Wakatakamoto

Jungyo Newsreel – Day 12

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🌐 Location: Fujisawa, Kanagawa prefecture

Today we have a relatively short report, as the ladies of Fujisawa were less than diligent with their smartphones. More is the pity, as today’s schedule included a bout between Ichinojo and Terutsuyoshi. Alas, unless some footage turns out in the next few days, we’ll miss this clash of fire and ice.

Before describing this day, though, I want to take you back to Haru Jungyo 2003, and a photograph that shouldn’t have existed:

Asashoryu – Takanohana – Musashimaru

Three Yokozuna in 2003? That never happened. Takanohana, in fact, retired in Hatsu 2003, and Asashoryu was promoted only on the next banzuke, Haru 2003. You might think it’s a similar situation to what’s happening with Tochinoshin and Takakeisho now – Tochinoshin is still Ozeki due to the previous banzuke, and Takakeisho is shin-Ozeki as of the next banzuke, and both are treated as Ozeki this Jungyo. However, this doesn’t really happen with retirements, and besides, there is no Jungyo between Hatsu and Haru. Haru Jungyo comes between Haru and Natsu.

And yet, with the magic that is Jungyo, you see the retired Dai-Yokozuna side by side with the next Dai-Yokozuna, both in their tsuna. One can even see that Takanohana is already a lot thinner than he was when active.

OK, engage the flux capacitor. Let’s go back to 2019 – same town, same venue. It’s a beautiful spring day, and with more than 5000 people attending, it’s a good opportunity to get blood donations:

Inside the venue, rikishi are supposed to shake hands with the spectators. Instead, Mitakeumi gives Ichinojo a massage:

It’s hard to tell, with Ichinojo, whether he is pleased or disgusted with this.

The Onami family is in the building at full capacity, and in seniority order:

First, big brother Wakatakamoto. Second, second brother Wakamotoharu. Third, little brother Wakatakakage. Now we need a wolf to huff and puff and blow their house in… Furtunately, neither Seiro nor Roga are available at the moment.

Soon the subjects of the two previous pics get to the dohyo, and Ichinojo gives Wakatakakage a butsukari session:

Takakeisho was very busy on the dohyo today. He got butsukari from Goeido:

And he also had actual sumo practice for the first time this Jungyo. He engaged Hokutofuji:

And Myogiryu:

All in all, six bouts of which he won four: “I’m only starting. I need to get used to it again”. Said the shin-ozeki.

With practice over, the rikishi enjoyed some time off on the lawn outside the venue. Ryuden was enjoying himself, as usual:

And the children of Fujisawa were having the time of their lives:

After shower and dohyo-iri, they were at it again! Some of them were trying to make… thingamajigs… fly:

Or at least figure out what the things were supposed to do:

Some more serious people were still inside the venue doing their job:

“No, my job is not sweeping chimneys!

OK, “serious” may be stretching it. Abi is a bit bored by the oicho-mage demonstration. I can tell.

This demonstration included both him and Onosho, facing each a different section of the audience. Onosho, unlike Abi, was behaving well:

Then it was Kakuryu’s turn to show off his rope.

Behind him you can see Shohoryu, handing pieces of twine to the rope team leader (I think it’s Shinzan, not sure).

Today, the torikumi included an elimination tournament for the top of Makuuchi. All other sekitori had their usual bouts. Again, no footage. All I have is this photo of Kakuryu and Endo starting their match:

Somewhat surprisingly, Kakuryu won this tournament, winning ¥2,000,000 and a year’s supply of vegetables from the area. “I’m going to eat lots of vegetables”, chuckled the Yokozuna.

I still hope to find that elusive footage of Ichinojo vs. Terutsuyoshi. If I do, I’ll add it here. In the meantime, enjoy our pin-up of the day:

Arawashi is definitely supermodel grade

Jungyo Newsreel – Day 9

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🌐 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:

Ones To Watch – Post Haru Round Up (Makushita)

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Why is this man smiling? Ah yes, kachi-koshi in Makushita joi can feel like winning a Powerball jackpot.

With the glorious Haru basho in the record books, we can now examine how our up-an-coming, and well loved rikishi fared in the lower divisions. While we remarked at length at how brutal the competition was in the top division, the carnage carried down the banzuke to a surprising degree, with many of our “Ones to Watch” going down to make-koshi or squeaking out their final win with their last match.

Today we are looking at the Makushita rikishi, with lower divisions following soon.

Wakamotoharu – The second Onami brother to break into the salaried ranks, he had a disastrous record for Osaka, with only 5 wins against 10 losses. Ranked at Juryo 10, this is quite possibly enough certain to return him to the Makushita joi for May, where he will once again face some of the most difficult matches in sumo.

Hoshoryu – The rising star from Mongolia faced a 3 match cold streak in the first half of Haru, and closed with 3 straight wins to end 4-3. Prior to this tournament, Hoshoryu had been able to dominate the bulk of his matches, and may have found the competition a bit sedate. Ranked at Makusihta 7 in Osaka, he came up against some of the highly motivated rikishi, seeking to mangle each other in search of the final step into Sekitori status. While all of his fans are happy for his kachi-koshi, we expect him to have to repeat this kind of brutal slog at least a few more times before he can make his Juryo debut.

