Yokozuna (横綱)

Terunofuji’s Tsuna-uchi takes place today

Herouth Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Yokozuna (横綱)

Yesterday, Ajigawa oyakata, from Isegahama beya, gave us the heads-up tweeting this “riddle”:

“Well, what is this then?

Tomorrow we’ll be using it

It’s something that goes inside something”

The answer to the riddle is, of course, that this is raw hemp. And it goes inside a Yokozuna’s rope. So today is Terunofuji’s tsuna-uchi – the preparation of a Yokozuna’s rope.

A tsuna-uchi is always a festive occasion, even for veteran Yokozuna. But a Yokozuna’s first one is even more festive. Expect to see Isegahama’s practice ground walls draped in white and red, and the rikishi preparing the rope to be wearing a twisted red and white headdress called nejiri-hachimaki.

The hemp is rubbed with rice bran to soak out the remaining oily essence. it is then lain in the middle of a long sheet of white cotton, together with a copper wire which help retain the rope’s shape. Three of those are made, and then twisted together into the Yokozuna’s rope. It takes an entire heya to braid a rope, and sometimes the heya needs external assistance.

At the end of the tsuna-uchi, the Yokozuna wears his rope over his kesho mawashi. Veteran Yokozuna simply check it fits. But for a new Yokozuna, this is where work start. A former Yokozuna (or even an active one) teaches him to do the dohyo-iri in the style that he has chosen.

Hakuho and Harumafuji have been taught by Isegahama oyakata. Kakuryu has been taught by Takanohana. Kisenosato learned his dance from Shibatayama oyakata.

The first tsuna-uchi is done soon after promotion, and therefore there is no time to wait for the Yokozuna’s first set of three kesho-mawashi to arrive from the artisan’s. Why three? Well, the Yokozuna wears one, and his two assistants, the sword bearer and the dew sweeper, wear the other two.

So for the first dohyo-iri, the new Yokozuna will wear some other Yokozuna’s set of kesho-mawashi. This is often a set on loan from the Sumo Museum. Kisenosato performed his first dohyo-iri in a set that belonged to the “Demon of the Dohyo”, the first Wakanohana. Kakuryu performed in a set that belonged to the late Kitanoumi.

But if you happen to have access to another set, you may use that. And of course, it’s usually a great pleasure to a heya’s master who is a former Yokozuna, to bestow both his set of kesho-mawashi and his guidance upon his deshi.

Terunofuji has chosen the Shiranui style. The difference between the two Yokozuna styles are in the shape of the rope, and in the way the Yokozuna positions his arms when he rises during the dohyo-iri. Here you can see, on the left, Kakuryu performing the Unryu style, and on the right, Hakuho performing the Shiranui style.

And here is the distinct shape of the ropes – on the left, the Shiranui rope, which has two loops. Remember that copper wire? That’s what makes the loop and the tail stay firm. On the right is the Unryu rope, which has a single loop. The Unryu rope is asymmetric – one side of it is much longer, to form that loop. The Shiranui rope is symmetric.

It is the tradition of Isegahama ichimon for its Yokozuna to perform the Shiranui style. And it is also almost unheard of that a new Yokozuna will choose a different style from his master, if that master is a former Yokozuna.

So Isegahama oyakata will be teaching Terunofuji the performance today. In addition, it’s highly likely that Terunofuji will be wearing one of Asahifuji’s old kesho mawashi sets (Asahifuji is, of course, Isegahama oyakata), as Harumafuji did before him.

We still don’t know when the first official dohyo-iri will take place. During normal times, the tsuna-uchi comes the day after the promotion ceremony, and the ceremony and dohyo-iri at Meiji Grand Shrine takes place the next day. But currently Tokyo is under a state of emergency due to COVID, and of course, the Olympics are taking place there. So the tsuna-uchi has been postponed a few days, and it’s likely that the ceremony and dohyo-iri will be postponed further.

Will we get to see any of the Tsuna-uchi? Many Japanese fans have been hoping that the NSK will stream the event live on its YouTube channel, but so far there is no indication of such a stream. If it suddenly materializes, we’ll publish a link here.

