Spring Tour 2024

Andy Jungyo (巡業)

Sumo action is NOT over so Tachiai does not hibernate until Natsu basho.

Jungyo (巡業) means tour in Japanese. In the sumo world, the jungyo refers to off-season promotional tour events, usually sponsored by local corporate sponsors and supporter groups. Sometimes there will be visits to important local shrines, like tomorrow’s visit to Ise Jingu to kick-off this tour, and the visit to Yasukuni in the middle of next month. Those events usually feature a Yokozuna dohyo-iri at the shrine. Local communities will try to time these tours to coincide with local festivals or other occasions.

Not all wrestlers participate in Jungyo. Most head back to Tokyo but sekitori, their tsukebito, and some special cases will lead those from lower ranks to participate. Often wrestlers whose hometown is near one of the tour stops will be included in the tour. Kyujo wrestlers will not. For this particular tour there are several kyujo sekitori, including: yusho-winner Takerufuji, Kirishima, Takakeisho, Tsurugisho, Tamawashi, and Shimazuumi. REST, BOYS. To learn more about this tour and see a full schedule with map, click to read more. (I don’t want the visualization to load for everyone visiting the site, unless you actually want to check out the Jungyo map. I think it’s pretty cool.)

Continue reading →

Isegahama-beya To Absorb Miyagino-beya, But Not Permanently

Andy Hakuho (白鵬), Heya, Stables (Heya)

At its board meeting on 3/28, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai approved a plan to shutter Miyagino-beya and move its wrestlers and oyakata to Isegahama-beya in time for the May tournament. Hakuoho and other Miyagino-beya wrestlers will be introduced at the upcoming tournament as being from Isegahama-beya and they will not be able to fight against each other. The Isegahama Ichimon, led by Asakayama-oyakata (ex-Kaio), will be responsible for reporting back to the Kyokai after each tournament. They will provide guidance to Miyagino with an eye to re-opening his heya in the future, though there are no timelines for that at this point.

Readers will recall that the Hokuseiho bullying scandal broke during the Hatsu basho. The details quickly ensnared the heya’s master, Hakuho, because he knew of Hokuseiho’s behavior but did nothing to correct or address it for over a year. Hakuho was demoted but not dismissed from the Kyokai, and Tamagaki-oyakata was appointed as an interim-master for the Osaka tournament while the Ichimon, and the Kyokai, deliberated on a plan for what to do. Other proposals for the fate of Miyagino-beya after Osaka were considered by the Kyokai but rejected, including the idea to have wrestlers move to separate heya or be absorbed entirely at other heya in the Ichimon.

Further details about a potential reopening of Miyagino-beya have not been decided or revealed, such as whether the heya would retain its remaining wresters. Hokuseiho resigned before the tournament and Jonidan wrestler, Kurokage, retired afterward. Obviously, it is not clear at this point how well the individual wrestlers, Hakuho or Ishiura are taking this plan. It is certainly possible that other retirements will follow but I hope this will serve as a valuable education for Hakuho on how better to run and manage 20 young blokes. Folks will be quick to point out that Isegahama is not without its own scandals, including one that resulted in the demotion of Isegahama and his resignation from the board.

Commentary

This is an extraordinary decision by the Kyokai and a novel resolution to the bullying scandal. As I mentioned, we will probably never know all of the details or how the individuals have been dealing with this period of uncertainty. But it seemed apparent from the few interactions that we saw with Hakuho, that he was “bummed” to say the least. I imagine this period has been stressful as hell. Now that there is a path forward, I hope that everyone involved will make the best of it.

That’s not just lip service. It must be a challenge to manage a group of 20 dudes and teach them to live together in peace and harmony (while encouraging them to physically fight each other each day), oh, and to navigate a rigid hierarchy that results in some wrestlers being virtual serfs to those at the top. Hakuho took on a massive task when he took over Miyagino-beya. He has been a great recruiting success at a time when the sport NEEDS it.

The Kyokai acknowledges and appreciates the value that he provides…otherwise he would not still be there. The Hakuho Cup would transition to the Terunofuji Cup, just as it shifted from being the Asashoryu Cup. But Hakuho really has made that HIS cup and he’s even breaking down barriers with girls’ amateur sumo. He’s been committed to developing wanpaku sumo and he’s always been committed to the fans. So, for all of the Hakuho fans out there, ready to lambast the Kyokai as hypocritical tyrants, find solace in the fact that Hakuho is not Takanohana. He’s not an adversary. He’s an asset.

