Long post warning! But it’s Day 10 and it’s time to take a look at the lower divisions as well as Makuuchi. Warning: Makushita and Juryo spoilers ahead. So, buckle up (your mawashi) and let’s get to some sumo.

MATCH OF THE DAY: Shoutout to Oho and Takayasu, but I’ll probably break my rule for not covering san’yaku tomorrow in favor of Kirishima and Gonoyama. So instead, we’ll be looking at another stellar bout: Tamawashi vs Oshoma. I’m a little worried that the age is finally getting to Tamawashi now that he’s surpassed the all-time Makuuchi bout record, but today, he looked just as good (if not better) as the younger boys. Tamawashi just kept pushing and Oshoma simply had no response. Old Man Sumo returned to genki-dom.

KIMARITE OF THE DAY: This one was, without a doubt, Fujiseiun versus Roga. I drafted Fujiseiun in one of my many fantasy tournaments, so I was rooting for him, and I was not disappointed! Fujiseuin put his whole heart and body into it, but Roga’s defense was very, very good. Fujiseiun, desperate, shoved his foot in between Roga’s and kicked out for an ankle sweep. Roga panicked too and fell by kirikaeshi, a twisting backwards knee trip, as best as I can tell. Wonderful kimarite, Fujiseiun!

PINK MAWASHI DAY TEN: Ura definitely Ura’ed today. That does not mean he won. That means he was very Ura. The clearly injured but optimistic Hakunofuji kicked at Ura, to the horror of the Osakan crowd, but won with an uwatenage. Then he did not get up. He sat on the dohyo a bit with an expression of pain while Ura, looking a bit panicked, stood next to him. “You good, bro?” Bro was not good. He needed the help of the yobidashi to get off the dohyo, and shortly after, Yoshinofuji seemed to be in a similar amount of pain, though I will say that Abi reacted very well and made sure to help him up, apparently checking on him after the bout as well. Abi understands injury, as does Ura, so both of them definitely felt bad for their opponents. This one is going greeeeeat for Isegahama-beya.

OVERALL SUMMARY: To my astonishment, they actually showed the matta false start from Asakoryu on the NHK broadcast, which they almost never do. Asakoryu’s intention to henka became blindingly obvious and he sheepishly restarted. Asakoryu fought well (and legitimately) the second time, but Gonoyama won and advanced to 9-1. Shodai found his inner Ozeki again today and powered Kotoshoho out and down with a yoritaoshi crush out. Beautifully done, Shodai. And Kirishima let Takanosho take himself out to advance to 9-1 as well. So, we have the unsurprising tournament leader of Kirishima and the underdog, Gonoyama. Hoshoryu won over Wakamotoharu, meaning he and Kotoshoho are the two chasers. Behind them is a very solid group of rikishi at 3 wins. Hoshoryu is not playing games, but then again, neither is Kiri. Or, apparently, Gonoyama! But we’ve got a good yusho race.

Hoshoryu will take on Takayasu in the musubi-no-ichiban. Aonishiki will fight Takanosho–poor kid!–and Takanosho will fight Kotozakura. They are finally giving the Maegashira the big boys to fight and I’m hyped. The highlight match of tomorrow, however, will certainly be Kirishima vs Gonoyama. Go, Kirishima!! I’m happy for Gonoyama to have such a good hometown basho, but Kiri needs this one. Clearly injured favorites of mine, Churnaoumi and Yoshinofuji will fight, while Ura will take on Asahakuryu.

THE YUSHO REPORT: Wakanosho had a glorious early exchange bout with Nishikifuji–an odd decision, as Nishikifuji isn’t doing that badly. Kinbozan, Fujiryoga, and Mitakeumi are at the same record as him now and are lower ranked. But the JSA does what the JSA wants. It was a very good bout, but Wakanosho ultimately lost, which is pretty brutal considering he was probably the strongest yusho contender for juryo up until today. That gets us to the man currently in the lead: Kazuma! If you’ve been following Juryo at all, you’ll know that Kazuma was “that young successful guy” last time around but had an uninspiring 8-7. This basho, he seems to have hit an unlock and is now 9-1, the sole leader of the Juryo division. As I mentioned, Wakanosho is hot on his heels, as are Kazekeno and Dewanoryu. Kazekeno has been around in Juryo for a while and is suddenly genki, which is nice to see; Dewanoryu had a strong debut in 2020 but has been hanging around in Makushita for a while. He’s now in his second sekitori basho and quite genki at 8-2.

So, that’s Juryo. Except for this: wildly popular Enho has had a truly heartbreakingly long comeback and is now at Makushita 4. He’s 4-1 and probably needs 5 wins to get up, and he will be fighting fellow Makuuchi vet Kotokuzan (who is staring down a make-koshi) to try to debut in Juryo in May. So, that will be a highlight bout for anyone who wants to check in tomorrow.

In Makushita, we have a group of rikishi at 5-0: the once-genki Oshoryu, who will fight ex-Juryo Nabatame up from Sandanme. I suspect we’ll see Nabatame as a sekitori again by the fall. Okaryu from Tatsunami-beya, who is certain to debut in Juryo next tournament, will fight star tsukedashi Wakanofuji tomorrow. Both of those matches will determine the final two, who will duke it out for the yusho on Friday. I’ll probably talk about potential exchanges between Makushita and Juryo and Juryo and Makuuchi tomorrow, but that’s enough for today.

Thanks for reading and let’s manifest the Kirishima yusho.