mikawa

Yes he is

The Dragons of Taito Location - Riverside Sports Center, Taito, Tokyo Keiko - Saturdays (1:30pm onwards), Sundays (9:30am onwards) "The kids really won my heart, as well as the parents. And this time I was not shy, I was loud and cheered for the Komatsuryuu team of John (Gunning). My hands hurt from clapping loudly.... I remembered the kids from watching their Keiko 3 years ago. That was cool to see em performing well. I cross my fingers. Taira-sensei (former Dewataira) went to the kids before each bout, gave em tips. That is how a trainer should be." - ilovesumo Located in the basement level of Riverside Sports Center in Taito District, Tokyo, Komatsuryu Dojo (小松竜道場) is one of the oldest sumo clubs in Japan (founded all the way back in 1949), and the most famous club / dojo in amateur sumo. They have keiko sessions on 3 days of the week - Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and host 2 major competitions during the year for clubs in and around the Kanto region, one in Spring and the other in Autumn. Komatsuryu Dojo even have their own blog, which they update fairly frequently, as well as a Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. Most of the tournament photos and reports on their blog are contributions by the kids' parents. Komatsuryu Dojo's fame stems from the club being featured in a lot of programs, newspaper reports and even posts in the forum, and from their willingness to welcome amateur rikishi from around the world to train with them. Listed below are just some of those articles, reports, and programs: Sumo groups hope skinny Japanese kids can recapture their nation’s glory (an article on Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/can-skinny-japanese-kids-recapture-their-countrys-sumo-glory/2015/05/29/b97dd9a6-fa8a-11e4-a47c-e56f4db884ed_story.html Edit (a post in the forum introducing Komatsuryu Dojo and their coach, started by Nishinoshima) http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10509 Asashouryuu Sumo cup-children sumo (a post in the forum by Kintamayama) http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=18555 Komatsuryu - now in Adachi-ku (a post in the forum by Mark Buckton) http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=17363 Komatsuryu Aki Tourney (another post in the forum by Mark Buckton) http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16148 Komatsuryu Dojo article in Sumo Magazine (a scan by aderechelsea) http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=12082 Trip to Japan - Komatsuryu dojo (an article by Leonishiki, a friend of John Gunning) http://www.leonishiki.com/sumo//viajejapon/viaje_en_g.htm Komatsuryu Dojo AutumnTourney (an issue in Sumo Fan Magazine by Mark Buckton) http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_13/Komatsuryu.pdf Komatsuryu Rikishi to Join Tamanoi Beya (another issue in Sumo Fan Magazine by Mark Buckton) http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_14/Tamanoi_shindeshi.pdf Komatsuryu - 56th Annual Aki Taikai (another issue in Sumo Fan Magazine by Mark Buckton) http://www.sumofanmag.com/content/Issue_15/Komatsuryu.pdf 2 videos from Fight! Japan, hosted by Robert Clyne, that show the members of Komatsuryu Dojo in keiko and in competition: A short documentary on sumo by Al Jazeera, featuring Komatsuryu Dojo: Komatsuryu Dojo have more members than any other club / dojo in Japan, not only attracting kids from Tokyo, but also as far away as Chiba and Tochigi. In fact, such is their strength and depth as a club, that at the National Club Championships, where clubs are usually only able to put out 1 or 2 teams (owing to the age restrictions for each team member), Komatsuryu Dojo were actually able to put together FIVE teams, with Team Iwasaki reaching the last 32, and Team Yoshioka getting as far as the quarter-finals.

A short video introducing Kumagai Kyuta (熊谷 毬太), Komatsuryu Dojo's latest Hakuho Cup champion. He was part of the Komatsuryu team which won the National Club Championships back in October 2019.

He's the current chairman of the Kanazawa City Sumo Federation, explains why he's holding a fan in one of the photos that has "Kanazawa City" written on it.

Yoshiki Fuse is now one of the coaches at Mitaka Sumo Club

Murayama may have the stature of Takakeisho, but his sumo has always been a lot more straightforward, and lacks Takakeisho's impeccable timing.

