Gaijingai

Regular Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    1,863

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

Posts posted by Gaijingai

  15. Posted

    I have a story a little different, about a sumo wrestler, rather than a heya. It was back in 2001 that I visted Tokisukaze-Beya and noticed a skinny, hard-working wrestler. At the time, the folks on the old sumo listserve were adopting wrestlers, so I adopted him. Through someone else on the listserve, I was introduced to a woman who was a big sumo fan. She had the official yearly sumo book and sent me the pictures of all the heya wrestlers. I picked out his picture and she told me his name was Okinoumi, a guy way down in the lower divisions. She also gave me the heya address. After each basho, I would send Okinoumi a postcard in Romanji...hoping he could read it..., yet never heard back from him. A couple years later I was in Tokyo for a business meeting with Paramount Pictures and contacted Doreen Simmons. She graciously agreed to take me to Tokitsukaze-Beya for morning keiko and introduce me to Okinoumi. I got to watch him practice and afterwards Doreen and I went around out back, where he was doing some clean-up work. She introduced me to him and was my interpreter as he told me that my postcards were an inspiration to him. It was a thrill to meet him personanly and talk with him, even briefly. Doreen even took our photo together!

    • Like 9