mikawa

Action from the middle schoolers:

Action from the Grade 4, Grade 5 and Grade 6 categories:

And now, let's introduce everyone who gave it their all for Tachikawa Renseikan today. Hirano Juito Ozawa Kaito Tsurumi Yusei Miyazaki Keijiro Mizuno Kentaro Miyazaki Yoshiyuki Kinoshita Shun Takahashi Yoji Hirano Noato Hirano Shurato Mitsuhashi Toma Endo Kanta Takagi Yuisei Hamaguchi Matasaburo Tsurumi Rukito Abe Mizuki Ando Kataro Sasaki Ifu Takagi Taiyo

Practical Considerations The tournament programme listed every member from every team participating, but wait, there's one glaring omission - there were barely any teams from outside Kanto. Out of the 67 teams in total, a staggering 57 teams were from either Kanto or Chubu. The most likely reason for this is that the Monday following this tournament is a working day, so clubs from further away may have felt it was too difficult to get back to their normal lives in such a short turnaround. Why is it Always 2-3? Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo sent out four teams today (only Bunkyo Harigaya Sumo Club had more), hoping to repeat last year's heroics. Although Renseikan C and Renseikan D couldn't make much of a headway against strong competition, everyone were optimistic following Renseikan A cruised through the preliminaries 5-0 and 5-0, and Renseikan B made it to the pre-finals playoffs. Beating Hyogo's Soshindo Sumo Club meant that only Gifu Mokuyo Sumo Club stood between Renseikan B and a place in the knockout rounds. Things were looking good with Renseikan B going into a 2-1 lead, but then that became 2-2, and then 2-3. The team members were distraught after that. However, there was still hope. With the way Renseikan A were performing, and with Hirano Juito beating older opponents left, right and center, another quarter-final finish was certainly looking likely. That is until they faced Komatsuryu C and trailed 1-2 after three bouts. Up stepped Miyazaki Keijiro, who had the hopes of the entire dojo upon his shoulders. His task? To beat Nakazawa Musashi, a member of Komatsuryu's golden generation. Everyone got so excited after Keijiro managed to get a double inside grip, that is, until he got pushed out anyway. Even with Mizuno Kentaro winning the final bout, Renseikan A still ended up losing 2-3. Everyone tried their best, but today, it wasn't enough. Renseikan A Renseikan B Renseikan C Renseikan D The Future isn't Orange When former Wanpaku Yokozuna Kodama Hayato parted ways with Mitaka Sumo Club last year, it was uncertain where his new path would lead. Now we have confirming - both of the Kodama brothers, Hayato and Sosuke, have joined Fuchu Sumiyoshi Sumo Club just north of where they live in Inagi City. Kodama Hayato has shown today that he has now added leg trips to his arsenal, not relying so much on his incredible arm strength any more. But whilst Hayato now has a Plan B, most of his new team-mates don't, so what ended up happening is that the Kodama siblings would win their bouts, but their team would go on to lose 3-2. As for the reason they left their old club? Apparently there were disagreements between their parents and Mitaka. The plot thickens......

For Tsubasa Ever since last year, early October has a very special meaning for John Gunning's Komatsuryu Dojo - it marks the anniversary to the passing of Yanagisawa Tsubasa, a talented member, a great role model for the club's youngsters. He had such a bright future ahead of him, but alas, illness took its toll, and 16 years is far too short. So going into this tournament, up against 66 other teams from around Japan, everyone at Komatsuryu Dojo wanted to give it their all, to win it for Tsubasa. They made it all the way to the final, where they would face their biggest and fiercest rival - Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Dojo from across the Arakawa River. Let the photos speak for themselves. And so, their team (from left to right) of Mashiko Takuya, Hata Taishi, Suekawa Atsuki, Saito Seigo (captain), and Kumagai Kyuta brought home Komatsuryu's first ever triumph in this tournament. Tsubasa-senpai, we hope we made you proud!

