shoutenzan

Looks like Kotomitsuki is gone. Oh well. There are many wonderful rikishi still in sumo.

It's going to be a wonderful basho. I'm really looking forward to it.

Hakuba sure looked good today. It made me think that if he remains consistent and eventually reaches Yokozuna, would they call it the Haku-Haku era? (Laughing...)

Hopefully nobody hides himself in a room for years... fusen, and soon banzukegai It would be a mighty short career.

Who is the King of Comedy Sumo?

Go to the Kyokai Oyakata list in English. He is Kise Oyakata. Or, if that answer seems wrong to you too, try the official Kyokai Kise Beya page in English. Or, if you think their English pages are wrong, go to the official Kise beya page in Japanese, where you can see the hiragana reading as well, which should put your mind at ease.. As an aside, I don't remember any Oyakata heading a heya that doesn't correspond to his name. I wasn't being stubborn, just seeking confirmation. Kise beya is a little unusual, isn't it? What I don't know about sumo could fill volumes. (Sign of approval...)

Oh my goodness me! I take a day and a half off to sing a major concert (Brahms, Elgar, and, among others, the entire Rheinberger Mass (Liechtenstein rules!) followed this morning by an Anglican service that required me to sing a _very_ Russian anthem plus it was my turn to do the Intercessions (aka Prayers of the People) -- and what do I find? a flame war. Hide your heads for shame. Aren't there enough problems in the world? After the service, I got some questions about the topical extras I had put into my intercessions. I was shocked to discover how many of our Tokyo congregation seemed unaware of the ecological disaster still spreading out in Miami and wide environs, and also, here in Japan, the grief over the slaughter of some of the world's best beef stud bulls (which take about eight years to produce) and tens of thousands of other prime cattle in Miyazaki prefecture. And "What's happening in Jamaica?" asked one person. Seriously, don't you people have anything better to do? Totally off-topic, and so it should be. Hear hear! I've spent the day listening to Elektra and Die Walkure and uploading Shostakovich onto my iPhone. They all help me think about the problems in the world. It's a desperate situation out there. Sumo makes life worth living; as does music; and wine.

Not to be a stickler, but isn't he actually Kimura Oyakata ? The heya is Kise beya, but the Oyakata's name is Kimura Sehei. I think the original Kise beya was started by a Gyoji. The sumo reading is Ki(mura) Se (hei). It's one of those things you either know or you don't. Orion So, he is called Kise Oyakata? In the shashin meibo he is referred to as Kimura Sehei.

Not to be a stickler, but isn't he actually Kimura Oyakata ? The heya is Kise beya, but the Oyakata's name is Kimura Sehei. I think the original Kise beya was started by a Gyoji.

This is a great thread. One way to limit it would be to exclude university and high school graduates, and to keep it to Japanese heisei born rikishi.

Well, that was the jist of the joke, after all. When it comes to Japanese, we'd better explain for everybody... (Sign of approval...) My "joke" of the century was when I found out about the coincidence.... We all know about that famous bout between Taima no Kehaya (bad one) and Nomi no Sukune... Kehaya 当麻蹴速 has the kanji 麻 in his name... well, pott is written 大麻 and pronounced "Taima" as well... erm... I made a stupid, and I thought funny, Japanese mistake the other day talking about sumo. I was talking about the kimarite that a rikishi often uses when he does a henka. I called it a hikikomori (引き籠もり) instead of a hatakikomi （叩き込み）. After I thought about it I figured the hikikomori would either be a fusen or a new kimeteniyoranai kimarihou（決め手によらない決まり方）.

quoting jakusotsu in the german chat: "it's an honour to lose to kaio" (tranlated from german) Kotooshu put up a much better fight against Hakuho yesterday. I guess he wanted the honour of losing to Kaio.

1000 kachi for Kaio. How much has that cost him, I wonder?

Ha ha ha! Is this the kind of high humour I should aspire to on the forum? Of course it is, otherwise you are obliged to pay for being a forum member. Ha ha ha! Hilarious! Thanks-finally someone who appreciates real humor! It must have been my upbringing.

Ha ha ha! Is this the kind of high humour I should aspire to on the forum? Of course it is, otherwise you are obliged to pay for being a forum member. Ha ha ha! Hilarious!

I don't think your example (Raido) is an accurate example. No comparison can be made between Raido and Aoiyama. Raido after Zensho Yusho in Jonokuchi spent 8 basho in Jonidan, 13 basho in Sandanme and 57 basho in Makushita. I don't think this is a right example for a talented rikishi. You're right, of course, that they're not comparable. However, it seems that rikishi who enter sumo older tend to get to the higher divisions quickly, but then flounder. Raido wasn't a good example. Kokkai, on the other hand, took 15 basho to get to makuuchi, but apparently has a neck injury, and has been on the maegashira elevator for the past 2 years since reaching his highest rank at komusubi. I don't think anyone one want to see Aoiyama struggle to get to the upper divisions only to get injured. Better to develop good technique in the lower division even if it takes a little longer to get to the top. Chiyonofuji didn't have the most stellar career in the lower divisions: only one makushita yusho. He even returned to makushita briefly after having made it as high as maegashira 12. Of course, it's their careers in the upper divisions that count, in the end.

Well, that was the jist of the joke, after all.

I agree that it was presumptuous. I thought maybe there was some family name / given name confusion going on. Of the current upper division rikishi, I think Aran (Alan) has the worst shikona. Second would have to be Gagamaru (Lady Gagamaru). Maybe he's a fan of hers? Or vice versus.

I've been wondering this recently. His shitanonamae is Hakutora, which seems to me to be a much cooler shikona than Aran. Aran, I assume, comes from both his "real" given name and that he comes from Russia. In a conversation with a friend a couple months ago, we surmised that his Oyakata got confused when he made his shikona. It was supposed to be Hakutora Aran. I wonder if we could start a movement to get him to change his shikona to Hakutora. Maybe after promotion to sanyaku.

What happened to Lady Gagamaru in his bout against Masatsukasa on day 14. It looked like he got sand in his eyes. Maybe he was crying. Maybe he got sand kicked in his eyes.

I wonder if it's a bad thing for him to spend a little longer in makushita. If he rises too quickly, he runs the risk of injury or being seriously outclassed and then floundering in the lower divisions like Raido

I dunno, I chuckled at the "Haku-Haku" thing just fine, it was just the trite "If you don't find this funny you must not have a sense of humour!!" followup that I found annoying. (Which didn't come from you, of course.) Though personally I felt you kinda killed the effectiveness of the joke with the "another Mongolian Yokozuna in the future" subheading... Yeah, true enough. It's all in the delivery.

Ha ha ha! Is this the kind of high humour I should aspire to on the forum?

Winning many tournaments helps but there are definitely other factors involved. It's not just how much a Yokozuna wins but also how he wins. I loved watching Asashoryu, but I didn't like some of the things he did, such as that extra push he'd give opponents he had already beaten, and the arm pumping. One thing I like about sumo is the respect winning rikishi show to their opponents. I know it doesn't always happen, but it's something I admire about sumo.

This may be a potentially controversial topic. I'm not starting it to be controversial, I'm just curious what other people think. Is it merely the number of yusho that makes a Yokozuna great, or are there other factors involved, such as dignity, technique, etc.? I was wondering if Asashoryu should be considered a great Yokozuna. He obviously has a great record. He was incredibly skilled. However, he drew a lot of negative attention to sumo.