Tochinofuji

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I, for one, am pleased Hoshoryu got the nod, and am excited to see how he fares in the top division.

It may indeed be "unfair", and a man-made unfairness at that. But to my mind, the importance is it's not arbitrary. It's a perk/rule known to all participants and ahead of time, applying equally to everyone (that is, any wrestler attaining the rank is afforded the perk). It's a significant perk, but one with a justification (that being the difficulty in obtaining the rank). It is no more offensive as being unfair than the fact that those of lower rank are paid less than those of higher rank. That is equally an unfairness, if not more so. But it's one known by all participants, ahead of time, applying equally to all. Go up in rank, get paid more. Go down, get paid less. Man made unfairness, certainly. But so what? (Please don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the current pay/rank/perk structure is not in need of some reform for the betterment of sumo. But a yokozuna being allowed to enter only a few a year to my mind is, while an unfairness, is at best a minor one and not one in need of a remedy; indeed, it fulfills an important need in allowing the symbolism of a reigning yokozuna to continue while allowing for a smoother transition).

Ahhh, that makes sense. Thank you!

Am I correct that this was just the usual dohyo matsuri? Certainly looks it, but to me the article seems to imply this is related to the ongoing pandemic, rather than the usual course of events.

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Should the band ever get back together and you need a vice-president, let me know.

Does anyone know what other rikishi have had back-to-back kinboshi? Alas, my database query skills are...I would say rudimentary, but I'm pretty sure non-existent is closer to the mark.

I'm interested as well. Looks as though he at least appeared at the YDC Keiko Soken (shamelessly stolen from @Akinomaki's post on that topic) .

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Enho/Yutakayama controversy aside, as a long time fan of Toyohibiki, I was heartened to see Onosho pay homage to his style of sumo and clutch defeat from those pesky jaws of victory.

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I certainly agree that in its abstracted/idealized form, the tsukebito system has much to offer (see, for example, Enho and Hakuho, at least as that relationship has been portrayed). However, like many other systems designed with one senior individual holding power over a junior, in practice it can be prone to abuse and misuse, as we've seen on occasion. That isn't to say the system needs to be abolished, as that would be a knee-jerk overreaction that overlooks the good in the system. But it seems a system that could use some minor reforms, as well as checks on balances, to bring out the ideal while limiting the potential for abuse. That isn't to imply I have any specific reforms in mind, and I think those far closer to the system than I (read: not some shmuck in Canada who's merely a fan) would be better placed to comment. But still, I would be interested to hear those comments.

I hope my comment wasn't taken as critical in any way, as I greatly appreciate all the article posting and translating you do for the forum! And to be fair, Takanofuji does seem like enough of a dolt to have meant "if they let me stay, I'll apologise to chickens 1, 2, and 3.", so your initial version may be spot on.