Godango

I deleted my conspiracy comment cos it was tongue-in-cheek; but no matter how you look at it the lack of a mono-ii was insane. Had they gone to the mono-ii and still given it to Kotozakura, maybe we'd all disagree with the explanation but at least there would be one. Anyway in reality I'm not too bothered; the wife adores Tobizaru and I like him too; but I also like me some Kotozakura and it ain't his fault.

Ha, Touché!

Admittedly using ChatGPT to summarise it. The article really did refer to Takakeisho as 'reigning champion' though: A major sumo wrestling tournament in Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan stadium will feature salt from Shark Bay in Western Australia. This salt, known for its purity, will be used in the ceremonial cleansing of the sumo ring before matches. Reigning sumo champion Takakeisho Takanobu, sponsored by the Mitsui company that extracts Shark Bay Salt, wears an apron displaying the Shark Bay Salt and Ako's Aamashio brands. The partnership has been successful, coinciding with a $35.8 million profit for Mitsui. Salt is becoming a trendy investment, with major deals and projects in Australia reflecting its rising demand. Takakeisho, who has faced injuries this year, will compete again in September.

About 10 months too early for me (albeit Nagoya). Enjoy! I'm sure the content that follows will more than make up for the lost days :).

...well then.

I just realised, barring something wholly unexpected; no kinboshi given away by Terunofuji this tournament. Good for him.

I agree with you both; I think the deciding factor will be the shape of the ozeki corps and Terunofuji's potential intai. This, couple with Onosato's potential and popularity, could definitely lead to them being happy with a by the numbers 33 rather than any additional factors. Anything less than 10 wins here though and I think he MUST get the 33 total, or 32 with another Y/D/J.

Me overcoming my denial, anger, bargaining and depression to finally reach acceptance. My journey over the past five years: Denial: Sure, he got demoted from ozeki, but that's just because he got hurt. He'll rocket straight back up when he's recovered. Anger: Tamawashi, you ruined him! And it's frustrating that the nature of sumo doesn't afford him more time to recover. Bargaining: I know he'll never be yokozuna or probably even ozeki again, but if he can at least just win that one yusho, I'll be happy. Depression: Ugh, withdrawing again. Of course. This sport can be so disheartening. Acceptance: Well, at 34 years old and unable to get through a tournament, it's clear his time has passed. I love you, man, but it's time to move on. ~ fin ~

I hate to say it, but I think Takayasu should start thinking about retiring. He's 34 and has been dealing with injuries regularly. It's uncertain where his career can go from here.

Hokaho was probably due, good riddance to Otani; I didn't see too much of Senho so can't comment to his potential. Not massive losses though, it seems.

In fairness, he did still beat 1 Y, 2 O and 2 S. Fought 6 out of 8 available sanyaku and only lost to one. But also in fairness my thoughts are that he needs 13-2 D to earn promotion next time out.

I've felt like Hiradoumi has been a dark horse for a while now. Quietly achieving, slowly rising, he's still only 24 after all. It's good to see him making some small waves here. I'm not necessarily saying he's going to be O/Y one day, but he's got a good body and he's capable of sticking around the joi/sanyaki for many years at the very least.

News articles and our own Kyujo thread reporting that Takayasu is out, but nothing on NSK's site at time of writing this comment. Literally my internal monologue last night. "Wow this might actually be the stars aligning... no, shut up Godango, you know what happens when you get your hopes up". For real. I should disembark the Takayasu train but I simply can not.

Communication breakdown, I think we're saying the same thing. Seihakuho will be fine, the Isegahama Mongolian-in-waiting may be impacted.

I believe @Bunbukuchagama was stating that in order to have a new foreign rikishi join, a stable would need to have zero foreign rikishi, regardless of whether existing foreign rikishi were inherited or started with the stable. For example, after Tochinoshin's retirement, Aoiyama is now the only foreign rikishi in Kasugano-beya. Kasugano-beya can not add a new foreign rikishi, despite the fact that Aoiyama joined via merger (hence why he and Tochinoshin could be there at the same time). This is what is relevant to Isegahama-beya's Mongolian prospect. But yes, theoretically there is no limit to how many foreign rikishi a heya could inherit via merger.