Thru day 5 and Terunofuji and Tochiozan are the only two undefeated. Usually there's some rank and filer Maegashira 7 that comes out of nowhere the first week but not this time.

Over halfway, here's what the leaderboard looks like:

O1e Terunofuji 8 - 0

Y1w Kakuryu 7 - 1

O1w Kisenosato 7 - 1

M12e Ikioi 7 - 1

O2w Kotoshogiku 6 - 2

M6e Aminishiki 6 - 2

M8w Toyonoshima 6 - 2

M14w Sokokurai 6 - 2

Neither Ozeki has fought anybody other than rank and filers so the second week these standings could get all changed around. I would really like to see Kisenosato win this thing. Haven't had a Japanese wrestler win in longer than I can remember. But given his track record for being able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory I can only be guardedly optimistic.

gaijinmark wrote:

I would really like to see Kisenosato win this thing. Haven't had a Japanese wrestler win in longer than I can remember. But given his track record for being able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory I can only be guardedly optimistic.

And Kisenosato is nothing if not consistent, now at 7-3

One loss was to an ozeki but the other was to a komusubi.

But we are still not without upsets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2Vt6UoX_Y&index=56&list=PL556B0EVMUL2WMKoYBMdeowvN4Zmk0W5-

But no one goes undefeated this basho:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJushEv98k4&list=PL556B0EVMUL2WMKoYBMdeowvN4Zmk0W5-&index=60

^ Or no one with just one loss either, we now have a wide open basho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nokWw8hvAQ&index=67&list=PL556B0EVMUL2WMKoYBMdeowvN4Zmk0W5-

Boo Kakuryu!!:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTgYpMIHtXY&index=75&list=PL556B0EVMUL2WMKoYBMdeowvN4Zmk0W5-

Playoff on the final day. Kakuryu vs. Terunofuji: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7KNql-3-8I&list=PL556B0EVMUL2WMKoYBMdeowvN4Zmk0W5-&index=84

gaijinmark wrote:

Playoff on the final day. Kakuryu vs. Terunofuji: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7KNql-3-8I&list=PL556B0EVMUL2WMKoYBMdeowvN4Zmk0W5-&index=84

So even though Hakuho and Harumafuji were hurt and out of the tournament, the basho still came down to two Mongolians, one of whom was injured.

Which will happen first: the Tokyo Olympics or a native Japanese winning a basho? You have to believe the latter, since the Olympics are still five years away. At some point, a Nihonjin has gotta win, right?

That said, here's some stats: foreigners have won 58 straight basho and 68 out of the last 70 tournaments. The last time a native Japanese won was in January 2006.

For the September basho, in the sanyaku (top four sumo ranks), foreigners held five out of 11 positions, including all three yokozuna positions. Out of 31 maegashira positions (maegashira is the lowest rank of the Makuuchi division, sumo's top division), foreigners held 13 of them. The numbers are especially telling when you consider that sumo beya (stables) are restricted to having only one foreigner. Imagine what the number of foreigners in the top division would be if there were no quotas.

All of this was foretold over a decade ago in a documentary film, Sumo East and West. The film showed the effect the Hawaiian invasion had on the sport and lamented the fact that Japanese boys were no longer interested in sumo.

The excellent movie Shiko Funjatta (Sumo Do, Sumo Don't), made by filmmaker Suo Masayuki way back in 1992 also commented on the paucity of Japanese participation. A college sumo club is on the verge of extinction, having only one member; in order to keep it going, one student forced to join or not graduate, a couple more students are pulled in off the street, a foreign student is recruited, and eventually even a woman is allowed to take part (disguised as a man of course). It's telling that the only athlete among them is the foreigner.

Hard to compete when your native born talent pool, both in terms of quality and quantity, has significantly shrunk.

I wonder what he'll think the first time someone actually hits him:

Ex-ozeki Baruto to make mixed martial arts debut

Former ozeki Baruto will turn professional as a mixed martial artist and join the Rizin Fighting Federation, Rizin announced on Thursday.

