The 2007 Haru basho was a roller coaster.  It started ugly and then righted itself, only to crash into more ugliness on senshuraku, soon to be accompanied by frustration and confusion.  The ozeki quintet got it going on shonichi when three of them bit the clay, including ozeki Hakuho – the only one thought to have a chance of taking the Emperor’s Cup from yokozuna Asashoryu.  So it was already a bad day but then the yokozuna himself made it abysmal by getting himself turned around against shin-komusubi Tokitenku, and ingloriously shoved face first onto the dohyo by okuri-taoshi.  The next day he lost the tachiai to M3 Miyabiyama and then got into a swinging, slinging slugfest resembling his loss to Chiyotaikai on day 14 of last year’s Aki basho.  The result was the same, as Miyabiyama’s thrusts were more focused and controlled, winning over the gyoji’s gumbai in a you-pick’em finish with both men flying off the dohyo.

So the yokozuna entered day 3 with a kyujo story undoubtedly prepared should he fall for a third time.  It wasn’t needed as he plowed through M4 Futeno as if he wasn’t even there, walking him back and out in just seconds.  From there on he looked like the man in charge.  The yusho hunt then became very compelling on day 8 when kadoban ozeki Tochiazuma took his first loss against fellow ozeki Kotooshu, meaning that Asashoryu now controlled his own yusho destiny.  Hakuho had himself avoided further losses and was tied with Tochiazuma for the lead at 7-1, with Asashoryu and sekiwake Kotomitsuki just behind at 6-2. 

It was during – and following – this nakabi action that ugliness filtered back. After drubbing and slamming young M1 Kisenosato down, the yokozuna delivered a knee to his victim’s ribs well after the match was decided, this while the youngster was sprawled facedown.  Although some rank-and-file oyakata reportedly voiced dismay and a call for corrective action, Kitanoumi Rijicho announced the blow had occurred in the “course of the bout.”  This was echoed by Kisenosato himself, after some ‘counseling’ by his oyakata.  Kokonoe oyakata said something about this kind of action being what drives Asashoryu, but that he didn’t feel good about it and that it “wasn’t pretty.” After his match with Kisenosato, while watching the Kokkai-Iwakiyama replay on TV, Asashoryu quipped to some on-lookers that the gyoji had blown the call in that match, and also said that Tochiazuma had crumbled to the pressure of his seven-bout winning streak – while that would not have happened to him.  In all, it was a very un-yokozuna-like day at the office for him, despite his win.

From here, few expected Tochiazuma and Kotomitsuki to stay in the yusho hunt – and they didn’t.  For Tochiazuma, there were health issues, including serious doubt whether he would even enter Haru due to his battered left knee.  After securing his kachi-koshi on day 10 and thereby avoiding demotion, he withdrew on day 12 with his eight wins.  A few days later came the shocking news that he had suffered a possible stroke at some unknown prior time.  Right now it’s not known if he can even continue his career.  In the case of Kotomitsuki, it was just because he was, well, Kotomitsuki.  By the end of day 12, he had gone down to Asashoryu for an astounding 25th consecutive time, and also to Hakuho – and was out of the running. 

Since Hakuho was not the highest ranking ozeki (that being Chiyotaikai), he and the yokozuna met on day 14 instead of senshuraku.  As in their prior critical matchups, Hakuho still appeared to be wearing his nerves on his mawashi, as he sat for over five minutes seated by the dohyo with eyes closed until he had to get up for his match, neither returning nor avoiding Asahoryu’s glare from the opposite side.  Despite this, he controlled the tachiai and swiftly marched the yokozuna backwards to the edge.  Alas, his tachiai – though fast and strong – was too high, and Asashoryu was able to slip to the side and escape with a hikiotoshi win, leaving both with a 12-2 record and setting up a potential record-setting kettei-sen on senshuraku, since no rikishi in modern sumo history had ever won the yusho after starting with two losses. 

