The year is coming to a close, and the last basho is held in Fukuoka. At this tournament, we have two rikishi new to silk mawashi and one rikishi returning to the paid ranks.
Ms2e Akua (6-1) returned to Juryo after spending a year back behind the curtain. Akua is a little long in the tooth, having debuted on the dohyo at Fukuoka 2010 basho. He will be 30 next November, so now is the time to climb up while his body can still handle it.
Ms4w Kotoshoho (4-3) got the bare minimum of wins to break through the curtain and put on the silk mawashi. He has had an impressive climb to sekitori. He debuted 2 years ago at Fukuoka. He has only had a losing record once, just once. He turned 20 years this year, so he is all lined up to have a very fruitful career as a sekitori. It will tough to win 8 his first time in Juryo but it is possible.
Ms5e Hoshoryu (4-3) also only won 4 and just slipped in front of the curtain. Like Kotoshoho, he has only had a losing record once. And like Kotoshoho, his future as a sekitori is very bright indeed. And he is somewhat of a celebrity already, since his uncle is Asashoryu. The writer is very excited about seeing his nephew have a successful career in sumo, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if he could fight to a tsuna. OK, premature though it is a nice scenario to dream about.
With 3 rikishi moving upward and becoming sekitori, we have 3 rikishi turning in their silk mawashi for the white cotton mawashi.
J5w Takanofuji (0-0-15) is having a brutal time of it because of his bad behavior in September. He finds himself at Ms5w, and if he gets to compete for this basho, he can get back to the paid ranks at Kokugikan in 2020. If you missed Takanofuji’s screw-up, here is an excerpt.
“Nihon Sumo Kyokai announced that Takanofuji, Juryo 5, committed an act of violence against his tsukebito, a Jonidan wrestler, and as a result would be absent from the Aki basho. Chiganoura Oyakata reported to the Kyokai that the incident occurred after returning to Chiganoura-beya following the August 31 Soken. The basho absence is not a punishment on the part of the Kyokai, but a voluntary decision by Chiganoura Oyakata.”
His oyakata made the right move, voluntarily staying out of the Aki basho, and it cost him his silk mawashi. The writer has some difficulty with the crackdown. There is some hazy in sumo and perhaps out of hand, yet it is the culture. The writer does believe that this behavior does not align with today’s morals, yet one of the attractions of sumo is that it is not from this period. It is one of the three Japanese subcultures that attempts to remain the way it has been for 300 years or more.
J11w Chiyonoumi (2-13) had a terrible record at Kokugikan and tumbles into Makushita. It lands at Ms6e, which makes getting back in front of the curtain possible. Notice that Hoshoryu reached sekitori winning just 4 bouts from Ms5e.
J14e Asagyokusei (5-10) fell from his highest rank in his entire career. It only drops to Ms2e, well within striking ranging to start 2020 in the paid ranks.
So as we close 2019 with the Fukuoka basho, of the rikishi in Juryo from the good results at Kokugikan, will one of them reach sanyaku? Could one of this rikishi become our next yokozuna?
Ms2e Akua (6-1) returned to Juryo after spending a year back behind the curtain. Akua is a little long in the tooth, having debuted on the dohyo at Fukuoka 2010 basho. He will be 30 next November, so now is the time to climb up while his body can still handle it.
Ms4w Kotoshoho (4-3) got the bare minimum of wins to break through the curtain and put on the silk mawashi. He has had an impressive climb to sekitori. He debuted 2 years ago at Fukuoka. He has only had a losing record once, just once. He turned 20 years this year, so he is all lined up to have a very fruitful career as a sekitori. It will tough to win 8 his first time in Juryo but it is possible.
Ms5e Hoshoryu (4-3) also only won 4 and just slipped in front of the curtain. Like Kotoshoho, he has only had a losing record once. And like Kotoshoho, his future as a sekitori is very bright indeed. And he is somewhat of a celebrity already, since his uncle is Asashoryu. The writer is very excited about seeing his nephew have a successful career in sumo, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if he could fight to a tsuna. OK, premature though it is a nice scenario to dream about.
With 3 rikishi moving upward and becoming sekitori, we have 3 rikishi turning in their silk mawashi for the white cotton mawashi.
J5w Takanofuji (0-0-15) is having a brutal time of it because of his bad behavior in September. He finds himself at Ms5w, and if he gets to compete for this basho, he can get back to the paid ranks at Kokugikan in 2020. If you missed Takanofuji’s screw-up, here is an excerpt.
“Nihon Sumo Kyokai announced that Takanofuji, Juryo 5, committed an act of violence against his tsukebito, a Jonidan wrestler, and as a result would be absent from the Aki basho. Chiganoura Oyakata reported to the Kyokai that the incident occurred after returning to Chiganoura-beya following the August 31 Soken. The basho absence is not a punishment on the part of the Kyokai, but a voluntary decision by Chiganoura Oyakata.”
His oyakata made the right move, voluntarily staying out of the Aki basho, and it cost him his silk mawashi. The writer has some difficulty with the crackdown. There is some hazy in sumo and perhaps out of hand, yet it is the culture. The writer does believe that this behavior does not align with today’s morals, yet one of the attractions of sumo is that it is not from this period. It is one of the three Japanese subcultures that attempts to remain the way it has been for 300 years or more.
J11w Chiyonoumi (2-13) had a terrible record at Kokugikan and tumbles into Makushita. It lands at Ms6e, which makes getting back in front of the curtain possible. Notice that Hoshoryu reached sekitori winning just 4 bouts from Ms5e.
J14e Asagyokusei (5-10) fell from his highest rank in his entire career. It only drops to Ms2e, well within striking ranging to start 2020 in the paid ranks.
So as we close 2019 with the Fukuoka basho, of the rikishi in Juryo from the good results at Kokugikan, will one of them reach sanyaku? Could one of this rikishi become our next yokozuna?