The Estonian-born Baruto, whose real name is Kaido Hoovelson, is set to make his Rizin debut at Saitama Super Arena at the end of this year. "I love mixed martial arts," the 30-year-old Baruto told a press conference in Tokyo. "I want to be the strongest fighter in the world."

A former nightclub bouncer known for his quirky sense of humor, Baruto lost his ozeki rank at the end of 2012 after injury problems and retired from sumo in September 2013. He has been training since then and says he has shed 25 kilograms. "I'm in good shape," he grinned.

gaijinmark wrote:

I wonder what he'll think the first time someone actually hits him: Ex-ozeki Baruto to make mixed martial arts debut Former ozeki Baruto will turn professional as a mixed martial artist and join the Rizin Fighting Federation, Rizin announced on Thursday. The Estonian-born Baruto, whose real name is Kaido Hoovelson, is set to make his Rizin debut at Saitama Super Arena at the end of this year. "I love mixed martial arts," the 30-year-old Baruto told a press conference in Tokyo. "I want to be the strongest fighter in the world." A former nightclub bouncer known for his quirky sense of humor, Baruto lost his ozeki rank at the end of 2012 after injury problems and retired from sumo in September 2013. He has been training since then and says he has shed 25 kilograms. "I'm in good shape," he grinned.

Well, he couldn't do any worse than former yokozuna Akebono who was a total failure in his foray into MMA. I hear he's now doing pro wrestling which, given sumo's history of yaocho, is something he's probably more comfortable doing.

Baruto used to be a bouncer in his native Estonia, so I suspect he's had people swing at him before.

Fukuoka, last basho of the year, Yoshikaze still up to his old tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NY1N6Iug80

Day 2 and we only have one undefeated yokozuna. Not surprisingly, it's good old what's-his-name:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxtWLzQztV4&list=PL556B0EVMUL0qid9OlQ34tj6M0enZFqrm&index=15

Day 8, Hakuho alone at the top but a bit of a scare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUV0l_0ufYY&index=52&list=PL556B0EVMUL0qid9OlQ34tj6M0enZFqrm

Day 13 and now we have ourselves a tournament:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sG-ZuWKr-I&list=PL556B0EVMUL0qid9OlQ34tj6M0enZFqrm&index=70

What has surprised me is how much everybody else, and by everybody else I mean the ozekis and the other yokozuna, have sucked. They all have at least five losses.

As the cliche goes, Harumafuji controls his own destiny now:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCQ0wFJSN6A&list=PL556B0EVMUL0qid9OlQ34tj6M0enZFqrm&index=79

Last two matches of the basho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0kLp066GjQ&index=84&list=PL556B0EVMUL0qid9OlQ34tj6M0enZFqrm

Yes, there is a New Year's basho. Here's the leaderboard of the guys that have a chance of winning after day 8 (although I expect reality to set in for those four rank and filers at 6-2 next week):

Y1w Hakuho 8 - 0
O2e Kotoshogiku 8 - 0
Y1e Harumafuji 7 - 1
M6w Okinoumi 7 - 1
M8w Takayasu 7 - 1
Y2e Kakuryu 6 - 2
M7e Toyonoshima 6 - 2
M13e Takekaze 6 - 2
M13w Takanoiwa 6 - 2
M14w Toyohibiki 6 - 2

Looks like business as usual. Hakuho undefeated and Harumafuji lost to a rank and filer on day 2. Which means if Harumafuji is going to win it he's either going to need some help or have to beat Hakuho twice.

I don't want to jinx anybody, but I think the last time a Japanese wrestler was alone at the top this late in a basho, Gerald Ford was president: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8fbn1YaKGg&list=PL556B0EVMUL143xvVdXV5ie9y6smZQF3_&index=56

Don't count your chickens before they cross the road, but it's looking very good:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk1ZaHT4zNs&index=60&list=PL556B0EVMUL143xvVdXV5ie9y6smZQF3_

gaijinmark wrote:

Don't count your chickens before they cross the road

But it looks like Kotoshogiku may have. Only highlights for day 13, the Kotoshokigu match starts at about 7:30:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbmy85YLTY&list=PL556B0EVMUL143xvVdXV5ie9y6smZQF3_&index=63