Jungyo (巡業)

Winter News Update #2

Andy Jungyo (巡業), Sumo Topics ,

The Winter Tour started Sunday in Isahaya, Nagasaki, the orange point in the map above. Isahaya is famous for its oysters, mikan oranges, picturesque Megane-bashi, and fruit-shaped bus shelters. It’s the first stop of a 22-leg tour, stretching from Nagasaki back to the Tokyo region. It also gets to be the location of Aonishiki’s first bout as Ozeki, introduced here fighting against Oho. I love seeing a good amount of kensho banners on these tours.

For those who are new to sumo, these tours are generally one-day promotional exhibition “tournaments”. The bouts are a bit less lively than what was seen in London. Face it, no one’s going to go all out But they’re a great way for the Sumo Association and the wrestlers to get out to local communities and connect with fans who otherwise would not be able to enjoy a tournament. For a bit more detail about Jungyo based on my experience last year in Tachihi, click here.

The program for today’s show is above, from the Sumo Association’s Twitter account. But for a quick rundown, the day starts at 9am with keiko (or practice). The lower rankers warm up first, with the top division wrestlers later. Keep in mind this is not the entire crew. This is not all 500-600 wrestlers. We have the top division wrestlers, a few from Juryo, and their tsukebito. There are lower division bouts and then a few events that we don’t see during regular tournaments, such as the jinku singing, the hair-dressing demonstration, the Yokozuna belt-tying demonstration, the shokkiri comedy routine, and the taiko drumming. Looks like there was a good crowd for the show today.

This all leads up to the main event: the terrorising of local children. It is said those with the healthiest lungs will go on to be the most successful in life. No, they don’t say that. I’m making that up. But wow, this kid has some pipes. And Tamawashi has the patience of a 40-year-old father. The sekitori dohyo-iri is followed by the Yokozuna dohyo-iri and then the top division bouts, closing with the bow ceremony. Then the guys do a mad dash for the tour bus so they can head to the next venue.

Frankly, these tours are also great ways for me to learn more about Japan and add to a growing list of places that I want to visit. I will probably not be able to chronicle each and every stop this winter but I hope to show a few more.

Winter 2025 News Update #1

Andy Jungyo (巡業), Sumo Topics , , ,

Andy and the family return home, fat and happy from Thanksgiving with the relatives. Our return was timed perfectly so I hope to be able to write a brief post tomorrow about the Winter Tour, which is about to get under way. But before it kicks off there are a couple of items to note.

Ex-Takakeisho to Inherit Heya

Hat tip to Justin for catching this news. The Sumo Association announced that Minatogawa-oyakata will inherit Tokiwayama-beya, effective January 26. The current master will turn 65 at the beginning of March, so the January tournament will be his last as master, before retiring. The heya will be renamed Minatogawa-beya and all of the wrestlers, one of the hair-dressers and one seiwanin will stay with the heya, though other staff will transfer to other stables.

January 26 is the day after Hatsubasho 2026. So, this upcoming tournament will be Takanosho’s last fighting under the Tokiwayama banner. When the Spring tournament comes around in Osaka, he would be fighting in Minatogawa-beya. I presume the heya lodgings will change at some point and the guys will move to another location in the Tokyo area, owned by Takakeisho. The current location (pictured) is in Maenocho, next to the Tokiwadai neighborhood, and close to Tokiwadai station. The kanji for Tokiwadai is 常盤台. I’ll provide an update when I find out more details.

Winter Tour Kyujo List

The Winter Tour is set to kick off on November 30 and will run for 22 straight days at 22 different locations. The path winds around Kyushu and then back toward home in the Tokyo region. It looks like there will be no Okinawa stop this year. Instead, the tour terminates in Saitama on the 21st. That might give the guys time to spend the holidays at home and be ready for action on January 11.

It comes as no surprise that Yokozuna Onosato tops the list of kyujo. He will be absent due to his Day 13 injury against Aonishiki and will be joined in the infirmary by a number of sekitori. This will include Takayasu, Hakuoho, Wakatakakage, Ura, Roga, Meisei, Hitoshi, Kotoeiho and Mita. We hope all of these guys make good use of the time to recouperate and prepare for next year.

October 2025 Sumo News Round-up

Andy Jungyo (巡業), Juryo (十両), Retirement , , ,

“Aki Basho is over and but there are still some note-worthy updates to make.”

That’s how I began this post several weeks ago when I started drafting it. Now it’s nearly Halloween. Time flies and my conceptualized update post needs significant updates. Wrestlers who just got back from London will be packing up and heading to Kyushu. Some are already there in advance doing a bit of PR. The banzuke drops tonight but that’s clearly not the only bit of news from the past few weeks which I need to mention. Leonid mentioned a few of these items in his Kyushu Banzuke Preview post. His full prediction is here. I will be back with the banzuke later but these items needed attention.

Takarabune’s Final Sail

Takarafuji has retired. Since he looks vaguely like my uncle, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for him. Under the storied Isegahama banner, his sumo has always been rather straight-forward yotsu-zumo, fought in an earnest, quiet, and respectful manner. He had never been a big showman on the ring, letting the results speak for themselves. In a video message on the Kyokai’s Twitter account, he thanked his fans for supporting his career over the past sixteen years.

