somenuki

Aki 2025: Day Ten

Andy Aki 2025, Aki Basho , ,

Welcome to Day Ten. For the past few days, the Kyokai’s Twitter account has been featuring some of the makuuchi somenuki yukata each day this tournament and I keep forgetting to post them. I will rectify that now. Today, we have Ichiyamamoto, Fujinowaka, Midorifuji, and Shonannoumi. These yukata are usually notable for their colors, detailed graphic designs, and the wrestler’s shikona prominently emblazoned…usually in white, black, or gold.

Somenuki are special yukata reserved for makuuchi wrestlers, only. It’s yet another one of those privileges that is characteristic of the hierarchies in the sumo world. And they’re only able to wear them during the warm basho from May through September, so after this basho, they’ll get packed away for next year.

We see in this image that Fujinokawa has a somenuki. He has been in makuuchi for a few tournaments now, so he’s had time to raise money and get this custom yukata made for himself. Sometimes if a Juryo wrestler has just been promoted, he won’t have one and will still wear the hakama or kimono we usually see sekitori wear. We also see Hitoshi’s below. I wish we could see the back.

Usually the design is on one side and the shikona is on the other. You know how they talk about mullets as being “business up front, party in the back?” Well, this is nothing like that. Not so rigid. So, forget I mentioned mullets. With somenuki, the party can be in the front and the back. These images from the Kyokai this week are featuring just the front so we’re missing half of the work. I’ll try to find more complete images. In the past, the Kyokai has shown both front and back.

The somenuki term comes from a method of bleaching color out of the fabric, leaving white fabric behind. Let’s say you have a brilliant yellow yukata. You get a portion of it bleached and then put a brilliant design in the white part. The same is done for the shikona, though it’s often left white.

Your NHK videos are here. They included the Juryo bout between Nishikifuji and Fujiseiun. With Mita’s loss he fell to 8-2, tied with the fore-mentioned Nishikifuji, Asanoyama, and Asahakuryu.

Makuuchi Action

Oshoumi (J 8-2) defeated Shishi (6-4). Shishi did a great job of getting Oshoumi turned around but Oshoumi did an even better job of recovering and re-engaging. He got both hands on the front of Shishi’s mawashi, pulled up, and drove forward, depositing Shishi over the bales. Impressive strength. Yorikiri.

Tobizaru (7-3) defeated Nishikigi (1-9). Nishikigi dug deep for this and wrapped up Tobizaru’s shoulders in a way that his arms were flailing skyward, helplessly. Nishikigi then pressed forward and drove Tobizaru over the bales. Gunbai Tobizaru? Video replay shows Nishikigi stepping out before Tobizaru. Good call. Instead of a kimarite, this is one of the “other” losing methods (higi): the step out. Isamiashi.

Asakoryu (5-5) defeated Tomokaze (6-4). Henka! Asakoryu jumped left and slapped Tomokaze down. Hatakikomi.

Ryuden (8-2) defeated Meisei (3-7). Ryuden grabbed Meisei with his powerful right hand uwate and dragged him forward toward the bales. This turned Meisei around so Ryuden followed up with a shove from behind. Okuridashi.

Tokihayate (4-6) defeated Shonannoumi (5-5). Tokihayate grabbed Shonannoumi’s mawashi with both hands and turned him around. Shonannoumi tried to pull away but this just allowed Tokihayate a devastating morozashi. He pressed forward and drove Shonannoumi over the edge. Yorikiri.

Mitakeumi (4-6) defeated Hitoshi (4-6). Henka! The lost art is on display this tournament. Who knew Mitakeumi could move laterally so quickly? Not I! Mitakeumi leaped left, grabbed Hitoshi’s belt deep as he passed, and then dragged him down. Uwatenage.

Sadanoumi (4-6) defeated Fujinokawa (3-7). Sadanoumi’s left hand uwate hold proved more powerful than Fujinokawa’s left hand shitate when he unceremoniously dumped Fujinokawa off the dohyo. Uwatedashinage.

Ura (7-3) defeated Roga (5-5). Ura pressed up into Roga with his powerful hazuoshi and drove him straight back and over the bales. The crowd roared its approval of his display of strength. Oshidashi.

Takanosho (8-2) defeated Shodai (8-2). Takanosho hit Shodai with a nodowa with his right hand and swatted Shodai’s arm away with the left. This got Shodai moving backward. Takanosho hit him again with another nodowa with the left, and then shoved Shodai back and out. Oshidashi.

Oshoma (6-4) defeated Churanoumi (6-4). Oshoma was all business today as he obliterated Churanoumi at the tachiai. He followed up with left hand and then right hand nodowa to force Churanoumi to the edge and then shoved him over. Keyed-in. Oshidashi.

Kinbozan (4-6) defeated Onokatsu (5-5). Onokatsu attempted a pull but Kinbozan bulldozed forward and drove Onokatsu over the edge. Oshidashi.

Halftime

Daieisho (4-6) defeated Kusano (5-5). Daieisho of old hit Kusano repeatedly with tsuppari, driving the youngster back and out. Tsukidashi.

Midorifuji (4-6) defeated Ichiyamamoto (3-7). Midorifuji got inside of Ichiyamamoto’s tsuppari so the two settled into a migi-yotsu grapple. Midorifuji dragged Ichiyamamoto to the edge and threw Ichiyamamoto. Both men tumbled down. Gunbai Midorifuji. No mono-ii. Shitatenage.

