mikawa

(第13回全国少年相撲選手権大会) Winner Nakadomari Dojo A (中泊道場, Aomori) Runner-Up Gifu Thursday Sumo Club A (岐阜木曜クラブ, Gifu) Semi-Finals Yaizu Junior Sumo Club A (やいづ少年相撲クラブ, Shizuoka) Tsugaru Asahifuji Junior Sumo Club (つがる旭富士ジュニアクラブ, Aomori) Videos Semi-final #1 Nakadomari Dojo A (Aomori) vs Yaizu Junior Sumo Club A (Shizuoka): Semi-final #2 Gifu Thursday Sumo Club A (Gifu) vs Tsugaru Asahifuji Junior Sumo Club (Aomori): Final Nakadomari Dojo A (Aomori) vs Gifu Thursday Sumo Club A (Gifu): Comments Eternal rivals Narita Rikido (成田 力道, of Nakadomari Dojo) and Uchida Kyota (内田 京汰, of Yaizu Junior Sumo Club) don't seem to be content with just winning individual competitions any more, as they take their battle to the National Club Championships, in the semi-finals no less. It was a very good bout (as was the entire match), but this time, Narita's extraordinary power was able to come through for his team (unlike 2 months ago at the Wanpaku Tournament), helping them to earn a hard-fought victory over Yaizu Junior Sumo Club, who are this year's favourites. This year, Yaizu Junior Sumo Club boasted a very strong team, with a wanpaku quarter-finalist in Suzuki Masane (鈴木 真実, left), the current wanpaku yokozuna in Uchida Kyota (内田 京汰, right), and a very strong rikishi in the middle school spot whom I wasn't able to identify, but who did win a major tournament this summer (the NSK Grading Examination Tournament). Alas, it wasn't to be their year, as they went out 3-2 in the semi-finals. Aomori's Nakadomari Dojo is one of the traditional powerhouse clubs in amateur sumo, winning the team competition at last year's Hakuho Cup (at Udo Junior Sumo Club's expense, because, who else). They have produced many a big name over the years, including wanpaku yokozuna Shinpo Kyoya (新保 杏也, aka "Giant of the North"), wanpaku semi-finalist and middle school quarter-finalist Ishioka Mikiya (石岡 弥輝也), 2-time wanpaku yokozuna Narita Rikido (成田 力道, right), and wanpaku quarter-finalist Nara Subaru (奈良 昴, left). Coming back from 2-1 down in the semi-final and 2-0 down in the final wasn't easy, but manage it they did, and are now officially the best club / dojo in Japan. Nakadomari Dojo played their part in the Kinboshi Sumo Club series, as did Tsugaru Asahifuji Junior Sumo Club (it helps that both clubs are from Aomori), who did very well in reaching the semi-finals. That was certainly unexpected. Even more unexpected was Nagao Yuki (長尾 勇気, aka "Yuki the Genius")'s club, Gifu Thursday Sumo Club, finishing runner-up in this tournament (much akin to last year's runner-up, Mitaka Sumo Club). Gifu Thursday Sumo Club have always been an established club with some very skilled rikishi in the midst, but as a team have not done anything of note over the past few years, until today. With Shinpa Kyoya and Nagao Yuki's respective clubs facing each other in the final, there's certainly a sense of deja vu about the match.

Thanks, will carry on gambarizing!

Program #10 (2016.10.1): Wanpaku National Championships Now that he has qualified for the Wanpaku Tournament, club ace Kanazawa Sorato （金澤 空大） is now up against the best in the country. With 131 rikishi in his year group alone, the road to Wanpaku Yokozuna sure ain't an easy one, especially when in his way is last year's winner, Kagoshima's Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介). The nerves are palpable. As his friends and family (and coaches) cheer on from the sidelines, Sorato's first bout (1st round in the video, 2nd round in reality) is against Fukui's Murota Goki (室田 光稀). If he is able to come through that bout, his next opponent would be Niigata's Terashima Eitetsu (寺島 英徹). After that, he would be facing Kumamoto's Kamimura Kotaro (上村 光太郎), followed by the defending champion, Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介). Despite not being able to reach the quarter-finals this year, Sorato has certainly come a long way since he joined Kinboshi Sumo Club little more than half a year ago. The fact that he was able to even reach the Wanpaku Tournament this year, despite having no experience in sumo until just a few months earlier, shows his talents as a wrestler, and his potential as a future sports star (or even future Olympian). As for Wanpaku...... there's always next year! From 31:18:

