Aki 2018 Jungyo – Day 8 (Oct 10)

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🌐 Location: Kofu, Yamanashi
🚫 Scandal level: 0

nobori

It’s Ryuden day! Take a look at these nobori. There is one “Kisenosato”, and all the rest are a colorful array of “Ryuden”.

Why?

Because Ryuden comes from Kofu, Yamanashi. A rikishi from the same prefecture is enough reason to celebrate. But one from the same town? And a Makuuchi wrestler at that? Let the Ryuden-fest begin!

To ease you in, let’s start with some other people in the hand-shake phase. Here is Nishikigi, who doesn’t want Teraoumi to get any of the spotlight:

nishikigi-hides-teraoumi

Teraoumi maintains his cool, and reminds Nishikigi that he is two months his sempai!

teraoumi-hides-nishikigi

(Yeah, that conversation actually took place)

Abi was goofing around. When does Abi not goof around? First he got Nishikigi’s glasses:

abi-with-nishikigi-glasses

Then he said they give him a headache. Then he got Teraoumi’s glasses:

abi-with-teraoumi-glasses

…and said he can’t see anything. And then he asked Shodai for his secret drink:

But gagged upon smelling it. Shodai told him to take a mouthful. Abi declared it tastes like sewage. Which brings up the question: how does Abi know what sewage tastes like?

In short, Abi and Nishikigi were being pests:

(But hey, at least no nipples got crushed).

Shodai, still with that drink in hand, was stopped inside the main hall for a photo. Now, if you look at Twitter photos of sekitori with fans, you may notice that they are almost never selfies. That’s another job of one’s loyal tsukebito, in this case, Asakura:

Kototsurugi, who apparently travels with the Jungyo, got Ryuden to sign one of his likenesses:

kototsurugi-gets-ryuden-autograph

Now, let’s get closer to the dohyo. And get a couple of lessons in etiquette. First, here is Yokozuna Kakuryu. First, he bows to the oyakata. Only then he stands and start accepting bows from the other sekitori:

But of course, then comes the anti-etiquette part. Tamawashi just sticks around and starts having a conversation with Terutsuyoshi, and everybody else needs to go around him to greet the Yokozuna. How rude!

Here is Endo going to greet Yokozuna Kisenosato. Then he notices someone else and bows to him, too. Who is it?

It’s Jokoryu, his university sempai.

And note also Onosho going to hand a ladle to Kisenosato. Alas, Kisenosato rejects the offering, as he is busy dancing.

On the dohyo, Ryuden gave butsukari to Shobushi. Shobushi is also a local Yamanashi boy:

So the spectators got two locals for the price of one! Other sessions on the dohyo:

Kotoeko vs. Gokushindo in moshi-ai:

Aminishiki vs. Yago:

Takarafuji vs. Kagayaki. Oops.

Meisei vs. Onosho:

Climaxing at Tochinoshin vs. Ryuden:

But of course, for a local boy, you can’t do without a lengthy kawaigari (butsukari) from a Yokozuna. Kakuryu doing the honors:

Note that part when Kakuryu signals to the spectators to applaud.

This session over, Ryuden looked like this:

Keiko over, everybody wants to shower. Actually, it’s Japan. Not just shower – ofuro (bath). And for a bath you need to go to a sento or an onsen. There is a shuttle service:

The sekitori get out of their training mawashi. Here is Goeido’s, hanging out to dry:

goeido-mawashi

Quick reminder: mawashi are never washed.

The fans love capturing Yokozuna as they come back from the bath. Here is your Kakuryu:

It’s a real hinkaku challenge, this thing. Here is Kisenosato, who is famous for coming back from the bath with his hair in a bun, which looks like a one-eared Mickey-Mouse:

In the meantime, the show goes on inside the building. The local boy, Shobushi, performs the Shokkiri, and is then called in for an interview with a local TV station:

shobushi-interviewed-after-shokkiri

There is also a drum demonstration, performed by Yobidashi Shigeo, of Kokonoe beya:

yobidashi-shigeo

Note the cool T-shirt, featuring Chiyonofuji brushing his teeth. Yeah, Shigeo has been with Kokonoe for quite a while.

