Basho Talk Hatsu 2018 (SPOILERS)

[yorikiried by fate 1,803]

16 minutes ago, Asojima said:

Typically about 2/3 of the matches on senshuraku are exhibition matches. 

That's about right. It was just a nice example.

 

[BTW: Glad to be not one of the infamous 53...]

[PawnSums 59]

7 minutes ago, yorikiried by fate said:

 

[BTW: Glad to be not one of the infamous 53...]

you're not my blocked user either.

[Amamaniac 1,996]

14 hours ago, Rocks said:

I don't know what he said but Tochinoshin got a lot of laughs with his yusho speech.

There are probably plenty of Forum users that understand Japanese much better than I, but I thought I'd try to help you out to the best of my limited ability.  There were laughs and/or chuckles after the following statements by Tochinoshin in his NHK interview:

1) "On Day 10, my heart went a little bit pitter patter..."

2) " I want to thank everyone from my oyakata, okamisan, everyone at the Kasugano Stable, everyone in the fan association, everyone who is Japanese (sic, subtitles on Sunday Sports program corrected it to 'everyone in Japan') ...

3) Going forward "I will practice hard, listen to my oyakata's instructions..."

If I've made any mistakes, I welcome friendly corrections...  

[WAKATAKE 2,382]

Did do a little research and found that:

Tochinoshin is the first hiramaku yusho winner to lose to his yokozuna opponent(s) and still win the yusho since Takatoriki.

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi_basho.aspx?r=18&b=200003

Kotomitsuki beat yokozuna Musashimaru on his way to the yusho.

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi_basho.aspx?r=876&b=200109

Kyokutenho did not face any yokozuna and only faced ozeki Kotooshu and sekiwake Goeido for all of sanyaku.

[Dwale 419]

9 hours ago, Randomitsuki said:

I'd like to remind each and every one that religion (especially unrelated to sumo) is a gigantic no-no on this Forum. The recent kerfuffle was a very good example, why this rule was introduced. I took the liberty and deleted eight posts in this thread that mentioned religion in all its no-no-ishness. I hope you can live with that

I apologize. I saw what I perceived as pernicious misinformation and felt obliged to offer a counterpoint. In the future I will simply report such posts. 

[WAKATAKE 2,382]

Some top 10 sumo record updates:

 - As pointed out earlier, Myogiryu is now in a 12-way tie for 8th place for most Juryo yusho at 3. The current record stands at 5. Other active people on that list? Toyohibiki and Tochinoshin.

 - Hakuho extends the all time wins record to 1066, while 10th place Aminishiki scrapes to 854, which is 6 behind 9th place Terao

 - Hakuho extends the makuuchi all time wins record to 972, Kisenosato got 1 win for the basho which moves him to 704, which is 2 behind 7th place Musashimaru. Aminishiki in what will be his last basho in makuuchi until at least Natsu got 3 wins to move to 674, 25 behind 10th place Kyokutenho

 - Shoji's 14 match win streak was snapped on day 1 of Hatsu 2018, no new streaks were started by any newcomers this basho

 - Hakuho extends the yokozuna wins record to 778

 - Aminishiki has completed 1683 career bouts and moves to within 8 of 5th place Wakanosato

 - Aminishiki has completed 1384 matches in the top division, moving him into 4th place on the all time list. He is now 46 behind 3rd place Takamiyama. Takekaze has completed 1242 matches, 18 behind 7th place Kotonowaka

 - Hakuho extends the most bouts as yokozuna record to 880

 - With Harumafuji gone, the Hak/Kise/Ama/Geek quartet has shrunk to a trio for most matches between two rikishi in makuuchi. The Hak/Kise/Geek trio only saw one match occur between Kisenosato and Kotoshogiku, with Geek maintaining his winning record against the yokozuna and pushing their match record to 65.