Oho (6-4) defeated Atamifuji (2-8). Oho just overpowered Atamifuji. Oho shoved forward and forced Atamifuji out with his hazuoshi. Oshidashi.

Abi (1-9) Abi-literated Tamawashi (3-7). Abi hasn’t been looking great lately but he dug deep and shoved Tamawashi hard, forcing Tamawashi to fall backwards. Abi’s losing streak ended and he finally picked up his first win. Oshitaoshi.

Sanyaku

Takayasu (3-7) defeated Gonoyama (0-10). Takayasu demonstrated amazing power. Gonoyama hit Takayasu hard and drove him all the way to the bales. But Takayasu dug deep, pivoted, and forced Gonoyama back over the edge to extend Gonoyama’s losing streak to 10 bouts. Yorikiri.

Aonishiki (8-2) defeated Hakuoho (6-4). Aonishiki got his left hand inside grip and pressed forward. Hakuoho flailed around and tried to do something with his left arm but Aonishiki shoved him back with his right arm while driving with the left. Yorikiri.

Hiradoumi (6-4) defeated Wakatakakage (5-5). The Ozeki run is done. Hiradoumi overpowered Wakatakakage and shoved him out. Wakatakakage hung on as long as he could but Hiradoumi was helped by his powerful gaburi leg thrusts. Oshidashi.

Kotozakura (7-3) defeated Kirishima (5-5). Kotozakura went on the attack and good things happened. Kirishima did a great job of hanging in there and at one point had better position. But Kotozakura established his right hand inside, then got a strong left hand grip outside. Kirishima pulled back to switch his grip and that makikae struck again. Kirishima reared back so Kotozakura pressed forward and forced Kirishima over the edge. Yorikiri.

Onosato (9-1) defeated Kotoshoho (2-8). Onosato dominated Kotoshoho and handed Nagoya’s Yusho winner his make-koshi. Tsukidashi.

Hoshoryu (10-0) defeated Wakamotoharu (6-4). Wakamotoharu tried to give back with Hoshoryu’s niramiai stare-down games before the tachiai. That got the crowd into it. It also motivated Hoshoryu more. Hoshoryu blitzed Wakamotoharu, driving him back to the edge quickly. Wakamotoharu resisted for an instant but Hoshoryu wasn’t having any of it, pivoted, and threw Wakamotoharu roughly to the ground. Geeez! That was impressive. Sukuinage.

Wrap up

I say Wakatakakage’s Ozeki run is over but his toughest bouts are yet to come. If he somehow wins all five of these bouts, who knows? He’ll likely have to beat both Yokozuna and Ozeki Kotozakura in the final stretch. Promotions have been given with 32-win records but I feel like the hype has died down given the first few losses. What’s more likely is he will need 9 or 10 wins to carry any hope of promotion at Kyushu or Hatsu.

The yusho race is down to the Yokozuna now. Hoshoryu leads, undefeated. Onosato trails with one loss. Wow, it feels like it’s been a LONG time since we had something like this…probably going back to Hakuho vs Terunofuji (though I think Terunofuji was Ozeki) or Hakuho vs Kakuryu.

In the lead up to the final weekend, the Yokozuna schedules will get tougher as they fight sanyaku opponents. Tomorrow, Onosato will face Takayasu and Hoshoryu will take on Kirishima. Kotozakura will take on whatever is left of Wakamotoharu. Wakatakakage will fight Kotoshoho and Shodai is being called up to fight Aonishiki. There will be more kensho available in these sanyaku bouts. Will that motivate Girigiri Shodai? Or will Aonishiki chew him up and spit him back out into the dregs of the rank-and-filers?

Makuuchi fashion: Somenuki

Andy Japanese Culture , ,

Sumo fans in Tokyo and Nagoya really have access to something special. Starting in May and running through September, Makuuchi wrestlers turn the city streets into a catwalk of sorts. When arriving at the arena, our top-division favorites will stray from the formal kimono we often see and wear customized yukata, called somenuki (so-meh-new-key). The picture here comes from Tachiai reader, Rob Donner. It’s Sadanoumi in a brilliant purple yukata with this amazing, turbulent coastal design.

Sumo wrestler attire is subject to strict guidelines, especially when they’re at official events, like honbasho. We’re more familiar with them wearing hakama and haori, especially in the colder winter months. I was particularly struck by Chiyoshoma’s somenuki in this tweet, so I thought I would share with Tachiai readers. In contrast, Kinbozan is still wearing the hakama and haori that many are probably more familiar with. But at this time of year makuuchi wrestlers have the privilege of cutting loose on their way to work by ditching the standard stuff provided by the heya and wearing these yukata which are often provided by supporters and usually customized with their shikona.

My guess is that Kinbozan is so new to Makuuchi that he might not yet have much in the way of these custom threads. While some are quite simple, with just the shikona, many of them will feature very intricate designs with fantastic animals, landscapes, and other patterns. Endo’s for example, usually features the familiar shibaraku image of his Nagatanien sponsors. Sometimes, the front is simple, as might be the case with Asanoyama’s yukata here…but the back can be a whole different story. Think of the mullet: “business up front, party in the back.” That sentiment applies here sometimes, too. So we really need to get these guys to do their little turn so we can see who the partiers are.

I would love to retweet any of your examples of fantastic somenuki patterns, so @ me on Twitter @tachiai_blog and I will share. Maybe we can get a poll going for the most fashion-forward rikishi. Chiyoshoma is my early entry. Frankly, I love that mint green with the various colors in the mix of numbers. Do you have any others?

Andy’s brain when wrestlers do their little turn on the catwalk.