This week’s update will be a short one. As I mentioned over on Blue Sky, though the Kyushu tournament is over and Hatsu won’t begin for a few weeks, there is always a lot going on in the Sumo World. I hope that platform will offer another interesting and active forum for fans to enjoy and share sumo-related content, discussion and analysis.
At this point, there aren’t a whole lot of active accounts on there so I created a “Starter Pack” with the goal of featuring strictly sumo-related content. Hopefully, one day there will be an ongoing, sustained conversation there. Currently, we’re on there as @tachiai.bsky.social, so if you provide sumo-related content and are active on the platform, let us know and we’ll get you added to the Starter Pack. We’re also intrigued by the algorithm flexibility and some of the other features.
I do not think traffic will really take off there until the stables and the Sumo Association have accounts there. When they’re producing content for Blue Sky, we’ll see it take off. The big venue still seems to be YouTube, and here’s the Sumo Prime Time wrap-up video for 2024.
End of Winter Jungyo
This year’s winter tour wrapped up in Okinawa in front of a large crowd of more than 10,000 sumo fans. Sumo on the Jumbo-tron! This event featured a makuuchi elimination-style tournament. The final bout featured Hoshoryu taking on Oho to win the Okinawa Basho.
As Leonid mentioned in his Crystal Ball post, the banzuke was released early this past week and as usual, there are several items of note. Tamashoho (Kataonami-beya) was promoted to Makuuchi for the first time. Several wrestlers were re-promoted, including Kinbozan, Hakuoho, Kitanowaka and someone’s favorite bullet-train, Kagayaki. Hakuoho’s return has been eagerly anticipated given his obvious talent.
Konishiki Recovery
News from Tokyo that Konishiki had been hospitalized last month in kidney failure. His wife, Chie, donated her kidney and after a successful operation, Konishiki is in recovery. He has been spending precious time over the holidays with the youngsters at Musashigawa-beya. We hope to see him again at a Sumo+Sushi event in the future.
SumoDB Rollercoaster
Tachiai is forever indebted to the sumo database (sumodb.sumogames.de). At last check, the site was back up. I had reburied some new squid that I buried under my computer is seasoned with salt, sake, and some ground kachi-kuri. Hopefully this one will do the job.
The data that’s there and the interface are such valuable contributions to sumo-fandom. Whether you’re new to sumo and hope to learn more about the active rikishi, or you’re an old hand trying to tweak your GTB methodology, or a wannabe journalist pulling up stats for a retired rikishi, that site is invaluable. Unfortunately, it had been down for quite a bit over the past few weeks. As hours turn into days, many of us begin to fear the worst.
Onosho and Kyokutaisei Retired
As of our last post, Onosho (Onomatsu) and Kyokutaisei (Oshima) announced their retirements.
Onosho’s announcement was sudden as he is only 28 years old, but expected as he had been injured. He was an early rival of Takakeisho and a founding member of Bruce’s “Tadpole” cohort. He rose quickly through the lower divisions and established himself in the top division, peaking at Komusubi. But knee injuries really hampered his ability to stay among the joi-jin and press for higher rank.
He spent much of last year in the upper half of the rank-and-file but his final fall was rather swift. He was ranked Maegashira 5 in Nagoya but destined for Makushita by Christmas, so he decided to retire. He will not stay with the Kyokai but we are eager to see what he plans to do in his second career.
Kyokutaisei had a lengthy stint as sekitori, mostly in Juryo. He briefly did break through the tatami ceiling and rise into the top division, even earning a fighting spirit prize. However, he had spent the last few years in Makushita and was destined to fall back into Sandanme for Hatsu Basho. Ranked at Sandanme 20 to start 2025, Kyokutaisei decided to retire. He will not be staying with the Kyokai, either.
Wrap-up
My apologies for the rather perfunctory write-up. It’s been a crazy week. Next year, I hope Tachiai can host a Bonenkai. Maybe we’ll do it over Zoom or Teams or something so we can all forget the year, wherever we are. We are really excited for 2025 but I have a feeling 2026 will be even better!
A few things of note during Week Two. First, Yokozuna Terunofuji began practicing. He started with some butsukari with Ozeki Kotozakura, and then he did some practice bouts. I am sure the goal is for him to participate in Hatsu basho. Both Kotozakura and Hoshoryu are eyeing potential promotion in January. We have often spoken of the transition era but the last two tournaments have been missing something significant with the absence of Terunofuji. If Terunofuji goes the distance and is a factor in the yusho any outcome will have increased legitimacy, especially compared to when he is on the sidelines.