西郷 智博 (Saigo Tomohiro), winner of the senior individual competition: 城山 聖羅 (Shiroyama Seira, 2-time high school yokozuna, 1st year at college), runner-up of the senior individual competition:

Seems to be Ehime's year tbh, with strong showings in all sorts of competitions, managing to bag the high school yokozuna and wanpaku yokozuna titles along the way. Good for them!

(第41回 全国学生相撲個人体重別選手権大会) Open Weight Competition Winner: Miwa Hayato (三輪 隼斗, Nippon Sport Science University) Runner-up: Turbold (トゥルボルド, Nihon University) 3rd Place: Kitamura Naoki (北村 直樹, Tokyo University of Agriculture) 3rd Place: Nakamura Yuya (中村 友哉, Kanazawa Gakuin University) Semi-Finals: Miwa Hayato (三輪 隼斗, Nippon Sport Science University) vs Kitamura Naoki (北村 直樹, Tokyo University of Agriculture) Nakamura Yuya (中村 友哉, Kanazawa Gakuin University) vs Turbold (トゥルボルド, Nihon University) Final: Miwa Hayato (三輪 隼斗, Nippon Sport Science University) vs Turbold (トゥルボルド, Nihon University) 135+ kg Competition Winner: Murata Ryo (村田 亮, Toyo University) Runner-up: Nishino Tomonori (西野 倫理, Toyo University) 3rd Place: Kubo Masahiro (久保 正博, Toyo University) 3rd Place: Nakajima Ryosuke (中嶋 亮介, Toyo University) Quarter-Finals: Murata Ryo (村田 亮, Toyo University) vs Kizaki Yuya (木﨑 雄也, Nihon University) Kubo Masahiro (久保 正博, Toyo University) vs Kizaki Shinnosuke (木崎 伸之助, Nihon University) Motobayashi Kenji (元林 健治, Kindai University) vs Nakajima Ryosuke (中嶋 亮介, Toyo University) Nishino Tomonori (西野 倫理, Toyo University) vs Hiroo Satonari (廣尾 達成, Nihon University) Semi-Finals: Murata Ryo (村田 亮, Toyo University) vs Kubo Masahiro (久保 正博, Toyo University) Nakajima Ryosuke (中嶋 亮介, Toyo University) vs Nishino Tomonori (西野 倫理, Toyo University) Final: Murata Ryo (村田 亮, Toyo University) vs Nakajima Ryosuke (中嶋 亮介, Toyo University) -135 kg Competition Winner: Nishizawa Motoyasu (西澤 元康, Nippon Sport Science University) Runner-up: Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴, Nihon University) 3rd Place: Higo Yuta (肥後 勇太, Kindai University) 3rd Place: Terasawa Shigeru (寺沢 樹, Toyo University) Semi-finals: Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴, Nihon University) vs Terasawa Shigeru (寺沢 樹, Toyo University) Nishizawa Motoyasu (西澤 元康, Nippon Sport Science University) vs Higo Yuta (肥後 勇太, Kindai University) Final: Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴, Nihon University) vs Nishizawa Motoyasu (西澤 元康, Nippon Sport Science University) Comments Two big names faced each other in the final bout of the open weight competition, as Miwa Hayato, runner-up in this year's Kanazawa Tournament, produced a tactically perfect performance to overcome Turbold, the current Amateur Yokozuna. Credit to Turbold though, as he hung in there despite being in a disadvantageous position for almost the entire bout, and his recent performances have simply been exceptional. New powerhouse Toyo University clean-sweeped the 135kg or over competition, as Murata Ryo defeated his club-mate Nishino Tomonori in the final. Murata Ryo's ranking of Komusubi in last year's College Banzuke shows just how good he has been over the past couple of years, and that's on top of being a former wanpaku quarter-finalist as well as a former middle school s emi-finalist. He's almost been a very consistent rikishi, hailing from the same prefecture (Mie) as 2-time High School Yokozuna Shiroyama Seira. Meanwhile, Kubo Masahiro, Motobayashi Kenji and Nishino Tomonori are all very familiar with each other, with all 3 belonging to the same year group (2 years Murata's junior), and thus having faced each other many times throughout the years. Their most notable bout is probably in the quarter-finals of the 23rd Wanpaku Tournament back in 2007, where Nishino Tomonori faced Kubo Masahiro (on Kubo's birthday). That's such a long time ago...... Nishizawa Motoyasu and Furukawa Haruki are also familiar names in the college sumo scene, as is the rivalry between their universities, Nippon Sport Science and Nihon respectively. Furukawa Haruki is a former wanpaku semi-finalist as well as a former Middle School Yokozuna, and incidentally, club senpai (Udo Junior Sumo Club) to the current Middle School Yokozuna, Kusano Naoya. Didn't see that henka hatakikomi coming though......

