The banzuke rankings for the upcoming July Grand Sumo Tournament were released Monday and, as usual, the bewildered reaction online was one of the most interesting aspects of the day.
To be fair, the Japan Sumo Association judging department did make some head-scratching decisions this time around. In particular, Tobizaru dropping just one rank after a ten-loss outing in May raised eyebrows, especially when the reverse result (10-5) had seen him climb from maegashira No. 8 to No. 2 just one tournament earlier.
Puzzling selections and placements are intrinsic elements of banzuke creation and without doubt a major part of sumo’s appeal.