Sumo: The March Basho

The March Basho has come to a close. I thought it would be uneventful and boring, and it was for the first ten days. There were no Yokozunas or Ozekis entered. Those are the two highest ranks in Sumo, and both of them were out with injuries.

After ten days, the leader was the smallest wrestler in the upper division: Midorifuji. He was undefeated at 10-0 after winning his match each of the first ten days. 

That's Midorifuji on the left winning the Technique Prize at an earlier basho. He is listed at 5-7, but that seems a myth. Daieisho, who we'll talk about later, is in the center. He won that basho. Terunofuji, the injured Yokozuna, is on the right.

Midorifuji had beaten lower-ranked Sumo, and I expected him to lose against the upper division wrestlers. While many were looking for a Midorifuji yusho basho, this was my comment at the time of his tenth-straight win:

"How does Midorifuji do against Wakamotoharu, Kotonowaka, Kiribayama, Hoshoryu and Wakatakakage? I think Daieisho, Kotonowaka, and the winner of Kiribayama/Golden Boy are still in it."

As it turned out, Midorifuji lost his next five matches, putting him out of the race. 

It came down to a final day battle between Daieisho and Kiribayama (who had beaten Golden Boy Hoshoryu). Kiribayama won the match, which tied their records, setting up a playoff between them.

The playoff followed the same script with Daieisho attempting a flying shove at the edge of the dohyo, but Kiribayama again nimbly side-stepped him, allowing Daieisho to crash to the ground first.

It was interesting because the judges called for a replay--with the Emperor's Cup riding on the outcome. The replay showed Daiesho's hand touching down first with Kiribayama's foot stepping on it!

You can see that we have hands and a foot outside of the dohyo (ring). Daieisho's hand touches out first, and Kiribayama steps on it. This is amazing!

And so, a Sumo tournament that had little excitement going for it ended up being one of the most exciting in years.

I believe that Daieisho has more heart and courage and "Fighting Spirit" than any other rikishi, but I'm also happy that Kiribayama won because he is an expert technician.

It was also a battle between Mongolian (Kiribayama) and Japanese (Daieisho) rikishi, which is apparently something that a few Mongolians and Japanese care about, but I only see two fantastic men giving everything they've got to win.

Here is the entire broadcast of the 15th and last day of the basho (go to 27:45 for the first battle between the eventual champion and the runner-up):

Hakkeyoi!