But a kettei-sen required that either both men had to win, or both had to lose on senshuraku.  After Hakuho took care of business by slinging down Kotooshu, all Asashoryu had to do was to vanquish the struggling 7-7 Chiyotaikai, who also was fighting a case of the hives.  But surprise!  Instead of out-grappling the battered ozeki, the yokozuna jumped to the side at the tachiai and let Chiyotaikai fall forward and down mostly by himself.  Not that the audience expected the match to last much longer than that anyway, but they still gasped their disappointment.     

But even while expectorating their dismay, they knew they would still get their kettei-sen.  Well, not exactly.  As almost everyone now recalls, Hakuho delivered some ‘poetic justice’ to the yokozuna by executing a nearly perfect tachiai henka of his own – nearly perfect because Asashoryu almost recovered from it, but one hand did hit the clay and that was enough.  The match and the basho were over.  Hakuho had his 2nd yusho and the viewing audience, both in person and otherwise, had been treated to roughly a total of three seconds of action in the day’s final two yusho-deciding matches.  To cap off the unsightly climax – as Asashoryu tumbled forward, Hakuho grimaced and grinned and hulked in triumph as if he had just prevailed in a prolonged Herculean struggle, while Asashoryu later vented that he was saddened by Hakuho’s henka, and that he felt as if he himself had won the yusho.  He then said he wanted to congratulate himself! 

So much for the ugliness.  As for the frustration, the most telling case came from Kitanoumi Rijicho in his post-basho comments about the performance of Kisenosato, who had just responded to his demotion from komusubi by slumping further to 6-9.  The Rijicho said, “We now have promising young hopefuls like Toyonoshima, Homasho and Tochiozan all doing so well.  His presence has faded away so suddenly. It's hard to remember he is around at all.”  Notably absent from this comparison was sumo’s next sekiwake, Ama, who is younger than two of those four men and who entered makuuchi with Kisenosato and one basho after Toyonoshima, but just happens to hail from outside the country.  Of course we all have every right to be frustrated at the foundering of yet another Japanese hopeful, but it’s the first time I’ve seen the frustration encapsulated so neatly.  Or possibly, Ama must make ozeki before securing ‘hopeful’ status…

The confusion aspect of the post-basho events is actually understandable.  Regarding Hakuho’s upcoming tsunatori basho, the Rijicho said that his record would have to be better (than Haru’s) in order to be promoted, which suggests that anything short of 14 wins with no yusho would be insufficient.  Conversely, the new chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, Katsuji Ebisawa, said that they would like to see Hakuho recommended with as few as 12 wins, as long as he was still in the yusho hunt on senshuraku.  If these two standards sound unworkably distant, remember that the YDC felt hugely disrespected when Hakuho’s name was not even put before them following last year’s Nagoya basho, after having posted 27 wins with a yusho in two basho.  They desperately want to be seen as relevant again, as they haven’t been involved in a tsunatori decision in four years – in the meantime having been relegated to casting zingers to the media regarding Asashoryu’s perceived transgressions.  This might be fun to watch in the coming months and years. 

Chiyotaikai’s fall-down to Asashoryu on senshuraku means he is headed to his 10th kadoban in the Natsu basho, once again pulling him even with Kaio for the all-time record.  For his part, Kaio again avoided adding to his own kadoban total by winning four of his final five matches, one-upping his January performance when he had to take three of his last five, to post 8-7 marks both times.  As for Kotooshu, he secured his kachi-koshi on Day 14 against Chiyotaikai, so there was no particular pressure on him when he faced Hakuho on senshuraku.  One question people have been asking lately about Kotooshu seems to have been answered in Haru, though.  After appearing with no wrapping on his right knee for some time now, a light one reappeared on day 12, followed by a heavier one on the last three days.  Since there was no report of a new injury, it appears the old one hasn’t healed.  If he doesn’t give it at least one basho off, he may be ready to join the kadoban circuit himself.

