mikawa

The top 8 results from the 2013 tournament are as follows: 1st: Kawabata Shogo (川端 翔伍), Nihon University 2nd: Kudo Gojin (工藤豪人), Nihon University 3rd: Turbold (トゥルボルト), Nihon University 4th: Noguchi Kiyoyuki (野口 清之), Nagasaki Prefecture 5th: Igarashi Atsushi (五十嵐 敦), Iwate Prefecture 5th: Omichi Hisashi (大道 久司), Toyo University 5th: Saigo Tomohiro (西郷 智博), Nihon University 5th: Sakamoto Genki (坂元 元規), Nihon University

Program #4 (2016.4.21): A New School Year - Aomori Degeiko After their valiant effort at the Hakuho Cup, all the club members know that they still have a lot to learn about sumo. To help them overcome their weaknesses, coach Hanada Masaru gives each of them a task to focus on, in training and at home, and they are all expected to keep a diary of their progress. For Yasuda Hikaru （安田 光）, he is required to do 5 push-ups every day in order to improve his upper body strength. Comparatively, club captain Kimura Kiri (木村 喜人) needs to do 20 shikos every day in order to improve his lower body strength (Kiri decided to add in some squating exercises for good measure, with unforeseen consequences). For Kanazawa Towa （金澤 永和） and Kanazawa Sorato （金澤 空大）, they have other people leaning onto them, and then pushing them upright again (to train their waist muscles); while Kanazawa Riku （金澤 立空） has to flip over tyres (and Towa) so that he could have a better attack from a low position. On top of that, program staff have arranged some degeiko sessions around Aomori. Their first stop is Asahifuji Junior Sumo Club， where Hikaru faces a strong opponent in Yamanaka Yuga (山中 夢羽駕). As in the Hakuho Cup, Hikaru is overcome with fear, and burst into tears. Over in Inaka-kan Sumo Club, Towa has some exciting bouts with Kudo Kosei (工藤 光晟), a boy one year his senior; while Riku gambarises against Tochinai Hinata（栩内 陽向）, someone who's qualified for the Wanpaku Tournament all 3 times (albeit losing in his first bout each time). And last but not least, the club pays a visit to Nakadomari Sumo Club, currently the strongest club in Aomori. Their former and current members include the 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna Shinpo Kyoya (新保 杏也); the Wanpaku semi-finalist, former Middle School Yokozuna, and up-and-coming Ozumo rikishi Onosho (打越 奎也); another Wanpaku and later Middle School semi-finalist Ishioka Mikiya (石岡 弥輝也); and of course, the current 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna, Narita Rikido (成田 力道). Both Kiri and Sorato have a tough task on their hands as they square off against Nara Subaru (奈良 昴), who reached the last 16 at last year's Wanpaku Tournament, losing to the eventual winner, Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介). Afterwards, Kinboshi Sumo Club welcomes a new member called Munakata Seiren (棟方 聖連), a relative of Kimigahama Oyakata (former Maegashira Hochiyama). Lastly, the Kanazawa siblings say a tearful farewell to their team-mates, as their whole family are moving down to Chiba, though they will remain members of the club, and will spend more time with the others in future programs. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x461qw4

The main results are as follows: Individual Competition: Winner (100+ kg): Ito Chikashi (伊藤 周) (Kashiwa Nittai High School, Wanpaku quarter-finalist / Middle School quarter-finalist, right in photo) Winner (80 - 100 kg): ビャンバー (Kashiwa Nittai High School, middle in photo, along with Ito and Yoshioka) Winner (80- kg): Yoshioka Kodai (吉岡 功大) (Kashiwa Nittai High School, former member of Komatsuryu Dojo in Tokyo, has a talented younger brother called Yoshioka Yudai, 吉岡 友大, who is currently in his 2nd year in Middle School) Team Competition: 1st: Saitama Sakae High School (Saitama) 2nd: Adachi Shinden Senior High School (Tokyo) 3rd: Takushoku University Koryo High School (Chiba) 4th: Kurobane Senior high School (Tochigi) Currently the strongest high school in sumo (and a traditional powerhouse, featuring alumni such as Goeido, Myogiryu, Daieisho, Sato etc), Saitama Sakae High School have recruited some very talented members over the past couple of years. Their winning team this time around include: Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝, 3rd year) (reached the last 16 of the Wanpaku tournament twice and last 32 the other time, he has gone from strength to strength since entering high school) Tsukahara Takaaki (塚原 隆明, 2nd year) (twice qualifying for the Wanpaku Tournament, Tsukahara won the Middle School Team Championships 2 years ago alongside last year's Middle School Yokozuna, Kamiyama Ryuichi 神山 龍一) Naya Konosuke (納谷 幸之介, 2nd year) (grandson of the late Yokozuna Taiho and runner-up in the Wanpaku Tournament in Grade 4, Naya has always attracted a lot of media attention, a bit like his senpai Kotokamatani) Miyazaki Rei (宮崎 麗, 2nd year) Tebakari Toshiki (手計 富士紀, 2nd year) (semi-finalist at the Wanpaku Tournament and later on the Middle School Yokozuna from 2 years ago, Tebakari Toshiki is certainly someone to watch out for in the next few years. He has a talented younger brother called Tebakari Taiki 手計 太希, who has just entered Middle School. Even though he is skinny by sumo standards, Taiki has a lot of skill, somewhat like Satoyama and Ura) Below is a group photo of the winning Saitama Sakae team. In the back row, 2nd from left is Tsukahara Takaaki (塚原 隆明), 2nd from right is Tebakari Toshiki (手計 富士紀), 1st from right is Naya Konosuke (納谷 幸之介); in the front row, 1st from left is Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝).