Kawazoe Keita (川副 圭太, right in photo, alongside his younger brother Kawazoe Fuma, who's primary school yokozuna in 2015), winner of the junior individual competition: Takahashi Yuta (高橋 優太, 1st from right in photo, at last year's Kokutai), runner-up of the junior individual competition:

I believe that's because the academic year in Japan begins in April.

In other news, how on earth did this happen?! (especially after going 4-1 on day 9......) Sakamoto Genki 2016.01 Ms15TD 4-3 185 cm 167 kg 2016.03 Ms11w 4-3 2016.05 Ms9e 4-3 2016.07 Ms6e 4-3 2016.09 Ms3w 4-3

From might not survive the kadoban to winning the yusho, congrats to Goeido! (He's certainly come a long way since this )

They probably felt better about joining Ozumo at this stage than continuing with their studies, as none of them are likely to gain a Sandanme entry. Even the strongest of the three, Ogasawara Ryusei (小笠原 隆聖), has not achieved anything of note at college level, though the news did mention that he once reached the semi-finals of a high school tournament.

Both kadoban ozeki looking good at this point, both will probably benefit from Hakuho not being here. What's happened to Sato though? Is there some sort of injury, or have the others figured him out?

Here are the full results (from the last 32 onwards) of the tournament:

The 46th National Middle School Championships (第46全国中学校相撲選手権大会) took place last weekend in Ishikawa Prefecture, with individual and team matches being contested on both Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st. The winner of this tournament's individual competition is crowned this year's Middle School Yokozuna, so there's a lot at stake. The tournament is made up of 47 middle schools who won their respective prefectural qualifiers, plus the hosting middle school, making a grand total of 48 teams. A middle school rikishi cannot qualify for this tournament on their own, they have to be part of one of these 48 teams (with each team consisting of 3 rikishi).

The annual dedicatory sumo event held at the Suwa Shrine in Tachikawa City (立川諏訪神社), which includes a few bouts of blindfold sumo, a fun twist to the sport. Most of the participants are members of the local sumo club - Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo (立川錬成館):

And for the junior tournament:

The results courtesy of Nishinoshima:

