Month: August 2024

Andy’s Trip to Japan 2024: Part III

Andy Ryogoku ,

In past posts, I have given a bit of background to our trip. In Part I, I talked about why now is a good time to go if you are on the fence or have not been before. In Part II, I briefly mentioned different areas of Tokyo with a focus on the Ryogoku area and why the Koto and Sumida areas are good “home base” areas for sumo fans. In this post, I will finally get down to business and start talking about our trip.

The top item on my list has been meeting with Honda Masataka of Ekoin temple. I was scouring through the Kyokai’s financial reports one weekend, as one does, and I noticed a few small property holdings listed among their assets. In particular was an entry for a tiny speck of Tokyo with the title, “Chikarazuke”. When I looked it up, it was a stone monument, like the Ozeki and Yokozuna stones. Except this monument is right down the street at a little temple called, Ekoin.

The Ryogoku Pilgrimage

Closed Kokugikan

For those sumo fans making their pilgrimage to Ryogoku, the arena at Kokugikan will likely be top of your agenda. It’s Sumo HQ, where all of the Tokyo-based tournaments take place, home to the Sumo Kyokai’s museum and gift shop, Sumo School and the community clinic, and it also hosts many amateur tournaments and non-basho events, like the retirement ceremonies of top wrestlers.

However, it’s not always open.

So, what else is in the area? There are a number of heya, the closest of which is Nakamura-beya which is basically a block over from the McDonalds. Speaking of Maccas, my son and I learned that there actually is a sumo-worthy reason to go to a McDonalds in Japan: macarons. They’re not exactly Pierre Hermes – which you can find in the Mitsukoshi Department Store – but still tasty and much less expensive. 190 yen each! There’s also the Chanko Kirishima and Ami offers up Isegahama-style chanko.

The spot that I would like to highlight and to get onto every fans’ list of Ryogoku sites to visit is the Ekoin Temple. This location is significant because the sumo that we know today evolved from sumo competitions held here at the Temple. As I mentioned above, it is home to the Chikarazuka. This Sumopedia episode from the NHK briefly mentions it and its importance to the history of sumo.

Getting There

Finding it is easy. If you come out of the main gate at JR’s Ryogoku station, Kokugikan is on the right. But most of the restaurants, hotels and business-happenings in Ryogoku are to the left. Cross under the railroad tracks and the road that runs in front of Kokugikan basically dead-ends at the Temple. Given the large buildings around it, though, the Temple entrance might seem a bit “non-descript.”

While I like walking around at night, I came back during the day.

Once you walk through the front gate, there’s a rather lengthy driveway which takes you to the main building. As you approach the building, pay special attention to the monument on your left. That was a gift from the Sumo Kyokai and is referred to as the Chikara-dzuka, or stone/mound of power (力塚). Rikishi go there to pray for strength.

Also on the left, a bit further in are stone memorials, those for individuals (including a Yokozuna or two), as well as larger monuments to past disasters. Historically, when a disaster struck Japan the government would send remains of the victims to be interred here. That practice ended after World War II and the effort to separate church from state. So, there is no memorial marker here for the earthquake this year, the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the Kobe earthquake, etc.

History and Significance

You see, this temple was established after the great Meireki fire of 1657. Remains were sent here and the temple workers would tally and inter the dead. The total number of dead from that disaster is up to 100,000 people. Afterwards, the site hosted kanshin sumo events. These were very popular and became a regular thing and sumo tournaments were hosted here in temporary structures, built for the tournament. (Doesn’t that sound like the process of re-construction we know and love today?) In 1909, they moved into a fixed structure, “the Old Kokugikan” here.

The temple has many Ukiyo-e prints of the time, like the one on the NHK video. You will notice the popularity of the events. The folks at Ekoin would count the streams of people coming over the adjacent bridge to watch the sumo and gage its popularity, and how much they need to prepare. As you can see from these pictures, the events hosted many people, some people even being hoisted onto their friends’ shoulders to watch the action.

The bridge in the background is the famous Ryogoku bridge. That has been featured in many ukiyo-e artworks of the Edo and Meiji eras. For fans of ukiyo-e, it is worth noting that the Hokusai museum is just down the road and a few streets over is Hokusai-dori. Apparently, he was a product of Sumida-ku. One wonders if he was one of these massive throngs of people. Or if, like so many of us today, he struggled to find tickets to get in!

Just inside the building there is a foyer or genkan with a great dragon emblazoned on the ceiling, very similar to this one, featured on Tokiwayama-beya fabric from a few years ago. You’ll notice what looks like wooden lattice-work on the ceiling. Go stand in the middle of the room, under the dragon’s head, and clap. The echo will intensify and reverberate creating this wild effect where it sounds like many people clapping. Your friends, standing a few feet away will not hear the echos. Only those in the center will hear it.

