Tokitsukaze

The Oyakata Reassignment Thought Experiment

Josh K Nihon Sumo Kyokai, Oyakata, Scandal, Stables (Heya) , , , , , , ,

The venerable John Gunning dropped a banger in the Japan Times last week, discussing the fallout of the Hokuseiho bullying scandal and the Miyagino beya caretaker drama. Developments in the latter story have seen the public and media barred from the training facilities at the heya’s Osaka lodgings, as new temporary boss Tamagaki tries to steady the ship.

Tamagaki is the former Komusubi Tomonohana, and has been drafted in from Oshima beya to restore the viability of the troubled stable. In his article, Gunning expands on a point that frequent Tachiai reader/commenter/participant Asashosakari and I were discussing recently on Sumo Forum, that one of the issues that could be contributing to problems at heya that lack oversight is the wildly uneven distribution of oyakata at stables in the Kyokai:

“Despite there being 105 elder name shares in the JSA, and (currently) just 45 stables, the distribution of the former among the latter is far from even. Musashigawa stable for example has 14 wrestlers and just one elder… while in Kasugano stable, seven former top division men supervise 16 wrestlers. A more even apportioning of that experience and wisdom would go a long way toward preventing situations where immature 21- and 22-year-old wrestlers are left in control of groups of teenagers.” – John Gunning, The Japan Times

Now, before the conspiracy theorists start furiously pounding away at their keyboards, John and I have been seen in the same place at the same time, I couldn’t tell you anything about hurling and the only feelings I have for Manchester United are occasionally pity or loathing. But he is onto something and it’s rather in line with this excerpt from my Forum contribution:

“Another thing that hasn’t come up here is Takashima’s defection from Miyagino to Isenoumi a couple years ago. I don’t know if the real reason for this ever cropped up, and maybe he just didn’t want to be a part of what Hakuho was going to build, but you’d think that having a veteran presence at the heya (ie adult in the room) would help to hopefully mitigate some situations.

It seems absolutely nuts that Kasugano and Isenoumi account for 10% of all elder shares between just the two heya, and Kasugano has another 3 official staffers.

Now that everyone can be a sanyo, a good use of the role would be using their time to support new oyakata to help them develop. I could be wrong but newer shisho who have a sanyo or very senior oyakata in the backroom team (ie Oshima when he was Tomozuna, Ikazuchi with Irumagawa, Hanaregoma with Minatogawa, Oshiogawa with Oguruma, etc.) seem to have had it pretty smooth sailing so far.”

Before you make the point, I know, quoting yourself is weird and should be reserved for self-help and wellness influencers who repost their tweets on their main Instagram feed. But I digress.

I actually don’t believe heya consolidation is the answer, because while it potentially solves one problem it creates another issue in terms potentially pushing the declining rate of recruiting even further. But I do think a realignment of oyakata – and especially sanyo – makes a ton of sense.

Gunning points out a number of issues that would be caused by migration of oyakata, all of which are valid and you should go read the article. For the purposes of this thought exercise, let’s set up some ground rules:

  • No oyakata leave their existing ichimon (keeps power balance the same as it is now), with one exception
  • Prioritise support for new shisho (who inherited or opened stables in the last 5 years) by experienced oyakata and sanyo
  • Don’t move oyakata to experienced single shisho if a better option exists
  • Try to keep sub-family alignments in order to preserve culture (ie, among stables which branched from or share affiliations with other heya within the larger ichimon)
  • We will ignore the geographical locations of the heya. Obviously, in real life it would be a big deal for an oyakata based in the south of Tokyo to move to, for example, Chiba or Ibaraki prefectures. I think it’s difficult to do this as a thought experiment and consider the personal circumstances of people we don’t know all that much about.

Takasago Ichimon

  • Jinmaku (ex-Fujinoshin, 63) moves to Takasago from Hakkaku

Just one move here. I toyed with moving Tanigawa to Nishikido beya, as he’s spent 13 years coaching first at Hakkaku and then Kokonoe and is the best candidate to assume a heya. But Kokonoe has 25 rikishi and probably needs all four coaches. While Nishikido beya has been more or less dead since its own scandal(s) and has no one to inherit it, you can always move someone in closer to the time that the current shisho is ready to go.

