shumitto

How many ranks do you think Shimanoumi will drop with a 5-10 from J9e ? Maybe two ? But he shouldn't worry, though, a solid 8-7 will probably bring him back to Makuuchi.

Of course Shimanoumi deserved his sekitori slot at some point. This is not a collective sport that allows one to hide his mediocrity behind a star-studded assembly and be successful. Even banzuke luck or outright help can only bring you so far. It is also obvious these days are long gone. Why he and Tsushimanada were allowed to stay is very, very hard to explain.

One thing they like to do is underpromote or overpromote a recently punished rikishi just to extend his punishment, so to speak, even when said rikishi was not forced to sit out a certain number of basho. Another thing they like to do is to forget how they dealt with a particular situation in the past. That's why we get inconsistent outcomes in similar situations.

I get your point, I guess. You expect a punishment to be all bad things, but there is a good side to it that is part of almost any such punishment in sumo, like the time to rest the body a little after so many years of hard work - losing fitness in the process, nothing comes for free -, gearing up with softer foes before rejoining the big event, picking up a couple of Yusho on the way just an additional booster to one's self confidence , and maybe a good re-entry spot in Makuuchi. It simply can't be helped.

Fighting lower rankers might be a small advantage but given the huge disadvantage of being unable to fight in his prime for a rather extended period of time against a not superbly strong field, is like getting 5 box after losing 50. So not a great deal IMHO even if we consider he brought that on himself.

Miyabiyama's last demotion in 2013 was not baseball-gambling related though. He gave it a last try and busted. Number's wise, Asanoyama's stay in Juryo makes sense, but sumo-wise I'd rather see a possible Yusho contender racking up wins against lower rankers, than see strong but somewhat slow-tachiai Hokuseiho trying to adapt to the speed of the big show.

As far as Juryo videos are concerned, Youtube is your friend. It is easy to find them and there are a myriad of sources elsewhere too. Promotion/demotion discussions have their own topic. Some people, like Kintamayama, believe that Asanoyama will be denied a Makuuchi return on the grounds that the Kyokai like long, informal punishments. But there are other opinions. There are posts about Ochiai, as well. I would start my search here. If you happen to know some Japanese, his wikipedia entry might be of some use.

I have a hunch they will somehow keep Terutsuyoshi in Juryo. It doesn't make sense, but I've been frustated by so many such underpromotions that I've learned to expect them. That said, I hope you are right. I would love to see Talkshowryu again in Juryo, and who doesn't want to see Ochiai mingling with the "big guys" ?

He is a kind of white wrestler from the former Soviet Block (even though he was born after the USSR collapsed, before another academic points that out). I used the Eastern European concept - not entirely inaccurate - to refer to both ideas. I am deeply sorry if I offended our stand-by Scholars. But that is a good reminder of why not to post. From the Wikipedia: "Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental landlocked country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. [bold is mine]" Yes, it is a tiny part, but it is there.

When I think of these Eastern European rikishi, the first image that pops into my mind is that of a tall, strong and rather technically-challenged type of lad, not to say clumsy. I haven't seen all his of bouts yet, but Kinbozan clearly doesn't fit this description. His college pedigree most likely plays a role here, because his balance is quite good as well as his composure. He seems to know where to target his attacks and how to time them accordingly. I look forward to seeing him in Juryo.

Asanowaka will eventually leave this list. I am less confident about Dairaido though.

You beat me to it. Kotokuni had a pair of nice 9-6 records before crumbling. I actually don't expect much more from Chiyosakae, but then again I'd never expected him to get there in the first place. Anyway it was enjoyable to watch him even flirt with a double-digit score after starting 1-3.

He isn't that small, though I agree that a couple of inches more would do no harm. I tend to see him as a Musoyama without A/C, Navigation and all the fancy stuff they add to cars these days. He is the basic version, but it is a good version.

Due the COVID thing, this Basho is starting to feel more and more like one of those Charles Bronson movies that end for the lack of characters. The last one standing wins it all. Hokuseiho's tachiai is so slow that whenever I watch his bouts, I kind of expect it to be called a "matta". He looks like a talented tennis player lacking a decent serve. As I am not the only one noticing this, it is fair to assume that he must have been working on that for quite some time now. Yet, he has nothing to show for it. Please, don't speak ill of Shimanoumi. He has the thickest and by far the best hair in the whole Ozumo. On a more serious note, though, he is or at least used to be a good all-rounder, with a good technique on and off the belt coupled with good speed and overall solid balance. This time, however, he looks very weak as most of his losses are coming via power techniques. He even gets into some good positions, but is easily outmuscled. He looks spent and there must be some kind of underlying ailment or just age might have caught up to him.