 - Aminishiki has competed in his 96th makuuchi basho. Given his record will 99% demote him to juryo for Haru 2018, he will have to wait until at least Natsu 2018 to see if he can tie Takamiyama for 3rd place. Takekaze completed his 85th makuuchi basho and moves into sole 9th place on the list. Hakuho has completed his 82nd basho in makuuchi and can enter the top 10 list should he be on the banzuke for Natsu 2018

 - Hakuho now has 63 basho as a yokozuna. He is now tied for first place with Kitanoumi. Should he be on the banzuke for Haru 2018 he will break the record and be in sole 1st place

 - Aminishiki now has 108 basho as a sekitori. He is now 2 behind 3rd place Terao and can tie him if he is ranked in juryo or above on the banzuke for Natsu 2018 

 - Hanakaze has extended the all time basho record to 191, the other active top 10 member is Kyokuhikari at 155, moving him solely into 8th place

 - Yoshikaze scored 2 kinboshi this basho, tying him with Aminishiki for most kinboshi for active rikishi at 8, just one more will get him into the top 10 list

[WAKATAKE 2,382]

I think I found something else I was looking for:

If this is correct the last time two shin-nyumaku won sansho together was Takamisakari and Aminishiki back in Nagoya 2000.

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Banzuke.aspx?b=200007#M

[Asashosakari 16,996]

12 minutes ago, WAKATAKE said:

I think I found something else I was looking for:

If this is correct the last time two shin-nyumaku won sansho together was Takamisakari and Aminishiki back in Nagoya 2000.

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Banzuke.aspx?b=200007#M

The only other time in fact.

 

[maorencze 136]

15 hours ago, dada78641 said:

I'm really sad that Terunofuji has not had a single win since Aki last year. Day 3. I actually had to look that up, because I found myself thinking I couldn't remember when his last victory was.

edit: how the mighty have fallen... Terunofuji's record of the last couple basho.

 

Diabetes is no joke, seen it quite a few times in my family (self-induced mostly, according to doctors), what it does to people is very unpredictable and may have huge impact on any sports career

14 hours ago, Stein said:

Oh cmon...he was on the way to yokozunahood and he just was too impatient, give him a break

I disagree a bit regarding a break, he called this upon himself, though saying he deserves this is a bit harsh so on that part I'm with you

[CT3* 331]

Super happy for Tochinoshin. It's tough enough to be a foreign rikishi, but I imagine it was even tougher to see his compatriots like Kotooshu, Baruto, Takanoyama, Roho, Aran, etc. all retire from the sport, while he soldiered on. Through it all he has persevered and it has finally paid off with him hoisting the Cup.

[Dapeng 231]

10 hours ago, WAKATAKE said:

 - Hanakaze has extended the all time basho record to 191, the other active top 10 member is Kyokuhikari at 155, moving him solely into 8th place

Hanakaze attended 191 bashos? That's more than 31 years as active rikishi !

 

[Bumpkin 438]

4 minutes ago, Dapeng said:

Hanakaze attended 191 bashos? That's more than 31 years as active rikishi !

 

Hanakaze was born May 28,1970. He is 47 years old. He entered ozumo in March 1986. His career high rank is Sandamne 18.

[just_some_guy 195]

Aoiyama and Tochinoshin are from the same stable, correct? I thought there was a rule that each stable could only have one "foreigner." Is it just one new foreigner per [time period] or am I missing something?

[Asojima 2,839]

1 minute ago, just_some_guy said:

Aoiyama and Tochinoshin are from the same stable, correct? I thought there was a rule that each stable could only have one "foreigner." Is it just one new foreigner per [time period] or am I missing something?

When two heya combine after a shutdown, the surviving heya can acquire a second foreigner.  The rule applies to new recruits.

[Ryoshishokunin 212]

1 hour ago, just_some_guy said:

Aoiyama and Tochinoshin are from the same stable, correct? I thought there was a rule that each stable could only have one "foreigner." Is it just one new foreigner per [time period] or am I missing something?

To be more precise: a heya cannot recruit a new foreigner if they have foreigners currently, but can get extras from heya shutdowns and so on: Isegahama recently had both Haruma- and Terunofuji the same way.  I'm vaguely surprised we haven't seen more gaming of that, though there are a bunch of little stables that seem to exist as holes to put foreigners in at the moment...

[Dapeng 231]

1 hour ago, Asojima said:

When two heya combine after a shutdown, the surviving heya can acquire a second foreigner.  The rule applies to new recruits.

One more question, if the foreign rikishi obtains Japanese citizenship, is his heya allowed to recruit a foreigner?

 

[WAKATAKE 2,382]

17 minutes ago, Dapeng said:

One more question, if the foreign rikishi obtains Japanese citizenship, is his heya allowed to recruit a foreigner?