So, the move that I did make is the soon-to-retire Jinmaku. Hakkaku beya has 18 rikishi, but in addition to the chairman of the association it’s also coached by a former shisho in Azumazeki and a future one in Kimigahama (Okinoumi).  Takasago-beya, meanwhile, has 24 rikishi of its own, but only two coaches at present and the shisho is one of the youngest and least experienced in the Kyokai with only 3 years as a coach before taking over as stable master amidst a scandal. While Wakamatsu (former Asanowaka) is also there, this provides a much better balance.

Tokitsukaze Ichimon

  • Kagamiyama (ex-Tagaryu, 66) moves to Arashio from Isenoumi
  • Michinoku (ex-Kirishima, 65) and Tatsutayama (ex-Sasshunnada, 66) move to Otowayama from Michinoku
  • Urakaze (ex-Shikishima, 53) moves to Arashio from Michinoku
  • Katsunoura (ex-Kirinishiki, 61) moves to Oitekaze from Isenoumi
  • Takashima (ex-Koboyama, 66) moves to Isegahama ichimon from Isenoumi

As referenced above, Isenoumi beya has 7 coaches for 15 rikishi, which is absolutely ridiculous. Let’s keep the former Oikari, Ikioi and Tosanoumi all in the heya with the shisho, as they were all Isenoumi-beya products. Kagamiyama recently shut down a basically dead heya and migrated to Isenoumi, and as a sanyo his services are better utilised with the relatively inexperienced Arashio oyakata, who has produced multiple sekitori and also seems to be an active recruiter.

Oitekaze oyakata is vastly experienced, but he has 20 rikishi that he oversees himself. Katsunoura is older than him, but by the time he reaches the mandatory retirement age, one of Oitekaze beya’s vast number of sekitori will be ready to take their steps into coaching anyway, so this can be a temporary move.

The other departure from Isenoumi beya will be Takashima. Whatever his reasons were for leaving Miyagino beya, he should certainly never have been allowed to take a fairly prestigious name out of that ichimon to go to a stable that was already overloaded with coaches, especially given the greater need for that share in Isegahama ichimon in future. It may be coincidental that Hokuseiho’s reign of terror is said to have begun in the summer of 2022, which is exactly when Takashima left Miyagino-beya.

Tatsutayama is formerly of Izutsu beya, so that’s why I found the fit for him as a sanyo who can provide senior support in Kakuryu’s new Otowayama beya. Finally, Michinoku beya closes in April and it’s said the rikishi will have their choice of stables to join within the ichimon. Word on the street is that Michinoku’s Ozeki and shisho will join up with Kakuryu, but there’s no reason for four coaches there so we’ll send Urakaze to Arashio beya.

Isegahama Ichimon

  • Takashima (ex-Koboyama, 66) moves to Ajigawa from Isenoumi

This is a tough one to project, as we have the ongoing Hakuho disciplinary issues, as well as a handful of potential names that may be needed soon.

There’s going to be a serious kabu crunch here soon, as Takarafuji and Terunofuji probably aren’t that long for the mawashi, and Isegahama is going to need to hand over his stable next year. So, we’re bringing the Takashima kabu back into the family where it should have stayed, and we’ll put him as a mentor to Ajigawa for the time being.

Every other shisho in the ichimon has a partner except for Asahiyama, who is much more experienced and also has quite a small heya of rikishi who are similar in rank. We’ll leave things as they are with respect to Tamagaki and Miyagino beya for now, as that situation will resolve itself shortly anyway.

Nishonoseki Ichimon

  • Kumegawa (ex-Kotoinazuma, 61) moves to Naruto from Sadogatake
  • Minatogawa (ex-Daitetsu, 63) moves to Nishonoseki from Hanaregoma
  • Minezaki (ex-Misugiiso, 67) moves to Shikoroyama from Shibatayama
  • Shiratama (ex-Kototsubaki, 63) accompanies Hidenoyama when the heya branches out from Sadogatake
  • Merge Otake beya into Minato beya when it probably closes next year

There aren’t many stables with a surplus of coaches in this large ichimon, apart from Sadogatake which will soon lose Hidenoyama oyakata to a branch-out. We also don’t want to deplete Sadogatake beya too much, because with 24 rikishi it’s easily one of the biggest heya in the sport.