Am I the only one surprised by Nishikigi's latest surge ? It is rather common to see a veteran bounce back after a couple of basho in Juryo like Myogiryu did a few years ago, or maybe return after an extended stay in the lower ranks when a visible injury is the main culprit, but Nishikigi spent 9 consecutive basho in Juryo, dropping as low as J13 - and had a make-koshi there - before getting back to a single digit Maegashira rank. Kind of surprising. He's become the Matt Carpenter of Sumo.

Sad to see Zendaisho go. He was the first rikishi I saw in person on the subway, just two stations away from the Kokugikan. He was going nowhere already (2011), but it was nice to watch him. Aged 22, Gokushindo had a rather early debut in the paid ranks, but he came off as a very one dimensional rikishi. I think he's had his share of off dohyo problems too. Add some injuries and there you are. Irodori's first full basho as a rikishi was also my first as a fan. He reached makushita a couple of months shy of his 19th birthday. His size wasn't optimal, but wasn't a big hindrance either so it looked good for him, but... Following his career was rather painful from far away, I wonder how it felt for him. I hope he is more successful in his future endeavors.

The Banzuke committee must really love Kagayaki. It is not first time they are soft on him, so I wouldn't expect a M17 with 7 wins to be treated like that every time.

I had never checked Kotochitose's career before, but with 5 Makuuchi and 32 Juryo basho under his belt, including two Yusho in the latter division, he is much better than I expected him to be. I wonder if they are ever going to fill these spots. One of them has been free for quite a while now with no lack of good candidates, like retired Sagatsukasa and about to turn 45 Yoshiazuma, but nothing has happened. In Japan I always had a feeling that there were more "helpers" than needed, like an old man guiding people to an obvious detour at a construction site, or an young lady kind of watching people getting into the elevator inside a fancy department store. Maybe sumo is like this and they realised they don't need a new wakaimonogashira now, if at all.

I don't know any specifics about Nankairiki, but I have seen many rikishi start losing weight way before their intai, for health reasons or just because they know they don't need that much weight anymore.

First I thought it was a joke, but I've found a source here. 大相撲規則変更　二所ノ関部屋に入門の嘉陽快宗は三段目100枚目格→90枚目格で夏場所初土俵 - 大相撲 : 日刊スポーツ (nikkansports.com)

His 6 year long absence must be some sort of record. Maybe his heya had forgotten he even existed, but someone found a plate with his name on it and decided to hand in his intai papers.

Wikipedia has a Japanese article about Sakigake. As with most wikipedia things, we can't know if the sources are reliable (and neither is the translater, me) , but here are a few bits. His family runs a road building company. He is the youngest of 4 siblings. His first plan was to become a doctor and he practiced basketball and soccer, but had no sumo background prior to his coming to Japan. His father and Kyokushuzan had a common acquaintance who helped him get a trial in Japan. He caught the attention of then Hanaregoma (late Ozeki Kaiketsu) and ended up joining his stable. His first shikona was Wakatora, but he changed it to Sakigake after stagnating in Sandanme. By 2011, then aged 25, he finally established himself in makushita, eventually reaching Juryo in early 2014. He amassed 6 basho as sekitori, with 35-55 record there. To be honest, at some point I expected more from him; at least a couple of kachikoshi in Juryo. But he was mostly outpaced there. I wish him the best of luck, after a lenghty 19 year career that probably didn't bear the fruits he was expecting.

Maybe I should rephrase it into "After a long while". At any rate the idea is that 7 ( or 8, it depends on how you count it) basho without a Makuuchi kachi-koshi is not a good thing, and good results notwithstanding, I still don't see the same sumo content he once displayed.

I am probably an outsider here, but watching for the first time a play-off between two senshuraku losers felt a bit anticlimactic. I was rooting for the 32 year-old and fading, never gonna win it Takayasu, but in hindsight I wish Wakakakakkakakaatagegege had just crushed my favorite Shodai to win in the regular time, so to speak. Apart from the unexpected winner, Kotonowaka's performance was another clear highlight of the basho. Given his track record, good results are much more likely to be the norm than an exception for him. Another rikishi that really delivered was Kitanowaka in lower Juryo. He is nimble, strong, has good technique. I hope to see him in Makuuchi soon. Kotoshoho is has finally managed a Makuuchi kachi-koshi, but I can't say I am totally convinced. He had a deadly combination of speed coupled with precise moves I don't see anymore. I am also worried about Meisei, but I would like to see more before drawing any conclusions. Okinoumi has been having some energy issues. After the first week, he tends to look spent. This time he was spent from day 1. I guess that is it for him.

As a perennial sekitori hope, Tochimaru has occupied all the ranks from ms10 to ms1, but ms6, some of them more than once (ms4 - 3 times, for instance). Has anyone been slotted in all the top ten ranks ?