The other side of the coin

Comments And so, Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉), a key member of Udo Junior Sumo Club and runner-up at the Middle School Student Championships earlier this month, is the 2016 Middle School Yokozuna. Congratulations to him! Ever since the wanpaku days, Kusano Naoya has been one of the top names in his year group, always reaching the quarter-finals at least in national competitions. Even though he does not have quite the same level of fighting spirit as his club-mate and kohai Kawazoe Fuma (川副 楓馬), Naoya is one of the biggest rikishi amongst his peers (not to mention one of the strongest), and prefers a yorikiri-style of sumo. He has very good manoeuvring abilities during bouts, and has become even better during middle school, culminating in a runner-up performance in the Middle School Student Championships (losing to a henka in the final), and now this. Definitely a deserved winner. With hindsight, the (nearly) all-conquering team that Udo Junior Sumo Club put out during the 10th National Club Championships in 2013 is, hard to believe though it may be, even stronger than was first thought, and certainly should have won the tournament. The 5 members of that team included: Honda Gotaro (本田 豪太郎) - multiple quarter-finalist and semi-finalist at wanpaku and in other national competitions Kawazoe Fuma (川副 楓馬) - runner-up at wanpaku, winner of the Hakuho Cup and also the Primary School Yokozuna Hanaoka Masaki (花岡 真生) - a 2-time wanpaku yokozuna Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉) - multiple quarter-finalist and semi-finalist at wanpaku and in other national competitions, Middle School Yokozuna Kawakami Ryuko (川上 竜虎) - multiple quarter-finalist and semi-finalist at wanpaku and in other national competitions, Middle School Yokozuna Looking forward to seeing how Naoya does in High School from next year onwards, where he will be one of the names to watch out for. Other notable results The other big name from Kumamoto, Shido Shunsuke (志戸 俊輔), managed to reach the semi-finals, where he lost to the eventual winner Naoya. Meanwhile, the biggest rikishi in their year group, Kawabuchi Kazuki (川渕 一意), reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to the runner-up, Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎). Also a quarter-finalist was Okita Reiji (沖田 麗司), part of Tokyo Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Club's so-called "Golden Generation" and a key member of their national club championship-winning team. The winner of this year's National Middle School Student Championships, Tanaka Toranosuke (田中 虎之介), was able to reach the last 16 (losing by Hatakikomi to Kawabuchi Kazuki). This was the round where Kusano Naoya reached last year, when he was still in his second year of middle school. And speaking of sumo kids who have been featured in a television program, Sasaki Chikara (佐々木 主税), aka the sumo wrestler's son, reached the last 32 this year, which was a surprising result as he has not done anything of note since Grade 5 of primary school. Amongst the other rikishi who were able to qualify for the last 32 are two members of Komatsuryu Dojo from Tokyo, Kiyomiya Itto (清宮 一翔) and Asano Futa (浅野 風汰). There were also some rikishi who were still in their second year of middle school, the most notable being Ehime's Kubo Kaishin (久保 海心), Chiba's Murayama Go (村山 豪) and Aomori (and Tsugaru Sumo Club)'s Narumi Shoma (鳴海 匠馬). All three are big names in their year group, and will have another shot at the title of Middle School Yokozuna next year.

Team Competition Winner: Kametsu Middle School (亀津中学校, Kagoshima) Runner-up: Tsubataminami Middle School (津幡南中学校, Ishikawa) Semi-finals: Udo Kakujo Middle School (宇土鶴城中学校, Kumamoto) Semi-finals: Saisei Middle School (犀生中学校, Ishikawa) Last 32: Quarter-finals: Semi-finals: Udo Kakujo Middle School (宇土鶴城中学校) vs Kametsu Middle School (亀津中学校), Tsubataminami Middle School (津幡南中学校) vs Saisei Middle School (犀生中学校) Final: Kametsu Middle School (亀津中学校) vs Tsubataminami Middle School (津幡南中学校)

Individual Competition Winner: Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉, 3rd year, Kumamoto) Runner-up: Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎, 3rd year, Wakayama) Semi-finals: Shido Shunsuke (志戸 俊輔, 3rd year, Kumamoto) Semi-finals: Kishimoto Shori (岸本 涉利, 3rd year, Hyogo) Last 32: Quarter-finals: Semi-finals: Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉) vs Shido Shunsuke (志戸 俊輔), Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎) vs Kishimoto Shori (岸本 涉利) Final: Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉) vs Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎)

