most skinny shindeshi ever?

[Asashosakari 19,668]

Somewhat hidden within Sports Hochi's Day 4 roundup, there is news that Takasago-beya will have a new rikishi soon. No name is given, but he is reported to be 20 years old, 182 cm in height, and weighed just 58 (!) kg upon his arrival at the stable. He's currently living at the heya and being fattened up to at least reach the secondary minimum of 67 kg, which Takasago-oyakata hopes he can reach in time for the next shindeshi examinations prior to Natsu basho.

Hmm.

[higginbotham 0]

Not very young nor "burly" for joining ozumo, maybe he can fly or something...

[ilovesumo 12]

I just feel very very fat at the moment..... :-) could have been shindeshi from 2003 on....

[Itachi 396]

Somewhat hidden within Sports Hochi's Day 4 roundup, there is news that Takasago-beya will have a new rikishi soon. No name is given, but he is reported to be 20 years old, 182 cm in height, and weighed just 58 (!) kg upon his arrival at the stable. He's currently living at the heya and being fattened up to at least reach the secondary minimum of 67 kg, which Takasago-oyakata hopes he can reach in time for the next shindeshi examinations prior to Natsu basho.

Hmm.

This is the first rikishi I've heard of who weighs less than me!

I've been trying to fatten myself up for many years but I'm afraid I've never managed the secondary minimum. Ganbarimasu!

[ryafuji 815]

Apparently Hakuho weighed only 62kg when he first came to Japan, according to his (English) Wikipedia article anyway.

[Asashosakari 19,668]

Another pre-feature about the new guy. Apparently he's shrunk a bit as Nikkan now has him as 180 cm and 60 kg, but we finally have a name: Tomonori Yamashita 山下智徳, from Osaka. Apparently also joining is another, 18-year-old kid from Osaka, Kazunari Kimura (?) 記村一成. Nikkan Sports' headline calls it "an immediate effect of Asashoryu's yusho", which obviously isn't quite correct, but may still hold some truth: Asked about their reason for joining Takasago-beya, the two youngsters stated, "We're just crazy about the yokozuna!" Asashoryu has advised rail-thin Yamashita to try increasing his weight by drinking lots of milk, and they're still hoping that he makes it to 67 kg in time for the next secondary exam deadline which is just a few weeks away.

Takasago-beya used to have more than 30 rikishi but has recently dropped to just 14, so perhaps this may spell the beginning of a heya revival. Heya manager Tetsuhiro Matsuda (ex-Ichinoya, naturally) added, "Having a yokozuna in the heya does mean a lot, of course [for our recruiting chances]."

Edited March 24, 2008 by Asashosakari

[Jonosuke 28]

In old days , many heya had recruits living at their heya but were not ready for prime time. Not necessarilly for height and weight requirements but they also had this thing about the minimum education level. Obviously if they were coming in around the age of 12, it's pretty difficult to pass the weight and height requirements so they ended up living at their heya until they were old enough and big enough to pass the qualification.

Just departed Tate Gyoji Shonosuke Kimura joined Ozumo when he was 13 years old. He was doing a Tsukebit duty for then Tate Gyoji 22nd Shonosuke Kimura while going to Ryogoku Middle School.

[madorosumaru 7]

Heya manager Tetsuhiro Matsuda (ex-Ichinoya, naturally) added, "Having a yokozuna in the heya does mean a lot, of course [for our recruiting chances]".

It is interesting that the former Ichinoya also took a long time to pass the shin-deshi exam. Although a university graduate, he was determined to join Ozumo. Unfortunately, he was vertically-challenged at 166 cm while the minimum height to pass was 173 cm. He applied at several heya, including Takasago, but was summarily rejected. At one heya, the oyakata told him that he was pretty influential at the Kyokai and might have been able to do something for him if he were at least 170 cm.

Then while reading in the newspaper about the March 1983 shin-deshi test, which had 120 successful applicants,he came up with a brilliant idea. Although popular heya like Futagoyama, Takasago and Dewanoumi had high numbers of aspirants, there were six that could not come up with even one. So, young Matsuda went to one of them, Wakamatsu, which just had an oyakata change, which resulted in most of the veteran rikishi leaving.

He explained his fervent desire to become a sumotori and the then-Wakamatsu Oyakata (former Fusanishiki) took a deep breath and said, "Hmm. Right now, they are very strict with the entrance standards. Why don't you stick around and we'll see what happens." That's how he became the oldest deshi at the heya where the highest-ranking rikishi was an 18-year-old sandanme. Again, that was in March of 1983.

Though he moved into the heya and started doing the chores, he still had to pass the test before he could be allowed on the honbasho dohyo. Time kept passing--April, May, June . . . Ichinoya cleaned house, cooked chanko all the while doing stretching exercises to make himself taller. He wrote in his blog that despite reports that he failed the test several times, he actually never took the shin-deshi exam until the one before the November basho. He doesn't explain how he did it but somehow he passed the test and started his long career by doing mae-zumo in Kyushu 1983.

Doitsu's database (DDB) does not have Ichinoya's height at mae-zumo but the earliest listed measurement is 173 for November 1985. Somehow, Ichinoya "grew" seven cm in about seven months! Remarkably, the next listed height is 167.5 in July 1988. In fact, his height has fluctuated since then from 165 to 170 cm. Ichinoya was a physics major so he must have found a way to expand and shrink according to weather or whatever. In the final decade of his career, his height was between 165 and 166 cm. That's more like it--the 166 cm that he admitted to with some shrinkage due to aging.

[Borislav 4]

There is one Yamashita in Makushita, but I assume it is not the same guy, is he? What happened to this one, did he start at all, or quit before it?

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

There is one Yamashita in Makushita, but I assume it is not the same guy, is he? What happened to this one, did he start at all, or quit before it?

Here is his entry in the Sumoreference. Didn't make much of a splash.

[Asashosakari 19,668]

There is one Yamashita in Makushita, but I assume it is not the same guy, is he? What happened to this one, did he start at all, or quit before it?

Here is his entry in the Sumoreference. Didn't make much of a splash.

More Asayamashita can be found in the shindeshi thread for his debut basho.

(I'm stunned that some of the newspaper pics are still online...)

[Borislav 4]

Here is his entry in the Sumoreference. Didn't make much of a splash.

Thank you!

Still I find it remarkable for a 68 kilo guy :)

[Randomitsuki 2,843]

Here is his entry in the Sumoreference. Didn't make much of a splash.

Thank you!

Still I find it remarkable for a 68 kilo guy :)

And it seems as if weight really mattered: his record against rikishi weighing 89 kilos or less: 4-2 (even 4-0 without his last basho); his record against rikishi weighing more than 89 kilos: 1-11.