Do you mean mnemonic?

Winner - Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo Runner-Up - Yamaguchi Reo (山口 怜央), Kindai University, Osaka Semi-Finals - Kawabuchi Kazuma (川渕 一意), Nihon University, Tokyo Semi-Finals - Matsuzono Taisei (松園 大成), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo Quarter-Finals - Dalaibaator (ダライバートル), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo Quarter-Finals - Nakamura Daiki (中村 泰輝), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo Quarter-Finals - Osanai Riki (小山内 力樹), Nippon Express Quarter-Finals - Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), Toyo University, Tokyo

Thought I'd repost this here, seeing that his dream has now come true.

The final match-up was interesting, as both Hanada and Yamaguchi are certainly big names in college sumo. Surprised to see that Nakamura lost to Kawabuchi in the quarter-finals, though that result nearly gave us a first-year vs first year final, crazy. Renseikan graduate Hatsuyama always seems to be there or thereabouts in major tournaments, maybe one day he can go all the way? Finger crossed!

This is Amuru's channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtEC83dVAS9bDBGbVJyKL-g

A chrysanthemum retired last year, a chrysanthemum retires this year. Otsukare-sama deshita, Kotoshogiku!

Tachikawa eh? Sure brings back memories!

One of Our Own November 2005. 8 year old Kamatani Masakatsu (鎌谷 将且) travels to Fukuoka to celebrate his birthday with his father Kotonowaka and his grandfather Kotozakura, as well as to witness his father's final basho. Already at 144cm and 60kg, Masakatsu claims that he wants to become as strong as his father and get to Yokozuna one day. Exactly 15 years on, Kotonowaka Junior is now back in Makuuchi after an injury, and will be hoping to continue his journey up the rankings chart.

The Godfather of Thailand Sumo - Kurasawa Sumio This short documentary tells the story of Shizuoka-born Kurasawa Sumio (倉沢 澄夫), about how he went from a bank worker in Japan to the founding father of the Thailand Sumo Federation. Kurasawa has certainly experienced his fair share of highs and lows, but whenever there seemed to be no future, Yokozuna Taiho's words would ring in his ears - "So stubborn, this one is", and he would gain the strength to fight on. A truly inspirational story.

