Konishiki

Sumo And Sushi DC, Year Two

hochiyama Japanese Culture ,

Andy and Justin attended Konishiki’s Sumo And Sushi event for the second year in a row. We are splitting our reviews into two posts, one from Justin, one from Andy.

Justin’s Front Row Experience

I attended Washington DC Sumo and Sushi last night and had a fabulous experience.  There were two things I changed from last year that I think helped elevate my enjoyment. 

First, I got the front row seating plan. Last year, I just got the “Sushi and the Show, which did not include the front row seats.  The front row seats were fantastic. Not only did I get a better view of the sumo – but I was able to interact with the wrestlers (lock eyes, give thumbs up, cheer to support them, etc.).  Stoic as the wrestlers are, they still react when they hear their old ring names (not their American friendly nicknames).  When they were first introduced and I flashed them the rally towels, their reactions were of shock, surprise, and delight. 

The front row also offered a higher quality bento, plus one free drink.  They did not skimp on the sake.  The bento was from “Love, Makoto” and had a premium piece of fatty tuna in the sushi, as well as a good mix of seaweed salad with seared tuna, other nigiri and rolls, karaage, and shrimp tempura.  It was a major upgrade from last year’s provider (who was not so memorable that I cannot even recall the name). 

The seats were great, the food was excellent, and the sake helped make the ticket selection a major upgrade from last year’s experience.  The Front Row package also included a picture with the wrestlers afterwards, something I did not get to experience last year.

The other thing I changed from last year was that I did not purchase a “get in the ring experience”.  I am a little sad not to have done this again – but I have lost 45 pounds since then and want to retire with an unblemished career record.  So, instead of being on the stage – I brought some fire to the stage.  I made rally towels with the individual wrestler’s shikona and waved them around whenever they were on the dohyo.  They were a bit surprised, honored, and humbled to see this and to hear me cheering for them. Being in the front row and seeing their reactions gave me a more personal interaction with the troupe than other spectators. 

At the photo opportunity, I presented them with the rally towels as a little gift of my appreciation.  You can see from the photos that they did really appreciate this little boring token (tsumaranai mono desu kedo…).  I asked about Sawada’s recovery, and they were shocked to get the question and said that he was “Ganbarizing” in his recovery.  The Sumo and Sushi staff at the photo op said that nobody ever gave the sumotori a gift before!  The bottom line is that you can get close to the Sumo Experience if you just put yourself out there and do something unique.  

Looking Ahead

When they come back to DC, I will go again and will be doing the Front Row experience.  If Sawada/Chiyonoshin/Enya can make a recovery – I would love to challenge him in the ring again. I would gladly do what it takes to see him healthy enough to get back on the dohyo!

One difference in the show from last year is that Konishiki, who was kind enough to sign the rally towel I made with his shikona, spoke more about sumo in general as opposed to his personal experience as a young man with the sport.  While it was interesting not to hear the same stories twice, I believe the sumo newbies actually got more from the personal stories.

It was easier to empathize with him last year – as a child who got a strange opportunity to go to Japan and then had to adjust to a completely different way of life – with the brutal training techniques and schedule.  It was more clear to the audience to see the matawari (splits) and hear from Konishiki about his first mornings in the stable when he was made to do these exercises.  People could empathize with the pain he had to endure before achieving his success.  I think that he spoke more to the American crowd last year than this year.  

If I were to recommend one other change for the organizers, it would be to make one of the showings an “expert” show – for people more familiar with sumo – one where the sumotori could also talk about themselves and their challenges and experiences – one with more demonstrations of kimarite, and a more structured elimination tournament to determine the session’s champion – either round robin or tomoesen.  I recall that they seemed to have a more structured format last year – this year they just seemed to be taking turns until the time for the session was up and whoever won the fight was the night’s champ.

Sumo News Update 2024.06.17

Andy Japanese Culture , , , , ,

There were a couple of items on the sumo calendar over the past week. The first item was the Kickoff of Konishiki’s Sumo+Sushi tour in the United States! He hosted several shows over the weekend in New York City and will stay there for next weekend as well. Due to the success, several shows have been added there, next weekend. From NYC, the troupe will head down to DC for shows June 28-30, Nashville on July 12-14 and up to Chicago on July 19-21. Click here to re-read my rundown of last year’s experience. Getting up on the dohyo was absolutely amazing, as was my sudden barrel roll across it. I was probably very lucky their dais was not made of Arakita clay.

Some of you may be questioning whether this is news worthy. Well, aside from the fact that Konishiki is bringing a sumo experience to the States, this event includes real sumo wrestlers. To me, that is news worthy of itself. While the participation of former Makuuchi wrestlers Takagenji and Daikiho’s was announced ahead of time, Otani’s role was a surprise. He may have been a last-minute stand-in for Chiyonoshin but others from last year’s crew (including Tooyama) are not on this tour. Thanks to Chanko_Mattun on Twitter for the screen grab above because Otani’s appearance over here seems to have made the news over there, too.

And back in Japan, the Kyokai participated in another PR event. In last week’s update, we saw the Fukuoka PR event. This time, five wrestlers (Atamifuji, Midorifuji, Abi, Onosato, and Tobizaru) traveled over to Nagoya for a Sports-themed expo of sorts. Watch the entire two-hour show here on the Kyokai’s YouTube channel.

