sumojoann

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Everything posted by sumojoann

  1. sumojoann

    Natsu 2023 day 15 pics overview

    Yes, even when talking to reporters!
  2. sumojoann

    Natsu 2023 day 15 pics overview

    These are great pictures! I especially enjoyed seeing a completely differently side of Terunofuji. His love for his family is heartwarming.
  3. sumojoann

    Cough, coffee numbers 1 - 15

    Happy Birthday, Kinta! Hope you can catch up to me (I'm 74) and go well beyond! Don't cough too much. God might think you're sick and call you home!
  4. sumojoann

    Tochinoshin intai

    This is getting off-topic but for some reason, when I heard that Tochinoshin was retiring, I thought about Baruto, so I checked wikipedia. Wikipedia indicated that he is currently an MP of the Estonian Riigikogu (Parliament), but that information is out of date. (Edited to make correction). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Political career On September 7, 2018, Höövelson announced that he had joined the Estonian Center Party and had applied for the 2019 Estonian parliamentary election.[31] He ran for election in Harju and Rapla counties, and received 642 votes. Höövelson was elected to the Riigikogu after candidate Vladimir Arhipov declined his seat. One of his goals as an MP is to promote economic relations between Estonia and Japan.
  5. sumojoann

    Who will be the next rikishi to retire as a sekitori?

    You may be right but we shall see..... And for @Jakusotsu, I disagree that Aoiyama looks fine. Here is Midorifuji defeating Aoiyama just 2 months ago. Note the large brace on his left knee. He has worn that brace for a long time.
  6. sumojoann

    Who will be the next rikishi to retire as a sekitori?

    Aoiyama has had a large brace on one of his knees for quite some time. I don't remember the last time I've seen him on the dohyo without it. As heavy as he is, I would be surprised if he is ever able to remove that brace while fighting.
  7. sumojoann

    Who will be the next rikishi to retire as a sekitori?

    Aoiyama is not on your list of potential retirees but I think he's next for the following reasons --- 1) Tochinoshin's intai, I can't help but believe, will have an impact on Aoiyama's decision. They're in the same heya (Kasugano) and are (were) the top two rikishi at their heya as far as rank. 2) Aoiyama won his bouts only on Days 1 and 2 but lost the last SIX bouts in a row. Tochinoshin lost all 5 of his bouts. He (Tochinoshin) couldn't help but be upset at the very least and devastated at most by his poor results. Undoubtedly, Aoiyama had to have been upset by his own results, too. 3) Aoiyama will be 37 in less than a month and is older than Tochinoshin, who will be 36 in Oct. 4) They both have serious ongoing injuries. 5) I don't know how friendly their relationship is, but the closer they were, the more likely Aoiyama would be apt to follow in Tochinoshin's footsteps because he would no longer have that support to keep going. Even if they aren't that close, Tochinoshin's intai can't help but leave a void since they are/were in the same heya. I think it might be hard on Aoiyama psychologically, although I realize this is mere speculation. The sad thing is that there are so many rikishi to choose from as far as guessing who will retire next.
  8. sumojoann

    Tochinoshin intai

    I sure would like confirmation, too. When I Googled Tochinoshin, it showed there was a tweet on twitter that was quoting the original "Agenda" article, but when I clicked on it, the tweet no longer existed. https://twitter.com/AgendaGeorgia/status/1659187170685636608
  9. sumojoann

    Tochinoshin intai

    It didn't seem that long ago that he could defeat his opponent by tsuridashi........
  10. sumojoann

    Tracing someone in Japan

    (Please note --- The cursor jumps ahead. Please set it back to the beginning). This is a wonderful 20-minute documentary. The tears just flow every time I watch it. I think you will learn a lot about trying to find someone in Japan, even though the circumstances are different. I don't want to give the story away or tell you what worked or didn't work, but I highly recommend that you watch this video. I think it will give you some useful ideas. I wish you good luck and success in your quest to find your girlfriend from the past. Please be persistent and don't give up!
  11. sumojoann