Kotomitsuki’s obligatory hot start finally got him 10 wins this time and now there is some jabber about the beginning of an ozeki run.  That is just confounding, considering that he is now a ripe 31-year-old who has won with double digits just twice in over two years; and somehow now it’s hoped that he can actually improve on this 10-win performance for at least two more basho, with some new young turks nipping at his heels to also contend with.  Sorry, but I’ll watch this bandwagon pass by.

He’ll be joined at sekiwake by Ama, now with added weight that has made him more stable, and probably made the difference in winning the nage contest with Toyonoshima on day 12.  He did just eke out his 8-7, but he’s a tough matchup for everyone now.  His tachiai is crisp and his canny follow-up creates many advantageous positions for him to work from. 

The other two sanyaku in Haru will have to work their way back to where they were.  Shin-sekiwake Kotoshogiku might finally get his shot at komusubi.  He bypassed the rank by being promoted directly from M1 but had to win out on the last six days just to post 7-8, probably preserving another sanyaku showing in May.  He was overwhelmed and intimidated by his sanyaku peers and I don’t see that changing; he hasn’t shown that he is perennial sanyaku or ozeki material.  Shin-komusubi Tokitenku nearly pulled off a kachi-koshi but fell to Homasho on senshuraku to score 7-8.  Although he advanced to sanyaku by becoming more aggressive, I feel that many times his first option is still something clever or cunning, and that he should continue his re-programming; otherwise he may have topped out.

The komusubi lineup for Natsu is hard to determine right now.  You’d think that Homasho’s 11-4 showing at M5 would make him a lock, and that would leave the other spot to either Kotoshogiku or the continuing surprise of last basho and this one – M1 Toyonoshima, who squeezed out an 8-7 kachi-koshi on senshuraku.  Most observers probably thought Toyonoshima’s 12-3 bolt at M9 in Hatsu was a fluke and so expected him to get skewered this time, but his 3-5 showing against the sanyaku boys with two ozeki scalps showed he is capable for some major impact. Moreover, his wins had a legitimate feel to them, showing that he can win against quality opponents even without his signature morozashi grip.  Of course, it’s always possible that they could open up a third komusubi spot, but it’s unlikely.

Homasho is now – in my book – the frontrunner to be the next ozeki.  He and Toyonoshima are two examples of rikishi whose added weight in recent basho have given them the feeling of security they needed to become more combative.  They don’t wait around during the torikumi now, and move to take charge of their matches.  Homasho though is bigger with more leverage, and is more technically skilled.  In addition, he has as much lower body stability as anyone in sumo today.  His efforts in Haru earned him the Gino-sho (Technique) prize.

Excepting the shenanigans of the yusho contenders, the real show-stealer for the Haru basho was the shin-nyu-maku M14 Tochiozan.  Although hailed as a coming star, no one expected him to enter day 13 tied with the yokozuna and just one loss behind the yusho leader.  He was often thoroughly dominating, and though he did fade at the end after being matched up with some upper-rankers, along the way he schooled some grizzled makuuchi vets on sumo fundamentals like keeping hips low, pushing forward and the like.  There were no tricks by this slightly undersized 20-year-old who entered sumo just two years ago, and his 11-4 finish earned him the Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit) prize.  If he can pull off a kachi-koshi at the mid-maegashira ranks in May, he and Homasho could re-vitalize the Japanese fan base.  

M7 Kokkai and M8 Tamanoshima were both 10-5, although neither were impressive.  Kokkai has lost about 13 or so kilos in an effort to become quicker.  That he has done, but he still looks off-balance when thrusting and I can’t tell that he’s any more stable.  Tamanoshima will be overmatched at whatever higher rank he’s at in May.  He’s had ample opportunity to show he can become somebody, and now nearing 30, he’s definitely a ‘never-was’ instead of a has-been.  Some say that M16 Wakanosato’s 11-4 showing wasn’t surprising, considering that the ex-sekiwake doesn’t ‘belong’ down there.  My take was that he was lucky to get kachi-koshi, in that he has little of his old power and won many of his matches either backing or sliding away from his opponents.  He probably won’t be able to match up to his stronger adversaries in May and will go back down the banzuke.   

