off to the Kokugikan!

[poza@gol.com (Tito Poza & Shari Custer-Poza)]

Well, today I took the ol' Sobu line to the Kokugikan; arrived at about
12:30, went to the ticket window, and got an unreserved ticket, no problem.
Three years ago, even on weekdays those were gone by 10:00.  I went off to
do some other things, and came back at a little after 4, after the
dohyo-iri had finished.  I lucked out and was able to find a group of 4
empty seats on the upper tier, 2nd row from the front.  I sat down and was
not thrown out for the duration of the day's sumo.  Good deal for 1500 yen;
thanks goodness for those considerate people who buy tickets but don't show
up... ;-)

In makushita, the bad news was that Sentoryu is indeed out for the
tournament.  He fusenpai'd his bout to Dairyu.  This'll send him plunging
down the Makushita ladder, perhaps he'll land in the 30s or 40s next time.
Given his age, you have to wonder if he'll just decide he's had enough.
Speaking of kyujo rikishi, looking at the page of today's matchups they
give you at the Kokugikan, I noticed that Mak. #20 Tomoefuji did not play
in the first 3 days, so I must conclude that he's kyujo as well.  Gotta
feel bad for him; if not for injuries, he'd be a sanyaku regular right now.
In today's makushita action, the Argentines Hoshitango (#8) and
Hoshiandesu (#18) each lost to fall to 0-2.  Yamato (1-1) beat Mutsuhokkai,
and Sunahama (2-0) beat Mutetsuyama.  #23 Shiga, the one with the rensho,
had it snapped at 26.

In Juryo, shin-Juryo Wakanojo beat Ryudo to chalk up his third straight
win, but after the bout Ryudo stayed down, his face contorted in a grimace
of pain.  The damaged part turned out to be his right wrist.  Ryudo is not
scheduled to play tomorrow.  Also in Juryo, young up-and-comers Chiyotaikai
and Kyokushuzan registered victories to raise their marks to 2-1.
Azumazeki Beya's shin-Juryo Daiki picked up his first win as a sekitori.

Konishiki vs. Tosanoumi:  A battle of 2-0 rikishi, one at the beginning of
his career, the other near the end... It was their first meeting, but
Tosanoumi seems to have figured out that you just can't stay in front of
Konishiki.  When charging at Konish, as Tosanoumi did at the tachiai,
didn't work so well, Tosa backpedaled a bit faster than Konish was
advancing.  When he got to the edge, he moved to his right, skirting the
edge, Konish following.  Konish took a step too far and had to stop and
regroup, giving Tosa a chance to plow into him.  He pushed Konish once,
then again, then quickly moved back as Konish, applying force to pressure
no longer present, fell forward.  Bad news for Konish, but it was smart
sumo on Tosanoumi's part.  Tosanoumi now stands at 3-0, and faces Asanosho
tomorrow.  Yes, now we can see what he's capable of when you don't put him
up against sanyaku rikishi his first several days...

Kaio vs. Kotoinazuma:  Koto tried a jump-aside at the tachiai, but Kaio
wasn't fooled for a minute, turning instantly to follow.  He caught Koto in
an unfavorable position, and went after him with tsuppari.  Kaio followed
up relentlessly, and Koto was done.  I found this bout interesting because
it's one of the few times I've ever seen Kaio not go for a belt grip once
in a bout, and he won by oshidashi, which is unusual for him.

Kotonowaka often gives Musoyama a hard time, but today Moose just
overwhelmed Koto before Koto could get the kind of grip he could do
something with.  Moose just got the front of Koto's belt, and poured on the
power to force Kotonowaka out in a matter of seconds.

Musashimaru vs. Hamanoshima:  Hamanoshima came off the tachiai with more
power than I thought he had, and was in Musashi's face before Musashi knew
what had hit him.  For a few seconds Musashi was absorbing blows as though
Hama was the rikishi with the powerful tsuppari.  Musashi came fighting
back, and Hama quickly changed to a belt strategy, bending way over and
getting a left hand inside.  They held what appeared to be a rather awkward
position for a while; Hama tried to pull up on Musashi's belt prior to a
charge, but Musashi didn't give an inch.  Hama tried a few other moves,
equally ineffective, and Musashi was then able to make a move of his own to
acquire a less awkward (and more even) position, where he was bent over a
little as well.  Musashi, after a few more seconds, started forward.  Hama
tried to step aside a bit and throw Musashi, but Musashi went straight at
Hama, and once Musashi got the ol' momentum going Hama was done; Musashi
moved him out with ease, or at least the appearance of ease.  Of course,
nothing about that bout except for the last 2 seconds looked easy for
Musashimaru.

It's still a little too early to think about a yusho race, but the
sanyaku-level rikishi with 3-0 records are:  Takanohana, Akebono, Musoyama,
Kaio, and Kotonishiki.

I received a private e-mail today asking what "joi-jin" meant, so I figured
I'd answer it here in case anyone else doesn't know.  In the case of this
word, "jo" means upper, "i" means rank or level, and "jin" means person.
So, "upper rank person."  I usually use it in the context below to refer to
yokozuna and ozeki, but it more usually means anyone in sanyaku, and I've
also seen it used to mean anyone whose rank is high enough that they have
to play the top 15 rikishi in the course of a tournament.  I say "joi-jin
bouts" because "yokozuna and ozeki bouts" takes lots more keystrokes, and
I'm lazy.  ;-)

Tomorrow's joi-jin bouts: Kaio-Kotonishiki, Asanowaka-Takanonami,
Wakanohana-Minatofuji, Kotoinazuma-Musashimaru, Konishiki-Takanohana, and
Akebono-Kenko.