＜部屋継承＞
— 日本相撲協会公式 (@sumokyokai) January 30, 2020
１月３０日、理事会で年寄 振分（元小結高見盛、本名 加藤精彦）が年寄 東関を継承・襲名し、東関部屋を継承することを承認しました。（写真は、記者の質問に答える東関親方）#sumo #相撲 pic.twitter.com/zvu9vM7MQk
Azumazeki beya has been in a state of limbo since the sudden passing of its leader, the former Ushiomaru, in December of last year. Takamisakari stepped into the role on an interim basis which has now become official. At the time he was a coach in the stable under the name Furiwake. Now he is Azumazeki-oyakata.
Furiwake oyakata, former Robocop, will take over Azumazeki beya, which has been without a heya master since the untimely death of Azumazeki oyakata.
— ヘルット (@SumoFollower) January 29, 2020
(I'm sure Akebono will be relieved)https://t.co/XZdNmzoijY
Hopefully they can hook Kakuryu up with the Izutsu kabu and they can bring that stable out of limbo too.
It would be an excellent idea, but as far as I know he hasn’t applied for Japanese nationality. He is also married to a Mongolian woman, which might be significant. I would think that he’s more likely to use his status and fortune to make a difference back home. He always struck me as a smart guy so wouldn’t be surprised if he made a impact in business or politics.
I heard a rumor saying that he expressed a wish to apply for it sometime last year. The Widow of Izutsu also hinted at “someone reviving the heya soon” in her notification of the heya’s closure. There is nobody else to revive the heya if they take only the kabu and have nothing to do with its tradition, so I took that to mean that she was expecting Kakuryu to do something about it.
The wife issue mostly affects the period of time it takes for it to go through. Sokokurai has a wife back in Inner Mongolia, and his application took about two years to go through.
In the past Kakuryu said he was not going back to Mongolia but will join a family member over in America to help with his business. This may have been before he was married, though. If he doesn’t stay in the sumo world, it will be a great loss, because he seems to be a gifted teacher. Looks like anybody having connection with him makes great strides – Abi, Irodori, Kiribayama, Shodai, Gokushindo, Shohoryu…
The best result for all involved, I guess. He’s had time to ease into the role during the former Azumazeki’s medical absence prior to his death.
I was looking at this post and was wondering why Azumazeki-oyakata looks so familiar.
I then realised that I recently saw him on an episode of TV Tokyo – Shuppatsu! Localsen Kikikomi-Hakken-Tab. He appeared in the 109th episode of the show.
https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/localsen2/109.html