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Sawada is a speedy and sometimes erratic push and pull down specialist who was ranked at M4 on the 2019 university banzuke. He won the 2019 openweight title at the national weightclass tournament, and was also a semifinalist at the 2018 national Towada tournament. His amateur accomplishments are similar to fellow new pros Osanai and Ishizaki. In 2015, he was a teammate of Kotonowaka on the Saitama Sakae team that won the interhigh title, and his older brother Hideo is an accomplished amateur who made the semi-finals of the All Japan Championship a few years ago. In black vs new SdTD Ishizaki, with future MsTD15 starter Delgerbayar in the background. And vs Ms4 Tokisakae in 2018......as you can see here, he sometimes pulls too much.

Thank you, lads, for the nice greetings. It is very much appreciated! As to a potential return to the games, I will make no promises. But I admit that I did start some preparations for a return last year until other hobbies caught my interest. As the local loremaster Kintamayama says, we‘ll see..

Wakatakakage faced his bother Wakamotoharu from Juryo for 20 bouts today. He was 10-5 in Haru at M2 and still didn't make sanyaku due to bad banzuke luck. "Whatever.. I feel I need to face it properly. The banzuke has been announced and it gives me a feeling of tension.. " he said. Last basho, he beat Shoudai and Takakeishou. "I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm used to it, but I can say I am not nervous facing them and can go against them with all my might. I want to do my own sumo all the way and aim for kachikoshi," he also said.

Daieishou faced some sekitori at his own heya today, going at it seriously. "I had about 20 bouts today. as usual, I have been doing truly good keiko! I still need to have more ability and better stability. My power is still lacking as well., ' said. He has started studies as an undergraduate at Nichidai, although it's mostly remote because of Corona. He has been discussing his master's thesis and did some introductory rounds. "I'm slowly getting used to this, but i still have a long way to go. As I can't go out to train or to study, I need to use my time wisely. Terunofuji Ozeki? As long as I go out there, I will try to leave a good record and aim upwards. I want to reach Sekiwake for now. Many people will be watching on TV for the first three days and I'm sure the fans will fill the seats from day 4 on. I want to gambarize and properly show good sumo!" he declared.

They finally updated it at some point, backdated to April 16, the date of the Satoyama change (the last of the three things missing). Kakuryu has been added as iin-equivalent toshiyori, as customary for retired yokozuna/ozeki.