Program #9 (2016.7.31): Road to Wanpaku - Chiba Qualifiers With Yasuda Hikaru （安田 光）, Munakata Seiren (棟方 聖連) and club captain Kimura Kiri (木村 喜人) all out of the running, Kinboshi Sumo Club's hopes for this year's Wanpaku National Championships rests solely on the shoulders of their ace member, Kanazawa Sorato （金澤 空大）. However, to actually reach the Kokugikan, Sorato would need to win the Kashiwa City qualifiers, and then help Team Kashiwa finish in the top 3 at the Chiba prefectural qualifiers. Luckily for him, one of his team-mates from Kashiwa just happens to be the 3-time Hakuho Cup winner and number one in his year group, Nishijima Yurai (西島 悠来). Thus, winning the tournament in Kashiwa is actually the harder part. In order to prepare him for the Wanpaku qualifiers, coach Hanada Masaru points out that Sorato's weakness in sumo is his habit of facing sideways in bouts, always wanting to attempt a throw rather than keep pushing forwards (presumably because of his wrestling background), which wouldn't always work against opponents who are experienced in sumo. And so, like his club-mates, Sorato also undergoes 100-bouts keiko; but unlike his club-mates (with Sorato being the 5-time national champion that he is), Sorato isn't satisfied with doing merely 100 bouts, and so decides to change it to ∞ -bouts keiko. Needless to say, he didn't actually reach that amount (307 bouts to be exact, or 0%), but it does show that Sorato always wants to improve, and is also willing to worker harder than everyone else in order to achieve his goals. And so, Sorato storms through the field to win the Kashiwa City qualifiers, as did his brother Kanazawa Towa （金澤 永和）, though Towa had a real scare in the final against an opponent who also does wrestling. Sorato did equally well at the Chiba prefectural qualifiers (which is only for Grades 4-6), only losing one of his 7 bouts (to Aino Shogo 相野 祥吾, a quarter-finalist the previous year), hence helping Team Kashiwa to finish first in the tournament, earning all 3 team members a spot at the Wanpaku Tournament. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4mlw4b

Individual Competition Winner: Turbold (ﾄｩﾙﾎﾞﾙﾄﾞ, Nihon University) Runner-up: Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴, Nihon University) 3rd Place: Onami Atsushi (大波 渥, Toyo University) 4th Place: Miyano Hayato (宮野 健人, Kindai University) Team Competition Winner: Nippon Sport Science University Minami Yuta (南 友太) ･ Matsunaga Hisashi (松永 久志) ･ Miwa Hayato (三輪 隼斗) ･ Nishizawa Motoyasu (西澤 元康) ･ Muramatsu Yusuke (村松 裕介) Runner-up: Nihon University Kizaki Shinnosuke (木崎 伸之助) ･ Turbold (ﾄｩﾙﾎﾞﾙﾄﾞ) ･ Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹) ･ Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴) ･ Nakajima Nozomi (中島 望） 3rd Place: Toyo University Nishino Tomonori (西野 倫理) ･ Murata Ryo (村田 亮) ･ Shiroishi Masahito (白石 雅仁) ･ Onami Atsushi (大波 渥) ･Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅) 4th Place: Chuo University Chikahei Keitaro (近平 佳多朗) ･ Tanaka Daisuke (田中 大介) ･ Yago Taiki (矢後 太規) ･ Kato Yusuke (加藤 祐介) ･ Hamada Junpei (濱田 純平) Footage from the tournament: Nihon University, Nippon Sport Science University and Toyo University are currently the 3 strongest universities in Japan for college sumo (not necessarily in that order). The defending Amateur Yokozuna, Turbold, is continuing to go strong, and will probably be the favorite for this year's university championships. His clubmate, Kumamoto's Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴), is also a very talented college rikishi, and a familiar name in amateur sumo (he's also a former Middle School Yokozuna). In the team final, Nihon University narrowly lost the match 3-2 to Nippon Sport Science University, with Turbold and Furukawa Haruki their only victors (no surprise there). Muramatsu Yusuke (村松 裕介) and Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹) are both former Wanpaku Yokozuna. Interestingly, Toyo University have put 2-time High School Yokozuna Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), who's currently in his first year at college, in the 5th and (theoretically at least) most important spot on their team. Is Shiroyama really that good? Guess we'll find out over the next few years......

Is there a way to superscript or subscript a letter?