So I’ve made five recommendations here, in an attempt to exercise restraint. Shibatayama beya, with just eight rikishi and a very senior shisho, doesn’t feel like the best home for a sanyo like Minezaki, a former stable master in his own right, despite their long standing connection. So, I’ve sent him to support ex-Homasho at Shikoroyama-beya where he is the new shisho following the former Terao’s passing. Homasho has plenty of seasoning as a coach, but as a large stable which has had some issues in the past, a veteran oyakata seems better placed to assist there.

Sadogatake beya ultimately gets its allocation reduced by half here, as the very senior Shiratama could accompany Hidenoyama upon his branch-out to offer senior support. Hidenoyama, presumably, will be slightly reducing the overall number of deshi at Sadogatake when he leaves, anyway. We’ll also send Kumegawa oyakata to Naruto beya, to offer support to an oyakata who has shown tremendous scouting and recruiting prowess but whose rikishi have suffered plenty of issues on and off the dohyo.

Hanaregoma beya, with just nine rikishi, probably isn’t the best home for three oyakata, including the very senior Minatogawa. As a former Nishonoseki man himself, we’ll send him to assist ex-Kisenosato, who is the youngest shisho in the Kyokai and with one of the largest heya, thanks to the deshi brought by his deputy Nakamura (ex-Yoshikaze). But in an effort to avoid the Hakuho scenario, sticking a veteran presence in a very junior heya might be helpful, even if temporarily.

Finally, Otake beya will probably close next year. If the oyakata intends to continue as sanyo (provided the Kyokai is open to it), it might make sense to send him to Minato beya where there have been some behind-the-scenes issues in recent years in an attempt to lend some additional stability.

Dewanoumi Ichimon

  • Wakafuji (ex-Otsukasa, 53) to Shikihide from Kise
  • Nishikijima (ex-Shotenro, 42) to Futagoyama from Fujishima
  • Sekinoto (ex-Iwakiyama, 48) to Takekuma from Sakaigawa
  • Dekiyama (ex-Hochiyama, 42) to Musashigawa from Sakaigawa
  • Mihogaseki (ex-Tochisakae, 50) to Tatsunami from Kasugano
  • Iwatomo (ex-Kimurayama, 42) to Tamanoi from Kasugano

Some of these moves were obvious and some were less obvious, and in the end I decided to be somewhat conservative rather than doing anything radical. Each of these moves adds an oyakata to a single-oyakata stable.

Wakafuji’s move to Kise always seemed a little bit weird. The heya has a few other oyakata, none of whom really made sense to move (Futeno might ultimately be the successor and seems to have worked closely with many of the sekitori, while Tokushoryu and especially Akiseyama may only be in situ temporarily, depending on Shimanoumi’s situation). In any case, another veteran presence at a Shikihide beya which has had some internal issues in the past few years seems prudent.

Nishikijima was the only oyakata that seemed to make sense to move to Futagoyama, as all of the other Fujishima beya oyakata would be senior to a shisho who by now has some decent experience. On the flip side, Takekuma is a brand new heya and it seems prudent to stick a senior oyakata from the parent heya with the former Goeido, who is one of the youngest stablemasters in the Kyokai.

I pulled another oyakata out of Sakaigawa beya as well, with Dekiyama going to Musashigawa beya. This was an imperfect fit, but I felt better about pulling from Sakaigawa (itself, like the original Musashigawa, branched from Dewanoumi beya) rather than Kasugano beya for two reasons: 1) Sadanoumi and Myogiryu – who may well be the eventual successor – are both soon to retire, potentially giving the stable yet more oyakata; and 2) it’s possible that Tochiozan (Kiyomigata oyakata) is a branchout candidate from Kasugano himself, especially if Tochinonada (Takenawa oyakata) is the eventual successor to the heya in 3 years’ time.