Apologies again for thread necromancy. No clue if this should be filed under a new thread entitled "Kakuryu Activities", but here is his retirement interview - it is extensive: https://taishu.jp/articles/-/93841?page=1 Retirement Interview with Yokozuna Kakuryu: "Looking back, I have no regrets at all." Born in Mongolia, Kakuryu came to Japan at the age of 16. With his well-balanced physique and skilful sumo, Kakuryu served as yokozuna for 41 basho. Injuries have plague him in recent years, and he announced his retirement during the Haru basho in March. We asked him to reflect on his 19 years of sumo, including his passion for the ring and his words to his classmate, Yokozuna Hakuho. I: How do you feel now that you have gone from yokozuna Kakuryu to Kakuryu Oyakata? K: When I decided to retire in the middle of the Haru Basho, I felt that I had been released from something, and I couldn't think about anything. I feel refreshed. I: I was also impressed by the occasional smiles you showed at your intai press conference on March 25. K: Indeed. There were no tears (laughs). I have been sumo wrestling since I was 16 years old, and many thing have happened. However, looking back, I have no regrets. I have been absent since the July basho last year, and I was thinking, "I want to get back in the ring as soon as possible!" In the past, I had been able to return to the ring many times even when injured. That's why I participated in the joint training sessions at the Kokugikan before the Haru basho - wrestling with the younger rikishi and making my own adjustments. However, just before the basho, I tore a muscle in my left thigh during training. At the moment, my body felt good and I thought, "I'll be fine." However the injury healed slowly and I wondered if I would be able to make it to the next basho. I wanted a lot of people to see me in the ring again, and that was my goal, but as I got older, I started to think, "I'm done... I guess I've had enough." Even if I healed well, I would get injured again in a different part of the body. When this kept happening, I began to wonder if my body was giving me signals. I have a longer life ahead of me, you know. I: Did you feel that you had reached your limits, both physically and mentally? K: That's right. As a yokozuna, I can't go into the ring in a half-hearted state. I regret that I was not able to enter the ring with the determination that this would be my last sumo match. I: Unlike many other Mongolian rikishi, you did not have any experience of bokh as a boy, did you? K: Yes. Hakuho's father was a Mongolian sumo champion, and Asashoryu and Tokitenku's father were also strong men. Some people have been around bokh since they were children. But in my case, I did not have that kind of environment. I loved basketball more than that, and was a fan of the NBA (laughs). So, when I was 15 years old, there was a story that Hakkaku-oyakata was going to hold a youth sumo tournament in Mongolia, and I participated. I failed to qualify. The boys who did well in the tournament were able to go to Japan and become rikishi. Even though I had never wrestled before, I was still shocked when I failed to qualify. After that, my desire to become a rikishi great stronger, but I didn't know how to become one. When I was in such trouble, my father's acquaintance (a professor of Japanese at a university) helped me out and I sent two letter to people in the sumo business in Japan, saying, "If there is a heya that accepts me, I will do my best to live up to their expectations." I: One of the letters arrived at Izutsu-beya, where you were to be admitted later, didn't it? K: The letter was really left to chance, but about a month after I sent it, I received a phone call from the okamisan of Izutsu-beya at my home in Mongolia, who asked me if I would like to come to Japan right away. As expected, I was like, "Oh my God, what should I do?" Six months later, I was fortunate to be able to go to Japan. When I first entered the room, I remember the unique smell of tatami mats. Since then, I've become a man and a father. I'm glad that I was able to keep to what I wrote in my letter. I: Your first dohyo apperance was at the Kyushu basho in 2001. The veteran rikishi of the time, Terao (now Shikoroyama-oyakata) was alos a member of Izutsu-beya. K: Yes, the "Rikisaburo" in my name was given to me from the name that Terao had previously used, but I didn't understand the meaning until much later (laughs). In terms of life in a heya, my master told me not to go out for 6 months. I was convinced that this was a heya rule, but it had another meaning. The year I entered, many Mongolian rikishi entered as well, like Harumafuji (Hatsu) and Hakuho (Haru). However, since there were not many Mongolian rikishi in the same heya, there was no one to talk to, so the Mongolian rikishi in the vicinity would hand out with each other at night. In this way, I wouldn't have learnt Japanese and wouldn't have been able to fit in at the sumo stable - it's a vicious cycle. By forbidding the young rikishi to go outside, he helped them to learn Japanese quickly and get used to the heya and sumo culture. He also allowed me to have a cell phone, which young rikishi are usually not allowed to have and allowed me to keep in touch with my family in Mongolia. I can't thank him enough. People often ask me, "Wasn't it hard?" But I was prepared for it from the beginning, so it wasn't too hard for me. The only thing I didn't like is raw food (laughs). I couldn't eat fish. I: In 2005, at the age of 20, you were promoted to the rank of shin-juryo. K: Looking back, there are many memorable sumo