🌐 Location: Kyoto
Hakuho ❤️ Asanoyama
After the sekitori were done with their moshi-ai geiko today, Asanoyama was headed down to the locker room, when he was called back by Hakuho: “You’re a Makuuchi freshman. And you got a prize in the last basho. Come over here for some butsukari“.
Asanoyama, of course, did not refuse. “Once you get called, all you can do is respond with all you have”, he enthused.
The enthusiasm soon waned as he was thrown to the ground time and time again. Hakuho dedicated 5 minutes to the love-making, and he doesn’t do things by halves. “It felt a lot longer than 5 minutes” said Asanoyama later to the press.
Here’s a glimpse:
大相撲京都場所を観戦しております。初の溜席で迫力満点どすわ！ pic.twitter.com/7oVWNmyZoE
— GOD HAND (@jisuyaramunaka) October 15, 2017
After he released (what remained of) the Kanto-sho winner, accompanied by advice to avoid pulling back his backside when he pushes, Hakuho said about the 189cm, 165kg mostly yotsu-zumo freshman: “He is much like me: has softness, weight and strength. At last such a youngster has come along. One must nurture him and lend him a hand up. They say that he has come too far too fast, but if, once he hits a wall, he has the ability to put his feelings in it, he will be able to extend his success further”.
So far in this Jungyo, Asanoyama was called in by three Yokozuna: Kisenosato for sanban first (and disciplinary butsukari two days ago), Kakuryu for sanban, and now Hakuho for butsukari. I suppose if Harumafuji ever gets to do actual keiko, he won’t want to be the only Yokozuna not to make out with the lovely new Maegashira. It only remains to be seen if Asanoyama can show the same kind of motivation Onosho has shown, because Onosho really made the best of the similar expert training he had in the previous jungyo, enough to get himself to sanyaku.
Kyoto is a special place
Kyoto is different from most cities in Japan (for one, it has streets with names!). And the Jungyo day in Kyoto was special. Instead of the usual torikumi, the non-sekitori divisions competed in elimination format. The three winners got prizes:
The winners:
- Jonidan: Hokutoshin (Hakkaku beya)
- Sandanme: Imafuji (Nishonoseki beya)
- Makushita: Takagenji (Takanohana beya)
Wait, what happened to Enho?
And yes, if you’re into these things, that’s an actual Maiko in full regalia in the foreground, and she was not the only one observed there. I find this very exciting. To draw a parallel, it’s like Sekitori coming to watch a Geisha performance wearing their Kesho-mawashi. Maiko do not dress like that when they are off duty.
The Juryo and Makuuchi parts of the event went in the usual style. In the penultimate bout, Kakuryu beat Goeido by yorikiri, while Kisenosato beat Hakuho by oshi-dashi.
昨日の大相撲京都場所、結びの一番白鵬vs稀勢の里を動画で。立会いの速さは本場所さながらでした(速っ!) pic.twitter.com/c52WXrdyQ3
— tomtom (@tomtombeat) October 16, 2017
Things you can only see in the Jungyo
We’ve seen a glimpse of this here in the previous Jungyo, but I can assure you that it’s a very common occurrence. Though not all babies get to have their own tsuna:
白鵬土俵入り with B(aby)#金沢巡業 pic.twitter.com/TeGJsQU6NW
— スモートフォン (@azechiazechi) October 15, 2017
Yokozuna + Baby Dohyo Iri
Note that the ceremony also includes touching the baby to the sacred ground three times, tegatana style.
And this is what the shitaku-beya looks like during the jungyo. That is, the sumo equivalent of the “locker room” or “green room”.
Those big trunks are what each sekitori receives together with his kesho-mawashi.
