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Everything posted by mikawa
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A short documentary about the sumo wrestlers at Adachi Shinden High School in Tokyo, who have appeared at the Inter-High for 17 years in a row. Two members are featured in this video, with the main one being their current ace, Gyotoku Kosuke (行徳 康祐). The regional tournament shown in the video took place at Tachikawa Renseikan Sumo Dojo, which really brings back memories (I've trained there a few times). In fact, the Renseikan connection is very strong with Adachi Shinden, as the other kid featured in the video, Kato Masaki (加藤 真基), just so happens to be a Renseikan graduate. Furthermore, Adachi Shinden's former captain and last year's West Yokozuna on the University Banzuke, Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), is also a Renseikan graduate.
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Now that the Natsu 2020 banzuke has been published, I've spent some time this week updating my personal database of amateur sumo results. I keep a record of those who have appeared in national level tournaments in primary school and middle school in order to keep track of who has joined Ozumo, and what their highest ranks are. I also have a separate database for high school and college results for amateur sumo banzuke purposes. Below are a list of everyone in my database who have at least reached Juryo, the year group they belong to (Class of ???), as well as their ranking within their year group based on their cumulative primary school and middle school results (not counting any high school or college results as some of them turn pro at 15). They are listed according to their highest Ozumo ranking. "Class of 2012" means that they graduated from middle school in March 2012. East Ozeki 1 - Takakeisho (Class of 2012) (#3) East Sekiwake 1 - Kotoyuki (Class of 2007) (#12) East Sekiwake 1 - Mitakeumi (Class of 2008) (#7) West Komusubi 1 - Onosho (Class of 2012) (#4) West Maegashira 1 - Yutakayama (Class of 2009) (#11) West Maegashira 2 - Meisei (Class of 2011) (#4) West Maegashira 4 - Kagayaki (Class of 2010) (#8) East Maegashira 5 - Daishomaru (Class of 2007) (#1) West Maegashira 7 - Kotoeko (Class of 2007) (#11) East Maegashira 11 - Daiamami (Class of 2008) (#4) West Maegashira 13 - Kotonowaka (Class of 2013) (#11) East Maegashira 15 - Kotoshoho (Class of 2015) (#9) West Juryo 11 - Midorifuji (Class of 2012) (#162) West Juryo 12 - Daiseido (Class of 2008) (#11) West Juryo 12 - Ryuko (Class of 2014) (#3) West Juryo 13 - Gokushindo (Class of 2012) (#32) Comments The Class of 2012 looks really strong don't they, with both Takakeisho and Onosho having sanyaku experience. If you're wondering which two wrestlers were top of such a strong year group, well, one of them is currently in Sandanme, while the other graduated from university last March, having been a very important member of his college sumo team. The following might be an interesting piece of information about new recruits. There are 2478 wrestlers in my primary and middle school database who have already graduated from middle school. As of Natsu 2020. 126 of them have joined Ozumo sometime in their lives (5%), of which 21 have already retired. 16 (as listed above) have reached the paid sekitori ranks at least once in their careers (0.65%). 50 of them have reached Makushita or above (2%). One of them, Nakao Yusei (shikona Yusei) from the Class of 2017, got a 2-1 score in Maezumo and then subsequently retired.
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Many thanks for taking the time to read through all six banzuke in this series, it is always much appreciated. It's always fun to see how the wrestlers rank at the end of each season. However, as Katooshu pointed out above, due to current circumstances, not many amateur tournaments are likely to take place this year (if any at all). However, even without any tournaments, you can still expect multiple new posts coming to the Amasumo Section throughout the year (the Class of 2020 for example). The "Featured Clubs / Dojos" series also deserves some new entries. If an amateur banzuke series for the 2020 season is not possible, then I guess it's goodbye for now, and let's meet again in spring 2022!