Here is (a part of) the performance itself:

Time for dohyo-iri. And… you guessed it. Tamawashi is at it again:

tamawashi-abuses-shodai

Shodai gets a free dental examination. Only, the only rikishi who has an actual dentistry license is Tochinoshin. Definitely not Tamawashi.

Then the sekitori’s bouts start. Guess which one I have for you?

There’s a glimpse of Meisei-Chiyoshoma in there, but you only get to see Endo vs. Ryuden there. Endo is a good actor. He has never ever beaten a local boy, though, ain’t than funny?

This was actually Endo’s second bout of the day, as he was also pulled in to replace Daishomaru, who had some sudden health issue. Daishomaru joined two other absentees from the torikumi – Shohozan and Hakuho. Yes, this is the day Hakuho practically started his kyujo, although he still did the fansa. He did not participate in keiko nor do a dohyo-iri, according to eye witnesses. Here he is on his way back home (or rather, to the next location) at the end of the day:

hakuho-barely-walking
Not the happiest expression on Hakuho’s face

And so, everybody went home. But Ryuden was still accompanied by a TV crew till the last possible moment:

ryuden-interviewed-on-way-home

Sorry, no Tobizaru nor Enho for you today. I hope your big helping of Ryuden softens the blow.

 

19 thoughts on “Aki 2018 Jungyo – Day 8 (Oct 10)”

  1. maybe tamawashi acting up is not so naughty
    w/ hakuho out, he may be preparing the powers that be that he can go for the yusho

    great and fun coverage
    many thanks

    Reply

  2. … the focus being, tamawashi looks very ready (and overdue?)
    from day 1, then all the more so

    with hakuho out, wouldn’t you love to see tamawashi win this basho?

    Reply

    • Why Tamawashi? He has been slowly losing power, and had a huge make-koshi last basho. Hakuho is not the only one who has beaten him – it seems everybody did, and their wives too. It’s not as if we’re seeing great and wonderful things from him this Jungyo. We don’t even see practice bouts he participates in. So why a yusho all of a sudden?

      Reply

      • Yes but etc. Tamawashi did totally annihilate Kisenosato in about two seconds on Aki day 8 And he’s done the same thing to Takayasu more than once. He has no fear and no deference and if Hakuho is absent he has a chance. “Kevin Keegan voice” I would luv it if he won!

        Reply

  4. Tamawashi is going to be 34 years old in a few days. It’s soon or never for him to get a championship.

    Reply

  6. OK, I can’t pick up on sarcasm or anything like that to save my life, (konnichiwa, Asperger’s,) so I have to ask: does Tochinoshin actually have a dental license? O.o (Given that Harumafuji had passed the Mongolian test to be a cop, I’m told, it doesn’t sound that unbelievable.)

    Reply

    • He does, but it’s a Georgian license. He can’t practice in Japan. It’s a bit odd, as in my country you have to be an M.D. to be a dentist. I guess in Georgia you don’t.

      Reply

    • That happens a lot in practice sessions. It doesn’t risk the rikishi’s modesty, though. the front part of the mawashi actually held by two loops of the mawashi belt. one on its way up and one on its way down. So it’s pretty safe. The sekitori just roll the long tail of it and stuff one corner of the resulting roll into their mawashi, and that corner tends to get loose.

      As you see, first wrap holds it once. then the rikishi folds it down and gets another wrap around it.

      At this point it’s safe. For non-sekitori, and sekitori wearing their fighting mawashi, this tail is as short as you see in the drawing. It is then folded and tucked up in a third wrap. But sekitori in their training mawashi have this flap a lot longer, and they roll it and stuff one corner of the gathered roll into their tied mawashi. This corner has a tendency to come out and drop the way you saw.

      Reply

    • Those are actually a source of pride. And they are not worn just in Jungyo – they are worn for practice, every day.

      Rikishi ranked makushita and below wear black cotton mawashi both for practice and for matches. The only difference is that in matches they add sagari.

      But sekitori wear white cotton mawashi for practice, and silk mawashi (shimekomi) for matches. The mawashi are not dyed, and are generally a lot lighter when new. But as mawashi (of any kind) are never washed, they get pretty dirty with time.

      Amateurs also wear white cotton mawashi, but they don’t fold it at the front in a TP-roll shape like sekitori do.

      So that mawashi is basically a status symbol.

      Reply

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