Beyond this entryway is the room where services are held. There’s a lot of ornate decorations and an amazing statue of buddha and what looks like a framed mizuhikimaku over on the left. When I asked, “This is beautiful, may I take a picture?” Our host replied, “if I don’t know what you’re doing, I won’t know.” He then left the room and returned a few minutes later. (I shyly took one quick photo.)

Mizuhikimaku (水引幕)

I mentioned that the room had what looked like a framed mizuhikimaku. “Mizuhikimaku” are curtains that separate our world from the sacred world. Different colors have different meaning. White or black signify death. Other colors indicate other meanings, like celebration.

You are familiar with a purple one, emblazoned with the crest of the Sumo Kyokai (Association), that hangs above the dohyo during honbasho. There is a similar one for the Sumo Renmei (Federation) and this picture of Ekoin temple. The purple indicates the presence of something pure and sacred inside the curtain.

If you want to see the one for the Sumo Renmei, see below. This is from Kokugikan when they were hosting a middle school championship. The mizuhikimaku for those events is this cool claw-looking symbol for the Renmei. To be honest, it is probably barely discernable in that tiny picture, though. But next time you see a sumo event, check the curtain for which crest is on it. If it’s a sakura, that’s the Kyokai.

As you leave the temple, walk to your right and go behind the building next door with the Seven Eleven. Underneath the dozens of parked bicycles, you will notice a metal circle. That is the location of the old dohyo. When there is new construction in the area, like this apartment building, the construction teams often find remnants of the old venue.

I will sprinkle future posts with more pictures that I took, as well as of the ukiyo-e which were provided to us by the good folks at Ekoin.

Jūshoku

A word about the head of the temple, Honda Masataka. He is a very warm, engaging, knowledgeable guy, and particularly eager to discuss the history of the temple and its relationship to sumo. I encourage everyone to check out the temple. For those of you who speak Japanese there is a bit more outreach available. He is hosting events there open to the public for 500 or 1000-en.

My Japanese language skills are far from proficient so my wife was my translator. I must say she was thrilled to learn more about the history and significance of a place so close to her home. She’d been a bit nervous going to the interview. After we arrived, she was briefly freaked out when the assistant said she would return with “Jūshoku,” but he put her at ease very quickly.

Closing

In sum, I think sumo fans would like to add Ekoin Temple as an attraction on their pilgrimages to Ryogoku. They also have this amazing gallery online. Those of you who are amateur sumo enthusiasts — or even just fat bloggers with shirts that are a size or two too small — may want to pray for strength at the Chikarazuka. Strolling around the grounds is very peaceful and there is a lot of very interesting things to see. There is a decent amount of signage and materials in English. Leave comments if you have any questions.

Aki 2024 Banzuke Review

lksumo Aki Basho 2022

The Aki banzuke has been released, so we can ask a couple of questions. How did my prediction do? What was the banzuke committee drinking?

San’yaku

This played out exactly as predicted. Terunofuji has now made it 3 straight years as the sole East Yokozuna. East Ozeki Kotozakura (10-5) and West Ozeki Hoshoryu (9-4-2) maintain their ranks. All five incumbents at Sekiwake and Komusubi finished with winning records, and they will be joined by demoted Ozeki Takakeisho, so we’ll have four Sekiwake and two Komusubi. And as predicted, S1e Abi (8-7) and S1w Onosato did not switch sides, and neither did K1e Daieisho (8-7) and K1w Hiradoumi (10-5).

M1-M12

Here’s what I wrote in the prediction post: “This part of the banzuke should be fairly predictable. Based on the usual rank-record math and precedence of East over West, there is a clear rank order, with only a handful of ties.” Turns out that I was correct for M1-M4 and M8-M12, but the banzuke committee made some unorthodox choices in between. I had the correct tiebreakers for Oho vs. Mitakeumi, Wakamotoharu vs. Shodai, Endo vs. Midorifuji, Ichiyamamoto vs. Oshoma, Roga vs. Sadanoumi, and Bushozan vs. Kinbozan. What I did not see coming was Ura getting a minimal half-rank demotion from M4w to M5e after a 6-9 record. In a similar vein, M1e Meisei only dropped 5 ranks after his 4-11, and M3w Gonoyama fell 3 ranks after going 5-10. As a consequence, M14e Wakatakakage (11-4) ended up two full ranks lower than predicted, and M12w Churanoumi (10-5) also got less of a promotion.

