Goeido

Jungyo Newsreel – Day 9

Herouth Jungyo (巡業) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

🌐 Location: Shizuoka, Shizuoka prefecture

The Jungyo arrives at what has become a regular stop in the Haru Jungyo – fifth time in a row – Shizuoka city, where they call this event “Mount Fuji Shizuoka basho”, no less.

Along the walls we can see rikishi exercising and stretching. Enho, for example, is both stretching and diving:

Ichinojo is stomping shiko together with his Tsukebito. I believe this is Oka, formerly known as Minatoryu:

Ichinojo is not getting anywhere near the dohyo at this stage, but he is more than happy to pose for photos for the fans:

Much the same can be said about Yoshikaze, come to think of it.

Wakamotoharu is making good use of his remaining time as sekitori, also posing with the fans with his tsukebito – who is actually his big brother Wakatakamoto. Yes, all three Onami brothers are together this Jungyo:

The dohyo being occupied, Yago and Daieisho do their sumo away from (most) of the public eye:

So what is it that occupies the dohyo? For example, Chiyomaru vs. Azumaryu and Chiyomaru vs. Wakamotoharu:

Abi giving butsukari to Takanosho:

Abi has such long legs… as he stands at the edge to take the blow, his supporting left leg reaches almost to the shikiri-sen…

Tochinoshin is not taking any prisoners. Here he is vs. Mitakeumi, Kagayaki and Asanoyama:

Asanoyama surprisingly got him there. But the soon-to-be Ozekiwake is full of energy.

Practice over, and it’s time to hit the bath. And of course, on the way back the fans demand attention. Toyonoshima is among those most sought after, though he is not a local man in any way:

Hakuho yukata, with “63” motif.

Dohyo-Iri in Jungyo is a lot more relaxed, even on the dohyo itself. Here is the Juryo dohyo-iri. Gagamaru is making faces at some kid in the crowd:

Makuuchi bouts about to start. Wrestlers waiting outside for their turn, practicing their favorite facial expressions:

Terutsuyoshi – his salty face. Daishoho – his kawaii face. Tomokaze – his puzzled face. And Ishiura just shows off his fine… traps. That’s it… traps…

So here is a summary video from the Japanese TV. You can see some of the local boy of the day, Tochikodai from Kasugano beya, in his bout vs. Tennozan. And there are the bouts between Takakeisho and Tochinoshin, and between Goeido and Kakuryu.

Finally we see the Yokozuna win.

As for that bout between Takakeisho and Tochinoshin… ahem… ahem. Takakeisho is still not practicing on the dohyo but he said he will start doing so soon.

And to seal this day, here is Asanoyama in the pin-up corner:

Jungyo Newsreel – Day 7

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🌐 Location: Tsu, Mie prefecture

The Jungyo doubles back to Mie prefecture where it began. This time to the beautiful city named Tsu. And I was very excited to receive a treasure of photos and videos from this event courtesy of Simon Davies and Blanca Bolea, who got up at 4:55 in Hasunuma and took no less 4 trains and a local bus to get to Tsu. Simon says it was worth it.

There were also many Japanese Twitter users who posted about this particular event, so this may turn out to be quite a long post. Brace yourselves, here we go!

Continue reading →

Jungyo Newsreel – Day 5

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🌐 Location: Toyooka, Hyogo prefecture

Today was the second day in Hyogo prefecture – but right on the opposite side of it than Day 4’s event. Early morning, the dohyo is already consecrated from the day before.

And… what’s this parking right in front of the entrance to the venue?

Why, it’s Ryota Hama’s Chanko Nabe bus!

While in Tokyo or Osaka honbasho you rely either on the food supply inside the venue or the regular restaurants around it, events in small towns rely on mobile stalls. So as yobidashi Hiromasa calls the townspeople with his drum, a little matsuri is being set up around the venue.

And early-bird Hama got the most lucrative location, right at the entrance! Mmmm… chanko!

But not yet, the stalls are just being set up. First, it’s time to shake hands with some favorite rikishi. For example, Hyogo local Terutsuyoshi.

Ah, the contrast between the beautiful kimono of those ladies gathering around him, and his own ratty yukata…

Yokozuna in the house!

Low-ranking rikishi practice on the dohyo, while around it some sekitori are starting to stretch and exercise:

Very entertaining squats on the left side there.

On the sidelines, Sadanoumi practices his oshi:

Ando is doing suri-ashi:

And so does Aoiyama, though in a totally different style:

It’s time for the Juryo rikishi’s practice on the dohyo. We have Kyokushuho with Wakamotoharu, then Kyokushuho with Azumaryu:

And in the session’s closure, Takakeisho gives butsukari to Wakamotoharu:

Then Makuuchi gets into the picture. Aoiyama faces Meisei, then Okinoumi, then Asanoyama, then the latter takes over and faces Ryuden.

This is not the end of the road for Ryuden, who later gets Mitakeumi (for some reason this bout appears twice in this video). Then we can see Mitakeumi vs. Tochinoshin:

Practice time is over, and we can relax and enjoy Shokkiri. Here is the full performance.

Apparently, in this Jungyo, the gyoji is getting creative. When the two performers fall down together, he leaves the dohyo, and consults with some spectator – preferably a child: “I should call that dotai, right?”.

“Dotai” is when both rikishi touch ground at the same time. In a normal bout, the gyoji doesn’t call it – the gyoji always has to point the gunbai one side or the other – and this is settled with a monoii and a torinaoshi. In shokkiri, of course, the gyoji makes all the decisions himself. Or with the help of a child, as it turns out.

Next up is the Jinku performance. And once again I have the full version:

But hey, aren’t you hungry? It’s nearly noon and we haven’t tasted that chanko, yet!

