Danjinoumi

Hello All - the Rijicho asked me nicely to post the full table for the final Zentoryu Quality of Sumo Award (ZQoSA) results for the 2024 calendar year. I don't post the full table in the Day 15 post on the BS chat group as the post gets too long with the Day 15 results AND the full table. Sorry for the crappy formatting - this platform is limited in font and table choices. The 2024 winner of the Quality Award is none other than current Bench Ozeki Kintamayama. Congratulations to Kin-zeki on a fine performance. Pitinosato comes in a relatively distant second place on the merits of the highest QA score in 2024 (May) as well as a kosho bagel in September. Impressive! Chocshoporyu, Norizo and Gansekiiwa round out the top five. I look forward to being the keeper of the Quality Award again in 2025. Have a great Holiday season and see y'all again in January! Rank Rikishi Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Total 1 Kintamayama 79 74 77 98 90 51 469 2 Pitinosato 98 53 112 84 0 75 422 3 Chocshoporyu 69 88 79 68 54 60 418 4 Norizo 60 74 82 72 61 63 412 5 Gansekiiwa 36 84 86 56 67 81 410 6 ScreechingOwl 75 68 75 71 51 61 401 6 Unkonoyama 90 98 44 42 44 83 401 8 Frinkanohana 55 47 43 53 108 87 393 9 pandaazuma 74 65 92 68 54 39 392 10 Hogashi 54 0 88 71 73 72 358 10 Susanoo 57 41 68 61 56 75 358 12 Joaoiyama 55 73 59 38 101 14 340 13 KonyaGaYamada 56 45 75 41 36 60 313 14 Kitakachiyama 47 67 0 74 33 84 305 15 toonoryu 57 49 21 47 81 39 294 15 Konosato 55 56 44 38 41 60 294 17 Yamashade 83 68 70 0 26 42 289 18 tokugawa 54 51 36 54 33 55 283 19 Athenayama 13 18 37 44 81 80 273 20 Bill 28 45 39 49 66 40 267 21 Terarno 57 36 28 45 46 50 262 22 Itachi 38 71 47 59 42 0 257 23 Flohru 30 41 36 45 50 54 256 24 Sakura 85 53 52 0 65 0 255 25 Rubensan 48 57 15 40 0 81 241 26 Kaito 0 62 44 47 39 42 234 27 Achiyama 29 38 51 29 35 48 230 28 Balon 47 57 45 0 29 46 224 29 Oskanohana 43 35 26 53 35 31 223 29 chishafuwaku 40 30 48 29 43 33 223 31 Jakusotsu 59 25 30 39 30 32 215 32 Bunbukuchagama 4 21 33 46 48 48 200 33 kuroimori 38 32 31 56 18 23 198 34 Oyama 24 37 45 37 0 54 197 35 Golynohana 94 62 40 0 0 0 196 36 iwakoko 45 38 40 22 34 13 192 37 Kotononami 44 20 46 35 0 46 191 38 Kaiowaka 14 78 21 0 55 16 184 39 Oshirokita 26 27 21 18 19 48 159 40 andonishiki 0 16 22 48 28 41 155 41 Gaijingai 0 31 0 44 53 26 154 42 Andoreasu 39 42 27 12 21 9 150 43 Fujisan 11 18 22 12 35 42 140 44 Yangnomazuma 21 24 31 20 26 15 137 45 Saruyama 6 20 16 18 28 42 130 46 hofudaryu 10 19 26 32 31 8 126 47 Ruziklao 13 15 21 13 11 32 105 48 Kasamatsuri 18 10 14 25 12 23 102 49 Metzinowaka 17 31 22 23 0 5 98 50 Beeftank 6 27 8 13 10 17 81 51 Kashunowaka 11 19 19 28 0 0 77 52 GONZABUROW 9 8 14 12 10 22 75 53 Hana-ichi 31 16 7 0 7 9 70 54 Andrasoyama 13 21 22 9 1 0 66 55 Hokuyutaka 18 7 5 12 12 11 65 56 Nantonoyama 0 13 0 25 0 24 62 57 Akishiki 14 12 6 7 13 8 60 58 Mariohana 15 0 7 16 0 21 59 59 Homuburyuwa 0 17 17 6 0 17 57 60 Kirinoumi 0 21 11 9 13 0 54 61 KamiBaka 0 0 13 12 18 10 53 62 Holleshoryu 14 21 0 0 0 17 52 63 Netsuzakura 8 7 19 0 9 0 43 64 Joputosu 0 0 6 0 12 22 40 65 tainosen 4 0 11 13 9 0 37 66 Chelseayama 0 0 0 21 9 6 36 67 Roundeye 12 13 10 0 0 0 35 68 Getayukata 6 0 13 0 15 0 34 69 TochiYESshin 0 0 0 20 9 3 32 70 Kyodaitimu 21 2 2 0 0 0 25 71 Warusaru 0 0 0 16 5 0 21 72 Furanohana 0 0 0 0 0 18 18 73 Aminoumi 0 0 14 0 3 0 17 74 Vincentohana 0 0 0 0 0 16 16 75 Gawasukotto 11 4 0 0 0 0 15 75 Kuramarujo 0 0 0 0 0 15 15 77 Kajiyanosho 0 0 0 0 0 12 12 78 Wamahada 9 2 0 0 0 0 11 79 Kishikaisei 0 0 0 0 0 7 7 80 Chijanofuji 0 0 0 6 0 0 6 81 Takanorappa 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 82 Rikishimiezi 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 83 Anjoboshi 0 -1 0 0 0 0 -1 83 Oortael 0 0 -1 0 0 0 -1