    Tracing someone in Japan

    I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much help but your story has touched me, so I'd like to offer what little tips and suggestions I can think of. I was heavily involved in tracking down family members while working with a group of amateur genealogists back in 2010. My friends all say I should have been a private investigator. lol All that being said, I never had to do any investigations involving another language. So the first big question is, "How well do you speak, read and write Japanese?" Unless you are fluent or nearly fluent, your best bet would be to hire someone, preferably in Osaka, who is fluent or nearly fluent, to help you. However, I seem to recall that YOU are fluent in Japanese (from reading the thread a while back about which languages SF members spoke). If my memory is correct, then I definitely think you should take a trip to Osaka to find her (fingers crossed that she's still living in Osaka). I feel very strongly that you either need a doggedly persistent ally in Osaka OR you need to do it yourself. I've watched too many needle-in-a-haystack Youtube videos about people searching for loved ones or ex-loved ones or just family in war torn countries or non-war torn countries, and they were successful! Getting the news media interested has helped in some cases. But in every case, they had help and/or they did it themselves (usually both with a little luck thrown in). The first thing I did was Google --- "How to track down a person in Osaka, Japan." And then I Googled --- "How to find someone in Japan." https://www.japanpi.com/blog/missing-persons/how-to-find-someone-in-japan/ Several interesting articles came up. The link above is one of them. A good read. The other articles that popped up are also worth reading. There is a very moving documentary I want to post. I'll do that shortly.
  12. sumojoann

    Sumo and Sushi

    I hope they get at least some enjoyment out of it, a feeling of pride and pleasure even though they are past their heyday (heya-days --- sorry!! lol). Obviously, they are not going to do it for free, but I worry that one or more of these ex-rikishi perhaps shouldn't be doing it at all due to health reasons. I also worry that there might be some element of desperation due to personal financial problems. I hope that's not the case. I hope that Daikiho is not involved in this, as Akinomaki stated. When I read about his serious health problems and the fact that his doctors recommended he no longer do sumo, that's what triggered my concern. Hopefully, all the ex-rikishi are given medical check-ups to ensure they can safely participate. I realize that it would be difficult to find that many ex-rikishi to sign up and travel around the US, and that triggered more concern that the organizers might accept some whose health is iffy. As important as the paycheck is, it is my hope that the paycheck is not the only reason these ex-rikishi have signed up. In addition to the feeling of pride and pleasure I initially mentioned, I hope they still have some fighting spirit left and a willingness to properly gambarize.
  13. sumojoann

    Violence in Michinoku

    You're right, nothing has really changed. I think the point Fashiriteta was making is that a rikishi has to actually die before the Oyakata and others are appropriately punished. Threats don't count.
  14. sumojoann

    Sumo and Sushi

    I would definitely choose Aononami. He was the shortest (171cm), lightest (69kg!!!!), competed in only 18 basho and had the shortest career (just under 3 years, highest division Jonidan). Maybe with him I would have a fighting chance. I would avoid Tooyama. Even though he's the oldest (46), he's also the tallest and heaviest. After reading about Daikiho's terrible injuries that ended a promising career, I couldn't bring myself to fight him. Just prior to retiring, his doctors recommended that he no longer do sumo, even after surgeries, due to his condition. He has OPLL (ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament). (Daikiho is the only ex-rikishi out of the five that I took a closer look at beyond the stats. The others may very well have had their own issues to deal with prior to retiring). I realize that these 5 ex-rikishi probably don't weigh as much as they did when active. And now that they are in their 30s and 40s, they could be facing new health challenges. I hope they have chosen to participate for more than just a paycheck. I worry about that.
  15. sumojoann

    Sekitori Sweepstake - May 2023

    "Nishikifuji (26) had his marriage ceremony with former company employee Shizuka Fujizoe (24) from Ishikawa pref. today at the yokozuna &more sumo stone shrine Tomioka Hachimangu, where also the shisho and Terunofuji had theirs. They'll register the marriage tomorrow and the first child is due in October. He met her in October 2021 at a party for Terunofuji, fell in love at first sight and for Christmas he proposed a relation, a year later, this January, the marriage proposal." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The paragraph above was posted yesterday in "Another Sekitori Marriage." I am so excited to get Nishikifuji as "my rikishi", although I am a little worried about how well he will do at the upcoming Natsu basho. Based on past examples, bridegrooms/fathers-to-be tend not to do well, especially at the next basho following their marriage. Fingers crossed that Nishikifuji will be the exception.
  16. sumojoann