matches, but the one that made me happiest was the one in the previous basho, where I won my fifth match in the fifth makushita division to become shin-Juryo. Hakuho and Harumafuji, who were in the same grade as me, had been moving up the ranks since I started, but I could not catch up with them. When I became a sekitori, I said, "I've finally caught up. I can't lose to my classmates!" But the result was a loss, I was sent back to the makushita division. I: At that time, I heard that the gyoji at the heya encouraged you. K: On the night of the final day of the tournament, Kimura Shonosuke (then Shikimori Koshinokichi) called out to me when I was depressed. He said, "Ananda, are you frustrated? You're going to have a week off from tomorrow, but if you're frustrated, why don't you sweat it out in practice?" I thought, "You are right." I was awakened. Thanks to his advice, I was able to return to Juryo in one basho and was promoted to Makuuchi a year later. I: You were promoted to ozeki in the summer of 2012. In the most recent Hatsu and Haru bashos then, you had defeated yokozuna Hakuho. K: I had been unable to beat Hakuho for a long time, and my first yusho came in Haru of 2014. Although I was promoted to Ozeki, there were already five Ozeki, and including me, it was the "Six Ozeki Era". Every basho, the Ozekis were competing with each other for wins and it was tough to become a yokozuna. However, it was great to have someone to compete with. You can't do your best if you don't have someone like that. Then, after winning 14 matches in 2014 Haru, I was given a chance to win the yusho. I: In the Haru basho, you won your first championship. How did you feel? K: When my promotion was decided, I was so anxious. I remember saying, "I'm so happy." But to tell you the truth, I was thinking, "It would be nice if I could serve as yokozuna for one or two years." I think that's how I felt. When I became a yokozuna, I understood the weight of the position and the hardships it entailed., and I also realised that Hakuho, who has been yokozuna for a long time, has overcome such hardships. I thought, "If I don't manage to yusho as yokozuna soon..." So I was really happy when I won the autumn tournament for the second time that year. I: You also won the Haru and May tournament in 2018, and your sixth in Nagoya. K: I had an accident before that basho, which ended up being my last victory. I cam to Nagoya after thorough training in Tokyo, and I thought, "This basho is the one!" But then I felt discomfort in my lower back, and for a week before the basho started, I devoted myself to treatment twice a day. During the first half, I was on painkillers, but I was able to win the basho by attacking quickly to prevent the back pain from worsening. However, during that time, yokozuna Kisenosato retired as did many rikishi of the same generation like Toyonoshima (now Iztusu-oyakata) and Kotoshogiku (now Hidenoyama-oyakata) who were Ozeki with me. To be honest, I was sad to see the rikishi who had fought in the same era disappear. When other rikishi of my generation retired, I thought, "Maybe it's time for me to retire, too." I: When did you start thinking about becoming a stablemaster? K: When I got married and my children were getting older, I thought it was time to start thinking about the future. I didn't know anything about anything other than sumo and I thought, "Now that I've been brought up to this level, I need to give something back." As many of you may know, it order to become a sumo stablemaster, you need to be Japanese. However, it is a difficult question for a foreign-born rikishi to easily accept this, including opinions of his family back home. Hakuho became Japanese before I did, but I think he must have had a lot of trouble. Now that he has announced his intention to continue his career, I'm sure he'll do something since he is the yokozuna who set such a record! As a junior members of the team, there is not much more I can say. I thought a lot about the timing of my naturalisation, and even consulted with my family in Mongolia. However, I didn't want to become a Japanese citizen too soon, and created an "escape zone" where I could retire at any time. If I quit now, I wouldn't be able to become an oyakata - I wouldn't be able to do anything! I put myself in a lonely position and put pressure on myself. If you have a way out, you can't help but want to run away. I: So that's how it was. From now on, as an oyakata, you will be in position to teach young rikishi. K: Until I was an Ozeki, my stablemaster told me to focus on myself. But after I became a yokozuna, I trained not only myself but also the younger rikishi. I believe that the advice of an active rikishi can give you a different perspective from that of your stablemaster. However, I feel that teaching others is a difficult task. It's not the same as forcing what you've experienced on others. I would like to teach in a way that suits each individual. I: Do you think there will be a new yokozuna in 2021? K: That's a difficult question. Personally, I hope Shodai, whom I trained with a lot when I was active, will do well, but I am concerned about his passive style of sumo. In terms of training hard, I would like to see Daieisho win his first basho (which he did). When he was young, I thought he had something good within him, and so trained him well. Meisei, who won the Fighting Spirit Award last basho, is also improving. After all, rikishi who work hard are always improving. For young rikishi to grow, it is important that they have ears to listen. As an oyakata, I would like to do my best to create opportunities for them.