Many thanks for Akinomaki's news and videos on this tournament (第27回全国都道府県中学生相撲選手権大会) last Sunday. It should be pointed out though that this is a different tournament to the National Middle School Championships, which takes place later this month. It is the latter where the Middle School Yokozuna is crowned. Open Weight Competition Winner: Tanaka Toranosuke (田中 虎之介, 3rd year, Niigata) Runner-up: Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉, 3rd year, Kumamoto) Semi-finals: Tsuchiya Kazuya (土屋 和也, 3rd year, Shizuoka) Semi-finals: Ikeda Shun (池田 俊, 3rd year, Ishikawa) Quarter-finals: Fujikawa Ibuki (藤川 維吹, 3rd year, Saga) Quarter-finals: Toyota Rintaro (豊田 倫太朗, 3rd year, Kagoshima) Quarter-finals: Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎, 3rd year, Wakayama) Quarter-finals: Okita Reiji (沖田 麗司, 3rd year, Tokyo) Team Competition Winner: Ishikawa Runner-up: Kumamoto Semi-finals: Kagoshima Semi-finals: Hyogo Quarter-finals: Aomori Quarter-finals: Saitama Quarter-finals: Mie Quarter-finals: Chiba Videos of the Team Semi-finals (Kumamoto vs Kagoshima, Ishikawa vs Hyogo): And of the Team Final (Kumamoto vs Ishikawa): Videos of the Individual Competition can be found in Akinomaki's thread. The open weight winner this year, Tanaka Toranosuke (田中 虎之介), was a huge surprise, as he has not achieved anything of note in national or even regional competitions, until now that is. He works hard at his sumo, and has definitely improved a lot since joining Nou Middle School in Niigata (a famous school in amateur sumo, instead of attending a local school in Tokyo). His wins over Ikeda Shun (池田 俊) and Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉) are impressive, as those are 2 of the major names in his year group. However, considering that he henka'd his quarter-final and final opponents, and won his semi-final via a ring-edge reversal, he would need to improve a lot more to be successful at high school level (where he would likely be joining another powerhouse school for sumo, Niigata Kaiyo High School 新潟県立海洋高等学校). The finalist, Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉), is a member of Kumamoto's Udo Junior Sumo Club, and is a Wanpaku semi-finalist (reaching the quarter-finals in another). He has a good body for sumo and has a straightforward oshi-style, and as enough skill to be competitive on the belt as well. How much more skill he is able to acquire would be the determining factor once he enters high school. The 2 semi-finalists, Tsuchiya Kazuya (土屋 和也) and Ikeda Shun (池田 俊), are both strong rikishi with an oshi-style of sumo. Mishima Sumo Club's Tsuchiya Kazuya is taller than his peers, and back in Grade 6 reached the final of the Wanpaku Tournament, and actually won the Hakuho Cup. There's not much to say about Notojima Sumo Club (Nanao City)'s Ikeda Shun, except that he has a brother one year his junior called Ikeda Ryo (池田 亮), who was a Wanpaku Yokozuna in Grade 4 (though has since faded away slightly) In the team competition, it was the same old story as Team Kumamoto once again powered their way through to the final of a national tournament, only to once again miss out on winning, just. The final bout in the team final was between 2 top rikishi in their year group, Shido Shunsuke (志戸 俊輔) and Kawabuchi Kazuki (川渕 一意), with the latter having moved from Osaka to Ishikawa after graduating from primary school, presumably because Ishikawa is home to some of the top high schools in amateur sumo. Shido famously shocked the much bigger Kawabuchi in their Wanpaku semi-final back in Grade 5 (which was the closest that Kawabuchi ever got to claiming the Wanpaku title, having been the favorite for all 3 tournaments), but this time, the result would be different. As hamcornheinz mentioned in his post, Tanaka Toranosuke is indeed the boy who was featured in Begin Japanology's episode on sumo, and fair to say, he has grown a lot since then (and gotten a lot stronger). Incidentally, the boy whom Tanaka lost to in the tournament that year was Katsushika Shiratori Sumo Club's Okita Reiji (沖田 麗司), whose name has been mentioned previously in this post :)