Program #3 (2016.3.3): Tournament Day - Hakuho Cup The kids from Kinboshi Sumo Club face their first real test, as they are invited to the Kokugikan Stadium by the great Yokozuna himself to compete in the 6th Hakuho Cup. It is possibly the biggest tournament ever held in amateur sumo, with more than 1000 kids from 5 different countries gather to aim for the top. Each of the 5 club members face a potentially tricky opponent in their first bout. First up is the North Japan wrestling champion and the youngest member of the club, Kanazawa Towa （金澤 永和）. He faces off against Hakuho's son, Wada Mahato (和田 真羽人). Both of them are in their first ever competitive bout, so they are understandably a bit nervous. After lunch, and on a different dohyo, Yasuda Hikaru （安田 光） faces Matan Gal, one of the kids from Hawaii. Hikaru is even more nervous (and a little scared), as he knows a big kid called Komatsu Kaito (小松 海斗) is waiting in the next round. Kaito has qualified for the Wanpaku Tournament once (in Grade 5 in 2015), though he lost in his first bout there (against Komiyama Toa (小宮山 翔海), whose name will come up again, as he is one of the best in his year group). Back on the central dohyo, club captain Kimura Kiri (木村 喜人) faces Tamura Kodai (田村 昂大), a boy half his size (35kg compared to 70kg). This is sumo though, so size isn't everything. Interestingly though, their opponent in the next round is actually Ichikizaki Daisuke (市来崎 大祐), the reigning Primary School Yokozuna, and eventual runner-up in the tournament. Shortly after that, Kanazawa Sorato （金澤 空大）, who's in the same year as Kiri, faces a tough challenge against Suzuki Yudai (鈴木 優大), a finalist at last year's Wanpaku Tournament (though he also lost in his first bout). If Sorato wins (it was a very good match), he will go on to face an even tougher challenge in Suzuki Nozomi (鈴木 希), who reached the last 16 at last year's Wanpaku Tournament. Last but not least, Kanazawa Riku （金澤 立空） faces Suzuki Daisuke (鈴木 大介), who reached the last 64 at the Wanpaku Tournament 3 years ago. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vlapn

Program #2 (2016.2.4): First Challenge - Mitaka Sumo Club After a few training sessions, Kinboshi Sumo Club travel down to Ichikawa City in Chiba to have a friendly match with Mitaka Sumo Club, who were runners-up in last year's All Japan Youth Sumo Championships (a team competition for clubs/dojos). On the whole, Mitaka are not as strong as the result may suggest, as they were carried through to the final by 2 members who were amongst the best in their respective year groups, Kodama Hayato ((児玉 颯飛) and Hanafusa Kai (花房 海). Hanafusa Kai was absent for this match, so Kinboshi Sumo Club had a chance of winning. Ultimately, it comes down to a deciding bout between Kanazawa Sorato (金澤 空大) and Kodama Hayato. Sorato is a 4-time national champion in wrestling, though has no prior experience in sumo; while Hayato would go on to win this year's Hakuho Cup and is currently the best in his year group, albeit still in Grade 2 at the time, and so is 2 years younger than Sorato. They didn't disappoint. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42wpd0

Program #1 (2016.1.28): Project Start - Kinboshi Sumo Club In order to find and nurture the next Japanese Yokozuna, staff from Guru Nai set up Kinboshi Sumo Club in Aomori, and are able to recruit 8 members (none of them having any prior experience in sumo), whose backgrounds include swimming, wrestling, judo, baseball etc. Having had a taster of what sumo's like, and the chance to go up against Narita Rikido (成田 力道), Aomori's 2-time Wanpaku Yokozuna, 3 of the kids decide to go back to their own ways, leaving 5 kids to officially become members of the club: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3peqw3

