Saburo

Dated but worth watching just for the yakiniku restaurant segment...

Wow, I had no idea Wily had gone into acting. I really remember his quick rise up to Makushita. Anyone remember a showdown match between him and Kushima in 1988 or so? He blitzed the former college yokozuna off the dohyo in like a couple seconds, my memory tells me. Really thought he'd become the first sekitori in Azumazeki, but twas not to be. RIP.

FYI I checked my profile page and still have no Cover Photo option. Assume my account is just wired that way...

Just stunning news. He became an immediate favorite when I got back into watching sumo in the mid-1980s. Even the most casual of ozumo observers recognized Terao. I just saw Konishki this past Thursday in Waikiki and thought to myself, man he looks like he's slowed down considerably. The eighties are all dying, man...

I know, I watched (the original) Kirishima during his Heisei glory days, becoming the king of Izutsu-beya and possibly becoming the next Nishinoumi if he had advanced to Yokozuna. I'd rather Kiribayama hold onto his own legacy -- personal preference.

Eh, I'm not down with the new shikona. Unnecessary IMO... Nevertheless a grand day. Congrats to the shin Ozeki.

Checked out the YT link and completely whiffed on Dewanoumi Oyakata -- I was *there* for a good portion of Oginohana's career and can NOT believe how old he looks now. Even Kasugano looks younger than him.

Anyone in Japan get a sample of Kitanofuji curry? He's the best.

The great Chiba dead at 82. https://variety.com/2021/global/news/sonny-chiba-dead-dies-martial-arts-kill-bill-1235044575/ I understand Western media having to reference the likes of "Kill Bill" in any Chiba obituary but man, he didn't need any charity from Tarantino to bolster what was already a hall-of-fame list of credits. Like many kids in Hawaii I was introduced to Chiba as a star of TV detective shows like THE BODYGUARD and GORILLA 7, followed by a slew of jidai-geki: YAGYU CONSPIRACY and KAGE NO GUNDAN amongst others. I still envision Chiba doing battle with a katana more than his fists. (I didn't see any of the STREET FIGHTER movies until only a decade-plus ago.) I wonder who the more-famous COVID death in Japan is: Chiba or Shimura Ken? I assume Shimura had higher visibility for a longer period of time but Chiba was known overseas, if only for that niche.

So, is his first public dohyo-iri going to be in the honbasho next month?

Dumb question but... when's the tsuna-uchi? Used to be the day after the JSA reps came to visit. Is it postponed due to Olympic fever?

Memory is the smoothest of all liars but I recall reading that ex-Yokozuna Tochinishiki scored an ace in his oyakata days. Might have been an obit column in Sumo World magazine

The dean of yakitori chefs here in Honolulu was a ex-rikishi in Takasago Beya in the 1980s, Tsurumifuji. Never made it past Sandame but what a life in Hawaii. His omakase restaurant is still kicking it after all the pandemic shutdowns the last year and change. I read a quote from Konishiki years ago, saying he was small but tougher than nails. An old portrait at the restaurant:

I remember Hasegawa-Kitanofuji matches as a kid where the two of them would have these *great* niramiai at jikan-mae. Hasegawa had that ice-cold look. Would love to hear Kitanofuji reminisce about those torikumi.

I began watching sumo again in the mid-1980s but didn't get the full NHK Bilingual English audio telecasts until the early (?) 1990s. Each broadcast had a play-by-play announcer (Dave Wiggins, anyone?) and a color analyst (my friend *loves* to reminisce about Clyde "The Glide" Newton), along with a third person translating "hanamichi reports." Those days offered a more balanced voice for viewers and didn't feel obliged to cater to "Sumo 101" n00bs. Kinda tough for a solo voice for a couple hours. As has been intimated in previous posts here, the color analyst will make its return to NHK Bilingual soon.