We also had double debuts for the bow-twirling ceremony. Hananoumi was on duty when the troupe passed through Ako City and Dewataikai performed it at the second event in Takarazuka. Hananoumi is in Nishonoseki-beya with Ozeki Onosato and Dewataikai is in Dewanoumi beya, the same Ichimon with Hoshoryu’s Tatsunami-beya. We’ve got Enho able to perform the ceremony from Isegahama and Kototsubasa on tap from Kotozakura’s Sadogatake-beya. No matter who is fighting in the musubi-no-ichiban, the Kyokai will be able to pair up with an associated yumitorishiki performer.
Day 7 and 8 of the Winter Jungyo took place in the two cities that straddle the Kanmon strait which separates Kyushu from Honshu. Kitakyushu is obviously on the Kyushu side, Shimonoseki is on the Honshu side. Onoe-beya took a pitstop here a few weeks ago on their way to Fukuoka. I was particularly struck by the scenery as okamisan panned the camera to take in the view. The islands within the straits seem to have ferries available for exploring. Just be careful of those massive ships!
The next three Jungyo sites were in Hyogo Prefecture. Hyogo is interesting with Shin-Onsen on its northern coast on the Sea of Japan and then the southern coast on the Seto Sea. You will recognize the characters for Seto (瀬戸) as they are used in shikona. Setoyutaka, for example, is from neighboring Okayama prefecture which also borders the Seto Sea. The sea and neighboring coastal areas are known as the Setouchi region.
Both of our Jungyo sites, Ako city and Takarazuka are in the southern portion of Hyogo near the Seto sea. In 1703, Ako was the site of the “Ako Incident” which was made into several movies, including The Loyal 47 Ronin, another movie starring Keanu Reeves, and another one featuring Morgan Freeman. In the incident, 47 ronin avenge the death of their leader. Blood, guts, glory.
In other news, Ako is also known for salt production. All sumo fans will quickly recognize the significance of salt in our sport. Unfortunately, please note that the site dates from before the pandemic so I am not sure if the salt tour which is mentioned is still operating. There is an Ako Science Museum which has some restored salt fields along the coast.
Moving to the eastern border of Hyogo to Takarazuka, we move into more urban areas around Kobe. Takarazuka is also right next to Itami, known as the Birthplace of sake. There are several sake breweries in the area, including a couple of breweries which date back to the 17th Century.
Osaka
Osaka hosted two Jungyo events, Suita City and Kawachinagano. Unfortunately, I’ll be pretty brief here at the Osaka stops. Needless to say, I need to go to Osaka. From here, they will head to Mie prefecture and then on to the tropical paradise of Okinawa. Josh informed me of a ferry that goes to Okinawa. It would be pretty cool to take a sumo cruise with a boat-load of sumo wrestlers to Okinawa.
While a Taylor Swift tour will hop from massive stadium to massive stadium, these tours go out into the countryside a bit more after the main event has ended. Let’s face it, BTS is not going to be playing the Cat’s Cradle anytime soon. But these tours are focused on fan outreach in local communities. With that in mind, let’s check out the first week of the winter tour, galavanting around the island of Kyushu.
The largest city on the island of Kyushu is Fukuoka, site of the recent tournament. So, rather than pack their akeni for Honshu and bigger venues, our top wrestlers climbed into buses and hit the road for a quick tour of the island to stay close to supporters who could not make it to the sold out basho. The Kyokai has a nice webpage, in English, which describes the general “run of show.” Each event loosely follows a similar format, with practice in the morning followed by entertainment and bouts in the afternoon with the featured wrestlers shifting in each location to focus on hometown heroes. (You can read about my experience at Jungyo this past summer, here.)
While the Japan Sumo Assocation and its wrestlers focus on fans and local outreach, the local communities are often focused on the promoting tourism and festivals or local industries or products. Ever since the tour swung by Ukai during the cormorant fishing festival, I like to dig into these places a bit more. Last year, I discovered the Yatsushiro Myoken festival. There is a lot to see in Japan.
