Best Of - rikishi 2020

[Akinomaki 40,506]

Takakeisho has the most wins of the year and 1 yusho, and with this also wins the 63rd Hochi best rikishi of the year award. The first time for 22 years that a Japanese born rikishi receives it, the last was Wakanohana III in 1998.

Mineko Nomachi (left) and 3 others were in the award selection committee

o

Edited December 26, 2020 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,506]

1 hour ago, Totorofuji said:

The 9th annual Nikkan Sports Grand Sumo "Rikishi of the Year" award goes to Shodai:

https://twitter.com/Hakkeyoi_Sumo/status/1338816633092059137

https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202012140000733.html

This is the first of many Nikkan's unofficial yearly awards, the "taichiai ikki no kokyuu-sho", for the most straight wins from tachiai in one breath, without giving the opponent a chance to fight back, Nikkan counted 11.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,506]

Nikkan published 6 "awards" on their site this year google.search?第9回日刊スポーツ大相撲大賞&site=www.nikkansports.com

2. Hokutofuji 奮闘努力賞 - all out effort award, for most bouts as plain maegashira against sanyaku

3. Asanoyama - best thrower award: 10 wins this years with throws, though he claims that throwing is not what he's good at

4. Ryuden - 彩多賞 saitasho, sounds like most as in most wins, but is to mean variations in kimarite - 14 different this year

5. Takakeisho - fighting spirit award, for the best results in the daily NSK polls

6. 1 team award - to Isegahama-beya

o o o

Edited December 26, 2020 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,506]

Apart from the 6 official Nikkan unofficial awards, there were a few extra http://www.nikkansports.com/battle/column/sumo/news/202012100001022.html

letting get away the kensho, one could have won - the un-awarded award: Endo 398, Takakeisho 396, Mitakeumi 337, Asanoyama 333, Enho 302

getting rich quickly - 1 million yen of kensho money on hand in a bout: bouts with 34 kensho or more were 8 this year, 7 of it with Takakeisho in it and he won 6 of them, 1 went to Tokushoryu, the 8th bout was won by Asanoyama

love of sumo award: longest average time on the dohyo - Takayasu 15.6s, Takarafuji 13.9s, Shimanoumi 12.4s, Ryuden 12s, Yutakayama 11.7s

Save energy award: shortest average win time: Chiyotairyu with 2.8s, for all his bouts (34w-37l) average time was 4.9s

 

there were more

[Jakusotsu 5,969]

15 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

love of sumo award: longest average time on the dohyo - Takayasu 15.6s, Takarafuji 13.9s, Shimanoumi 12.4s, Ryuden 12s, Yutakayama 11.7s

epic fail for Yutakayama whose style of sumo aims for a quick oshi win

[Seiyashi 4,087]

1 hour ago, Jakusotsu said:

16 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

love of sumo award: longest average time on the dohyo - Takayasu 15.6s, Takarafuji 13.9s, Shimanoumi 12.4s, Ryuden 12s, Yutakayama 11.7s

epic fail for Yutakayama whose style of sumo aims for a quick oshi win

To be fair, he had a pretty bad second half of 2020, and the average time includes losses.

[Akinomaki 40,506]

The rest of best o

Kin-san Gin-san: most kinboshi: Endo with 3, Myogiryu 2, 1 have Hokutofuj, Tokushoryu and Onosho

most ginboshi (unofficial), hiramaku wins vs ozeki: in another article, about Hokutofuji: he had 4

rare kimarite winners are listed, most variation had Ryuden

 

Up down award (biggest movement on the banzuke): Takayasu 27 steps (m. numbers), Tokushoryu 22, Kiribayama 21, 19 have Yutakayama and Onosho

Make the gyoji cry - mono-ii decided bouts: Hokutofuji 6, Daieisho and Tokushoryu 5, Takarafuji 4, 3 have Endo, Tochinoshin and Yutakayama. Hokutofuji had 2 wins and 2 losses confirmed as the gyoji pointed, 1 sashi-chigae loss and 1 torinaoshi

Edited December 28, 2020 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,506]

Best of Nikkan, that was, but there are more of the proper awards still.

The Chuspo best makuuchi newcomer of the year award goes to Kotoshoho, the award ceremony like for best rikishi is on day 1 of the Hatsu basho, before the start of makuuchi. That he had 3 basho without makekoshi was highly valued - selection committee member Kitanofuji comment. Shibatayama's point: facing ozeki Takakeisho with straight sumo and getting kachikoshi https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/178070

Edited January 10, 2021 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,506]

One top award of the past won't be awarded anymore: the NSK in March has left the Japan Pro Sports Association JPSA, which presented the Prime Minister's cup pro sports grand awards, it always had a sumo category. http://www.jpsa.jp/topics.html

Edited December 29, 2020 by Akinomaki

[hakutorizakura 629]

Interesting awards 

They should also make efficiency parameters (in both making money and scoring wins), normalized by the on-dohyo time 

[Seiyashi 4,087]

And now for something completely different:

Hand-grip Yokozuna! - by Otowayama and Shiranui (also secretly an Asanoyama fan)

【握力NO.1関取は誰だ!?】握力横綱決定戦 - YouTube

The banzuke:

Special prizes:

• Asanoyama (awarded the oyakata's favourite sansho)
• Tobizaru (funny faces sansho)
• Broke-the-scale sansho not awarded as the only deserving candidate is ineligible

Special mentions:

• Mitakeumi (missed out on the funny faces sansho)
• Terunofuji (lost a playoff again)
• Takanosho (shimpanbu heavily biased in his favour (read: meddling with the scale), actual score 73, would have been K1E instead)

P.S. Would be glad if someone could instruct me on how to do table formatting and YT video embedding. I've tried looking at the page source for posts with both of these, and done a few experiments of my own in the testing area, but have drawn a blank each time.

Edited December 30, 2020 by Seiyashi