Jungyo Newsreel – Day 24

Herouth Jungyo (巡業)
Today’s yumi-tori performer: Shohoryu

🌐 Location: Machida, Tokyo

Two more events to report! This one is back in Tokyo, in Machida city, and although not a whopper like the Yokohama event was, we certainly have a lot of material today, so, you know: kids, dog, coffee, and let’s go!

Rikishi begin to pour into the venue.

I imagine, this being Tokyo, that they didn’t sleep in hotels last night, but rather in their own heya or homes. Nevertheless, they need to arrive at the venue, and the Ozeki and above do it in style:

Yokozuna in the house:

Let’s take a tour around the walls. Kyokushuho is not wasting time – he does both flexibility and resistance training together:

When have you last seen Shohozan looking this happy?

Two days from now, and I’m back home with my wife!

The truth is, he and a group of other rikishi were interacting with a camera crew from Abema TV. And when I say “interacting”, I mean Abi was doing… this…

Because it’s always important to look your best when you’re on camera.

It’s not a Jungyo day without somebody attacking somebody else’s nipples. Who can it be this time?

Of course, it isn’t Tamawashi, because Tamawashi is rather bigger. It’s –

Terutsuyoshi. Figures. Well, if Tamawashi is now Chichiwashi, I hereby re-baptize Terutsuyoshi as Teruchikubi (“bright nipples”).

Maybe the prowling Teruchikubi is the reason why Tomokaze and Wakamotoharu decide to do this:

Better safe than sorry!

But hey, I’m not complaining.

Hokutofuji is doing intensive suri-ashi:

Ryuden is lifting his tsukebito:

Kakuryu finds another lucky yobidashi to give a massage to:

Though it seems that Kohei, the yobidashi, is not entirely in a world of bliss:

I imagine that getting pinched by a Yokozuna can send you to a hospital if he’s not careful.

Speaking of Kakuryu, it seems he passed the baton of the silly towel exercises to Sadanoumi:

Still by the walls, there is a lot of team work (or lack of work) going on. Here are the Kinki University trio:

I can’t see what Asanoyama is doing, but assuming it’s his stretching exercise, he is certainly doing more than his sempai, Tokushoryu and Takarafuji.

Over at the Mongolian corner, the mood is noticiably more cheerful:

Azumaryu, Sokokurai and Arawashi

Arawashi proceeds to do some rubber-tube workout with Chiyoshoma. Which is a good opportunity for me to wonder again why people think they are identical:

It’s not that they are different like Enho and Akiseyama, but come on. Different brow shape. Different hairline. Different eye shape. Chiyoshoma’s lips are thick, Arawashi’s are thin. Even their ears are different. The jawline is also different, though it’s hard to see from this photo.

Getting closer to the dohyo, here is Ichinojo doing what he thinks are push-ups:

By the way, the man is back to 227kg – his record high. I guess the diet thing didn’t work out.

Hakuho is working out his neck:

By the way, it seems that some of the high-ranking rikishi are wearing spiffy new training mawashi. Kakuryu above seems to have a clean and tidy mawashi, and Hakuho seems to have changed to a mawashi with a red tegata:

Also clean and sharply creased. Did you know the creasing is done with a beer bottle? It seems everything in the Sumo world is done with a beer bottle. Goeido, behind him, also seems to be wearing a new mawashi.

Speaking of Hakuho, today he deigned to give advice to Asanoyama:

Takanofuji (formerly Takayoshitoshi) walks along the dohyo, when Tamawashi innocently stretches his leg and trips him:

Typically, it’s Takanofuji who has to apologize to Tamawashi for being tripped.

And here is team Kasugano:

Tochiozan is looking especially bright today.

Aoiyama goes on-dohyo, and at some point Daishoho comes from behind and…

Oh, I am just pulling your leg. Aoiyama merely asked Daishoho to retie his knot for him.

Wedgie time!

Let’s get to some on-dohyo exercise. First, Ichinojo lends his chest to one of the low-ranking rikishi to complete the moshi-ai. Tamawashi finds this amusing:

Myogiryu vs. Ryuden:

Shodai vs. Goeido. Want to guess how this one ends?

Why, with a dame-oshi.

Takayasu goes against Tochinoshin. These two have exercise bouts that are worth the price of a honbasho ticket, let alone a jungyo ticket:

In video:

This completes the exercise part of the day. Everybody hits the showers, or does other tasks. Hakuho, on his way out, does some fansa:

Somewhere in the back, hiding behind a bush, Shohoryu is practicing with the bow. It’s his turn to do the yumi-tori shiki today:

Inside, the Jinku team sings. I found out the name of the rikishi who sings with a folding fan is his hand. Still not sure why he does this, as he doesn’t look – or sound – like a newbie. His shikona is Motokiyama, from Tamanoi beya:

At the end of the Jinku performance, the last song is a farewell, and the last part of it expresses regret at having to part from the local community and the possibility of never coming there again. At this point all the Jinku singers pretend to cry. One of them even got a prop!

