MATCH OF THE DAY: For once, there were several great bouts to choose from, due to the slew of mono-iis from our Maegashira today. Good to see them all stirring it up in the last week. Midorifuji vs Ryuden, Roga vs Churanoumi, and Shodai vs Tobizaru were all mono-ii, with the first two both ending in rematches. Midorifuji’s is notable as it was also a kimarite of the day contender until Takayasu gave me something cooler to talk about. Ryuden shut down Midorifuji in the first bout but Midorifuji twisted and they hit the ground at the same time. A torinaoshi–rematch–was called, and Midorifuji twirled Ryuden into a katasukashi, an under-shoulder swing down. This is notable because Midorifuji is generally the master of that technique but hasn’t pulled one off in two basho, which is rare. This was wonderful to see from him, and congratulations to our runners-up, Shodai and Roga, as well.
KIMARITE OF THE DAY: I don’t know if it counts as a kimarite, but I kind of felt the need to explain the bout between Takayasu and Kirishima. I’m not the biggest Takayasu fan, but my heart went out to him over that depressing wince of pain at the end of their bout. This was a very rare bout where nobody wins but one man loses; Takayasu had a tsukihiza, where his knee touched down inadvertently and Kirishima took the victory. Kiri offered him a hand at the end and Takayasu grimaced before standing up, which doesn’t look great. I hope it’s temporary, but not that temporary, considering he’s fighting Ura tomorrow.
PINK MAWASHI DAY TEN: The two most smiley men in the top division faced off today, with Pink Man Ura against Onigiri-Kun Takanosho. He’s earned the nickname for looking kind of like a rice ball, and presumably for having the temperament of one as well. Today, he was also boasting the skill of a rice ball–he had absolutely nothing against everyone’s favorite rikishi. Ura went in low and swung Takanosoho down with a beautiful sukuinage. Takanosho got his losing record and Ura is now even at 5-5. The Pink Man fights Takayasu tomorrow.
THE YUSHO REPORT: Obviously, the news here is that our savior, Yoshinofuji, took down Onosato today. Thank you, Yoshinofuji. Thank you. He’s made this basho that much more interesting! The leaderboard has narrowed down. Onosato is now even with Aonishiki at 9-1. If only the Onami brothers hadn’t been such fools, Hosh and Aonishiki would be in even better shape. Right behind Aonishiki is lonely Hoshoryu at 8-2, and then the young group of Nishikifuji, Tokihayate, and my personal favorite in this race, Yoshinofuji. I’m so glad he’s uninjured. Nishikifuji and Yoshinofuji can’t fight each other because they’re in the same stable, and Tokihayate won’t fight either of them yet: he takes on Gonoyama tomorrow. Nishikifuji will fight Fujinokawa.
OVERALL SUMMARY: Looking forward to tomorrow, we have some interesting matches, especially in the last five, which we’ll cover now. Ura and Takayasu, which I’ve already said enough about, will be interesting. Following them is quite possibly the match I’ve been the most conflicted about this year: Aonishiki vs Yoshinofuji. My heart says Yoshinofuji, but my brain says Aonishiki can’t lose if I don’t want to Onosato to win–which, to be clear, I don’t. So I really don’t know. They’re too likable! Kotozakura takes on Oshoma, and Oho takes on Hoshoryu. Yokozuna grandpa/uncle matchup there–sumo’s most successful legacies, I’d say. And Onosato, because the JSA is mean, is fighting Takanosho. Seriously? Seriously?
Not everyone can be as cool as Yoshinofuji.
As it’s Day Ten, we’ll do a brief feature of the third-highest division, Makushita. It’s almost set up as a bracket, which is usually very fun, and there are plenty of younger threats who are making it interesting in the third division. My personal favorite is one of two Makushita rikishi I consider “my” guys to root for (the other, Shimazuumi, is makekoshi): Kazuma, a very young and very good rikishi from Kise-beya, Ura’s stable. He is one of four who’s 4-0 and looks to be in very good form… poised, perhaps, to take the yusho. Joining him at 4-0 and are Oitekaze-beya prospects Daiyusho and Ryusho, and 4-0 Ohata from Shodai’s Tokitsukaze-beya. Kazu will fight Daiyusho tomorrow while Ryusho fights Ohata, and then the winners will fight on Friday.
Also, down in Juryo, Fujiryoga did suffer his first loss yesterday but got back on track today against Tobizaru’s brother Hidenoumi. He and Onosato rejoin, and Aonishiki joins them, as the only sekitori with one loss, thanks to Hakuyozan, Yoshinofuji, and He Who Shall Not Be Named (Wakatakakage). Behind Fujiryoga is Chinese Daiseizan at 8-2, who lost his bout today against 7-3 Asanoyama. The latter two are high up enough that we should be seeing them in Makuuchi in 2026.
In honor of Oshoma and Hoshoryu’s match today, here’s a picture of them and Asahakuryu from one of NHK’s weirder videos. Juryo Asahakuryu is on the left, and Oshoma and Hosh are on the right. Hoshoryu looks… weirdly dapper.
The Pink Mawashi Hall of Fame Awards are now under serious consideration. So far, we’ve got a few contenders for most awards, though Meisei–who, by the way, came back today and lost spectacularly–looks to be in pretty good shape for the Pink Heart Award. Since the homepage is being finicky, please check here for the soon-to-be-updated list.
See you on Day Eleven!