 

YDC approves Terunofuji’s promotion to Yokozuna

Herouth Nagoya Basho 2021, Terunofuji (照ノ富士), Yokozuna (横綱), Yokozuna Deliberation Council ,

In its regular post-basho meeting on July 19th, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council unanimously approved the promotion of Ozeki Terunofuji to the rank of Yokozuna.

Following an approval by the NSK board and banzuke meeting, an acceptance ceremony will be held for the 73rd Yokozuna.

The expected procedure is:

  • July 21st – special board meeting, banzuke meeting, acceptance ceremony.
  • July 22nd – “tsuna uchi” – braiding of the new Yokozuna’s rope, and training the new Yokozuna to do the dohyo-iri.
  • July 23rd – first dohyo-iri at Meiji Grand Shrine in Tokyo

The schedule may be subject to changes, however, as July 23rd is also when the Olympic Games opening ceremony is to be held, near Meiji Grand Shrine, and some parts of the area may be closed off. On the other hand, COVID restrictions may render this point moot. We’ll keep our readers posted.

 

The Prospect of A Nokozuna Aki Basho

Bruce H Aki Basho 2020, Hakuho (白鵬), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Yokozuna (横綱)

We have known since banzuke day that Yokozuna Hakuho was recovering from double-knee surgery undertaken in August, and was unlikely to even start Aki. Now word from Japan that Yokozuna Kakuryu is declaring himself “not ready” for the Aki basho, and should be considered doubtful to compete.

With the prospect of no grand-champions in the September tournament, the Emperor’s Cup will be a wide-open contest. The Ozeki will be motivated to possibly claim a start of a promotion run, but in this era, even strong members of the rank-and-file have to be considered contenders if they can remain strong into week 2. Some fans will remark (and rightly so) that a basho without a Yokozuna is a weak basho, but these broad, multi-way brawls to advance have their own glorious appeal. We will miss the Yokozuna dohyo-iri, but the possibility that we will have an all-out slug fest between the Ozeki, the San’yaku and most of the joi-jin is compelling to me.

97th National University Sumo Championship

Andy Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyotairyū (千代大龍), Daishomaru, Endo (遠藤), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Japanese Culture, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Sumo Topics, Yago, Yokozuna (横綱) , ,

While sumo fans wait on pins and needles for Grand Sumo action to begin next weekend in Fukuoka, Japan’s National University Sumo Championship took place in Osaka. Successful wrestlers at this stage often become successful wrestlers on the professional level with the Champions granted privileged entry into Makushita, makushita tsukedashi, upon turning pro. Current wrestlers taking this path from Uni-Yokozuna to Jr. Sekitori include Endo, Ichinojo, and Aki-basho yusho winner, Mitakeumi. (I’m making up the Junior Sekitori term because they’re not immediately Sekitori but just outside.)

The big story coming out of Osaka is that the yusho winner was a first year (freshman) student-athlete, Yasuteru Nakamura from Nippon Sports Science University. He defeated Koshiro Tanioka, with a dominating yorikiri. Last year’s champion, Yota Kanno was knocked out in the first round. Any relation to Yoko Kanno is unconfirmed, but the need to knock a little harder is undeniable. Regardless, keep an eye out for these talented young men to be highly sought-after recruits and to appear on a banzuke in the near future.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun, this was the first time in 29 years that a freshman won a Championship. The last time there was a freshman University Yokozuna was Luis Ikemori for Takeshoku University in 1990. Ryuko, also known as Ryudo when he reached his peak rank in Juryo, was also notable for being the first foreign-born wrestler, from Brazil, to be granted the makushita tsukedashi privilege.

In team competition, Nihon University won the title for the first time in four years from Mitakeumi’s alma mater, Toyo University. Jokoryu and Mitoryu are products of the Nihon University program. Nakamura’s Nippon Sports Science University finished tied for third, and they count Hokutofuji among their graduates. These three universities have had historically strong sumo programs, with one of these three teams winning the title in each of the last nine years.

After the Kyushu basho, eyes will turn back to Kokugikan in Tokyo for the 68th National Amateur Sumo Championship, a title won by Yago and the fore mentioned Mitakeumi, Mitoryu and Endo, as well as Daishomaru, Yoshikaze, and Takamisakari. The year Endo won, Shodai picked up the jun-yusho and Mitakeumi and Hokutofuji were semi-finalists.