I am taking note of these for my future trips so I hope you all enjoy. Pipe up in the comments if you have been to, or lived in, any of these locations and have recommendations. For those of us who want to learn more about Japan outside of Tokyo and Osaka, these tour itineraries are actually a great place to start your research. Where are they going and why is this location trying to promote itself by hosting a Jungyo stop?
Miyakonojo, Miyazaki
“Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.” As I’ve repeated more times than is really necessary, Kotozakura won a head of cattle when he won the title in Fukuoka. That prize is given at every tournament and is sponsored by the government in Miyazaki to promote local produce, especially its famous wagyu beef. But as I have learned, there is more to Miyazaki than delicious, succulent, tender, marbled beef. (Insert drooling Homer emoji here.)
For the first time in eight years, the tour visited Miyakonojo in Miyazaki. Miyazaki prefecture has a great, English-language, tourism website. On this site, I saw many jaw-droppingly amazing photos, including the stunning Takachiho Gorge toward the center of Kyushu and two sites on the outskirts of Miyakonojo, minutes from the Jungyo venue. Below, are the Nagata Gorge and the Sekinoo Falls.
So, I’m showing these amazing pictures of gorges and rivers and forests to my wife and she’s like, “Oh, I’ve never been there but Miyazaki is kind of known for its beaches. They have, like, mango trees and stuff.” So, here are some more pictures of Aoshima and the Miyazaki Seaside Park.
One item that jumped off the page at me when I saw the Kyokai’s program for the day’s activities was the fact that several of the day’s features, including Terunofuji’s rope tying demonstration, were sponsored by “Kirishima Shuzo.” I was familiar with Kirishima Chanko, not Kirishima liquor. It turns out there is a Kirishima brewery and distillery, complete with a Factory Garden and walking tours, right in the heart of Miyakonojo City.
That brings us to the sumo event, itself. Local Makushita wrestlers Nagamura and Kamitani fought and won their bouts in front of the hometown crowd. Nagamura had won the Sandanme yusho in Osaka earlier this year and fights in Kise-beya. Kamitani also has a Sandanme yusho under his belt and fights in Arashio-beya. Miyazaki also produced recently retired Kotoeko, the new Oguruma oyakata, and he took time to address the crowd and thank them for their support. I should mention that Nobeoka, hometown of Kotoeko and Nagamura, is home to this “Pac-Man Rock” place.
Not every jungyo event has “Question Corner,” but this one did. For Question Corner, three wrestlers climb onto the dohyo in their kesho mawashi and answer questions from the audience. At this tour stop, Sadanoumi, Shodai, and Wakamotoharu were featured. Wakamotoharu was asked which wrestler gives him the biggest challenge, and his reply was, “Shodai.” While the Emo King stood next to him and glared — as intimidating as Masayo can get — Wakamotoharu worked up the strength to express his frustration of losing to Shodai even though his chin is always up and his mass is so high. Powerful, inspiring stuff.
See, Shodai, I told you, “You’re too damn high!” Sure enough, when you look at their head-to-head, Shodai has won their last three bouts for a slim 6-4 advantage in their rivalry.
Nishihara, Kumamoto
On December 3, the tour stopped in the Aso district of Kumamoto Prefecture. Mt. Aso is a nearby volcano, the largest in Japan. We are all very familiar with Kumamon, the black bear mascot. Kumamon crops up on kesho mawashi and is frequently at events with Shodai, Sadanoumi, and other Kumamoto-area wrestlers. But the real draw of Kumamoto is the volcano. Mount Aso certainly features highly in the Kumamoto tourism campaigns. There is also a good amount of information in English, targeting foreign tourists.
Aso City is the hometown of Makushita wrestler Asonoyama, not to be confused with the former Ozeki. He and Fujiseiun were the hometown boys for this tour stop and Asonoyama was granted the privilege of wearing an oicho-mage for the first time as he fought in a Juryo bout against Kagayaki. Fujiseiun fought Nishikifuji. Local kids were also able to participate in the practice portion of the event with Shodai.
Hump Day brought us the Nagasaki Basho. So, um…Nagasaki is quite well known, particularly in America, for another sort of Fat Man. And in other news, Nagasaki is known for its long history as a port city by the Portuguese. There are a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the area tied to the Christian heritage in the area. Much of the event was brought to fans by Suginaga Kamaboko, headquartered in Nagasaki, timed to coincide with their year-end promotional campaign. If you are not familiar with kamaboko, think of the white and pink fish-cakes in your ramen.