I did however pull two oyakata from the bloated Kasugano beya: the first was the more obvious move, with the junior Kimurayama going to Tamanoi beya which branched from Kasugano, and which has a large volume of rikishi. The second was less obvious, and probably the biggest debate, as Tatsunami beya is another large stable. It also has a number of sekitori with more likely soon to follow, so it felt like an experienced coach was better than moving the likes of Tokushoryu, which is why I settled on Mihogaseki, the former Tochisakae. With Tatsunami not having any connections within the ichimon due to its relatively recent realignment, it was tougher to find a suitable candidate.

Conclusion

All in all, this was an interesting exercise. What it showed me was that it’s possible to improve the balance of coaching within the Kyokai by making around a dozen or so moves and without any radical realignment of the existing ichimon structure.

There will be more scientific ways of doing this, and more forensic ways that take into account the various personalities. As a back of the napkin exercise, however, I think it does show that if the Kyokai put some proper time into researching how to realign their coaching resources, they can probably come up with something even better that would be even more impactful.

It’s also worth linking to this recent article from the Asahi Shimbun. The piece details another solution, which is allowing coaching credentials and ideas to dictate the ability of a former rikishi to operate a stable, rather than the duration of their time on the dohyo. Perhaps we can visit some suggestions for concepts like that in a later post.

What do you think of all of this? Obviously this isn’t the standard Tachiai thought experiment and might be limited in scope to a handful of die-hard readers, but if anyone has any thoughts they’d like to share in the comments then I’d certainly love to kick those around as we get ready for the upcoming basho.

Yutakayama Retires from Sumo

Josh K Kyushu Basho 2022, Yutakayama ,

In somewhat of a surprise announcement, the Sumo Association announced today that Juryo rikishi Yutakayama of Tokitsukaze beya has decided to retire.

A veteran of six and a half years in the sport at professional level, Yutakayama will be well known to readers of Tachiai for his significant presence in the top division over the past several years.

Yutakayama burst onto the scene as a college recruit in 2016, arriving as a Sandanme tsukedashi on account of his collegiate achievements alongside future Ozeki Asanoyama. Then named Oyanagi (his last name), it looked at the outset of his career that the powerful pusher-thruster could provide a foil to Asanoyama’s (also then fighting under his real name Ishibashi) yotsu-zumo techniques.

Indeed, Yutakayama made swift work of the lower divisions and arrived in Makuuchi in just his 8th tournament. Upon arrival, he took a very notable shikona, reflective of the hopes pinned on him with respect to the huge achievements of other Yutakayamas of Tokitsukaze beya of generations past. As a prospect, his abilities were easy to dream on: a slew of oshi-zumo enthusiasts including Onosho and Takakeisho also arrived in the top division in 2017, but Yutakayama’s greater physicality marked him out as a special talent and someone who may rise quickly to challenge those in the joi and san’yaku ranks.

After a stop-start beginning to his top division tenure in which he yo-yo’d between the divisions, Yutakayama gained his footing in the upper tier of sumo. At 2018’s Nagoya basho he achieved his finest performance, coming runner-up to yusho winner Mitakeumi by a single loss at 12-3, and also notching the only special prize of his career. A tour de force performance in total, the basho was punctuated by Yutakayama’s Day 14 win against Ozeki Takayasu in their first ever meeting, and bettered the following day on senshuraku by a stunning rally against the champion Mitakeumi. Yutakayama came back twice from the bales, defeating the star of the tournament with a hooking inner thigh throw which he deployed at the third attempt in a battle and manner of victory that was not typical of his sumo style.

However, injuries were to prove too much for Yutakayama to manage, and twice sapped his runs to the joi. He never made it to san’yaku, topping out at Maegashira 1, and suffering heavy losing records on his trips to the uppermost heights of the rank and file. While it seemed his infusion into the top division would provide a challenge to Shodai’s position as top dog at Tokitsukaze beya, we never got to see Yutakayama in a position to display his abilities consistently at the upper end of the division due to the undoubted toll that his injuries took on his ability to commit power to his oshi-zumo skill set. His intai at the age of 29 is perhaps a reflection of knowing that the game was up, as he looked overmatched even in the lower reaches of Makuuchi in recent years, and most recently suffered a heavy double digit makekoshi in Juryo in Fukuoka.

