SUMO - 2018 Hatsu Basho (Jan. 14th - 28th)

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The first sumo tournament of 2018 is here and will be starting tomorrow.

A lot happened in 2017, particularly in the final tournament of the year, and this will be a big tournament for a lot of guys looking to start 2018 off on the right foot. I'd say the sport as a whole is really looking to bounce back from a pretty rough year. The landscape at the top of the ranks has changed quite a bit, so let's take a look:

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Tournament Topics:
  • Two debuting wrestlers - There will be two wrestlers making their debuts in the top division this tournament. Ryuden had been working his way up the ranks, getting to Juryo in 2012 when it looks like he picked up a big injury and was sidelined for most of 2013 and 14, dropping way down. He worked his way back up, but with an 8-7 record in November I'd expect him to struggle in the top division. He's joined by Abi, who is coming off two impressive performances, going 10-5 (winning the Juryo yusho) in September and 11-4 in November.
  • Return of a fan favorite - Although Ura is still out trying to recover and will be in a much lower division when he does return, a fellow fan favorite Ishiura is back in the top division. He'll be looking to get his mojo back as he had a fantastic debut in the top division but struggled a bit when others figured out his style.
  • Former Ozeki at M10 - There were questions about whether or not Terunofuji would compete this tournament, but his stablemaster is saying that he's getting better and better as the tournament approaches, and he'll be competing on day 1. I wouldn't be surprised if once again he looks weak out there and maybe withdraws midway through, but the competition will be easier for him and it would be great if he could start building up his strength again.
  • Knocking on the sanyaku door - Hokutofuji has been doing great in the upper Maegashira ranks and from M1 East he's in a great position to potentially break into the sanyaku ranks. He's gotten kinboshi in the last three tournaments and with the state of the Yokozuna ranks he'll have a real chance to get at least one here.
  • Sanyaku debut - Hokutofuji will be hoping to follow Takakeisho who is doing just that, making his debut as a Komosubi after a great tournament at M1. It's a big promotion and the pressure of the new rank could lead to a poor performance, but he should see the unsteadiness in the top ranks as a great opportunity to aim for a higher position on the banzuke.
  • A good year for an Ozeki run - Mitakeumi has been looking comfortable at Sekiwake, going either 8-7 or 9-6 in his three tournaments at the rank and he'll probably be seeing this as a time to try to turn up the heat and go for a double-digit win to start building an Ozeki run.
  • Not a good time to be an Ozeki - Both of the current Ozeki must be under a great deal of pressure, and both are struggling to give the kind of performances that are expected of them. Takayasu looked great in his promotion run, but once he got the promotion has struggled a lot and been forced to withdraw twice. It would be great to see him turn things around and put in a strong performance here. Goeido has seemed like such a hot and cold (mostly cold) wrestler to me. He's had a couple of great tournaments as an Ozeki, but the rest have been really lackluster. The Ozeki rank has seemed pretty weak for a while now, and something needs to change and it'll have to be from these two.
  • And then there were three... - With the retirement of Harumafuji the attention will now turn towards Kisenosato and Kakuryu. They've obviously also been struggling a lot with injuries and have both withdrawn from the last four tournaments. They're both planning on competing this time but we'll have to see how long they last. There will be increased scrutiny on them as well, probably more so on Kakuryu who really, really needs a good tournament here. Anything less than 10-5 will put him in real danger.
  • Record tournament for the top dog - This will be Hakuho's 63rd tournament as a Yokozuna which ties him with Kitanoumi for tournaments at the sport's top rank. 2017 was a bit of a weird year for Hakuho, with him withdrawing from two tournaments and having some weird performances. He isn't the unstoppable force that he once was, but he's still head and shoulders above everyone else and he'll want to start 2018 off with a championship.
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So there you go!

Stay tuned to Kintamayama's YouTube Channel for daily highlights of the top division, and check out Robert Mensing's YouTube Channel for English versions of the NHK digest episodes (although I don't think they include all of the top division matches). Or go straight to the source, on NHK World's Sumo website. There's also a good blog at tachiai.org with news and information.

And as usual, for anyone who'll be watching the sport for the first time, please feel free to ask any questions you might have here and someone will try to answer them. Also be sure to check out my Introduction to SUMO thread for a brief (although quite outdated at this point) overview of the sport.

Hakke-yoi!

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(I'll just @ everyone that posted in recent sumo threads)
@JkMMA @PurpleStorm @Asurah @Sano @josh from md @Okajima @RJ Green @winterbike
 
NHK World preview:


kintamayama's preview:


jason's preview:
 
also a bit of news concerning one of the referees being accused of sexual assault against one a junior referee:


Tate-gyoji Shikimori Inosuke sexually assaults a junior gyoji
(tachiai.org)

Just as the sumo world is trying to recuperate from last year’s Harumafuji scandal, and amidst our hopes for a 2018 free of scandals, the NSK announced yesterday that the tate-gyoji, Shikimori Inosuke the 40th, has sexually assaulted a junior gyoji in his teens while drunk.

The top two ranking gyoji in sumo are called “tate-gyoji”. They are the ones in charge of refereeing the Yokozuna bouts, and also participate in yokozuna dohyo-iri and consecrate the dohyo before honbasho.
As you may recall, the victim does not intend to press charges, so the tate-gyoji is not going to face any punishment other than the disciplinary measures of the NSK.

