I often show you photos of this or that rikishi in a corner of the venue. This may give the impression that most rikishi are on the dohyo, and a few are lurking on the edges. The truth is – there simply isn’t enough room for everybody on or around a single dohyo. When the makushita-and-below rikishi train, the sekitori hang around the walls, and only later they get to the dohyo.
Some sekitori, by the way, are “kamaboko”, which is the sumo term for someone who avoids practice though present in the keiko-ba.
Kamaboko
Kamaboko is this fish-paste, round at the top, flat at the bottom. The sumo term derives from rikishi whose back is pressed so hard against the keiko-ba’s walls to avoid the dohyo and the attention of the stablemaster, that it becomes flat.
The Yokozuna tsukebito wars continue. But what is this? Is there a new-found love between Gokushindo and Arikawa?
Err… not exactly.
Ewwwww!!!
Don’t worry, Arikawa gets his revenge:
Did I mention “Ewwwww!!!”?
Apropos Arikawa, here is a selfie he took with Awajiumi.
And this selfie is significant because it tells us that Awajiumi did the bow twirling ceremony again today. Impressive oicho-mage there.
Some practice footage:
Some reverse butsukari between Kakuryu and Ryuden. “Reverse” meaning the higher ranking guy pushes and the lower-ranking guy lends his chest. It also means that none of the rolling around in the mud is to be expected:
Here is a video summary of this day’s event, featuring the Tochinoshin-Goeido bout and the Kakuryu-Kisenosato bout:
And POOF! That brace has disappeared again, and Tochinoshin fights bare-legged, and despite that, lifts Goeido.
Kakuryu also fights seriously today. He lets Kisenosato do what he pleases with the left, and works on neutralizing his right – complementing it with a nice trip.
No Tobizaru, and the only Enho/Wakatakakage I could find is this photo with the local mascot:
I assure you that the mascot always has this expression. It’s not a result of being hugged by Enho.
Kochi prefecture boasts three sekitori. Well, two sekitori (Tochiozan and Chiyonoumi) and one on his way to gaining sekitori status again: Toyonoshima.
The two latter ones were the darlings of today’s event. In the previous Kochi event, two years ago, Chiyonoumi was in Sandanme. Now he is well-established in Juryo:
Two years ago
Today
Toyonoshima was not part of the Jungyo so far. He is not officially sekitori as the Jungyo follows the previous basho’s banzuke. And he is married and well respected, so they wouldn’t just assign him as some youngster’s tsukebito. However, there was a special request for him to be present in this event, and he did show up.
Tochinoshin doesn’t give autographs easily out of the designated fansa time. But you might get lucky if you are young enough:
I’m impressed with Tobizaru. He may not be the strongest pusher ever to mount a dohyo, but he sure gets up fast whenever he is thrown.
Back in the shitaku-beya, Teraoumi takes a picture. Haruminato tries to strike a cool pose. He ends up looking like he is totally checking out Ichinojo’s hefty backside:
Of course, the sekiwake himself is totally oblivious to all this.
Time for dohyo-iri. I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but when Shohozan went off the torikumi for a few days in the middle of the Jungyo, Yoshikaze took his place as Kisenosato’s tsuyuharai. And Yoshikaze is still doing that duty, despite Shohozan being back and active:
By the way, do you see a difference between the Yokozuna’s kesho-mawashi and his two assistants’? The Yokozuna’s kesho mawashi is worn differently, with the top tucked into the mawashi. They design them with that in mind. Here is the designer‘s sketch of this set of kesho-mawashi:
The design, by the way, is intended to express the spirit of the warrior (bu), as well as a dragon in the clouds (the meaning of the word “Unryu”, which is Kisenosato’s chosen style).
Personally, I think this set is one of the coolest I have seen.
Here is the Toyonoshima bout with Azumaryu. There is a monoii. And a kyogi. And then Furuwake oyakata tries to explain the kyogi. He is not exactly the best explainer in the world, but of course, the result is a torinaoshi:
And the result of the rematch is… wow, what did Toyonoshima just do?
The town of Takamatsu prepared for the sumo event, after two years of wait, hanging nobori and preparing the venue:
The Jungyo hanging roof is a simple, light canopy, unlike honbasho
But alas, two years ago, when the previous Jungyo took place here, the prefecture boasted two sekitori: Kotoyuki and Amakaze. Amakaze is no longer among the sekitori ranks, and Kotoyuki is unfortunately kyujo.
Although he didn’t participate in the torikumi due to an unspecified injury, Takayasu was present at the practice session:
Tochinoshin, still no brace but with elaborate taping, did some suri-ashi in the hana-michi:
That’s a whole different level. Note that since the morning Tochinoshin’s taping has become a heavy supporter – though I think it’s still not his usual brace. Maybe it’s being dry-cleaned.
Time for Juryo dohyo-iri. A kid asks Gagamaru for an autograph. Gagamaru replies: “If I said I can’t it would be a lie”:
Maybe it’s just me, but I find it really amusing when a huge rikishi has such a girly voice. It’s the same with Terunofuji. Huge, menacing rikishi, and a high-pitched, small voice.