with dad at the 1st Hakuho cup, Dec. 19th 2010, where he had the yusho in the 2nd grade https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2010/12/19/kiji/K20101219Z00001090.html o there was no pic of 4th grade with the team: winning the national middle school championships as 3rd year, as high school 3rd year at an Aomori level tournament May 2020 o

Tochinoshin is also at his same rank iirc

Takakeisho o Shodai, with Shohoryu oo o

The shindeshi kensa today o The Sakamoto brothers - Hirokazu and Shoma o o Takuma Ishizaki - the sd100TD o

Hippily Boppily! PS I agree with Ganzohnesushi. You are much missed!

All the best, Jürgen! Hope you have a great day. Ganzohnesushi p.s: Isn't 53 the perfect age to start playing Sumo games again?

11 recruits in total. The brothers Sakamoto have had shikona decided - Hirokazu will be Kiryuko (木竜皇, きりゅうこう), while Shoma will be Shunrai (春雷, しゅんらい). Joining Oitekaze-beya is 23-year-old Hitoshi Sawada (沢田 日登志) from Tachikawa, Tokyo, a Nichidai graduate I believe and Saitama Sakae before that. 180cm, 140kg. Maybe @mikawa or @Katooshu can tell us more about him. Rather unusually for Oitekaze, his shikona will be Sawadasho (沢田翔, さわだしょう) his family name followed by the traditional heya kanji. The other recruit for Oitekaze stands at 173cm, 105kg. His shikona will be Daitensho (大典翔, だいてんしょう).

Let me join the party. Who will reach the cake first ? Happy birthday, sir !

As I am very busy getting back to work again in a country where everything is back to normal, I give you this offering from Google translate. I hope you can appreciate all of our translators' efforts even more after reading this. The fork is recuperating. Yokozuna Hakuho, who had an operation on his right knee in March and is expected to be closed for six consecutive places in the summer, sweated by stepping on his fork for the first time after surgery in a room in Tokyo. His master Miyagino's master (former Makuuchi Chikubayama) revealed. Intention to move forward and backward at the Nagoya location in July. After the operation, he tried to rehabilitate and the progress was good. Regarding Yokozuna, who is in a difficult situation, he said, "I think he knows best. He just tries to get a good sumo."

From Miyagino-beya's Instagram. It sure seems like Hakuho is currently training and in good spirits, thanking the sun for another day as a Yokozuna. There isn't very much of them left, I think.

Asanoyama spoke to the press today after training. "It was always obvious that the fans were there, but then last March they weren't, and it was lonely up there. Win or lose, there was no applause, so I have learned yet again the importance of their presence. At my rank, I need to go for the yusho. I have got to get a proper record. The spectators give me a lot of strength, so I hope they will be back on day four. I'll just have to concentrate on each bout and the question is how I'll cope.." he said. He also said how wonderful it was to face all kinds of sekitori at the Kyokai training camp and that he needs to work on his grips etc.. etc.. Just read prior interviews with him-they're all the same more or more.

Shoudai trained at home against Yutakayama, after a week's hiatus. "Around 10 bouts, I lost something like three.. " he said. Due to the keiko-ba dohyo being serviced, he has just been doing some fundamentals these last few days. "It's been a while, so I decided to go about it while checking out my senses, " he added, making do with the ten bouts. The first three days of Natsu will be without spectators at the venue. Last year, the May tournament was canceled. "I'm just glad we are having the tournament at all.. I intend to turn the fact that we are holding the tournament into a positive thing. when I first experienced a basho with no spectators last March I was somewhat bewildered but I've had that experience already so I think it will be alright. The fans will return on day four I guess, so it doesn't really bother me. now that we have four Ozeki, I feel it will be very exciting. I hope to be involved in the yusho race. Terunofuji is about my age and we have trained before. I think we will be conscious of each other's presence, as we are of the same age more or less. We both feel strongly about losing, I think," he said. "I've got to escape my kadoban status, whatever happens and that is my goal. I don't want to be overly conscious of it and get stiff. I want to go about it calmly. I need to work on my tachiai and my first step. If my tachiai will be good, my sumo will follow, " he summed.