Ack - just saw this ... I live 2 hours south of Tampa. Would have been fun to watch the sumo ... and eat the sushi!

There is a great YouTube clip of all of the Akebono - Takanohana matches. Whenever one would -taoshi the other off the dohyo, the winner would often reach out to be sure the other was OK. I doubt there were many rikishi that commanded that kind of respect from either of them.

Wouldn't it be the other way around to promote two Ozeki - Hoshoryu yushos and Daieisho jun-yushos?

In the better late than never department, how about this?

Can you remind us the Kotooshu episode? I don't know about this one See Sekihiryu's post here :-P

Hey, I didn't know there was a Mexican-born rikishi in ozumo! A horrible joke, I know, but I couldn't resist ... (Shaking head...) (Maybe I'd better add this link in case anyone misinterprets my post)

Tokushinho should just eke his way into the bottom of the paid ranks with a 4-3 record from Ms2W. Omedetou! (Sign of approval...)

What a difference a change in shikona can make! Following up his makushita yusho last basho, my adoptee Tokushinho (the former Shiratsuka) overcame a 1-2 start to get a huge kachikoshi win on senshuraku. As there are many kachikoshi and few makekoshi rikishi above him, I suspect he will only move up the banzuke slightly. Still, he is well positioned for the jump to the paid ranks with a strong performance in Nagoya. Go Shira ... er, Tokushinho!!

No, he would have been too low even with a 7-0, and the yusho doesn't provide any particular bonus, it's just a normal 6-1 record for banzuke purposes. At first glance I think he'll be somewhere between Ms3e and Ms4e which would be slightly lucky (Ms5-6 is the "normal" height). Thanks for the clarification. Looks like he'll be about where he was last basho, or maybe a slight bit higher. He didn't fare so well the first time around from that rank, but maybe he'll be able to parlay the confidence he gained from winning the yusho into a successful push to a Juryo promotion. EDIT: I should have read Doitsuyama's post about Juryo promotions a little more carefully also.

Well done, Tokushinho! (In jonokuchi...) After the worst basho in his young career (albeit at his highest rank), he comes back strong with a yusho performance. Must've been the shikona change that did it for him. By winning the Makushita yusho, will he automatically be promoted to Juryo, or at Ms17e, is he too low on the banzuke for that?

That's funny - I was usually eyeballed like a vampire looking at a potential snack when I used to walk by the facility at my local university. Very few foreigners in my neck of the woods, and O negative is the universal donor ... (darn, where's a nice vampire emoticon when you need one? :-P )

Looks like Shiratsuka is a "not (quite) ready for prime time player". At ms5w he stumbled directly to make-koshi before winning two in a row. I hoped he could minimize the damage and keep himself within striking distance of a return to makushita joi (and then on to sekitori-hood, of course) with a third win, but he lost his final match to end up at 2-5. He should fall to ~ms15-18 for the Haru Basho. Let's hope this basho was a wake-up call and he comes back over the next two or three basho full of ganbarization and ready to reach glorious new heights as a sekitori!

After heating the wall for the first time with a 3-4 record in Nagoya, Shiratsuka is back on the kachi-koshi bandwagon with a 5-2 Aki Basho performance and a 4-3 record from Ms8e (his highest rank to date) in Kyushu. His KK 4th victory came in his last bout, over the aforementioned Kazafuzan on Day 14. More than half of the Makushita rikishi ranked above him went make-koshi this basho, which hopefully bodes well for a place in the Makushita-joi and being within striking distance of a sekitori promotion with a strong showing in January. Gambare Shiratsuka!!!

As you can see from my new avatar, the mighty (ex-)Boltono comes through again! Many thanks, ST!