    Violence in Michinoku

    I wonder why all this is just coming out now. I thought there was going to be a new policy of transparency when it came to violence. I sure don't see that here. Seems like same old, same old.
  17. I don't see this posted elsewhere on SF so decided to post it here. Mods, if it needs to be moved to a different category, not a problem. What started out as a typical "ho hum, here's a bunch of wide-eyed gaijin invading the 'secret, closed' world of the gentle sumo giants" took an amazing turn when one of the group (of Swedes) named Steffan boldly asked the Oyakata at the heya if he could spend the night at the heya with the rikishi!! After seeing surprised looks all around, he was told the Okamisan would have to approve it which she did 30 minutes later!! Not much was shown after he settled in for the night but you cam imagine how --- pinch me! --- exciting that experience would have been. The video shows the group of Swedes play-training with the lower-ranked rikishi, as you might expect, but amazingly enough, Steffan also got to train with Onosho, who didn't play-train. I didn't expect to see Onosho interact with the Swedes, whose behavior towards the rikishi veered between goofiness and extreme sincerity. The rikishi seemed to enjoy the visitors, especially Steffan, with most of them wanting to be his Instagram friend. Steffan was given the Shikona Masurao, the name of a previous owner of the heya. I looked up Onosho and found he is with Onomatsu-beya. This video was filmed between Dec 2022 and Feb 2023 just before the Osaka honbasho. During the video, Steffan meets a new Mongolian rikishi. I looked him up and he is Batjargal Choijirsuren, a Student Yokozuna who was allowed to enter ozumo under the Makushita Tsukidashi system at the rank of Makushita 15. This video was uploaded only 3 weeks ago and already has over 1.4 Million views.
  18. I'm not sure if we as members of SF are actually discouraged from discussing what goes on at tachiai.org or if that's just my impression. In any event, there is an interesting review of "I Lived in a Sumo House for a Day" by Andy dated April 15, 2023 on that site. I enjoyed reading the comments as well. https://tachiai.org/2023/04/15/refreshingly-aloof-glimpse-at-onomatsu-beya/
  19. @Kaminariyuki is correct. The group, Yes Theory, that created this video, is not made up entirely of Swedes. It's a multinational group whose members all have very interesting backgrounds. Steffan, the member featured in this video, is a newer member of the group and is Swedish. Here is the group's official website --- https://yestheory.com/ They have an interesting philosophy of life.
  20. I'm sorry I didn't see your post first but I agree. If a few more people get to see it, no harm done.
  21. sumojoann

    Sekitori Sweepstake - May 2023

    That was easy enough to do. Either one of those rikishi would make me happy. Thanks for clearing up the issue so quickly.
  22. sumojoann

    Sekitori Sweepstake - May 2023

    Did I draw Nishikifuji or Nishikigi? The link sends me to a pic and stats for Nishikigi.
  23. sumojoann

    Sumo Do coming to Netflix in May

    Yes, my comment about "Sanctuary" was made in a joking manner. I am really looking forward to watching "Sumodo". It looks to be very well done, the kind of documentary that one could show friends who have never been able to understand sumo and its appeal. I enjoyed reading the thread from 2020 that you mentioned in your comment.
  24. sumojoann

    Sumo Do coming to Netflix in May

    Looks like it might be better than "Sanctuary"!!
  25. sumojoann

    I sell 4 Box C tickets for Tokio day 6 19/04/2023

    Another strange thing is if you enter the ebay item # (314556385473) in the search box that's in the link @Juan Joséprovided, the listing doesn't come up. In addition, if you enter the item # in the search box on www.ebay.es, it also does not come up. https://www.ebay.es/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=314556385473&_sacat=0 And the seller shows just one feedback and if I'm reading it correctly, it's zero percent positive. Also, it shows the seller has been on ebay.es since March 30, 2020 with no other listings. And why is the listing title in English and not Spanish? So what is really going on here?? It would take some giant cojones to advertise what might be fake sumo honbasho tickets on Sumo Forum! lol