The other kachi-koshi rikishi were M9 Aminishiki, M11 Kakuryu and M15 Shimotori – all at 9-6.  The 8-7 crowd included M6 Kakizoe, M10 Tokitsuumi and M15 Tochinohana.  The most striking thing about this group was that Kakuryu showed more willingness to move forward, as opposed to sideways.  It worked for the most part, although he paid dearly for it when matched against those much bigger than him.  He’s on the right track though.
The big loser on the dohyo was M4 Futeno, who did splendid pre-basho keiko but started at 1-6 and then won only two other matches to record 3-12.  Is this the beginning of a crackerjack elevator career?  He was ‘followed’ closely by the M2 boys, Kyokutenho and Asasekiryu, along with M10 Kasuganishiki at 4-11.  At 5-10 there were M3 Kasugao, M11 Iwakiyama, M12 Yoshikaze and M13 Hakurozan.  With Kisenosato at 6-9 were M12 Ushiomaru and Tosanoumi; while Kotoshogiku and Tokitenku were joined at 7-8 by M4 Takekaze, M6 Takamisakari, M7 Roho, M8 Dejima and M9 Tochinonada.  Iwakiyama’s neck injury is now a serious issue, and he’ll struggle to stay in the top division until it improves. Roho is another mega-disappointment.  He has little de-ashi and can’t defend against those that do.  His brother Hakurozan may have seen the last of makuuchi, as his injured knee is not improved in the least.  After five basho, if it was going to get better, it probably already would have.  Since he’s going down to juryo anyway, he may as well take a basho off for rehabilitation (I doubt if he’s listening…).    

Along with Tochiazuma, there were three others who didn’t complete the basho.  M13 Baruto didn’t compete at all, recovering from his ACL knee injury.  Miyabiyama was 4-3 after seven days but withdrew on day 8 with a thigh injury, while M16 Jumonji went out on day 13 with a shoulder injury, recording 4-9-2. 

While the immediate future of Hakuho is probably foremost in the minds of most that now look to the Natsu basho, one may also wonder about Asashoryu.  I’ve been one of his defenders – even on the left-handed kensho wrangle – but now I feel he’s regressed on several fronts.  The deportment issues of the past appear to be back, and recently his cock-sure confidence on the dohyo has morphed into near impudence on occasion, as seen by the ugly incident with Kisenosato.  That, and other things such as the unsolicited public discrediting of a gyoji and a peer, along with the ignominious henka win against an injured and struggling 7-7 ozeki – followed by another knock on the one who had simply repaid his own henka – all fuse to paint a new kind of yokozuna – one who feels no constraints or sense of role.  In addition, his sumo is now more vulnerable in that at times – when he doesn’t take control of a match – he seems more intent on mauling and pummeling his opponents, as opposed to finding a way to defeat them.  I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when Miyabiyama would out-focus the yokozuna but he did on day 2.  This, by the way, is my Upset of the Basho because it confirmed how easily Asashoryu is distracted these days.  Yes, his strength and natural ability will still prevail most often but if this trend continues, his struggles will mount as foes seek to divert his attention from simply winning the match. 

Whatever one’s opinion about a yokozuna’s image or duty, he IS the public face of sumo, and as such, Asashoryu is changing what sumo looks like.  That’s something not even Taiho accomplished, and sumo’s powers that be are going along with him.  One thing to contemplate is – will some of tomorrow’s top rikishi emulate his conduct, as happened with boxing after Cassius Clay burst out in the 1960s?  If they did follow and were also condoned – as Asashoryu is now – sumo would probably never look the same again.  Since sumo has no analogy in sports anywhere in the world, it’s then fair to ask the question:  “If you change it, will they still come?”  I don’t pretend to know the answer but I will show up for Natsu, so see you then.




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