This event was shared with the Dolphins basketball team. I kind of think a chance was missed here for a three-on-three tournament with the fans or h-o-r-s-e with the pros. If you ever watch a sumo “match day” from the start, you will recognize the Radio Taiso routine here. There was a bit of a shoot-around but the big event was the dance off that featured Atamifuji and Midorifuji busting a move…without music. The video here doesn’t have rights to the music, so you don’t hear the music here. Wow, the Kyokai takes this rights stuff seriously, no?

Learn About Sumo With Konishiki and Naro.tv

Andy Japanese Culture, Rules Of Sumo, Stables (Heya), Sumo Topics ,

Just as we gather ourselves together here to watch the Aki Basho, Konishiki offers up great content in the form of an introductory course on all things sumo, available from Tuesday morning Japan-time, so 7:30pm Eastern on Monday evening. A Tokyo-based startup, Naro, offers these courses on features of Japanese culture and cuisine, provided by experts in their craft. Their debut series this summer was a Tempura course featuring Shuji Niitome.  For the sumo fans among us, Konishiki’s video provides an awesome way to demystify the sport. Tachiai was lucky enough to take a quick look, and the folks at Naro.tv are offering Tachiai readers a special 15% discount code: TACHIAI15.

The two hours of content is like a documentary broken up into individual, digestible chunks. With the help of three former wrestlers to help demonstrate, Konishiki covers a variety of the warm-ups and excercises, from shiko to the teppo pole and suri-ashi. His insight here gave me more of an appreciation for the rhythmic, meditative side to the teppo pole that I wouldn’t have grasped, otherwise. Having had a heavy bag in my room after college, I could see myself taking a few hours to decompress in the corner of the keiko-ba — venting at the teppo pole.

The videos provide a great look at some of the basic moves and techniques, as well as a frank, eye-opening discussion of the heya lifestyle from the lens of an 18-year-old kid who rose to become a Champion. Over the span of the videos, Konishiki opens up about his experiences and the difficult lifestyle that any young man faces in that environment. It should be required watching for any of us romantics who dream (or dreamt) of giving it all up and joining a heya. The reality of it is the grind — endless laundry, cooking, cleaning toilets and floors, helping your senpai shower —  with no breaks, no “weekend”. The Heya Life is lived 24/7, drama or no drama.

While there have definitely been some changes to that lifestyle in the last two decades, so much of it surely remains. His experience will be just as relevant to a recruit today, though the degree of the drama he describes will be less now, than it was then. But any recruit will have to face the fact that they’re going to live in a dorm with a bunch of teenage boys and young men. For those not fluent in Japanese or familiar with the culture, the learning curve will be…parabolic. One requires a singular dedication to not only the sport but a brutal, communal livelihood.

Overall, I found Konishiki’s auto-biographical discussion fascinating. Content-wise, it’s a suitable, engaging introduction to the sport, a “Sumo 101” course. It acknowledges but gets us past the “fat guys in diapers” stereotypes and imparts an understanding and respect for what’s really more than just a sport — an entire way of living. I hope there will be more in the works, perhaps with rikishi from multiple time-periods to see how things have evolved, as well as more specifics on the Shinto traditions and symbolism; or a deeper dive into the various roles from gyoji, yobidashi, and tokoyama to okami to oyakata. Then there’s the organization itself, from riji-cho on down. As for sumo, we’d love more from keiko and honbasho to jungyo and hanazumo, I could go on. Sumo’s a complex topic.

SumoStew Video on Konishiki

Andy Japanese Culture, Konishiki ,

SumoStew released a great video with Konishiki. The premise was to give viewers a bit of the back story on the photo we’ve all seen of the massive former Ozeki framed by a black background glaring at, and dwarfing, his opponent. But it’s more. It’s a quick, well-produced ride through the story of Konishiki, featuring an interview from the man himself. It also has a bit of the history and cultural background of the sport. I learned a lot. I didn’t know the story of the photo. But, it’s not just for die-hard sumo fans. She carefully explains the key concepts so you don’t need to be an expert in sumo to enjoy it. NBC should take notes.

Yes, I realize there’s a bit of irony in me enjoying this video about one of the largest rikishi ever when I complained about that NBC piece precisely because THAT video focused on the stereotypical girth of sumo wrestlers. I would argue that this SumoStew video is not intended as a 2:30 minute introduction to the sport but it definitely goes deeper into the cultural background while staying in the context of Konishiki and his importance as a ground-breaking Ozeki.

The NBC video is linked in the tweet above. And I understand where y’all are coming from that, “it wasn’t THAT bad.” But, I guess, if I had to make a comparison, the NBC video would be like introducing an audience to the NBA by focusing on the height of the players and not mentioning really anything substantive about the sport itself, like that it’s 5-on-5 and there’s a three-point line. No discussion of offensive strategies or defensive strategies or showing great plays. Just, “these guys are tall.” And rather than poking a basketball player in the belly, interview him from a ladder. It’s a missed opportunity.

That said, the career and life of Manute Bol is worth exploring for basketball fans in the way SumoStew introduces her viewer to Konishiki. I think SumoStew payed more respect to her subject than NBC did and she did so in a way that would entice more people to learn more than the NBC video — as Konishiki himself said he learned more about Japan. There’s a lot of depth to this sport which is why I get so agitated when it’s reduced to caricature and stereotype.