Natsu Basho 2019

Coverage of the May 2019 tournament

Satoyama’s Upcoming Danpatsushiki

Josh K Natsu Basho 2019, Oyakata, Retirement, Sumo Tourism , ,
Satoyama / Sanoyama and Josh at Natsu 2019
Satoyama meets Tachiai, likes the t-shirt

Small man sumo is very much in vogue at the moment, with rikishi like Enho and Terutsuyoshi capturing the imagination of fans. But sumo has a rich history of smaller rikishi and one of the more notable names of recent times, Satoyama, recently retired at the end of the Kyushu basho in November. He then became Sanoyama oyakata, having borrowed his kabu from Chiyootori. He spent much of his sekitori career in juryo – where I personally especially enjoyed his matches with Asahisho (even if he didn’t always come out on top).

He is one of two new oyakata in the Onoe stable, a stable I recently had the chance to visit for morning keiko – an exercise which I will detail further in a future post on the site.

Visitors to recent basho since Satoyama’s retirement have seen the friendly former rikishi staffing the NSK’s official merch booth at Kokugikan and the other venues. Usually, he is one of three or four oyakata working the booth and interacting with fans, along with his stablemate and fellow new coach Hidenoyama, the former Tenkaiho.

I said hello to Satoyama/Sanoyama during the recent Natsu basho, and told him I had seen keiko recently at his stable (he was not present that day), and that it was a cool experience. He inquired about my Tachiai t-shirt, and when I told him it was an English sumo website, he handed me a flier in the hope that I would share some news with you all. Here is that flier:

Satoyama Danpatsushiki Flier
Satoyama’s Danpatsushiki takes place on September 28

Satoyama/Sanoyama has been spending most of his time during the basho interacting with fans and working hard to advertise his forthcoming danpatsushiki, where his hair will be cut and his retirement process will be complete.

As a former top division rikishi, this event will take place at Kokugikan on September 28. The day will consist of Makuuchi and Juryo matches as well as, of course, the ceremonial cutting of Satoyama’s top-knot.

If you buy tickets direct from the NSK, the ticket prices are as follows:

  • ¥2000 for Arena C seats
  • ¥4000 for Arena B seats
  • ¥8000 for Arena A seats
  • ¥36000 for Masu (box) C seats
  • ¥42000 for Masu (box) B seats
  • ¥46000 for Masu (box) A seats

Bear in mind of course that the boxes seat four people (and comfortably seat two people).

In addition to Satoyama’s sake sponsor, the flier also includes an outline of Amami Island in the Oshima district of Kagoshima prefecture, from where Satoyama hails. I wasn’t familiar with it before discovering the island through this flier, but it does look like a very lovely place. Having recently visited Okinawa for the first time, I’m intrigued that there’s quite a bit of content on youtube (such as this video) playing Amami up as an alternative, desirable Japanese island destination.

Our friends over at buysumotickets.com are currently selling tickets for this event. Tickets will come with a markup over the face value prices, but I have found this to be an acceptable price to pay in exchange for the ease of securing good tickets. Additionally, the event has an official website at satoyama.basho-sumo.jp, where an order form has been set up in Japanese (along with additional event details).

If you have plans to attend the Aki basho and will be extending your stay in Japan (or are a local), this event could be a good opportunity to not only see sumo but enjoy a unique milestone in the career of a former popular sekitori!

Kenshokin Increase In September

Andy Natsu Basho 2019

This morning sumo wrestling’s governing body, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai (日本相撲協会), announced an increase in the price of sponsorship banners. Under the old scheme, banners cost 62,000 yen each (US$565.75). Now, they will cost 70,000 yen (US$638.82). The amount of money awarded on the dohyo remains unchanged at 30,000 yen per envelope. However, the amount reserved for the wrestler’s retirement, etc, is increased from 26,700 yen to the same 30,000 yen per banner. The NSK fee also increased from 5,300 to 10,000 yen.

When I saw the headline, I had wished Mitakeumi’s fat stacks would be getting fatter. Instead, they’re charging sponsors like Dr. Takasu a bit more and the winning wrestlers will see a bit more off the dohyo.

John Gunning On The President’s Natsu Visit

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Noted Sumo media icon John Gunning has authored another excellent piece for the Japan Times, reviewing the visit by US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Kokugikan during the final day of the Natsu basho.

From his article

Trump isn’t the first head of state to watch a sumo tournament, nor the first president to hand over a trophy in the ring, but the excessive security presence, and over-the-top restrictions put in place on the day, were illustrative both of the outsized importance of his office and the extreme emotions the man himself generates.

Any visit to sumo by a member of the Imperial family necessitates increased security, but nothing approaching the level of controls and checks at the Kokugikan last Sunday had ever been implemented.

Much has been made of the fact that sumo fans were those most negatively affected by the president’s presence.

As well as a reduction in the amount of available regular tickets, the number of same-day unreserved seats was cut in half, with the result that only those who had started queuing by 10 p.m. the night before were able to get in.

For fans that did attend, there were a number of differences too.

Cans and plastic bottles were banned, while any liquids in soft containers had to be sampled in front of security to prove that they weren’t dangerous substances.

Fans had to walk through metal detectors and have their bags searched on the way in, all the while being watched by the police and members of the U.S. Secret Service.

Facilities and services normally available at the venue were also curtailed or severely restricted.

One thing that John touches on briefly in his article is the monstrous logistic problems the President’s visit created. Specifically the heightened security protocol forced people to wait in an unthinkably long queue in hot and humid conditions while their bags were checked and they passed through a metal detector. Most Japanese folks can take summer weather, but the fans at the Kokugikan do tend to skew towards the elderly side of life, and it’s never good to put the older crowd in the heat. Some specifics (culled from our live blog):

Here is a photo of the security line, stretching from the station, to Edo-Tokyo museum, then back and through the front gates. Crazy!

Another image of the cursed line to get into the Kokugikan. This is especially tough as its a hot and humid day today, and some of the more aged sumo fans might be in dire shape standing in line for hours.

A sumo fan who endured the line illustrates its enormity below

I get that a presidential visit requires a level of security, but in hind sight it really does seem over the top. Perhaps if President Trump returns to a future Natsu basho, as he has mentioned, they will dial back the security somewhat.

New Juryo for Nagoya

lksumo Natsu Basho 2019
Kotonowaka (formerly known as Kotokamatani)

The promotions from Makushita have been announced, and as predicted, it’s Ms2e Kotokamatani (who is changing his shikona to Kotonowaka upon reaching sekitori status), Ms2w Takanofuji, Ms3e Ichiyamamoto, Ms3w Kizakiumi, and Ms4e Ryuko. With the exception of Takanofuji, these are all Juryo debuts.

Although the corresponding demotions are not announced, we can tell from the records that going from heaven to hell are Chiyonokuni, Hakuyozan, Churanoumi, Irodori, and Seiro. The first two missed the Natsu basho with injuries, while for the latter three, the demotions are an immediate reversal of their promotions after the previous tournament. We’ll see if the latest batch of Juryo newcomers can fare better and stick in the second division.