Apparently they also serve Udon. But who cares? Chanko!

There is also a mobile Takoyaki stall if you’re tired of Chanko, as some rikishi are

Both lunch and Jinku over, it’s time for the Juryo dohyo-iri. And Sokokurai is arguing some point with Gagamaru:

Skipping the Makuuchi and Yokozuna dohyo-iri, right before Makuuchi, Takakeisho, the local hero, receives a bale of rice as a gift – and apparently, a large amount of beef.

The area of Toyooka is known for its stork-friendly rice. Apparently, Japanese storks have been on the decline, and the city of Toyooka is making an effort to bring them back, by raising rice that coexists with the creatures that storks feed on to sustain themselves. So Takakeisho got a bale of stork-friendly rice. I don’t know how stork-friendly the beef is, though.

So let’s see some bouts! Here we have a series of bouts from Juryo:

  • Daiseido-Kiribayama
  • Kyokushuho-Azumaryu
  • Daishomaru-Tokushoryu
  • Daiamami-Chiyomaru
  • Shimanoumi-Kotoyuki

This is followed by bouts from Makuuchi:

  • Ishiura-Yutakayama
  • Kotoeko-Toyonoshima
  • Tomokaze-Kagayaki
  • Shohozan-Yago
  • Sadanoumi-Terutsuyoshi
  • Aoiyama-Asanoyama
  • Chiyotairyu-Okinoumi
  • Kaisei-Nishikigi

Tochiozan vs. Endo:

Sanyaku-soroi-bumi, and Mitakeumi vs. Tamawashi

Tamawashi’s killer nodowa does it again.

Takakeisho vs. Tochinoshin:

I think Tochinoshin forgot that he was supposed to let the local boy win.

Finally, Musubi-no-ichiban, Kakuryu vs. Goeido.

I think I have yet to see Kakuryu win a bout this basho.

Finishing with our pin-up… How about Nishikigi for a change?

The arms are strong with this one

Jungyo Newsreel – Day 4

Herouth Jungyo (巡業) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

🌐 Location: Kakogawa, Hyogo prefecture

The Jungyo takes us to the first of two locations in Hyogo prefecture. And Hyogo prefecture means Takakeisho is king.

Takakeisho interacting with the media

Of course, Takakeisho is not the only Hyogo man in the Jungyo. Myogiryu is also addressed by the media. Terutsuyoshi is also among the prefecture’s points of pride, but perhaps because of his make-koshi in the Haru basho, he seems to be less sought after. He gets a bit of attention in the opening part of the event – the handshake duty.

Terutsuyoshi and Enho, together again

As 4500 spectators slowly pour into the venue, sekitori start to practice here and there. Though it seems they are mostly busy chatting, like this pair of veterans:

“I remember, when I was your age, Ozeki-boy…”

or this Georgian conference:

By the way, Tochinoshin’s backside is still in ugly condition. For obvious reasons, I am not sharing the image that floated in my search results. It’s better than Ikioi’s legs, but still…

As Hakuho arrives at the Dohyo, the sekitori all form a line to greet him. Well, greet him through his chat with Yoshikaze. Enho wants to give his boss a respectful ladle of water, but has to wait:

…and wait…

Until he finally gets the Yokozuna’s attention.

All three people in this frame are still not doing any bouts (or any on-dohyo training, as far as I could gather). Hakuho concentrates on lower-body training and stretching. He is going to be the world’s most flexible Yokozuna come Natsu.

Some practice did take place, though. Here is Tochiozan instructing a low-ranker on how to keep his ass good and low:

Tochinoshin eventually stopped chewing the fat with Gagamaru and gave some butsukari to Wakamotoharu, Daiseido and Shimanoumi:

Wakamotoharu also got the butsukari from Kakuryu – quite an honor when one is not even a local boy.

Chiyomaru had some practice with Daiseido, then Gagamaru:

Time for lunch, and then Juryo dohyo-iri. But wait… who is going to do all the nipple tweaking, if Tamawashi is all the way up in Makuuchi, and not part of this dohyo-iri?

Arawashi looks way too happy about this

Why, it’s Sokokurai, who takes this serious duty upon himself. Somebody has to!

I don’t have any Juryo bouts to show. But here is a nice photo of little brother Tobizaru handing the chikara-mizu to big brother Hidenoumi.

Alas, this means Aminishiki lost his bout with Tobizaru this day.

Near the end of the Juryo bouts, the rope-tying demonstration takes place. On rope duty: Hakuho.

And you can see his man Kasugaryu tying up the knot wearing his own oicho-mage (for the yumi-tori shiki that will come later in the day).

So it’s time for the Makuuchi dohyo-iri soon. And of course, everybody in the venue wants a piece of Takakeisho. So Daieisho decides to do a remake of “The Bodyguard”.

And I….. will always love you… 🎵🎶

What, isn’t Takakeisho the spitting image of Whitney Houston? Japanese Twitter is calling these two “A couple”.

Here is Kakuryu’s dohyo-iri for you:

For some reason, what drew my attention in this dohyo-iri is the gyoji, Kimura Konosuke’s outfit. Specifically, the pattern on it, spelling out “Kitanofuji” – though the former Yokozuna has been out of the sumo world for many years now.

Time for the bouts, and as usual, Abi’s clock says “10 minutes to six”:

Even the diagonal column behind him gasps in awe.

I only have one bout for you: Tochinoshin vs., you guessed it, Takakeisho:

I love the fact that there are kids there who are shouting “Tochinoshin!”.

Interesting approach by Takakeisho, though. Trying for a Tottari, then finally winning by yori-kiri.

So it’s time for our pin-up corner, and today we have the fine-looking Wakatakakage.

Honorable mention goes to Abi:

Nice portrait!