A Young Enho Winning this tournament for the third year in a row is Tachikawa Renseikan's Grade 2 star Hirano Juito. He may not have a big body, but his wide range of techniques more than makes up for this. He won by ashitori (leg pick), he won by sotogake (outside leg trip), he won by kirikaeshi (scooping body drop), and he even drops the occasional henka. His value to the club is such that he's been put in the Grade 3 slot for tomorrow's tournament. Challengers of the Soul This week, an NHK program called "Challengers of the Soul" had a part on Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo, focussing on a Grade 3 boy named Miyazaki Yoshiyuki, who is the younger brother of Hakuho Cup quarter-finalist Miyazaki Keijiro. Yoshiyuki had fears about charging head-on at the tachi-ai, but he was eventually able to conquer this fear, and his reward is a quarter-final finish today. The Grade 3 winner was Komatsuryu Dojo's Kumagai Kyuta, who was able to add this tournament to his Hakuho Cup victory earlier this year. https://www.bilibili.com/video/av69984482/ A Majestic Performance Both Hirano Noato and Sasaki Ifu had good showings today for Tachikawa Renseikan, with Ifu (whose name comes from ifudodo, meaning majestic) getting his best ever result at this tournament. For the aforementioned Miyazaki Keijiro? Not so much, as you can see from the following photo (he actually battled back from that, but it wasn't enough). The Grade 6 category was won by Komatsuryu Dojo's Hakuho Cup semi-finalist Kuramochi Yuto, who had to overcome his club-mate and sumo genius Yoshioka Ryudai in the semi-final in an almighty battle. Ryudai twice spun around whilst grabbing his opponent's arm to escape a neck hold, and tried all sorts of stuff in that bout, but it was Yuto's day. You can see in the video below Yuto dismantling Wanpaku Yokozuna Yamashita Masakiyo. As for the decorated Kodama Hayato? Apparently he's now a member of Fuchu Sumiyoshi Sumo Dojo, but Hayato did not compete today. The Star of Kinboshi Yup, Kanazawa Sorato is still doing sumo, and he now looks like this. A good performance from him, but he'll be even better next year. The middle school category was won by Katsushika's thin but strong Komiyama Toa, who beat second year club-mate Aino Shogo in the final. Shogo will be a name to watch out for next year. A Sumo Wrestler's Son Sasaki Chikara from that documentary (embedded below) impressed in the Dans Category today, going all the way to the semi-finals, and even then only losing because of a well-timed utchari (backward pivot throw). He will soon be graduating from High School, and according to his dad, might be enrolling into Keio University.

Forever Tachikawa It's been three years since that rainy night in Tachikawa when I first met the incredibly nice people from the sumo dojo there. Now I find myself sitting amongst them, cheering for every member who steps onto the dohyo, talking about various topics, sumo or otherwise, having a curry rice meal together, and listening attentively to the post-tournament summaries, as always delivered by Sagawa-sensei. This is where Hokutofuji came from, where Sawada Hideo (corporate sumo talent) came from, and in a similar vein, where most professional rikishi came from. They learn sumo from a local sumo club or dojo, experience the highs and lows of competition, and grow up to be the strong human beings that they are. Today was an eventful day, tomorrow is a bigger test still. Ganbatte ne!

A Yusho instead of a kanto-sho? Mitakeumi'll take that any day. Hope Takakeisho will be fine for November, things are more interesting when he's around.

Guess they wanted two of the leaders to face each other to make the Yusho race easier to resolve. Certainly an intriguing end to the basho.

Goeido's always been a very intelligent rikishi, a fair amount of his losses comes from trying a risky move that doesn't pay off. His strategy today however was perfect.

Back to four Ozekis next basho?

That kinboshi sure meant a whole lot to Tomokaze, Yoshikaze must be so proud right now

If Man City and VAR don't go together, then neither do Tochinoshin and mono-ii it seems......

This is not at a heya, but if your sumo curious friend wishes to get a more personal experience of sumo whilst in Tokyo, they could always give this a try: https://raien.co. The sessions take place in a local sumo club in Mitaka City, and are tourist-friendly.

Kotoyuki's strategy today was on point, he just wasn't quick enough to follow through with it. But man is Enho going places

That was a superb move from Enho, expertly executed

A video showing Tasaki Masami's progress through the tournament. He's definitely a pusher thruster.

Many A Sumo Great Location - 2-chōme-29-3 Kisabe (私部2丁目29-3), Katano, Osaka Keiko - Unknown Situated just to the south-east of Katano Station, Furuichi Dojo are famous for their tough and rigorous training regime. Most sumo clubs and dojos hold training sessions twice a week, some would train three times a week. But Furuichi? They train SIX times every week! Over the years, Furuichi Dojo have produced many successful wrestlers, including former Amateur and High School Yokozuna Asahimaru, who is one of only a handful of wrestlers to have won the Wanpaku Tournament 3 years in a row. Also hailing from Furuichi Dojo are long time friends and rivals Goeido and Ikioi. In fact, it is because of Goeido's father's suggestion that a young Ikioi first starting learning sumo. Having such a strong training partner has undoubtedly helped both of them greatly over the years, constantly pushing each other to be their best. During recent years, Furuichi Dojo's ace member has been someone called Tasaki Masami, who became Wanpaku Yokozuna when he was in Grade 6. Since joining middle school, Masami has already won the Osaka middle school tournament (as a first-year), beating everyone in his path, even those who are two years older than him. Masami has also done well in the Kansai tournament, getting all the way to the quarter-finals. A reporter from Eo Hikari TV had a chance to experience Furuichi Dojo's training regime for himself, the toughest of any sumo club / dojo in Japan, and to see where Tasaki Masami got his incredible strength from. After all, Masami is the strongest wrestler in his year group in the entire country.

