Getayukata

Written after attending day 9 (I think?) in the basho of Sept 1990 Mountain v midget Konishiki - Terao The little one wins!!

I've only just discovered this thread, and am really enjoying all the great poets that we have. Here is my entry: 1. This was written on first seeing the top of Mt Fuji clearly: Fuji san, are you So coy a cone, that oft you Clothe yourself in clouds 2. Written after a kanji writing lesson in a temple in Kyoto The monk chants a song My brush is full of black ink So many kanji!

After just reading Naganoyama's always fascinating (to me anyway) posting "Heya Watch" in Honbasho Talk, I am idly wondering what the ideal size is for a sumo heya. Some of the heyas seem to be large. Sadogatake Beya with 47 rikishi is enormous. How on earth does everyone there get enough practice time on the dohyo? Even assuming they have more than one practice dohyo, you would just about need to book ahead for your time on it. On the other hand Kagamiyama Beya with 2 rikishi, Kataonami with 3, and Izutzu with 4, seem too small - not enough people to practice with/on, so one would constantly need to go for degeiko. I have never had a chance to wtch asa geiko, but I wonder - do the oyaakata in the smaller heyas put on a mawashi themselves and join in the training? I have a feeling I've seen a photo of exKotooshu doing just that. There must be an optimum size for a stable, but what is it? My guess is around 15 rikishi.

I remember Eddie the Eagle with great fondness! And I don't think I will forget Hattorizakura either.

I like tennis, show jumping and 3 day eventing, figure skating, skiing and even some golf occasionally (Tiger Woods on the top of his game was incredible to watch playing). I'm not so interested in team sports, though I used to like watching the cricket test matches as a teenager - don't see them broadcast much in Canada though.

Hmmm, well I guess we have to accept that his mother knows what he's really thinking, and what he wants to do. Will the NSK keep him as a rikishi indefinitely even if he continues to lose all his bouts, or will there come a time when he requested to retire? Thanks for the information Akinomaki.

But does he really? Is this known for a fact? He looks more terrified than in love with the experience.

Hattorizakura really interests me. What on earth keeps him going at something he is obviously so bad at? I have watched videos of some of his matches when he looked almost paralysed with fear and literally fell over backwards before his opponent had a chance to lay a finger on him. Why does he not just call it quits when he does not enjoy what he's doing?

J10 W Tsurubayashi Not at all sure I understand the finer points of this game, but I'll give it a try. Let the torch shine on! Getayukata

For me, my first basho was May 1990. My husband and I and our two children had just moved to Japan for a year. I had never even heard of sumo before arriving in the country, and I was just blown away by this strange sport which had so much ritual attached to it. It helped that this was the time of Chiyonofuji, Kirishima, and Terao, not to mention Konishiki.

No it isn't. I can't make my entry either. - Getayukata

Is it just me, or is everyone missing the bouts for their rikishi in Bench Sumo? When I go to make an entry, all I see are my 10 rikishi to be placed in order. I don't know who they are fighting, or how well they have done in the past. This information has been available for you in the past. Yes, it is a minor bug, (if it is one at all) as I can look the info up elsewhere, but it takes time, which I am finding in short supply. Cheers, Getayukata

Couldn't understand a word he said (In a state of confusion...) Getayukata

That same thought had occurred to me too ........ but it wouldn't really happen, would it? Getayukata

Message from Getayukata. Oh dear! I do seem to have opened a can of worms with my initial request for help to view the videos on Info-sumo. I just would like everyone to know that I do not know the gentleman who posted the videos on youtube, and have not had any direct contact with him either before or since his kindly but misguided attempt to help me. I am sorry that his actions have spoiled things for everyone else, and hope that sumo viewing can soon be resumed on Info sumo so that you all can see the bashos even if I can not. Dale, your health is much more important than sumo videos for the rest of us. Please take good care of yourself, and thanks for everything you have done. Cheers, Getayukata