Akua – Electric green Akua went down to his second make-koshi in Osaka, putting his 3rd trip to Juryo further out of reach. Akua has been nursing nagging injuries after being forced to withdraw from the Aki basho on day 12. He has drive, speed and talent, but like so many hopefuls, his body suffers from the brutal pounding that is the top ¼ of Makushita.

Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto blazed a 6-1 record from Makushita 11, earning him a solid berth in the Makushita joi-jin for Natsu, and possibly a shot at Juryo if he can excel one more time. This will be no easy feat given how many strong rikishi had winning records in the top 10 Makushita ranks, who did not end up making the Juryo cut. He’s made one trip to these elevated ranks last summer, but suffered a brutal 1-6 at Aki 2018, and has been pushing to recover ever since.

Midorifuji – Midorifuji came to Osaka at his highest ever rank, and looking to do one thing – bring home 4 shiroboshi and a kachi-koshi. He closed the deal on this proposition on the final day, and assured himself a modest move higher. We will likely see him test his sumo against some of the joi-jin in May, and this might present him his biggest challenge yet. Midorifuji has shown an impressive range of sumo this year, and it’s only March…

Wakatakamoto – The lowest ranking of the three Onami brothers, Wakatakamoto excelled in Osaka, ending with a 5-2 record. Its likely this score will see him in the teens of the Makushita division, and he may find the level of competition a degree more intense than Osaka.

Ura – After a crippling re-injury to his right knee at Hatsu, Ura wasted no time returning to an orthopedic surgical theater, and undergoing a second surgery. He is not likely to return to the dohyo this year, and his Oyakata has indicated to the press that they are in “no rush” and want his recovery to be “perfect”. We could not agree more.

Musashikuni – The scion of the Mushashigawa clan went into the final day of the Haru basho already with 4 losses, but took his third win from Kotodairyu, to ease his fall down the banzuke for Natsu. We know the big Hawaiian has been nursing numerous mechanical injuries, and may have been at less than full health. He is also one of Takayasu’s tsukibeto.

Naya – One of the great stories of Haru was Naya’s bold run to within arm’s reach of the Makushita yusho from Ms51e. He was toe to toe with rikishi ranking well above him in many cases, but continued to dominated his matches. After a less than spectacular result from Hatsu, fans hopeful that Naya may be driving for higher ranks were delighted with his effort.

For a complementary take on the state of Makushita, see Chris Gould’s video below. -lksumo

Haru Day 15 Ones To Watch

Bruce H Haru Basho 2019 (Osaka), Ones To Watch, Terunofuji (照ノ富士) , , , , , , , , ,
Wakatakamoto – Visiting Sick Children In The Hospital

With most of the lower division yusho already decided, there are only a few matches left to finish out everybody’s 7. For our “Ones to Watch” it has been a tough basho. Last night Wakaichiro went down to his 4th defeat, from a forceful hatakikomi delivered by Hokutoshin. This was his 4th loss, and holding a losing record, he is likely to find himself in the top ranks of Jonidan for May.

Further up the torikumi, Hoshoryu gamberized and prevailed against Kaisho for his 4th win. At Makushita 7, he will likely be close to or at the top of the 3rd division for May, with a very real shot of making it to Juryo for Nagoya. He should be sharing that space with Ichiyamamoto, who went 6-1 from Makushita 13, and will have a spot near the top of the division too. I am already eagerly anticipating them facing off during Natsu. Although Naya also finished 6-1, his starting point at Makushita 51 will see him in the top half of the division, and facing much more determined opposition.

That being said, a few of our favorites are up day 15…

Terunofuji vs Roga – Both of these rikishi finished their Jonidan matches with perfect 7-0 records, and now they will meet to decide the yusho. This is a battle between an injured and diminished Ozeki who can still generate enormous power for the briefest of moments, against a future powerhouse rikishi who has completely dominated almost every time he steps on the dohyo. It’s quite literally the past vs the future.

Wakatakamoto vs Bushozan – The last Onami brother to make sekitori has already secured a kachi-koshi, and will be joining what is likely to be a brutally competitive Makushita joi-jin for May. This final match will determine which of these two rikishi will get a higher rank. Bushozan is another “big’un”, and will have mass on his side.

Musashikuni vs Kotodairyu – Much of the Musashigawa clan is make-koshi this tournament. Among that ignoble group is Musashikuni, who enters today’s match 4-2. The good news is that he has beaten Kotodairyu before. The bad news is was 3 years ago when both were in Sandanme.

Kenho vs Takabayama – This is a 1-5 bracket match, and both rikishi are having a terrible basho. Kenho seems to continue to have health issues, and problems with his lower body’s durability. He will be lower in Jonidan for May, and hopefully will regroup.

Amakaze vs Umizaru – Both of these rikishi are 5-1, and I would expect the winner of today’s final match to be posted close to, or in Sandanme for May. It’s great to see Amakaze back on the dohyo, and I am happy that he has his kachi-koshi secure.