autographs and photos. Shopping for souvenirs. Drinking beer. Eating delicious food. Reveling in the vibe knowing you’re at the heart of the sumo universe. It would be very hard to take in a day of live sumo action and come away feeling “totally robbed” IMO.

Here's my hot take on today's action: A bunch of guys punched the clock and got paid, but never really showed up for work. I'm talking about Takarafuji, Shodai, and Aoiyama in particular. Chiyotairu gets an honorable mention for phoning it in. On the other hand, Tochinoshin, Hokutofuji and (even in defeat) Okinoumi reminded us of why we watch. Kakuryo and Matakeumi also provided fans with good value for the money.

Seriously, that Aoiyama slap upside Tamawashi’s head, though... One for the ages.

Tochinoshin: Old school dominant beast form, like from his Ozeki run. Imagine burly Chiyotairu helplessly kicking in the air while being lifted out from mid-dohyo and forced out. How’s that for a visual. Takayaso got belly bumped out by a charging aggressive Kotoshogiku.