Through the magic of the internet, we bring you a brief clip courtesy of NHK of the actual ceremony where the sumo elders delivered the good news that Takakeisho had been promoted to Ozeki. Rather than deliver any kind of yojijukugo acceptance phrase, Takakeisho stuck to literal Japanese to express is commitment to sumo, to his new rank, and his stable. As per Herouth’s translation:
- “Not to shame the title of Ozeki”
- “Respect the spirit of Bushido”
- “Always remember to be thankful and considerate”
While not compact, pithy and represented by 4 lovely characters, I do like the intent of his words. I hope he reigns well and long as an Ozeki, and extracts a never ending stream of white stars from everyone around him.
Folks are already wondering if he is on track for some kind of Yokozuna billet, and I will just say that these discussions are extremely premature. While I truly enjoy Takakeisho’s sumo, and I think the whole tadpole concept is interesting, he need to greatly diversify his sumo to be able to be a dominant Ozeki, let alone consider advancement.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I am keen to see what he comes up with. I think Takakeisho would very much like to try for higher rank, and he may find ways to surprise us.
Premature or not, the new Ozeki himself, in his press conference, said he was now aiming for “the next banzuke [position]”. I am sure he didn’t mean he was going to aiming to move from O2E to O1E.
Furthermore, he said: “I have been told that oshi-zumo is not good enough for Makunouchi, then for san-yaku. I fight with the few weapons I have”. So no intent to diversify there.
Right you are – but if his ambition is there, and he cannot find a way to accomplish it with the weapons he has, then I think he will invent some new ones. That is what I am looking forward to. I am content to watch and see what happens.
He could diversify without trying to develop a belt-wrestling strategy, he just needs to have a plan B. In some bouts it looked as though he was at least thinking about getting some kind of arm hold going which might be a way to counter an opponent fishing for the belt. His centre of gravity would make it difficult to turn that hold into a throw (as a long-armed oshi guy like Tamawashi does) but it might be an effective deterrent:
I think he will probably have stronger belt work in time, but I don’t think he’s wrong to focus on his strengths for now. I think Takekeisho is a pioneer in how far Oshi-Zumo can be taken, as a specialist, and I’m excited to see where it goes.
Is he, because of his build and stature, capable of significant diversification? Doesn’t seem so to me. Would appreciate input from those better informed.
All I can say is…nicely done, Takakeisho! And thanks for posting the video, Bruce! Watching this kid make his way up the ranks has been super exciting and bloody enjoyable! Okay, maybe he has a one-dimensional, Oshi-zumo style — you can’t deny that it has been VERY effective for him up to this point — but he’s still young and I’m hoping to that he can add-on to his repertoire. Yokozuna — Boom or Bust? Hmmmm…
Newbie question! What do you mean by white stars?
White and black stars refer to wins and losses.
congratulations Prince Tadpole now your journey begins to King Tadpole :-)
it’s been a wonderful ride so far! very excited for you.
I wish him the best of luck and great success. As pointed out by others he is aware of his shortcomings and he himself knows that his current Sumo might be enough for ozeki and even a yusho once in a while but the highest rank requires more than that. It will be interesting to see how he does in the next couple of years.