Eikokurai

There’s nothing comfortable about sitting cross-legged without back support for any length of time, especially for men of a certain age. If I was a shimpan, I’d call mono-ii all the time just to stretch my legs.

Asanoyama was East. He got the fusen off Yutakayama.

I’m pretty sure one guy has gone 0-7 to 8-7. It was a future Yokozuna, though I forget which and my internet is terrible so I can’t check the DB.

Not seen any of the bouts yet but just checked the results. Wow. There are now nine guys tied for the lead and six more just one back. It’s wide open.

Are you confusing him for Ryuden, Tochinoshin, Ura or maybe Chiyonokuni? I don’t recall Nishikigi having a comeback.

It’s out of his hands actually. Takakeisho has already beaten him so now Terunofuji is relying on someone else to help catch him. (Not unlikely though given we still have 8 days left)

I hope so. I’m loving the current incarnation of Shodai.

The bar was raised in that he got 34/45 wins across three sanyaku basho and still was denied. As has been pointed out, Terunofuji didn’t fight a joi or sanyaku schedule last time around so the yusho, while a great story, wasn’t that strong a yusho as yusho go. If he is still an Ozeki in all but name, then the schedule he fought at M17 was no test at all for him and shouldn’t be given undue weight. If Hakuho was randomly given a makujiri schedule and cruised to 15-0, it wouldn’t rank as one of his best championships, would it? Obviously Terunofuji isn’t Hakuho; I merely use the extreme to illustrate the point that if a rikishi is below his ‘true‘ rank, a good record at that rank really isn’t much to shout about.

So what you’re saying is, now Harumafuji and Goeido have both retired nobody stands in his way and the yusho is guaranteed to be Onosho’s ...

His previous spell at Ozeki could actually work against him. His record at the rank wasn’t great and he then he got demoted after just 14 basho (one less than Takayasu, for comparison). While obviously we all know that was because of injuries and illness, the point is he did fall and maybe to the banzuke guys that is the only relevant fact. I think they are likely to follow protocol and require him to make Sekiwake before he becomes eligible for Ozeki re-promotion. I can’t see them letting him skip junior sanyaku. Miyabiyama had the bar raised for his second attempt and though the circumstances are not quite the same (no previous yusho and only eight basho at the rank), it’s the closest we have to a modern precedent. We can also look at Kaiketsu, who held the rank twice. His path back included an M4 yusho (his second) followed by two basho at Sekiwake. He didn’t seem to gain any privilege from his previous Ozeki stint. It’s an interesting question nonetheless and back-to-back yusho by a hiramaku would be quite something and certainly force the banzuke committee to at least ask the question.

Onosho stands alone ... and not at the bottom this time. Quite the turnaround basho to basho.

Well, you could be right. Shodai could completely screw it up while Terunofuji catches up. It isn’t such a wild prediction.

I think Terunofuji can regain the rank but I’m not sure about your timeline. Shodai is already one basho into his run and likely will be two by the time this one is done, so next time around could be the clincher and he’s in the form needed to achieve it. Terunofuji on the other hand is only starting. His yusho win at M17 is unlikely to be counted and since he’s still just M1 now he will probably need a Y/JY this time for it to be counted too, or at the very least a convincing third place (say, 12 wins, if that remains possible). Thus Shodai could make Ozeki a basho or two sooner than Terunofuji.

Hmm. I don’t think his win against Asanoyama yesterday was particularly easy at all. Asa was in the driving seat from the start and threw it away. He had Terunofuji on the bales immediately and then when he pushed back tried a left-arm sukuinage. Only after escaping that did Terunofuji turn the tables. Not close to what I would deem a thrashing. Unless I’m misunderstanding and you are actually referring to the “Next Ozeki” Shodai? Hard to tell the way you’ve written that there.

It’s my understanding that if they win, it counts; if they lose, it doesn’t. Thus the eighth bout is something of a bonus.

Some rikishi fight an extra 8th bout. Possibly that’s what being referred to here. Of course, non-sekitori are there every day pretty much, barring maybe the last 2-3 when they’re done. There are too many of them to fit all their bouts in on the same days so there are generally always lower division bouts.

I was just thinking, this guy started out 0-13 last time. Could he start 13-0 this time and claim the yusho?

And thus, possibly never again. Juryo is now in his immediate future and one wonders if he has the will to continue. He certainly has no need to because he has his kabu lined up (I think? Too lazy to double checks.) But then many of us thought he’d call it a day after his Ozeki demotion and he didn’t.

Or, for a rikishi, the 4-minute 100m dash.

It’s a meaningless argument anyway. You become Yokozuna by being better than your peers. If your peers no longer include a couple of aging Yokozuna, it doesn’t matter if they weren’t around. It’s like arguing Hakuho’s records don’t mean much because he rarely, if ever, had to fight anyone better than him. He had an easy ride by always fighting guys lower down the banzuke.

That or they’re just not doing the water break now because of the coronavirus. It’s not part of the pre-bout rituals after all.

I was momentarily confused by what was on Kotoshogiku’s knees and then I realized it was skin and I was seeing his actual leg for the first time since before Shinzo Abe took office. It may be the last judging from the way it seemed to give at the end. It’s early days, but Shodai has a fantastic opportunity here to put up double-digits again and properly be on an Ozeki run. I have a good feeling about him this basho.

Kotoshogiku’s move is called gaburi-yori.

Surely the other way around, in caveman grunt? ”Me Mitakeumi, you Shodai!”

The commentator mentioned kakenage and you’d think the defining part of the move would be the kake part and not the position of the arm.