Tate-gyoji use inherited names. The top rank is always “Kimura Shonosuke” (the order is the Japanese name order – last name first), and the secondary rank is “Shikimori Inosuke”. The last Shonosuke retired about two years ago, but Inosuke was not promoted to Shonosuke, following a series of misjudged bouts that cost him a suspension in 2015. This means that at the moment, Shikimori Inosuke the 40th is the only active tate-gyoji. Inosuke is a member of Miyagino beya, Hakuho’s stable.

The event itself took place on the evening of December 16th, while he was doing the jungyo. This was the night between the two events at Ginowan, Okinawa. During supper, the tate-gyoji imbibed large quantities of Awamori (a hard Okinawan liquor) and became thoroughly inebriated. A junior gyoji helped him get back to his hotel. The senior gyoji then proceeded to kiss the minor (in Japan, the age of majority is 20) on his lips several times and fondled his chest once.

(read more)


Tate-Gyoji Shikimori Inosuke punishment decided


The NSK board convened for a special meeting today to discuss and decide the punishment of tate-gyoji Shikimori Inosuke for his sexual assault of a junior gyoji.

The punishment they have come up with is a three-basho-suspension. This includes:



    • Suspension from three basho.
    • Suspension from all jungyo occurring between those basho.
    • House confinement.
In addition, Inosuke’s stablemaster, Miyagino oyakata, was reprimanded for the event, which happened during the jungyo, by the acting head of the jungyo department, Kasugano oyakata.

(read more)
 
They are starting the Abema TV broadcasts with this basho right?
 
They are starting the Abema TV broadcasts with this basho right?
yeah, there will be free live streaming sumo starting tonight. don't know anything about what the broadcast will be like and what kind of commentary if any there will be, but it's a step in the right direction.

not sure what to do from here, but here's the link (i think) for anyone interested:
https://abema.tv/channels/abema-special/slots/9UmUC9gjdwwGoh

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yeah, there will be free live streaming sumo starting tonight. don't know anything about what the broadcast will be like and what kind of commentary if any there will be, but it's a step in the right direction.

not sure what to do from here, but here's the link (i think) for anyone interested:
https://abema.tv/channels/abema-special/slots/9UmUC9gjdwwGoh

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This looks like the full schedule
https://abema.tv/search/future?q=大相撲

VPN will be needed outside of Japan, so I probably won't be able to catch the streams this go around since no wifi at the moment. Hopefully this makes it easier for Kintamayama and the others to get footage though.
 
Thanks bud. I'll be heading to Ryogoku on Tuesday. It's been a while!
 
Good stuff on day 1.

Really liked that arm drag off the thrust and leg sweep Takakeisho pulled off on the edge.

Kakuryu still exists apparently. Good showing for him after missing most of 2017.

I wasn't aware people hated Hakuho's tachiai slaps, any real reason? I assume it's some respect thing but it seems fine to me and it's so effective.
 
i'll add the top division video to this post when it gets uploaded too, but here's the Abema stream of the day 1 Juryo matches:


looks really good actually. slick graphics and presentation, good quality, and good commentary (in japanese) but unfortunately it sounds like someone recorded their own chinese commentary over it.

full top division (NHK broadcast, not Abema stream):
 
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Good stuff on day 1.

Really liked that arm drag off the thrust and leg sweep Takakeisho pulled off on the edge.

Kakuryu still exists apparently. Good showing for him after missing most of 2017.

I wasn't aware people hated Hakuho's tachiai slaps, any real reason? I assume it's some respect thing but it seems fine to me and it's so effective.
yeah, kakuryu looked quite good on the first day, and takakeisho's arm drag was sick. the little foot sweep was a great touch as well.

terunofuji looking no better down at M10 which is a real problem.

i'm not sure but the issue with hakuho might be more about winning going backwards with pull downs as it's not the way yokozuna are meant to win. it could also be the harite slaps at the tachiai, but i don't see anything wrong with them either.
 
First half was pretty mundane, upper ranks had some good stuff though. Kakuryu is looking steady, Terunofuji should follow his lead and take the time off because he's going to be demoted at this rate anyways.

Juryo
 
Man... I remember watching sumo every evening on Eurosport back in my early teens. Good days
 
I think they lived strem4d it on youtube on the ameba YouTube channel I saw a now live email in the morning
 
First half was pretty mundane, upper ranks had some good stuff though. Kakuryu is looking steady, Terunofuji should follow his lead and take the time off because he's going to be demoted at this rate anyways.
yeah, still early on but kakuryu is looking quite good.

terunofuji is looking awful.
 
Man... I remember watching sumo every evening on Eurosport back in my early teens. Good days
hahaha, that's awesome. the first time i ever saw sumo was on eurosport in switzerland in like 2006 and i've been watching it ever since.

I think they lived strem4d it on youtube on the ameba YouTube channel I saw a now live email in the morning

oh yeah, they might be streaming it on youtube too. they have a lot of videos of matches and highlights on their youtube channel.

and this:
 
I found the 2hr video it is region blocked which is weird cause I’ve seen pancrase figths on there and like a 7hour k-1 gp broadcast in the past
 
seems like the pulling caught up to hakuho on day 3. great job by hokutofuji to make him pay for it which is obviously not easy.

ichinojo also looked more aggressive against kisenosato and it worked in his favor. if he fought aggressively like that more often i think i'd be one of the top guys, but it's also no coincidence that he looks dominant and aggressive like this against a very weak kisenosato.

sucks to see terunofuji dropping out but it's no surprise. even worse to see that it's from issues relating to diabetes.

and down in makushita (think this was on day 2) toyonoshima picks up another injury:


hard to see exactly what happens, but looks like his left knee gets re-injured.
 
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