Part 1 - The Spirit of Kumamoto Located in Uto City in central Kumamoto, Uto Junior Sumo Club (宇土少年相撲クラブ) have been around for more than 40 years now, and are currently the strongest sumo club in Japan. They currently have 29 club members in all (20 in primary school, 9 in middle school), and their coach is called Sonoda Shigeru (園田 茂). Sumo clubs traditionally have keiko sessions on 2 days each week, but such is the dedication to sumo in Kumamoto that Uto Junior Sumo Club actually have keikos on 4 separate days, with middle school students practising daily. No wonder they've been able to produce some very talented rikishi over the years. Their dominance during the past few years started with the 23rd Wanpaku Tournament, when the Uki Team, made up of Furukawa Haruki (古川 晴貴, semi-finals), Yamatake Ryo (山嶽 涼, quarter-finals) and Muramoto Yusei (村元 佑成, runner-up) won that year's team competition. All 3 are members of the Uto Junior Sumo Club. During the tournament, Yusei's win in the last 16 against Kamatani Masakatsu (鎌谷 将且), Sadogatake Oyakata's son, is one of the key bouts that year (from 6:06): Meanwhile, in the Grade 6 competition, Haruki's shock win against former Wanpaku Yokozuna Nagao Yuki (長尾 勇気) is one of the most famous bouts in Wanpaku history. Before that year's tournament, Nagao Yuki had his sights all set on taking revenge against Shinpo Kyoya (新保 杏也), the defending champion, only to meet his match in his first bout (from 1:50): Fast forward to the 29th Wanpaku Tournament, when 3 younger members of the club, Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉, quarter-finals), Hanaoka Masaki (花岡 真生, winner) and Kawazoe Fuma (川副 楓馬, runner-up), completed the same feat, this time with a record-equalling points tally. In his first bout, Fuma faced a very tough opponent in Ishida Hiroto (石田 洸斗), the Kansai champion, and a kid who's even bigger than he is. Fuma showed incredible determination and tactical awareness in that bout, which would prove to be one of the most exciting bouts that year (from 43:01): Fuma would have gotten the Fighting Spirit Prize that year (if there was one) for his semi-final bout against the Kyushu champion, Sakae Ryusei (栄 龍征), and an opponent he knows very well from regional tournaments. After the bout, Fuma was so excited with the win that he punched the air in celebration, only to be told off by the gyoji for that. Notice the stare from his clubmate Hanaoka Masaki when Fuma stepped off the dohyo, as if to say "you serious bro?" (from 20:39) Speaking of, Masaki's bout in the final against Sakamoto Hirokazu (坂本 博一), Tokitsukaze Oyakata's oldest son, is a Wanpaku classic (from 29:45), as was Hirokazu's semi-final bout against Honda Rikiya (本多 力也), from 23:11: The kids from Uto Junior Sumo Club would repeat this feat the following year by winning the team competition at the 30th Wanpaku Tournament as well, this time with Hanaoka Masaki (花岡 真生, winner), Kawazoe Fuma (川副 楓馬, quarter-finals) and Honda Gotaro (本田 豪太郎, quarter-finals). Fuma's quarter-final bout against Ochiai Tetsuya (落合 哲也) was another Wanpaku classic (from 25:36), as was the semi-final between Hanafusa Kai (花房 海) and Sakae Ryusei (栄 龍征), from 35:35. Incidentally, Ochiai Tetsuya was featured in a short report from the jungyo last year, where he received compliments from Hakuho himself. Although the Uki Team only managed a 6th place finish at last year's Wanpaku Tournament (being let down by their newest member, Ote Kira 大手 希星, who lost in his first bout against Onozawa Ayato 斧澤 亜矢斗, a talented youngster from Iruma, Saitama), Fuma and Gotaro both achieved very good results in the tournament, getting to the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively.

27th September 2020, the day when Uto Junior Sumo Club's very own Shodai won Kumamoto's first ever Makuuchi Yusho. A huge moment for Shodai and for his childhood sumo club, Hanaoka, Kawazoe and co. have even more to live up to now!

Kotoeko Juniors Location - Awanomyo-machi (粟野名町), Nobeoka, Miyazaki Keiko - Unknown With the completion of the sumo dohyo in Kotoeko's hometown in 2017, Nobeoka Sumo Dojo was founded. As of the end of 2019, they have 18 club members in total, 7 of which are girls. They are coached by Kishimoto Takeshi (岸本 武). Despite being such a young sumo club, Nobeoka Sumo Dojo already have had their fair share of success. Not only have multiple members achieved fantastic results in regional tournaments (coming first or second in their year groups), Nobeoka as a team have even managed a second-place finish at the Kyushu tournament. Miyazaki TV went to one of their training sessions to find out more about the club: The club's star members are undoubtedly the Kai siblings. Older sister Kai Hatsuki (甲斐 葉月) was the Grade 6 national girls' champion, while younger brother Kai Yota (甲斐 陽太) was a Wanpaku quarter-finalist last year in Grade 4. As you can imagine, there's a nice sibling rivalry going on in the Kai household, Yota really wants to one-up his sister and become a national champion himself. His best chance so far came in February 2020, when he overcame both the Primary School Yokozuna (Nakamura Hayato) and the Kumamoto champion (Sato Iroha) to reach the Hakuho Cup final. Kai Yota (on the left) stepped up to face his larger opponent from Niigata Prefecture, with his sister watching on from the stands:

Confirmation that this year's Wanpaku Tournament, which was scheduled to take place on 1st November, has been cancelled. Same for the girls' tournament.

Kimura Mitsunosuke did another dohyo-iri style introduction in 2019 when Kawasaki Frontale played Vegalta Sendai:

A music video showing a training session at 2-time national champions Iruma. Their club captain last year, West Maegashira 1 Kobayashi Arashi, gave some of his kohai a real workout in the video.