They have made a follow-up program, showing Tasaki Masami's progress through this year's Middle School Championships, where he overcame many opponents who were a year older than him to finish third:

Home of the True Wanpaku Location - Nishikida Junior High School, Mishima, Shizuoka Keiko - Mondays (6pm - 8pm), Fridays (6pm - 8pm), Saturdays (9am - 1pm) A member of the Shizuoka Sumo Federation, Mishima Sumo Club (三島相撲クラブ) was first set up in 1976, where they practised 3 times a week on a basic dohyo in front of Hinoya Liquor Store's warehouse in Tanita, Mishima. A year later in 1977, following public donations (from mainly the Nishikida District), a proper dohyo was constructed on the grounds of the Nishikida Junior High School (三島市立錦田中学校), which is where they've been ever since. Their Honorary President's son, Suzuki Hideki (鈴木 英樹), is about to enter Ozumo. Two years ago, Mishima City produced a TV programme introducing the club, titled "Gambarize! Children of Mishima - Mishima Sumo Club", and showed one of their keiko sessions. The programme also featured interviews with their Honorary President Suzuki Tadatomo (鈴木 忠友), their coach Kurihara Koki (栗原 幸喜), and some of their club members: Mishima Sumo Club have produced some famous names in the past, including Sagatsukasa-zeki (former Wanpaku Yokozuna) and Tochihiryu-zeki. Their biggest name in recent years is Tsuchiya Kazuya (土屋 和也), who is a Wanpaku runner-up, a Middle School Championships semi-finalist, and last month, a Hakuho Cup finalist. Although many talented young rikishi have trained on their dohyo, their stand-out club member is someone called Sugawara Haruka (菅原 悠翔), who is just about to enter Middle School. As you may recall from this documentary, the word "Wanpaku" is Japanese for "naughty boy" (or alternatively, mischievous), and there's no one who's more befitting of this name than Sugawara Haruka. His antics have even caught the attention of Akatsu (あかつ), who hosted a documentary about him. Sugawara Haruka started sumo in Grade 3 in Primary School. Just a year later, he finished runner-up in the Wanpaku Tournament, second only to the famous Narita Rikido, and reached the semi-finals the year after that. Sugawara Haruka certainly has a talent for sumo, but what truly sets him apart from everyone else is the way he behaves on and around the dohyo. How so? Well, normally, when kids pose for a photo in the closing ceremony of sumo tournaments, they stand like this: Sugawara Haruka, on the other hand, stands like this: When participants at the Hakuho Cup receive their certificates from the great Hakuho himself, they're usually like this: Sugawara Haruka, however, was like this: When most kids grab some salt ahead of their bouts, they take this much: Sugawara Haruka, because why not, takes this much: Needless to say, the salt went everywhere, even on his head, so the gyoji had to come over to him to clean it off: And so, this is Sugawara Haruka, a member of Mishima Sumo Club, and a True Wanpaku. He's definitely one of a kind.

Here's Sugawara Haruka participating in an English Speech Contest earlier this week. He talks extensively about his experiences with sumo.

Due to renovation works at the Kokugikan Stadium, this year's Wanpaku Tournament will take place inside the Sumida City Gymnasium this coming Sunday. There will likely be live coverage (from 8:00 JST) of the event on YouTube, via Wanpaku Sumo's official channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz2at4QxHfxvT6IVFhSpemg This year, 330 competitors will fight it out for a chance to become national champion in either Grade 4, Grade 5 or Grade 6. Here's a video with highlights from last year's tournament:

Results - Grade 6 Winner - Kuraoka Yuta (倉岡 優太), Kumamoto Runner-Up - Yamashita Masakiyo (山下 正清), Kagoshima Semi-Finals - Yoshioka Ryudai (吉岡 竜大), Chiba Semi-Finals - Kikuta Ryuga (菊田 流雅), Ibaraki Quarter-Finals - Maro Kosho (マロー 高尚), Aomori Quarter-Finals - Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Tokyo Quarter-Finals - Otani Natsuki (大谷 夏希), Okayama Quarter-Finals - Okuda Soma (奥田 蒼真), Osaka