Yes, the age categories for wanpaku are the same as the primary school championships, with the primary school competition taking place in December, whereas wanpaku takes place at the start of August. In fact, the primary school championships may feature kids who are still in Grade 3 (or even in Grade 2, as was the case with Kodama Hayato). The kids at wanpaku may seem to be younger than the primary school championships because of the number of competing rikishi (about 131 in each year group for the wanpaku finals compared to just 32 in each year group for the primary school competition). Also, the primary school championships only feature kids who are members of a sumo club/dojo, whereas the kids at wanpaku are from all sorts of backgrounds (such as judo, wrestling etc), not just sumo. Saw 40th Wanpaku sumo competition on YouTube. I (and others) loved it. Very cute. Boys were quite serious but the girls seem to have fun even in losing. Surely, there are future college rikishis among them. Girls? Must be one of the regional qualifiers then :-)

Yes, the age categories for wanpaku are the same as the primary school championships, with the primary school competition taking place in December, whereas wanpaku takes place at the start of August. In fact, the primary school championships may feature kids who are still in Grade 3 (or even in Grade 2, as was the case with Kodama Hayato). The kids at wanpaku may seem to be younger than the primary school championships because of the number of competing rikishi (about 131 in each year group for the wanpaku finals compared to just 32 in each year group for the primary school competition). Also, the primary school championships only feature kids who are members of a sumo club/dojo, whereas the kids at wanpaku are from all sorts of backgrounds (such as judo, wrestling etc), not just sumo.

The main results for this tournament are as follows. This competition took place in Sakai City in Osaka, on the same day as the East Japan one. Individual Competition: 1st: Nakamura Tomoya (中村 友哉), Kanazawa Gakuin University 2nd: Ryuyama Kazuhiko (龍山 和彦), Kindai University 3rd: Nakamura Soki (中村 壮希), Kindai University 3rd: Takahashi Yamato (高橋 大和), Doshisha University Here's a photo of the top 4 rikishi: Team Competition: 1st: Kanazawa Gakuin University 2nd: Kindai University 3rd: Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences 4th: Doshisha University 5th: Ritsumeikan University 6th: Asahi University A (not so clear) photo of the rikishi from Kanazawa Gakuin University: And a (clear) group photo of the rikishi from the Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences:

Here's a list of the major yokozuna titles in amateur sumo, and the tournaments in which the titles can be earned. Each title corresponds to a specific tournament: Amateur Yokozuna - win the annual All Japan Sumo Championships Currently Turbold (トゥルボルド)College Yokozuna - win the annual All Japan Student Sumo Championships Currently Kurokawa Kojiro (黒川 宏次朗)High School Yokozuna - win the annual National Inter-High School Championships (sumo section) Currently Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅)Middle School Yokozuna - win the annual National Middle School Sumo Championships Currently Kamiyama Ryuichi (神山 龍一)Primary School Yokozuna - win the annual National Primary School Sumo Championships (one each for Grade 4 or lower / Grade 5 / Grade 6) Currently Ichikizaki Daisuke (市来崎 大祐) / Uchida Kyota (内田 京汰) / Kawazoe Fuma (川副 楓馬)Wanpaku Yokozuna - win the annual Wanpaku Sumo Championships (one each for Grade 4 / Grade 5 / Grade 6) Currently Yamashita Shosuke (山下 昇介) / Narita Rikido (成田 力道) / Hamaguchi Hayato (濱口 颯翔)

At least that's one prediction coming true :-) The title of College Yokozuna is awarded to the winner of the annual All Japan Student Sumo Championships, which features mostly University students, with some High School rikishi mixed in. I wish it was based on the entire year's performance. The current system may end up rewarding a rikishi who got hot on one tournament. Well, I have seen someone on the internet compile a banzuke for High School and University, based on their performances throughout the entire year. I'll try to transfer that into English here :-)

That seems to be the case at the moment, especially after Kindai University having had 3 of their best rikishi turning pro

Some tournaments (such as the Hakuho Cup and the Wanpaku Tournament) have live streams on nicovideo.jp; for most other competitions, you can search for 相撲 on YouTube and see what's available (or you can check the forum for videos).

This tournament took place today at the Kokugikan, the main results are listed below. Not much information can be found on the West Japan one, which also took place today. Individual Competition: 1st: Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹), Nihon University 2nd: Murata Ryo (村田 亮), Toyo University 3rd: Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴), Nihon University 3rd: トゥルボルド, Nihon University Individual Final (Osanai Riki vs Murata Ryo) Team Competition: 1st: Nippon Sport Science University 2nd: Nihon University 3rd: Toyo University 3rd: Chuo University Team Final (Nihon University vs Nippon Sport Science University) Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴) - Minami Yuta (南 友太) Kizaki Shinnosuke (木﨑 伸之助) - Matsunaga Hisashi (松永 久志) Turbold (トゥルボルド) - Nishizawa Motoyasu (西澤 元康) Katamura Toshiya (片村 敬也) - Miwa Hayato (三輪 隼斗) Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹) - Muramatsu Yusuke (村松 裕介)

Turbold lost in the semi-finals to Murata Ryo (by Tsukiotoshi)

hmm......