He started his sumo career in 2009 and fought in Juryo rediscovered the sport in 2011, climbing the ranks as I dove back into following the sport. He peaked at the rank of Sekiwake and won kinboshi from Kakuryu, Hakuho, and Kisenosato. Accumulated injuries have certainly taken their toll and he had slipped from Makuuchi into Juryo. Lately he was often overpowered and out maneuvered by his opponents. With a 5-10 record in Tokyo this past September, he was destined to fall out of the paid ranks and into Makushita.

Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed writing about his bouts in a metaphorical sense, as if he were the Takarabune of legend and his bouts were legs of some epic journey. Sadly, that journey has come to an end. Takarafuji will remain with Isegahama as a coach, Kiriyama-oyakata.

Juryo Promotions

Four wrestlers were promoted to Juryo, including two newcomers. Both of the shin-juryo wrestlers have changed their shikona. Welcome Himukamaru (ex-Nagamura) and Fujiryuga (ex-Goshima) to the ranks of the full-timers. Kitanowaka and Wakanosho join them in Juryo.

Check out Justin’s Makushita posts to keep early tabs on some prospects as they rise into the division. It will take a while for guys to make the push through this tough third division. I’m keeping my eye on Noda. He’s been grinding and appears to be getting better. I’m eager to see where he will fall when the new banzuke comes out.

Takakeisho Retirement Ceremony

We had a pair of retirement ceremonies at the start of this break: Takakeisho and Myogiryu. Former Ozeki, Takakeisho, had his haircut first. Whenever we talk about Takakeisho now, the big story is his remarkable physical transformation. I’m looking forward to seeing him grow as a coach and hopefully become a stable master. Enjoy the video highlights of his retirement ceremony.

Myogiryu Retirement Ceremony

Myogiryu had a long, successful career in spite of injury. He joined Sakaigawa-beya and earned a Makushita debut from his university success at Nittaidai but suffered an injury when he earned promotion to Juryo. He fell back into Sandanme but fought back and rose all the way to Sekiwake, claiming six kinboshi over the course of his career — including two off of Hakuho.

London Basho

Our wrestlers went to London for a spectacular five-day tournament. The crew had last been there a few decades ago when Hakkaku was an active Yokozuna fighting as Hokutoumi. Since Covid restrictions are ancient history and sterling is doing quite well against the yen lately, the Sumo Association stands to make a decent haul from its trip and hopefully inspire another generation of sumo fans.

Hoshoryu took the top prize. But in a Grand Sumo stylee, there were special prizes to be had by those who fought well and those who won over the crowd. Hard core sumo lovers are sometimes hard to please with these exhibitions. I mean, let’s face it. The slaps don’t hit as hard in London — or Kanazawa — as they do on shonichi. Nevertheless, there was some great action, summarized in the video above.

It’s probably best that I was not able to attend. I have always wanted to throw a zabuton and would be more likely to do it in London than in Tokyo; I’m not trying to get my butt banned. But I figure London’s prepared for some well-mannered hooliganism. Another possible revenue stream would be to have a booth where punters can throw cushions and have Shodai catch them. I digress. I’m glad the event seems to have done well with the PR and I hope the rumors of a Paris Basho for next year hold true.

Natsu Jungyo 2025 Kicked Off In Osaka

Andy Jungyo (巡業), Sumo Topics

Love it or hate it, the Jungyo tour is back. The topic is a particularly polarizing one for fans, especially so many wrestlers were unable to compete at their former level, or even finish the tournament, due to injury. From Hoshoryu’s early withdrawal through Meisei, Hidenoumi, and on down the banzuke to Enho, we often wonder how these guys can stitch themselves together for a grueling, month-long promotional tour.

After a week of partying and packing, most wrestlers will be arriving back in Tokyo to get down to training for the Aki Tournament in September. Most sekitori and their tsukebito, though, will head off on the tour and meet with fans from more distant regions who come out to support their favorite wrestlers and homegrown talents. It also serves as a way to encourage and feature many young, local amateurs. Sumo wrestlers from local schools often come and some even get to strap on their mawashi and participate.

This summer’s tour began today in Osaka. The route will wind its way up into Hokkaido then back south into the Kanto region with another stop at Tachihi, which Andy saw in-person last year, as well as Shizuoka, Chiba, and Saitama.

Tangent

As with most sumo events, it can be a bit tricky to get tickets. I went through the offical process last year, which required a trip to a 7-Eleven and a local telephone number. For folks who wonder why BuySumoTickets exists, that’s why. I don’t imagine many of you have a steady supply of in-laws living in Japan and a Japanese-speaking spouse to help make these things happen.

When you want to get tickets or join a fan club, they often require a local phone number or address. That’s why Tatsunami-beya’s proposed fan club access for foreigners is perking up a lot of ears. I am eager to see more details. Would they actually send banzuke to foreign addresses? Member-only streams and YouTube content would be nice but I bet many folks want tangible merch direct from the heya. But back to the topic at hand, the summer tour.

/Tangent

As many might already know, Osaka is hosting a World Expo this year. It started in mid-April and runs through mid-October. Holup. Judging by the blank stares, I gather you didn’t know. Well, yes, since we last paid attention to Osaka (back in March) they’ve been hosting a World Expo and today they invited the sumo wrestlers back to kick-off their summer tour.

You will be relieved to learn that a dozen wrestlers are kyujo from this particular tour, Hoshoryu, Daieisho, Meisei, Takerufuji, Tobizaru, Endo, Ura, Chiyoshoma, Hidenoumi, Kayo, Shishi, and Tomokaze. In their place are Hakuozan and Kagayaki. Oh, and by the way, Kazenosuke retired.