Tournament Report - Grade 6 Utterly Unstoppable There are a total of three national tournaments each year for primary schoolers - the Wanpaku Tournament in July/August, the Primary School Championships in December, and then the Hakuho Cup during February the next year. Coming into this year's Wanpaku Tournament, Kumamoto's Kuraoka Yuta (倉岡 優太) was the 2-time defending Primary School Yokozuna as well as the current holder of the Hakuho Cup. It was always going to be a tough task for anyone to stop him on the day, but as it turned out, Yuta just shoved his way through all seven rounds. I've embedded his semi-final bout, which was the ONLY time where his forward progress had been halted. His power sumo is now far ahead of the pack, and thus deservedly holds all three national titles at the same time. Whether this is good or bad for his development is debatable, but the calendar grand slam is definitely on the cards now. If You Can't Beat Them, Avoid Them If must have been difficult for young Yamashita Masakiyo (山下 正清), what with an older brother winning trophies left, right and centre, and having a certain Kodama Hayato constantly being in his way. It was akin to the situation which the warlord Imagawa Yoshimoto found himself him. "I would have become Shogun if it wasn't for Oda Nobunaga and that wretched rain at Okehazama!" All Masakiyo needed was to avoid facing Kodama Hayato during tournaments, somehow. At last year's Wanpaku Tournament, Masakiyo was due to face Hayato in the final, but Hayato lost in his quarter-final bout, so Masakiyo went on to become Wanpaku Yokozuna. This year, Masakiyo was due to face Hayato in the semi-final, but once again Hayato lost in his quarter-final bout, so Masakiyo went on to defend his title, at least he would have done if Kuraoka Yuta hadn't been there. To think, Masakiyo was so so close to losing in his second bout, but that's just how knock-out tournaments are. Action Does Indeed Speak Louder Than Words Sumo kids come in many different kind of personalities. There's the cheeky ones, the happy-go-lucky ones, the serious with their goals ones, and the "I'm doing sumo only because I'm big" ones. And then there are the quiet ones. Not shy, no sir, just quiet. They don't talk much, but take in every little detail of things they see, and think through them in their heads. Tachikawa Renseikan's Tsurumi Yusei is one such kid, and Komatsuryu Dojo's Yoshioka Ryudai (吉岡 竜大) is another. I've spoken with Ryudai a few times, and believe me, you'll be lucky to get more than a few words from him. However, Ryudai is without a doubt one of the stand-out talents from his star-studded club. What makes Ryudai so special is that he has a very very good sumo mind. He can watch other people's bouts, figure out their strengths and weaknesses, and work out exactly how he should approach each opponent. Ryudai adapting to his opponents has worked out remarkably well over the past few years, but there is one person he just cannot beat - Kodama Hayato. But then again, how many people can say they've beaten Hayato? Three? Not even? Ryudai knows that Hayato's biggest weapon is his incredible arm strength, and so, his strategy in the friendly examination tournament last summer was to clamp Hayato's arms together and then push. It was very clever, but a lack of patience proved to be his downfall. This time around, when Ryudai faced Hayato in the Wanpaku quarter-finals, he had a slightly different strategy in mind. It was to be one of the bouts of the tournament. We Could Be Seeing A Star Being Born With This Kid Three and a half years ago, in my first ever post in the forum, I predicted that Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), in Grade 2 back then, has the potential to become a star in the future. He had a champion's hunger and determination, and was already able to beat kids who were two years above him. Since then, Hayato has won the Wanpaku Tournament, and has achieved a three-peat in the Hakuho Cup. But then, things started to go astray. Even now, Hayato is easily a top three wrestler in his year group, I'd even go as far as to say that he is the second best in the country. However, his opponents have gradually been able to work out ways to neutralise his arm strength, and Hayato has yet to show a Plan B. I think a major reason for this is the lack of training partners at his former sumo club, Mitaka. Without a suitable opponent to practise with, there's only so high you can go. In fact, it was supposedly because of this that Hayato and his younger brother Sosuke both left the club last year. Hayato shows that he still has what it takes, like the way he dealt with a very tough opponent in Ito Hirohide, but where will his path lead? When You Put Your Mind To It A Pokémon YouTuber once explained that Fighting-type is weak to Psychic-type because brains over brawn. Size doesn't always matter in sumo, because there are many rikishi who can outsmart their larger foes. Enter Akita, a prefecture whose exam results consistently top Japan's league tables, and a place that produces smart wrestlers. Ishikawa Kanu (石川 神羽) is an example of this, and the way he wrestled at the Wanpaku Tournament means that I just had to give him a mention.

Oh, and one more thing. Among the wrestlers who made it to the knock-out stages is a boy named Munakata Seiren. Anyone remember him?