M13-M17

I at least had the humility to write: “I have little confidence in the order here, and there is even some uncertainty in who’ll be ranked here as opposed to in Juryo.” And still some of the decisions left me picking up my jaw off the floor. I did correctly pick the three Juryo promotions—J1w Onokatsu (9-6), J8e Shirokuma (12-3), and J3e Kitanowaka (8-7)—and even place Kitanowaka at his actual landing spot of M16w, but that’s about all I got right. The biggest head-scratcher is the committee leaving M13e Hokutofuji and M17e Nishikifuji at their prior ranks despite their 6-9 records. Yup, that’s not a typo. I can’t think of another instance when a top-division rikishi got to keep rank with 9 losses, except for the 2011 scandal banzuke when a number of wrestlers were forcibly retired. And it’s very rare for the lowest man in the division to stick around even with a 7-8, much less a 6-9. It’s not like they didn’t have options: either M15e Chiyoshoma (5-5-5) or my pick, M5e Onosho (0-4-11), would have been a more palatable choice to occupy M17e, as would J10e Shishi (11-4) or J6w Tamashoho (9-6). I am completely at a loss to explain this decision.

In all, I placed 29 of 42 rikishi at the correct rank and record. I missed Takarafuji’s placement by half a rank, several others by 1 to 1.5 ranks, Wakatakakage by two full ranks, and Shirokuma by 2.5 (that one, at least, is on me). It’s not clear if this banzuke is a one-off oddity, or whether some of the long-held rules of banzuke construction need to be rethought going forward.

Andy’s Trip to Japan 2024: Part II

Andy Japanese Culture

Tokyo is a massive, sprawling city and certainly not the only one in Japan. Kyoto, Osaka, and numerous other spots will vie for your attention. On this trip, though, we were basically in and around Tokyo. Within Tokyo, there are numerous sites to see and therefore many possible places to stay. So, I just wanted to take a brief moment to describe where we were and why we were there.

The Neighborhood

Before picking a hotel, when going to Tokyo and you’re looking for a place to stay, pick a neighborhood or a train station first that will basically serve as a convenient base of operations. Depending on how long your trip is, you might move from spot to spot.

For us, we stay in Kameido which works as a nice base for a sumo fan. It’s two stops from Ryogoku and (for me) walking distance to Sky Tree and Oshiage. It’s also well known for its Wisteria, particularly at the Kameido Tenjin shrine. There’s also a shop that’s famous for gyoza. Importantly for us, though, it’s where my wife grew up and where my mother-in-law lives.

We found a great little hotel that cost roughly $1000/week for two (small) adjoining rooms for our family of four. Importantly, two adjoining rooms meant two bathrooms. They also had a great free breakfast buffet from 6:30-9. (Not the usual pancakes, sausage, and eggs.) My wife ate onsen tamago for almost 15 days straight. Anyway, it worked really well to get us up and out of bed early in the morning before temperatures got super hot. Even my teenaged son would get up by 8:30am. And it’s not often you can reliably find good, proper fish to eat.

Our big plans for the trip included:

  • Visiting with family – mostly Kameido but also Disney
  • Visiting with friends – multiple sites
  • Ekōin visit – Ryogoku
  • Watching a Jungyo event – Tachikawa
  • Walking to sumo stables – multiple sites, clustered around Ryogoku
  • Shohozan’s yakiniku – Funabashi

That said, if you are a sumo fan and you are going to be at a tournament in January, May, or September, you will be at Ryogoku on those days. But the city is your oyster.

Ku: Ward/City

If sumo is your prime or only reason to go to Tokyo, a good base of operations would be there in Sumida or Northern Koto Ward. A quick note about Ward vs City. The wards (区ku) in Tokyo and many other Japanese cities are rather large cities in and of themselves, so you will hear Sumida City interchangeably with Sumida Ward, for example.

The 23 special wards in Tokyo have a degree of autonomy in governing and thus their “city” status actually means something. But when translating, or describing stuff for folks new to Japan, it can be confusing and a bit irrelevant. So, I tend to use “ward” because it’s called a -ku and it’s a subcomponent of Tokyo, which we in the West think of as a “city.”  But when you’re researching places to stay and things to see, don’t be surprised if you see “Sumida City” or other such cities.

(“But…” Don’t. Stop right there. You’re going to go on about how Tokyo has these extra wards and is a prefecture-level entity of itself, as a -to, is run by a governor, so it makes sense that the entities below it are cities. Just stop. Don’t. If it’s -ku, it’s “ward.” Case closed. For now.)

Sumida Ward runs along the eastern side of the Sumida River, right across from the famous sights in Asakusa, and down to Ryogoku. Just past Ryogoku you get into Koto ward. There are a number of sumo stables in the Koto and Sumida Wards, many of them major stables with top wrestlers and sizeable foreign fanbases. As of my writing, twenty of the forty-four active stables are spread out in Koto and Sumida wards.

I am working on this interactive map of sumo stables to help fans know where to go. Some of these can be a bit tricky to find. They’re often regular buildings, just like any other, with the nameplate being the most distinguishing feature, tipping you off that there are sumo wrestlers around.