Another activity at this early stage of the day (apart from the shokkiri, which I have been skipping recently, because it does get repetitive) is the hair-styling demonstration. It’s Tokushoryu’s turn today:

And I thought only

Today we start the bouts at a very early stage, with Dewanojo going vs. Tochiseiryu:

The hefty Dewanojo falls straight onto Fukunosato, a wakamonogashira (it’s a low-ranking coaching position, with no voting rights, at the NSK). That must have been some fall. He then… pats the man on the forehead and gets back on the dohyo. Everybody bursts out laughing.

That man’s troubles ain’t over.

The next bout is Akinoyama vs. Kainishiki. Kainishiki is from Tomozuna beya, and the tweet here implies that he got a directive from Tomozuna oyakata. What directive?

Tomozuna oyakata was having a blast. He was also LOLing at poor Yobidashi Yuji, who is, how shall we put it, tone deaf and frog-voiced?

“Don’t you have another round to do?” asks the laughing oyakata and looks up the roster sheet.

We have the local boy, Shiba, who is actually from Machida city, vs. Shonannoumi. That’s upper Makushita already, and, what do you think happens?

Fukunosato literally means “Lucky Town”. I… wouldn’t call him very lucky. And if two of these falls have been arranged in advance by Tomozuna oyakata, then his skills at arranging Yaocho are frankly a little disturbing.

Time for the Juryo dohyo-iri. Gagamaru is always happy to interact with the audience:

On the other side, it’s Wakamotoharu who is interacting:

Hi Aminishiki!

Switch over to shimekomi, and here we have a rare photo of Aminishiki. The photographer says it’s rare because he looks directly at the camera. But of course, with Aminishiki, you can never tell.

By the way, hasn’t Aminishiki’s right leg brace reached worrying proportions?

Let’s pause a short while and introduce you to the coach of the Machida City Quidditch Team, testing the equipment:

I knew I should have ordered Nimbuses for the chasers.

Alternatively, this is tate-yobidashi Takuro. In the same way that there are tate-gyoji, there is also a tate-yobidashi. He is the top ranked yobidashi. That, apparently, doesn’t stop him from getting up on the dohyo and sweeping it in person.

Back to the Juryo bouts, and we have Tsurugisho apparently beating Wakatakakage:

On the sidelines, it looks like Chiyomaru caught up with Enho and is expressing his opinion at the way Enho has beaten him the previous day:

Enho then proceeds to the dohyo, and pretty much does to Kotoyuki what he did to Chiyomaru the day before:

Chiyomaru himself faces Shimanoumi:

Shimanoumi didn’t win two consecutive Juryo championship just because of his beautiful eyes.

Enho has done his sumo for the day, so he heads for the shower, and who is waiting to capture the pixie in his towel glory?

Not the female fans. Well, not just the female fans. Gagamaru, apparently, is also interested in some pixie beauty:

Time for the Makuuchi dohyo-iri, and a proof that Man and Ape have common origins:

Grooming is an important social activity among the Homo Sumotorius

Just before Yokozuna dohyo-iri, Kakuryu keeps up his tactile mood from the morning:

Shodai threatens: “Keep it up, and I’m going kyujo tomorrow!”

Up and wearing shimekomi, and Ryuden and Yago show a lot of interest in a nondescript bottle holding the door open:

The label on this bottle says “Ecchieki” – エッチ液 – which translates, let’s say, as “Liquid sex”.

I guess that’s something like Liquid Schwartz.

(What the bottle actually contains is an etching solution – the “ecchi” in this case stands for “etching” rather than “H for Hentai”).

In the bout between Toyonoshima and Tomokaze, there seems to be a wardrobe malfunction:

But the next bout I have in full: Yoshikaze vs. Meisei

Abi is about to give Onosho the power-water. Onosho is keeping his eyes on him at all times, preempting any opportunity to put salt in the ladle:

At the same time, Ichinojo and Shodai play a short game of destroy-the-balance. This is a game in which you stand, and are only allowed to touch your opponent’s hands, and only with your own hands. The aim is to destroy his balance – whoever moves a foot loses.

I have the san-yaku bouts. First, Takakeisho vs. Tamawashi:

Tochinoshin vs. Goeido:

And Kakuryu vs. Takayasu:

And so the day at Machida city ends. One last day down at Ibaraki, and we have honbasho ahead!

Oh, I’m pin-up boy again

3 thoughts on “Jungyo Newsreel – Day 24”

  1. Thank you for the great recap Herouth. Teruchikubi eh? I’m always amazed at the things I learn from Tachiai.
    Also that pic of Ichinojo has way too much information! 😄

    Reply

  2. I felt like I was there, with a very entertaining and informative companion. Thanks again, Herouth. But I’m having a difficult time scrubbing that image of Ichinojo’s backside from my mind.

    Reply

  3. That Tamawashi is a trouble maker, for sure.

    And I do wish folks wouldn’t use high resolution cameras when photographing riskishi from behind!

    Reply

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