 

No. There were foreigners doing that to take advantage of a loophole, but the NSK changed it so that your birth of place was what counted. The way to get around it right now is if you have a Japanese parent and/or Japanese citizenship, like our young Wakaichiro.

[Akinomaki 35,712]

The ambassador of Georgia in Japan suggest the equivalent of Japan's citizens honor award of Georgia for Tochinoshin, the pride of all Georgian people. http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20180129/sum18012905000001-n1.html

The big question for Wednesday: will Takanohana meet the press if Takayoshitoshi gets promoted to new juryo. http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2018/01/29/0010938011.shtml

Tochinoshin Kyodo news videos

yusho parade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vVYSB_Y9rY - the people are happy to see the Mongolian era end

day after https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmgPgZTxG90

Takekaze says he can't decide by himself if he will continue. The oyakata says: "I haven't talked to him yet. It's up to him to decide."  http://www.sakigake.jp/news/article/20180129AK0001/

[ALAKTORN 346]

42 minutes ago, WAKATAKE said:

No. There were foreigners doing that to take advantage of a loophole, but the NSK changed it so that your birth of place was what counted. The way to get around it right now is if you have a Japanese parent and/or Japanese citizenship, like our young Wakaichiro.

You just replied “No.” to “Japanese citizenship”, then proceed to say that’s one way that works…

[Kishinoyama 514]

1 minute ago, ALAKTORN said:

You just replied “No.” to “Japanese citizenship”, then proceed to say that’s one way that works…

Meaning Japanese from birth not naturalized. 

[Asashosakari 16,996]

Just for completeness, various basho post-mortem articles (e.g. here) are mentioning that Kakuryu's left ankle apparently did start troubling him again around the middle weekend.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Asashosakari

[RabidJohn 1,275]

Congratulations to Tochinoshin on the first hiramaku yusho since I've been watching again - and the first, I believe, to a European.

I ought really to be more of a fan of his. He tries to do the yotzu-zumo I like the most, but up until now I've always thought of him as a rikishi with all the necessary strength, but hampered by injury and lacking in technique. Not this time! Beating all the available sanyaku except the yokozuna was a superlative display of ozeki-quality sumo. Whether he can keep it up and make that rank remains to be seen, but I always appreciate someone doing well so I hope he can have another good showing in March.

The other big surprise for me was Ichinojo. I expected him to crumble as he usually does in the joi, but 10-5 is not to be sniffed at and he didn't look useless in all his losses either. Shades of the form he blasted into makuuchi with, so I'm eager to see if he can maintain it.

Takayasu looked pretty good too, turning in a proper ozeki performance and seemingly over his injury. I'm wondering how long it will be before he can convert his potential to a yusho. Some time this year by the looks.

Kakuryu also turned in an ozeki-standard performance in the end, but it seemed disappointing after his 10-0 start. I expect he'd have been happy to take it, had he been offered 11-4 before the basho.

I really hope Mitakeumi's second week slump after a blinding start was down to injury. He looked disconcertingly helpless in some of the matches he should have won. Still, he hung on to his rank, which is no mean feat.

This time last year, who'd have thought Isegahama would have only one makuuchi rikishi come March? Not me for sure!

Some disappointment for my favourite youngsters, Onosho, Hokutofuji and Takakeisho, especially Onosho with a busted knee. I've no doubt they'll bounce back eventually. I'm sure there's at least one future ozeki in that trio.

Nothing turned out according to the script I had in my head before the basho, but that's one of the reasons I find ozumo so fascinating!

Edited January 29, 2018 by RabidJohn

[Akinomaki 35,712]

45 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

Takekaze says he can't decide by himself if he will continue.

The governor of Akita don't want to think him about retirement - Takekaze had told him he wants to go on till the 2020 Olympics. http://www.sakigake.jp/news/article/20180129AK0029/

Toyonoshima: "I can't retire if I don't make it back to sekitori." http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2018/01/29/0010939126.shtml

[rhyen 1,622]

courtesy of the talented color_sumo

[maorencze 136]

16 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

Hanakaze was born May 28,1970. He is 47 years old. He entered ozumo in March 1986. His career high rank is Sandamne 18.

Wow, I was 1 month old when he started. What a strong will to keep at it...unbelievable