Several years back, when I was a sumo gamer, the former Boltono (I believe he has since changed his shikona) drew excellent caricatures of many Bench Sumoans. I notice that Jejima, Randomitsuki and Jakusotsu are using theirs as avatars. Boltono-san kindly drew one for me too; although I thought I saved it somewhere, I cannot find it. So Bolty-san (or whatever shikona incarnation you use these days), if you are reading this, or if anyone knows where these images are archived, kindly let me know! I'd love to get a copy! Many thanks in advance, moto-Danjinoumi EDIT: apologies if this is posted in the wrong forum. I think the images were originally created based on Bench Sumo participation, so this seemed like the best place to post.

Nope, I had my Bench Sumo danpatsu-shiki a few years ago. Jejima has volunteered to get in touch with the aforementioned ex-Boltono on my behalf.

My adoptee, ms11e Shiratsuka, stumbled firmly into the proverbial makekoshi wall in his final match of the basho. As was mentioned in several earlier threads, this was the first time he had lost more than two bouts in a tournament in his professional career. While I did not see any of his matches this basho, the few I have seen in the past showed a rikishi relying more on his size and strength rather than skill. While I was sad to see him hit the wall, I wasn't exactly surprised. I wonder if he can develop the skill necessary to compete with rikishi at this level who are not put off by his size. Regardless, I'll continue to cheer him on!! With a 3-4 record from ms11e, we can expect Shiratsuka to be mounting his next charge to sekitorihood from ~ms16-ms18 in September!

Not to be overstating the obvious, but this is clearly the biggest match of Shiratsuka's young career. He's never lost more than two bouts in a basho to this point, and the proverbial wall is staring him straight in the face. I hope he has the mental and physical strength (and more than a little luck!) to come out of this one victorious!! (Laughing...)

When I lived in Japan, you could buy tickets for the Nagoya basho through an English-language Chunichi website. That made things super easy. Of course, the caveat was that you had to live in Japan, because the tickets were delivered to you. Darn if I can find the url now, though. Sound familiar to anyone?

My adoptee Shiratsuka got off to a rip-roaring 3-0 start, including shiroboshi against two ex-Makuuchi rikishi (Daimanazuru and Tamarikido) in a row, before losing to fellow behemoth Towanoyama and Makushita veteran Rikiryu. He rebounded with consecutive wins to finish 5-2 for the basho. All seven of Shira-kun's bouts were won or lost by yorikiri. I guess you'd call that standard meat-and-potatoes sumo. A 5-2 record from ms19w will probably put him at around ms10 at Nagoya. Barring a zensho yusho from that rank, it will probably take two more basho with 5 or more wins to reach Juryo. Unless he stumbles and heats the wall ...

I predict a large earthquake will hit the Tokyo area around 2:30 PM JST on Saturday! (Sign of approval...)

Sd25 is indeed right on the border, but for what it's worth, the last time a 5-2 rikishi in the upper 25 ranks was denied promotion to makushita was nearly 15 years ago. And with (at least) three retirements in juryo and makushita opening spots, there shouldn't be any reason to deviate from that procedure. Clearly, I did not recall correctly (IDNRC?). I did a simple query that reflects the exact situation described by Fay, and indeed every sd25 rikishi with 5 wins managed to eke their way to the very bottom of the makushita division. This does not take into account intais, as Asashosakari so aptly pointed out, so I agree that the trend should continue next basho. As often happens in this forum, I stand corrected! (Blushing...)

My adopted rikishi Shiratsuka (backstory here) recorded his third consecutive 6-1 record, this time from ms46w. Every rikishi he faced this basho ended up either 4-3 or 5-2, so no slouches in this group. His sole loss was a Day 6 yorikiri loss to Kitazono. This was only the second career loss (of eight total) by a non-nage. Otherwise, Shiratsuka pretty much continued with his forward-moving sumo, notching three wins by oshidashi (including one over ex-sekitori Furuichi), one by yorikiri, and one by tsukitaoshi. His other winning kimarite was by tsukiotoshi, generally used when on the tawara to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. Historically, we can expect Shiratsuka to be at about ms19 - ms21 for the Natsu Basho. It does not appear that even a perfect 7-0 yusho from this position will get him into Juryo, so sekitorihood will have to wait until at least the Aki Basho. Not to jinx him or anything ... :-) I doubt he will make it to makushita with a 5-2 from sd25. Shiratsuka was at sd25 last basho and I did some database searching to see where he might be for this basho. IIRC, a 5-2 record from sd25 historically means a banzuke position close to the top of sandanme for the following basho.

At least he had his 15 minutes of fame as "the Sekitori" in the "Hall Of The Mountain Kings" blog. Didn't come off as a very nice fellow, frankly. BTW, anybody know who the mysterious "English fan who said he trains at the same northeast Tokyo amateur stable where the Sekitori got his start" mentioned in the blog might be ... ? :-)