Kisenosato back from demonstrating his rope tying. Yokozuna wearing their ropes don’t stop for fan service, but Awajiumi is serving as his proxy:
Time for Makuuchi dohyo-iri, and Takakeisho once again shows that his face is capable of more than just a pouting frown:
But of course, he is no competition to his new heya-mate:
This is from earlier in the day, of course. If you wonder why rikishi are so often photographed with kids, well, there is a belief in Japan that if a rikishi carries your child she will grow up healthy and strong. This one took a long stare at Onigiri-kun, I mean, Takanosho. I guess trying to decide whether he was edible or not.
Waiting for the Yokozuna dohyo-iri, Nishikigi and Shodai exchange – let’s call it an elaborate handshake?
So why have I upped the scandal level to 1? Because once again Tamawashi is tweaking nipples:
He really seems fascinated by the things. Or is he trying to break into a safe? We have decided to call him Chichiwashi over at Twitter. That means “Boob Eagle”.
So as brain bleach against the booby monster, I give you a great photo of Abi’s shiko:
Now that’s more wholesome. As long as you’re standing on this side, of course.
Here is a summary of the day’s event from NHK, where you can see some glimpses of bouts, and the full Kisenosato-Kakuryu bout:
So here is your daily Tobizaru:
If he ever opens an online dating account for the purpose of marriage, that’s the photo I’d recommend as his profile pic.
Feast your eyes on that salt throw by Terutsuyoshi, because after this event, he goes off the radar.
Well, not before he manages to join the list of rikishi with a moob fixation. But while Tamawashi at least chooses fine-chested harassment objects, Terutsuyoshi is going for one who is not really known for his good build.
And while he does this, he continues to talk to Wakatakakage, completely ignoring his squeezy toy. No wonder Akiseyama looks sad. Eventually he fends off the groping pixie and covers his chest with his arms defensively.
Tamawashi gives Chiyotairyu a command: fetch Enho. Enho arrives at the dohyo at the komusubi’s request, and Don Tamawashi takes him a side for a little conversation:
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me like Enho is twice trying to escape. I can only imagine the conversation:
“Hello, little one. I hear a lot of good things about you lately, you know. We were in Kanazawa the other day. You have family in Kanazawa, right? Well, I sent some people to pay them a visit, see that they are alright. You know, family is important. Your brother seems like a nice guy. I’d hate to see anything bad happen to any of them. So now, half pint, I have something to tell you. I’m sure you’re not going to be impolite and not listen”
[gulp] “Um, yes, sir?”
“Happy birthday! Many happy returns!”
Yes, yes, this was Enho’s birthday. And that’s what Tamawashi wanted him for, apparently. Well, I’m sure it is. Positive.
How Kyokushuho manages to get his front mawashi end loose like that in this slow match is beyond me.
Here is your Tobizaru:
🌐 Location: Kurayoshi, Tottori
🚫 Scandal level: 0, despite this being Tottori.
Hiyonoyama decides to go to Misasa Onsen
Do you know what day it is?
It’s Ichinojo day!
Everybody knows that Ichinojo and Tottori are synonymous. Well, in a world in which he is not a Mongolian giant specializing in shepherding and wolf avoidance, that is.
Having graduated from the famous Tottori Johoku high school – and also worked there after graduation – the locals consider him a home boy. Especially when all the other home boys, like Ishiura, Takanoiwa and Terunofuji are MIA. He has managed to stay away from last year’s scandal by being kyujo due to hernia, so this year, he is the subject of adoration. Sought after when he is in his practice mawashi:
Which he obviously doesn’t need because as soon as Ichinojo leaves, everybody is running to Abi.
Speaking of Abi and attention-seeking, here is how he avoids stopping for autographs:
“Oh, my shoulder hurts! Ow, it hurts terribly! Oh, woe is me!”
Five minutes later he was signing autographs with a totally straight face, of course.
Right outside the venue a great board was set up, for people to write encouragements following the Chubu Earthquake. Some space was allocated for the rikishi to put in their tegata, autograph and words of encouragement. Here is Takanosho applying his:
Ichinojo chose this spot for todays fashion statement:
I want a towel that’s big enough to wrap around a whole Ichinojo!
Here is a part of the board:
Ichinojo’s message is the one without a Tegata, right below the 回. He wrote in shaky Hiragana “All Tottori people, gambarize! I love Tottori! Please support me.”
By the way, the tegata marked with that triangle is Takakeisho. The tweet author noticed that he has a much smaller hand than most other rikishi. It’s a real mystery how this man is the level he is, given his short arms, tiny hands, and severe respiration issue. I guess he has serious gambarization skills.
I can’t pretend to be able to read the rikishi signatures, but I can recognize Tochinoshin (to the right of Ichinojo’s spot), and Nishikigi (below Takakeisho’s).
Back inside the venue, Chiyonokuni once again demonstrates his superb flexibility:
While Shodai is harrassed again – but not by Tamawashi, but by Kaisei:
Shodai was doing his stretches, when out of nowhere Kaisei appeared, declared “You are not flexible enough”, and proceeded to apply pressure to Shodai’s legs to make them more like Chiyonokuni’s above. This was countered by cries of “Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! Stop forcing it! You are the sumo world’s dark side!”
On a brighter note, remember the new yumitori performer, Awajiumi? Well, today was his debut. This doesn’t mean Kasugaryu has been deposed, yet, though I’ve seen many on the net wishing for that to happen… Guess why…