Hello all, sorry for the delay but here are the kimarite statistics for this basho. It was certainly more diverse than the last one, with 53 kimarite appearing at least once. Oshidashi was the most common kimarite here, accounting for 26.43% of bouts. While that in itself isn't a record, the gap of 3.22% over yorikiri is the largest difference recorded in basho where oshidashi has come out on top. Meanwhile, yorikiri's own percentage of 23.22% marks a new low for the current kimarite era, surpassing the previous low of 23.39% from 2012 Haru. As mentioned in the discussion thread at the time, Wakahiroto produced a rare susotori ankle pick on Day 7, the first one since the 2015 Kyushu basho, and only the 14th since 2001. Ishii had to work for the win but he eventually toppled Asashinjo with a kawazugake. It's a good job he's not still a judoka - kawazugake is among judo's banned techniques. Since Satoyama's retirement I've taken a shine to Kainoshima, who has a similar body type and is good at the same kind of moguruzumo style. This basho he clinched his kachi-koshi with a nice zubuneri against Nihonyanagi. Tsuriotoshi drew a rare blank in 2020, but it was put back in action this basho in impressive fashion, by Enho of all people. I wouldn't usually mention abisetaoshi, but this basho the total reached double digits for the first time since 2014 Aki. Kimarite Makuuchi Juryo Makushita Sandanme Jonidan Jonokuchi Total Percentage Abisetaoshi 1 1 2 1 3 2 10 0.43% Amiuchi 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0.09% Ashitori 0 2 0 3 0 1 6 0.26% Chongake 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Fumidashi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Fusen (default) 5 1 2 3 2 2 15 0.65% Gasshohineri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Hansoku (foul) 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0.09% Harimanage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Hatakikomi 18 24 31 43 33 6 155 6.74% Hikiotoshi 8 5 17 29 33 5 97 4.22% Hikkake 0 1 1 2 0 0 4 0.17% Ipponzeoi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Isamiashi 2 0 1 1 1 1 6 0.26% Izori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Kainahineri 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.09% Kakenage 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.09% Kakezori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Katasukashi 4 3 4 5 6 0 22 0.96% Kawazugake 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.04% Kekaeshi 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 0.13% Ketaguri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Kimedashi 5 0 2 3 6 0 16 0.70% Kimetaoshi 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 0.17% Kirikaeshi 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0.09% Komatasukui 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.04% Koshikudake 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.04% Koshinage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Kotehineri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Kotenage 8 2 9 10 14 3 46 2.00% Kozumatori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Kubihineri 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.09% Kubinage 0 2 1 1 1 0 5 0.22% Makiotoshi 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.04% Mitokorozeme 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Nichonage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Nimaigeri 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Okuridashi 9 6 8 16 23 5 67 2.91% Okurigake 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Okurihikiotoshi 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.09% Okurinage 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.04% Okuritaoshi 3 1 0 1 4 0 9 0.39% Okuritsuridashi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Okuritsuriotoshi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Omata 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Osakate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Oshidashi 64 65 93 167 185 34 608 26.43% Oshitaoshi 15 10 15 14 25 4 83 3.61% Sabaori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Sakatottari 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0.09% Shitatedashinage 1 1 2 4 2 0 10 0.43% Shitatehineri 0 1 2 1 0 0 4 0.17% Shitatenage 9 0 8 7 14 5 43 1.87% Shumokuzori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Sokubiotoshi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Sotogake 1 0 1 2 2 0 6 0.26% Sotokomata 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Sotomuso 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Sototasukizori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Sukuinage 8 4 11 17 10 2 52 2.26% Susoharai 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Susotori 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.04% Tasukizori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Tokkurinage 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.04% Tottari 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.09% Tsukaminage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Tsukidashi 12 8 13 18 16 0 67 2.91% Tsukihiza 0 0 0 3 2 0 5 0.22% Tsukiotoshi 20 11 24 41 33 7 136 5.91% Tsukitaoshi 1 1 1 1 2 0 6 0.26% Tsukite 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.04% Tsumatori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Tsuridashi 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.09% Tsuriotoshi 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.04% Tsutaezori 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Uchigake 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.04% Uchimuso 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Ushiromotare 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.04% Utchari 0 1 0 1 2 0 4 0.17% Uwatedashinage 3 2 3 11 8 0 27 1.17% Uwatehineri 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 0.13% Uwatenage 11 7 15 33 36 9 111 4.83% Waridashi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Watashikomi 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0.09% Yaguranage 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Yobimodoshi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% Yorikiri 69 43 83 157 139 43 534 23.22% Yoritaoshi 12 6 12 29 37 6 102 4.43% Zubuneri 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.04%

Sports Hochi reported on Takekeisho today, who did not go for degeiko, choosing to remain at Tokiwayama-beya, doing basic exercises for two hours. In the first 30 minutes, he practiced his shiko, squats, suriashi, tepoo, push-ups and squats on one leg. "I have some theme about what I need to do now. It's not good to do everything half-heartedly. The foundation is hardest bit. I am going to finish and build my body up to shoinichi. I hope to improve my sumo instincts little by little."

Mitakeumi oo o Asanoyama oo

Takakeisho o o with Takakento o Takanosho, like Kirinji sekiwake from Kashiwa (left Takagenji) o o Asanoyama, first name Hideki like masters champion Matsuyama o o o

Ryūko Seihō passed away. I don't know if mentioned before... I don't even know how important it is... http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=4051 I like the sumodb by the way, and use it often.

R.I.P