Neighboring Saga Prefecture has a great, English-language tourism website, highlighting. Genkai town, with a small population under 5,000 people, does not feature highly on the tourism website but is home to a nuclear power plant. Check the irony at the door, please. Apparently, the tax revenue from hosting the power plant keeps the town pretty well in the black, financially.
The venue was much more intimate than Nagasaki’s Happiness Arena, with 1650 people coming to the Genkai Gymnasium. Makushita-ranked Chiyotora is from Saga City and pint-sized, 16-year-old viral-video star, Kosei, is from Takeo. Perhaps because of Kosei’s presence, twenty kids from two local day care centers participated in the morning practice with the sekitori.
Omuta, Fukuoka
Omuta is a city in Fukuoka on the border with Kumamoto. The day’s events were sponsored by テレQ, FM FUKUOKA, and the local sports association. Just when you think you found a city to skip over, there’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Miike Coal Mine and its Miyanohara Pit played an integral role in Japan’s industrial development during the Meiji Era. The mine was also the site of a major labor dispute in 1960 (cool NHK video to get a sense of the scale of this lockout). Whenever I see the name, Miike, I always think of Miike Takashi’s “Audition.” Now, I have a much more pleasant association with the name. “Kiri, Kiri, Kiri…“
Beppu, Oita
Beppu is a somewhat regular stop for the Winter Jungyo. The Kyokai has not visited every year, but they do seem to cycle through every two or three years. It’s claim to fame are the hot springs. It is so famous for hot springs that a cuisine called Jigokumushi, or “Hell Steaming” where eggs, seafood, pork buns, and a wide variety of foods are steamed over the mineral-rich waters, gurgling forth from the Earth.
Sadanoumi, Hiradoumi, and Shodai participated in Question Corner. Presumably Shodai’s indimidating presence has moved Wakamotoharu off the bill, replaced with Hiradoumi because of his lightning fast, “anti-Shodai” tachiai.
On To Week Two
Week Two will finish the Kyushu loop of the journey and head back toward central Japan and Osaka. From Osaka, the final leg will be a quick trip out to Okinawa. Meanwhile, many of the non-jungyo wrestlers except for Kitanowaka have headed back to their dohyo. Kitanowaka, on the other hand, has been in London with his shisho. That will be a very interesting tournament.
I have updated the interactive map so that it is in Kita-kyushu, next stop on the Jungyo Trail.
These tours are a popular method of outreach for the Japan Sumo Association and it is a great way for fans to meet and mingle with their favorite wrestlers. I had the fortune of going to one such event this past summer. So, this picture is not from Miyazaki, but from Tachikawa. But I hope it gives a sense of the atmosphere. If you would like to read about my experience there, I wrote about it here. I encourage you to check out that post for background on Jungyo.
The Kyokai posted the schedule for the first event on Twitter. Takerufuji will be sitting for the oicho-mage demonstration and Terunofuji will have his rope tying demonstration and dohyo-iri, though he will not participate in bouts.
As for this tour, it starts in Miyazaki prefecture and will end in Okinawa. Miyazaki prefecture is a well known agricultural region in Japan. It’s known in particular for high-grade wagyu beef. That beef is celebrated in the Miyazaki Prefectural Government presents the Miyazaki Governor’s Award, which is a trophy in the shape of a cow. The winning wrestler receives the meat from one head of Miyazaki fine cattle, as well as chicken and produce.
This tour will also pass through Oita prefecture, whose Shiitake Cooperative provides the famous trophy filled with mushrooms. It will then go around Kyushu before passing over the Kanmon strait to Shimonoseki and hoofing it over to Hyogo and Osaka before flying down to the sun and sand in tropical Okinawa.
That brings us to the main reason I highlight these tours for foreign fans. They are a great way to get out of Tokyo and to see other areas of the country.
Interactive Tour Schedule
I’ve put an interactive map below with a tour schedule. This version allows the user to page through the Days as the tour progresses. I’ve defaulted to Day 2 so you can see the first leg of the long, circuitous path from Miyazaki to Okinawa. There are arrows on the left side, underneath “Tour Day”. Click on the right arrow to cycle toward Day 15 and the left arrow to go in reverse. Any feedback you have is appreciated.
