Haru 2019 Day Five Recap

With one-third of the Haru Basho down, let's consider where everyone stands in the yusho race, taking stock of each group with the same number of wins.

5 wins

○○○○○ Y1e Hakuho

○○○○○ O1w Goeido

○○○○○ M4w Ichinojo

○○○○○ M8w Kotoshogiku

This is probably not the group anyone would have predicted to be undefeated through 5 matches. Hakuho has looked shaky but has won. Goeido has been like a machine. Ichinojo has been surprisingly fearsome. Kotoshogiku looks five years younger. Odds are none of that will hold the rest of the tournament, but you'd rather be here than elsewhere.

4 wins

●○○○○ Y1w Kakuryu

○○●○○ O1e Takayasu

●○○○○ M5e Chiyotairyu

○○○●○ M7e Aoiyama

○○○●○ M11e Ryuden

○○○○● M15e Ishiura

●○○○○ M15w Kotoeko

This is maybe a weirder group than the undefeated ones. Kakuryu and Takayasu might have been expected to be around this mark, and Aoiyama has been a strong competitor recently. Otherwise it seems like a bunch of surprises, with Ryuden, Ishiura, and Kotoeko's excellent performances standing out especially this basho. Chiyotairyu is probably the most fortunate to be here.

3 wins

○●●○○ O2e Tochinoshin

○○●○● S1e Takakeisho

○●○○● K1e Mitakeumi

○○●○● M5w Onosho

●●○○○ M7w Takarafuji

○○●○● M8e Asanoyama

○●○●○ M13e Tomokaze

○○●○● M16w Yutakayama

○○●●○ M17e Chiyoshoma

The 3 win group is full of rikishi who could really make some noise. Takakeisho and Mitakeumi have looked well on their way to Ozeki-dom at times with Onosho and Asanoyama having some excellent performances. Tomokaze could have taken five days to fully adjust to Makuuchi and be poised to excel over the next week and a half.

2 wins

○●●●○ S1w Tamawashi

●●○●○ K1w Hokutofuji

●○○●● M2e Daieisho

●○○●● M2w Myogiryu

●●○●○ M10e Shohozan

●○●●○ M10w Yago

●○○●● M11w Meisei

○●○●● M12w Yoshikaze

●○●●○ M13w Kagayaki

○●●○● M14w Toyonoshima

●●○○● M16e Daishoho

The fact that the 2 win huddle has a gap between Maegashira 2 and Maegashira 10 is interesting. The higher ranked rikishi are presumably getting a few easier matches here on out, simply because that's how the schedule works. The wrestlers from the bottom of the banzuke have had up and down tournaments so far, with the prospect of facing some higher rankers in the next few days.

1 win

●●●●○ M1w Endo

○●●●● M4e Tochiozan

●●○●● M6e Okinoumi

●●●○● M6w Abi

●●●○● M9e Sadanoumi

○●●●● M9w Ikioi

●●●○● M14e Terutsuyoshi

If this group gets broken down into two parts, it is probably Tochiozan, Abi, Sadanoumi, and Terutsuyoshi on one side, with Endo, Okinoumi, and Ikioi on the other. The former collection all should be able to get more wins as the basho goes on thanks to athleticism, fighting spirit, and possibility of making adjustments. The latter group seem heavily beaten. Ikioi, in particular, is so injured he is walking with a pronounced limp and grimace, while his left leg is extremely bandaged.

0 wins

●●●●● M1e Kaisei

●●●●● M3e Nishikigi

●●●●● M3w Shodai

––––– M12e Chiyonokuni

The presence of a Maegashira 1 and both Maegashira 3s in the no win camp is an object lesson in how rough the upper Meagashira ranks are. Kaisei hasn't looked terrible, and it would be nice to say the same thing about Nishikigi and Shodai, but it's just not possible.

And well wishes to Chiyonokuni, who is recovering from knee surgery during this basho.