Raishu

So Myogiryu doesn't want to continue in Juryo, it seems. I don't see a kabu-swap-bonanza considering how the shares are currently distributed among the loanees.

My guess is Ryuden, but I am not 100% sure myself.

Finally, they hire again after more than nine years. Glad for the three guys who made it. I always expected long-serving veterans like Shoketsu, Musashiumi or Dairaido to patiently wait for a spot, but it looks like they were not considered (or simply want to perform as active rikishi). That will boost the number of sewanin up to 11 for a couple of months. Fukuryudake will turn 65 in May - which means we will settle at 10.

Not sure if someone else saw it, but Takakeisho seemed to have some major neck issues again after the bout. He stretched it constantly and also swung and moved his arm as he tried to battle some numbness or so (also, he almost walked out of the arena and was advised by a yobidashi to take his spot next to the dohyo). I wouldn't be surprised to see him go kyujo now, especially since he has secured his KK today.

Your thought is not off. If Kirishima really prioritizes a good shisho connection and he sees Kakuryu as a sort of mentor, maybe he would join Otowayama-beya exactly for that reason. A lack of high-calibre heya mates defintetely hasn't stopped him, but maybe he would be even better with regular top training partners in his home stable? It is true that he can go on degeiko regularly, but this is also connected with commute and training under "guest status". Of course there are exceptions, e.g. Mitakeumi being a regular at Kasugano beya when Tochiozan, Tochinoshin and Aoiyama were all still active. It is just a short foot walk between these two stables and the lack of proper training partners at Dewanoumi basically "forced" him to go on keiko elsewhere. No wonder these three rikishi were among the first congratulators when Mitakeumi won his championships. AFAIK, they share a strong bond. What can't be avoided is that he has to face all the top dogs as an Otowayama beya rikishi. As a newly found stable, it will probably take some time until Kakuryu will produce his first own sekitori.

In case the article is right and this is what is going on at the moment, it is almost impossible to tell where the rikishi will go if they can choose a heya from outside the ichimon. If the options are limited to the Tokitsukaze group, Kirishima still has three interesting stables to choose from (Oitekaze, Tokitsukaze, Arashio) which could provide a very competitive training environment; plus the benefit of not facing the heya's sekitori during a honbasho (given that they compete at the top). Regarding the lower rankers: Except for Kamitani, they don't strike me as prospects (Makushita level the maximum) at all, so they might be looking for a stable where they feel comfortable and veterans like Kirimaru might even consider retirement rather than moving to a different place.

I am not familiar with the Kyokai's oshirase (in Japanese), but does ownership change imply it has to be the current holder of the kabu? On my personal kabu chess board, I have Myogiryu as the owner of Furiwake (after that newspaper article emerged) and Sadanoumi as the successor of Dekiyama. Maybe ex-Dewanohana has just sold the share to Sadanoumi (a way more decorated and probably financially potent rikishi) who is lending the kabu to Hochiyama now and that is reflected in the notice? I have never regarded neither Hochiyama nor Sadanofuji as potential kabu owners, since the shortage of shares and the availability of many high-proifile sekitori (with more money and aspirations to become oyakata) would be too much of a competition for them to score a share permanently. The same could be applied to other guys with "weak" sekitori careers like Tenkaiho, Shotenro, Asahisho or Akiseyama.

The regular minimum (without inheriting it) was 30 basho as sekitori. Around the time of the Hochiyama retirement, they lowered the standards to 28 basho (in Hochiyama's case, his shisho also served as an advocate/supporter) - apparently you need a backer or something. But regardless of how many basho Enho has, we are still in the middle of a kabu drought with many MANY other high profile veteran sekitori waiting for a share to become available. Sure, he is Hakuho's proégé, but there are limits to what the ex-Yokozuna can do. And as long as the previous owner/the NSK decide to give the share to a more decorated retiring sekitori, he will come up short (no pun intended). I believe Enho's words that he wants to retun to the dohyo because of his passion for sumo, so a future as oyakata is not that much of a topic right now anyway, I assume.

O/Y Kirishima x3 O Hoshoryu x1 S Kotonowaka x1 (+promotion) M Daieisho x1

Oh, I am not saying they should have done that. I just mentioned it as a potential option. The way it was handled back then looks fine to me. Let's stretch it a bit further: They didn't bother to put the name on Kaio six years ago, why should they do it now? As you rightfully said, it is just a signboard and aside from Kaisho, no other rikishi has a connection to the old stable. Also, in regards to prestige, we are not talking about a name like Dewanoumi, Kasugano, Isegahama, Takasago or Nishonoseki. I am pretty sure they wouldn't want any of these to vanish from the heya map.

Never say never, but I would be surprised if that is going to happen. I vaguely remember reports/posts/rumors around the time of Kaio's retirement, that he and his shisho couldn't immediately agree on how they would handle the ozeki's future as oyakata. Apparently, Kaio wanted to branch out ASAP and the old Tomozuna (Kaiki) saw him as his successor. Kaiki eventually gave him permission, but Kaio stayed in Tomozuna beya as an affiliated oyakata for 18 months instead of the mandatory minimum 12.* Plus, they already had the opportunity to revive/preserve Tomozuna in 2017 by simply merging it into Asakayama stable + renaming the heya. Instead, Kaiki gave the stable to a former Oshima beya rikishi (Kyokutenho). I interpret these events that Kaio always wanted to build up "his own name" and doesn't want to fly under the Tomozuna banner. * Don't nail me on this, my memory might have failed here and I have mixed it up with something else.

Can't be determined at all. Tokushoryu voiced his wish to become Oyakata. He will probably hang on as long as he has to, until a kabu becomes available. Might be after the basho, might be in two years. With that dire kabu situation at the moment, I assume the latter (but hope for the former).

I mean it's totally plausible. With kabu being sparse, Ishiura might be the temporary place older until a more decorated Miyagino rikishi picks up the Magaki name and he will eventually leave for Tottori Johuku. And now he has an income to support his family (opposed to being a lower ranked rikishi on the banzuke).

Has there ever been an official statement that this is/was the plan? I seriously can't remember. But what I can remember is that one or two SF members speculated about him succeeding his father and this thought has been absorbed and reproduced several times here on the forum.

Aside from having ex-Hishofuji playing the role of Shizuuchi, could it be that they had some other former rikishi as extras? I am pretty sure I have spotted ex-Masutoo at least twice during the tournament scenes (either sitting at ringside or in the corridor) and ex-Kaonishiki as one of the guests at the heya danpatsuhiki. Maybe my eyes tricked me ... who knows. Neither was I impressed nor disappointed by the series. In case they plan to follow up with a season 2, I will probably watch it.