A fellow forum member has asked me if I could compile a list of all the High School Yokozuna from recent years, so here we are. I've also included the shikona of those who had or have joined Ozumo, as well as their highest career rank as of May 2020. 1989 - Oso Takehito (尾曽 武人), Mito Agricultural High School, Ibaraki - Musoyama (Ozeki) 1990 - Kato Koichi (加藤 耕市), Meguro High School, Tokyo 1991 - Dejima Takeharu (出島 武春), Kanazawa Technical High School, Ishikawa - Dejima (Ozeki) 1992 - Okamoto Atsushi (岡本 篤), Saitama Sakae High School, Saitama - Tochisakae (Maegashira) 1993 - Tamiya Keiji (田宮 啓司), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori - Kotomitsuki (Ozeki) 1994 - Shiga Daisuke (志賀 太祐), Meiji University Nakano High School, Tokyo - Tochiazuma (Ozeki) 1995 - Yajima Kenichi (矢島 健一), Meguro High School, Tokyo 1996 - Ogasawara Fumio (小笠原 史男), Sanbongi Agriculture High School, Aomori 1997 - Miyoshi Masato (三好 正人), Nagaodani High School, Osaka - Asahimaru (Makushita) 1998 - Isobe Hiroyuki (磯部 洋之), Numazu Gakuen Hiryu High School, Shizuoka - Sagatsukasa (Maegashira) 1999 - Tsubakimoto Takeshi (椿本 武志), Hotoku Gakuen High School, Hyogo 2000 - Yoshida Katsuo (吉田 勝雄), Buntoku High School, Kumamoto 2001 - Ichihara Takayuki (市原 孝行), Saitama Sakae High School, Saitama - Ichihara (Maegashira) 2002 - Morishita Yuya (森下 祐哉), Kochi Technical High School, Kochi - Tosayutaka (Maegashira) 2003 - Matsumoto Taichi (松本 太一), Meitoku Gijuku High School, Kochi - Dewaotori (Juryo) 2004 - Sawai Gotaro (澤井 豪太郎), Saitama Sakae High School, Saitama - Goeido (Ozeki) 2005 - Yamaguchi Masahiro (山口 雅弘), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori - Daikiho (Maegashira) 2006 - Lee Dae Won (李 大源), Hotoku Gakuen High School, Hyogo - Tochinowaka (Maegashira) 2007 - Hashimoto Seiya (橋本 誠也), Hotoku Gakuen High School, Hyogo 2008 - Yoshida Keisuke (吉田 圭佑), Aichi Institute of Technology Meiden High School, Aichi 2009 - Nakade Yuma (中出 雄真), Kanazawa Technical High School, Ishikawa 2010 - Nakamura Daiki (中村 大輝), Saitama Sakae High School, Saitama - Hokutofuji (Komusubi) 2011 - Sasaki Kodai (佐々木 耕大), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori 2012 - Muramatsu Yusuke (村松 裕介), Kaiyo High School, Niigata 2013 - Kizaki Shinnosuke (木崎 伸之助), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori - Kizakiumi (Juryo) 2014 - Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), Kanazawa Technical High School, Ishikawa 2015 - Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), Kanazawa Technical High School, Ishikawa 2016 - Yamaguchi Reo (山口 怜央), Tsushima High School, Ehime 2017 - Amarsanaa (アマルトゥブシン・アマルサナー), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori - Roga (Makushita) 2018 - Saito Daisuke (齋藤 大輔), Saitama Sakae High School, Saitama - Kitanowaka (Makushita) Bonus: 2019 - Okuwa Genki (大桑 元揮), Hiryu High School, Shizuoka - Hayatefuji (Jonidan)

Baduk? Really? How did you get into that game? I used to teach it to local kids on Sundays

I watched that game in a Durham pub, as a Man City supporter (since 2002). That second half was so painful to watch

Haikus are easy But Japan's national sport? Now that's a workout