I am speculating here but I think Hakuho had no idea what to do with Hokuseiho. He’d committed to the kid when Hokuseiho was in elementary school and was kind of stuck with him from there. When Hokuseiho became an entitled prat, Hakuho did not know how to get him to stop and respect his lower-ranked stablemates. Hakuho seems to have picked out a good crop of guys since then. I’m not sure if Isegahama or Asakayama will have any great answers, either, but this will buy him the time that he probably needed in order to figure it out. The delay in opening Kakuryu’s stable, for instance, may not have been entirely about citizenship status and kabu negotiations but in preparing for, “how in the hell am I going to do this?”

As a parent of two kids, I know how to discipline my kids — at least I think so — but I would be utter crap at disciplining someone else’s kids, your kids. Shoot, I yelled at one of the neighbor’s kids about 10 years ago and the poor kid still seems traumatized. (He’s not laid a finger on my kids’ stuff, though, since.) Similarly, management is not fun. Conflict happens and some people seem to enjoy it and promote it which really freaks me out…especially at work. So, management and leadership are extremely important to get right. When Miyagino-beya reopens, I think he will have a better idea of what to do and how to do it.

They’ve been putting me in leadership development courses and stuff at work. This is a direct quote: “Andy, don’t do it. This is leadership, not work. We just want the plan, we don’t want you to do it.” My brain seized as I thought, “but this would be so easy.” I see a parallel in Hakuho’s excitement when he gets his mawashi on and gets in the ring. He’s like, “I just love sumo, I really wanna do sumo.” Similarly, I’m like, “Just let me get this s*** done, dude. It’s fun.” But there comes a time when you need to hang up the mawashi and let others get in the ring because you need to focus on helping the next generation develop their skills (and hopefully improve it and do it even better). That transition has been difficult for me and may be for him, as well.

What I have hated the most about this whole episode is the character assassination and rumor-mill which gets reported by some in the press. But I’ll not rant about that here. I have been very happy to see that the Tachiai viewership of day-to-day tournament coverage eclipsed the “scandal coverage,” so I sure feel pretty damn good about my readers. You all know what’s up. Sure, the scandal will certainly have an impact on the careers of our gladiators (and the sport as a whole) so it’s important to cover it and know what is going on. But the action on the dohyo is what brings us here, not the tawdry bits.

I see scandal coverage as sprinkles on top of an ice cream sundae — tasteless faff that I could do without and that certainly doesn’t add anything to the overall greatness of the ice cream sundae. And I leave the scandal meter up because it seems that as soon as I get optimistic and take it down, there’s a new scandal. My apologies for jinxing things. Let’s hope that number just gets bigger.

New Juryo for Natsu

lksumo Aki Basho 2022

The sekitori promotions have been announced. After a one-basho absence, Chiyomaru returns to the salaried ranks he occupied for over a decade. The others are new: Ms15TD starter Onokatsu, who makes it after 3 basho in Makushita with a combined 16-5 record, yusho winner Kazekeno, who started at the bottom two years ago and rose steadily before slowing down a bit in upper Makushita, and Tsukahara (now Tochitaikai), who was a strong prospect back in 2018, earning Jonokuchi and Jonidan yusho in his first two basho and getting to Makushita within a year, but then got stuck there, missing out on half a dozen prior promotion chances.

The corresponding demotions are not announced, but we can look at the ranks and records and confidently say that leaving Juryo are Kotoeko, Kitaharima, and Akua.

Looking Ahead to the Natsu Banzuke

lksumo Aki Basho 2022

The stormy basho certainly lived up to its nickname! We’ve just witnessed a historic yusho by the rookie Takerufuji; may he heal fully from his injury and give us the kind of career that this brief glimpse suggests is possible. Now that all the hardware has been handed out, let’s take our customary preliminary look at how the Haru results are likely to reshuffle the rankings for Natsu.

Yokozuna and Ozeki

Terunofuji will remain alone atop the rankings. Tachiai wishes him the fullest recovery possible, and looks forward to a strong performance in May or whenever he is ready. With Takakeisho successfully clearing kadoban, we will have the same four Ozeki in May, although in a different order. Based on their Haru win totals, Hoshoryu will hold the top O1e slot for the first time, followed by Kotonowaka, Takakeisho, and Kirishima, who will be kadoban and needs 8 wins to defend his rank. Tachiai hopes for a return to form from the recent Yokozuna hopeful.

