Andy and the family return home, fat and happy from Thanksgiving with the relatives. Our return was timed perfectly so I hope to be able to write a brief post tomorrow about the Winter Tour, which is about to get under way. But before it kicks off there are a couple of items to note.
Ex-Takakeisho to Inherit Heya
Hat tip to Justin for catching this news. The Sumo Association announced that Minatogawa-oyakata will inherit Tokiwayama-beya, effective January 26. The current master will turn 65 at the beginning of March, so the January tournament will be his last as master, before retiring. The heya will be renamed Minatogawa-beya and all of the wrestlers, one of the hair-dressers and one seiwanin will stay with the heya, though other staff will transfer to other stables.
January 26 is the day after Hatsubasho 2026. So, this upcoming tournament will be Takanosho’s last fighting under the Tokiwayama banner. When the Spring tournament comes around in Osaka, he would be fighting in Minatogawa-beya. I presume the heya lodgings will change at some point and the guys will move to another location in the Tokyo area, owned by Takakeisho. The current location (pictured) is in Maenocho, next to the Tokiwadai neighborhood, and close to Tokiwadai station. The kanji for Tokiwadai is 常盤台. I’ll provide an update when I find out more details.
Winter Tour Kyujo List
The Winter Tour is set to kick off on November 30 and will run for 22 straight days at 22 different locations. The path winds around Kyushu and then back toward home in the Tokyo region. It looks like there will be no Okinawa stop this year. Instead, the tour terminates in Saitama on the 21st. That might give the guys time to spend the holidays at home and be ready for action on January 11.
It comes as no surprise that Yokozuna Onosato tops the list of kyujo. He will be absent due to his Day 13 injury against Aonishiki and will be joined in the infirmary by a number of sekitori. This will include Takayasu, Hakuoho, Wakatakakage, Ura, Roga, Meisei, Hitoshi, Kotoeiho and Mita. We hope all of these guys make good use of the time to recouperate and prepare for next year.