At least that's one prediction coming true :-) The title of College Yokozuna is awarded to the winner of the annual All Japan Student Sumo Championships, which features mostly University students, with some High School rikishi mixed in. I'll post a thread shortly on today's tournament.

Yes, I have been checking on their and other college graduates' progress. Those who join Ozumo all seem to do well right out of the gate. But I am guessing majority of college rikishis don't join Ozumo. Hopefully more college rikishi will join Ozumo in the future, now that they can start from Sandanme 100TD instead of from Maezumo :-) A college rikishi-turned sekitori recently commented that after they reach a high enough level (Maegashira), it takes them a while to get used to the kind of sumo required at that level, needing a better stamina and endurance, and bouts stretching over 15 days (as opposed to college sumo, where tournaments are knockout competitions, so the tachi-ai is much more important, and so bouts are usually decided very quickly).

I think I recognize him on the video. Didn't he do better last year? In videos posted in May 2016, he lost a few more bouts than I expected of him. He has a lot of swagger though. Didn't Kinkai University lose a few seniors? I remember them having an excellent team but not probably this year. Of course, I am operating on very limited info here. As expected of a rikishi from Kumamoto? :-) Kindai University had 3 very talented members join Ozumo recently, namely Ikegawa Yuki (池川 勇気), Ishibashi Hiroki (石橋 広暉) and Tamaki Kazuma (玉木 一嗣磨), and all 3 have had good results since turning pro. During the Natsu Basho that's just gone by, Ishibashi got Jun-Yusho for Sandanme, while Tamaki and Ikegawa won the Jonidan and Jonokuchi Yushos respectively.

He only recently (in March) returned from a surgery, seems to be injured again

Don't worry...he simply won't. The gap that he has to jump through is between a recovering Terunofuji and a declining Hakuho. And its already shrinking as it is. Kisenosato couldn't win the yusho when Hakuho and Harumafuji were absent. Sad truth is that the only man between him and that cup is not Hakuho, but Kisenosato. But Kotoshogiku did won a yusho, despite the fact that all yokozuna and Ozeki were present. And I think most people will think that Kisenosato is a slightly better sekitori than Kotoshogiku. So, when he could win a yusho out of nothing, why not Kisenosato also? Guess the stars haven't been in his court thus far. He had a golden opportunity in Aki Basho last year when Hakuho and Harumafuji were both injured, but still couldn't get over the line

One person definitely worth watching out for is a 1st year student at Toyo Univesity named Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅). Having dominated the High School sumo scene for the past 2 years (High School Yokozuna for 2 years in a row), he's already won a title at university, the 67th East Japan (New) Student Sumo Championships, earlier this month.Because of him (and a few other talented rikishi, including former Wanpaku Yokozuna, Shinpo Kyoya), Toyo University are currently a force to be reckoned with, alongside traditional powerhouses such as Nihon University and Nippon Sport Science University. Current 4th years who will likely do well over the next year include Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹) and Muramatsu Yusuke (村松 裕介), both former Wanpaku Yokozunae, both having already made a name for themselves at University level. Thanks for the info.In Japan (Nippon) Univiersity team, what is the name of the skinny, shaven, muscular wrestler? He usually plays the 1st match in team competition and does well despite his size (lack of). For the past year, Japan University team's starting rikishi is called Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴), a former Middle School Yokozuna. He is very very skilled (I'd say he's on the same level as Sato). Here's a clip of Furukawa Haruki in action in a documentary produced by National Geographic. He famously defeated the second favourite of that year's competition, Nagao Yuki (aka Tochiseiryu in Makushita), in the first round. The bout is from 2:38:

Did Terunofuji's oyakata instruct him to not go kyujo this basho, or was it of his own accord? He certainly didn't look like winning a bout since day 3, no matter who he faced

That's very impressive, going 15-0 despite the injuries

One person definitely worth watching out for is a 1st year student at Toyo Univesity named Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅). Having dominated the High School sumo scene for the past 2 years (High School Yokozuna for 2 years in a row), he's already won a title at university, the 67th East Japan (New) Student Sumo Championships, earlier this month. Because of him (and a few other talented rikishi, including former Wanpaku Yokozuna, Shinpo Kyoya), Toyo University are currently a force to be reckoned with, alongside traditional powerhouses such as Nihon University and Nippon Sport Science University. Current 4th years who will likely do well over the next year include Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹) and Muramatsu Yusuke (村松 裕介), both former Wanpaku Yokozunae, both having already made a name for themselves at University level.