Video version of our November banzuke podcast – segment 2 today – a round up of pre-basho sumo news, and our always regrettable predictions.
Video version of our November banzuke podcast – segment 2 today – a round up of pre-basho sumo news, and our always regrettable predictions.
Just to be clear: the NSK’s COVID policy is set up and reevaluated every two weeks. They are not allowing anything “quietly”. Shodai’s excursion to Kumamoto, just like Terunofuji’s similar excursion to Tottori, was part of an official relaxation of the rules following senshuraku. People were allowed to go out (Kotoeko and his tsukebito went out to get yakiniku), people were allowed to go on promotional tours, etc., and that’s also probably when Kakuryu went to say goodbye the old Izutsu beya building which is now being demolished. And it was also a time to recruit, and we saw Isegahama oyakata with some newlings who will join the heya in 2021. And also in the most recent “off” stretch, journalists were allowed into heya.
But now everything is shut again. This time Shibatayama made the details very clear – no going out, not even to a restaurant in the neigborhood. Shopping for essentials and going to the laundry is allowed but you have to keep a log of where you went and when.
And interviews are back to the telephone/zoom option.
Gokushindo’s new shikona is his real name – Fukushima. Funny that you should forget that. 😆
About Asanoyama not showing up for the combo geiko – if he didn’t register, he couldn’t come. You had to register in advance for those and get PCR tests, twice. The only one who showed up in the middle was Takayasu, and he was registered in advance, just couldn’t make it to the first half (yusho, you say…)
Also, the makushita rikishi were not there just to give towels and watch the others. They practiced as well. It just got less camera time.
It’s really hard to predict the yusho this time. I look at san-yaku, and can’t see anybody who is well enough, other than Takanosho, and I don’t know if he has that drive.