Lower San’yaku

Two of the four incumbents succeeded, and two flopped. S1w Wakamotoharu (9-6) will debut on the East side in his 6th appearance at the third-highest rank. His current rank will be taken over by K1e Abi (9-6), who returns to Sekiwake for the first time in two years. S1e Daieisho (6-9) leaves Sekiwake after a full year, and will make only his second maegashira apperance in two years. And Nishikigi’s second Komusubi appearance went even worse than his first. This leaves two Komusubi slots to be filled, and they will go to M1w Asanoyama (9-6), who finally returns to the named ranks after his 2021 fall from grace, and M5w Onosato (11-4), who debuts in San’yaku in only his 7th professional basho! He may have been overshadowed by Takerufuji’s legendary debut, but it’s still a remarkable start to a career. I believe Ichinojo is the only rikishi to rise to San’yaku this fast or faster (he did it in his 6th basho, and went straight to Sekiwake).

Upper Maegashira

Unlike last time, when there was a giant vacuum in this part of the banzuke, the incumbents acquitted themselves well. Half of the wrestlers ranked M1-M5 posted winning records, and only one ended with double-digit losses. That one rikishi, M3w Takanosho (5-10), will fall out of the top 10 maegashira ranks, and so will M5e Midorifuji (7-8), but just barely. Rising to take their spots, as well as those vacated via promotion to Komusubi, are M6w Gonoyama (10-5), M8w Takayasu (11-4), and M8e Onosho (9-6). Along with Daiesho and such holdovers as Atamifuji, Hiradoumi, Tobizaru, Ura, Oho and Meisei, there should be plenty of firepower here to trouble the named ranks in May.

The Juryo Barge

With a nod to Bruce, “the barge of the damned” will be captained by injury victim M12w Shimazuumi (0-4-11). At first mate will be M14w Kitanowaka (3-12), who is 8-22 in his two top-division appearances. And the third fully booked passage belongs to M16e Endo (5-10), who’s spent only two basho in Juryo in his entire eleven-year career (once in his 3rd basho, on his way up, and once following his career-altering knee injury in 2016). There’s speculation that the veteran and fan favorite, who’s long owned a kabu, may opt to retire rather than fight in the second division. Two more rikishi posted records that leave them in danger of demotion: M15e Myogiryu (6-9) and M16w Daiamami (7-8); both lost on the final day when a victory would have meant safety. I’ve heard injured M6e Tsurugisho mentioned in the demotion conversation, but I believe his two wins should be just enough to keep him in Makuuchi.

On the Juryo side of the exchange, yusho winner J2w Mitoryu (12-3) is guaranteed to go up, along with J4w Oshoma (11-4) and J1e Tokihayate (8-7). Mitoryu has made a couple of forgettable top-division apperances, while the other two will be making their debuts. The final two promotion candidates are J1w Takarafuji (8-7) and J3w Tomokaze (9-6). Will both, one, or neither go up at the expense of Myogiryu and Daiamami? If only one, who? It’s close, and I’ll need to look into this further before making a guess.

Sekitori Promotions

Finally, let’s wrap up the action in Makushita and see who did enough to cross the Heaven/Hell boundary and enter the salaried ranks. One slot in Juryo is open due to Hokuseiho’s “retirement”; this should be the last time his name appears in one of these posts. Two more will be vacated by J12e Kotoeko (1-14) and J14e Kitaharima (4-11). There are three clear candidates to take their spots: yusho winner J13w Kazekeno (7-0), who gets the coveted automatic promotion that goes to an undefeated wrestler ranked Ms15 or higher, top-ranked longtime sekitori, his roundness Ms1e Chiyomaru (4-3), who returns after a one-basho absence, and the last-ever Ms15 tsukedashi, Ms2w Onokatsu (5-2). Two more men have promotion claims: Ms3w Kayo (4-3) and Ms4w Tsukahara (5-2). I think Tsukahara will swap places with J13e Akua (6-9) after winning their “exchange bout” on Day 15, leaving Kayo out in the cold. That is, unless Endo were to retire ahead of the banzuke meeting on Wednesday, which would create an extra slot.

We’ll learn the sekitori promotions on Wednesday, but we’ll have to wait for the rest until the Natsu banzuke is released on April 30. I’ll try to get a full banzuke post up before then, though work may get in the way. In the meantime, let me know what you think in the comments.