Many other options

That said, there are many other sights in the Tokyo area and I am sure many of you have other interests. The Imperial Palace and the central districts by Marunouchi and Tokyo station are amazing places to see. My son loves trains and can spend hours watching the various trains and shinkansen running out of Tokyo station.

I ran an informal little poll a few days ago to learn what options other people use when staying in Tokyo. Asakusa was right there at the top. That area is across the river from Sky Tree/Oshiage so fairly close to Ryogoku, for sumo fans. On that side of the river, Hoshoryu fans will be happy that Tatsunami beya is just a bit north of Sensoji. Nishiiwa-beya is a bit to the south, near the Kuramae area. Otowayama and Naruto are also just across the river.

Another popular response was Shinjuku which is a very central business district, home to the infamous Kabukicho. Justin pointed out Kanda, which along with Nihonbashi, are great locations in central Tokyo. Flying into Haneda also featured among responses and neighborhoods convenient to there, include Shinagawa, my old haunt of Shibakoen, Hamamatsucho, etc.

There’s Roppongi, Azabu, Shibuya (hopefully that Tower Records is still there), Ueno…and even more in Tokyo itself. Outside of Tokyo, I still enjoy the Minato Mirai area of Yokohama and like to spend time down there and in neighboring Chinatown. We’ll sometimes spend a night or two down there but home base is Koto Ward in Tokyo. Each of these places are worthy of day trips but for us, home is there between Ryogoku and Kameido.

Aki 2024 Banzuke Crystal Ball

lksumo Aki Basho 2022

Right after the Nagoya basho, I took a preliminary look at how the July results are likely to reshuffle the rankings chart for September. Now, it’s time for my full banzuke prediction. Here’s the guess; scroll down to read my analysis.

San’yaku

There is little suspense in the named ranks. Terunofuji will make it 3 straight years as the sole East Yokozuna. East Ozeki Kotozakura (10-5) and West Ozeki Hoshoryu (9-4-2) both posted winning records, the former got one more win, and so they will maintain their ranks for Aki. All five incumbents at Sekiwake and Komusubi finished with winning records, and they will be joined by demoted Ozeki Takakeisho, so we’ll have four Sekiwake and two Komusubi. The only question is whether S1e Abi (8-7) and S1w Onosato and/or K1e Daieisho (8-7) and K1w Hiradoumi (10-5) will switch sides based on the West-side rikishi getting more wins. In recent years, such switches have required a greater disparity in performance than seen here, so I’ve opted to keep everyone in place.

M1-M12

This part of the banzuke should be fairly predictable. Based on the usual rank-record math and precedence of East over West, there is a clear rank order, with only a handful of ties that I’ve opted to break as follows:

  • Oho vs. Mitakeumi: Oho gets M2w so 7-8 Mitakeumi can receive a minimal demotion.
  • Wakamotoharu vs. Shodai: WMH gets M3w by virtue of his higher rank and tough schedule.
  • Ura vs. Churanoumi: same as above.
  • Endo vs. Midorifuji: similar ranks and fight cards, so 10-win Endo gets M8e over 8-win Midorifuji.
  • Ichiyamamoto vs. Oshoma: more wins for Ichiyamamoto, and Oshoma receives a minimal demotion.
  • Roga vs. Sadanoumi: more wins for Roga, and Sadanoumi still gets a lenient demotion.
  • Bushozan vs. Kinbozan: same as above.

M13-M17

I have little confidence in the order here, and there is even some uncertainty in who’ll be ranked here as opposed to in Juryo. We have only two clear promotions in J1w Onokatsu (9-6) and Juryo champion J8e Shirokuma (12-3), but six incumbents deserve a trip to the second division. Injury victim M12e Asanoyama (3-2-10) and M17e Nishikifuji (6-9) will be demoted for certain. Next in line is M15e Chiyoshoma (5-5-5). I’ve swapped him with J3e Kitanowaka, whose 8-7 record doesn’t really warrant promotion, so the banzuke committee could conceivably opt to save the incumbent. Then, we come to another injury victim, M5e Onosho (0-4-11). All seven winless M5 rikishi this century ended up in Juryo, but who is there to bring up? It would have to be either J10e Shishi (11-4) or J6w Tamashoho (9-6), each of whom would have needed two more wins for a proper promotion claim. I think Onosho will be fortunate enough to survive, though it wouldn’t be a shock to see him in Juryo. As for the other two men facing potential demotion, the lack of promotion candidates should keep M13w Takarafuji (5-10) and M3e Takayasu (0-2-13) safely in the top division. I’ve cobbled together the order above based on a combination of historical research and vibes, but given that three rikishi are coming up from Juryo, the incumbents have terrible records, and four of the nine don’t even deserve to be in the top division based on July, pretty much anything could happen here.