While his departure feels premature, for many sumo fans it will feel difficult to take simply because it felt like it wasn’t that long ago that he could have been projected as a force in the sport. I remember tracking him as a prospect and while it’s one feeling to see a long-time top division star or personal favourite leave the sport for blue-jacketed security detail, it’s another thing to see a top talent who we can remember in a chon-mage – or even zanbara – departing before his time might otherwise have come. Indeed, the Sumo Association normally will reference as part of the intai announcement whether a retiring sekitori has taken up an elder name, and while Yutakayama qualified for a kabu on account of the duration of his service, we can infer that he will not be staying in the organisation and will be leaving sumo entirely.

In the immediate future, with interest to banzuke prognosticators, Yutakayama’s intai and the swift announcement following the basho and ahead of the banzuke meeting will open an additional place in Juryo for the 2023 Hatsu basho. My prediction is that Ms5 Hakuyozan will take his place, although I will defer to our own lksumo for how this impacts his already comprehensive analysis of the January banzuke.

An announcement as to Yutakayama’s future was not immediately given but we can expect more details in the coming days. Whatever it may entail, we wish the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Tokitsukaze-beya alum the best of luck in his “second life!”

COVID news: 8 new cases appear, Tokitsukaze punishment

Herouth COVID-19 ,

Two news items from earlier today are related to the pandemic.

Eight new cases in heya

A few days ago, we have reported that 6 rikishi tested positive at an undisclosed heya. At the time, all the others were tested as well but were negative. However, several of those previously negative have developed symptoms such as a high fever. As a result, a new test has been conducted and 8 additional rikishi were found positive, bringing the number of infections in that heya to 14 in total.

None of those infected is a sekitori, and therefore the names and the heya are undisclosed.

Tokitsukaze oyakata’s punishment decided

We have previously posted that Tokitsukaze oyakata has been caught on camera breaking COVID regulation repeatedly during Hatsu basho, and handed in his resignation. The NSK did not accept it immediately, and waited for the Compliance Committee to investigate the matter. That committee has completed its investigation and handed in a report a few days ago, recommending that the oyakata retire. In an extraordinary meeting of the board today, they have decided to issue an official “recommendation to retire”, and additionally, reduced Tokitsukaze’s severance pay by 30%.

The Tokitsukaze name, together with the heya, will transfer to Magaki oyakata, the former Tosayutaka, freeing the Magaki kabu. This was not an arbitrary selection, but rather the consensus at which the ichimon arrived as soon as Tokitsukaze made up his mind to retire.

Tokitsukaze oyakata hands in resignation over flagrant COVID regulation violation

Herouth COVID-19 ,

Shortly after Hatsu basho has been over, a Japanese tabloid published preliminary information, revealing that Tokitsukaze oyakata (former Tokitsuumi, 47) has been going out of the heya during the basho, to various destinations, including 5 consecutive days at a Mahjong parlor, and various excursions to less reputable establishments.

While in normal times such conduct may have raised at most some outraged voices from the more conservative section of society, doing so in the middle of a pandemic, against explicit guidelines, was not likely to pass quietly. Moreover, this is his second offense, after he went golfing in Miyagi prefecture before Aki basho – a violation which cost him a demotion by two ranks.

The crisis management committee has taken up the story, and the compliance committee has started an investigation following a hearing. Following the investigation, the procedure is to hand the recommendations to the board, which would hold a meeting and decide on a proper punishment. This punishment is expected to be severe, under the circumstances.

Yesterday, when interviewed by Nikkan Sports, the oyakata was still attempting to provide alternative explanations about his actions (saying, for example, that he did visit the Mahjong parlor, but not to play Mahjong but to give them tickets to the basho). However, at around the same time, the aforesaid tabloid started releasing more information, including photos. This may have been what drove the oyakata to hand in his resignation on January 27, stating his resolve to take responsibility.

Current expectation is that the NSK will hold on to the resignation papers until after it completes the investigation and punishment procedure. Of course, keeping precedents like Abi and the former Shikimori Inosuke in mind, it’s not a certainty that the resignation will be accepted immediately or at all.