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Comments We are finally here folks! A month of amateur sumo banzuke have been building up to this list, which features some of the best sumo wrestlers outside of Ozumo. We are thought that it was amazing when a 2nd year rikishi claimed the East Yokozuna spot two years ago, and yet, here we are. The best college rikishi of the year is Nakamura Daiki, a Freshman! Sure, Daiki enterend Nippon Sport Science University as one of the best new recruits in the country, but did anyone, even his club-mates, really expect him to make much of an impact in his first year? And yet, "making an impact" would be a huge understatement, as Daiki stormed the competition to become both Kokutai Yokozuna AND Student Yokozuna. He also impressive in most of the other events, even winning the Wakayama Tournament. Aside from a certain Yersin Baltagulov, nobody has been able to deal effectively with Daiki's sumo. The guy is very good at thrusting his opponent out of the ring, and he's also very good on the belt. This means that it doesn't matter if you fight on the belt or not. Either way, he usually finds a way to win, a bit like in these two videos (Daiki wears a blue mawashi): And if you think you've finally found a way to counter his moves? He just goes and does this to you: Not only was 2019 a fantastic year for Nakamura Daiki individually, his team (Nippon Sport Science University) also performed fantastically to have the best results of any college sumo team. And it's no wonder they did, if you notice that West Yokozuna Purebusuren just so happens to be Daiki's team-mate. Although somewhat overshadowed by his team-mate's achievements, the Mongolian third-year also had a great year in college sumo. So good in fact that he only finished four points behind East Yokozuna Daiki, and well ahead of third place Tanaka Daisuke. Here he is weathering West Ozeki Hatsuyama Sho's attacks and turning the bout in his favour. Purebusuren is on the far side. Speaking of, I'm very happy to see that two of my Tachikawa Renseikan club-mates were able to make it onto this list. Those being West Ozeki Hatsuyama Sho and West Maegashira 4 Sawada Hitoshi. Renseikan's Sagawa-sensei is an incredibly good coach. He always gives you great advice on how to improve your sumo, and even gives you demonstrations of many useful skills and techniques. So when their two teams, Toyo University and Nihon University, met each other in the final of the National Student Championships, it was sort of like a Renseikan derby. Sho is third up for Toyo (far side), while Hitoshi is fourth up for Nihon (near side). Before we finish, I feel like we have to talk about Toyo University's Shiroyama Seira. He entered university as the TWO-time defending High School Yokozuna, and topped the University Banzuke in both his second and third years in college, winning the Kokutai both years. As we entered 2019, everyone expected the now fourth-year and club captain Seira to rise to even greater heights. He started the year well, with very good finishes in each of the first three tournaments. After that however, Seira just disappeared. As in, he didn't feature at all, not in the individual competitions, nor in the team competitions. As everyone wondered where Seira has gone, news emerged late last year that the Toyo team captain has QUIT the sumo club. No reason was ever given for this. All we know is that Shiroyama Seira, undoubtedly the biggest star of college sumo for the past three years, has probably left the sport entirely. This was a guy with so much talent that he was referred to as the next Omichi Hisashi (aka Mitakeumi), who happens to be his Toyo University senpai. However, with Shiroyama Seira's sudden absence, we may well have lost ourselves a future star of Ozumo. His professional career seems to have ended before it even had a chance to begin. I sincerely hope that we get to see him in the ring again someday, but, for now, we can only wonder what could have been...... Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), Toyo University, Tokyo
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East Yokozuna - Nakamura Daiki (中村 泰輝), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (1) West Yokozuna - Purebusuren (プレブスレン デルゲルバヤル), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (3) East Ozeki - Tanaka Daisuke (田中 大介), Chuo University, Tokyo (4) West Ozeki - Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), Toyo University, Tokyo (2) East Sekiwake - Fukai Takuto (深井 拓斗), Toyo University, Tokyo (4) West Sekiwake - Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝), Chuo University, Tokyo (3) East Komusubi - Osanai Koju (長内 孝樹), Kindai University, Osaka (3) West Komusubi - Suguro Ibuki (勝呂 歩紀), Takushoku University, Kyoto (4) East Maegashira 1 - Enami Masashi (榎波 将史), Nihon University, Tokyo (4) West Maegashira 1 - Tanioka Koshiro (谷岡 倖志郎), Kindai University, Osaka (4) East Maegashira 2 - Nakamura Yusei (中村 悠星), Chuo University, Tokyo (4) West Maegashira 2 - Matsuzono Taisei (松園 大成), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (3) East Maegashira 3 - Hashimoto Yukihiro (橋本 侑京), Waseda University, Tokyo (4) West Maegashira 3 - Kanno Yota (菅野 陽太), Chuo University, Tokyo (3) East Maegashira 4 - Miyazaki Rei (宮崎 麗), Nihon University, Tokyo (3) West Maegashira 4 - Sawada Hitoshi (沢田 日登志), Nihon University, Tokyo (4) East Maegashira 5 - Ishizaki Takuma (石崎 拓馬), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (3) West Maegashira 5 - Yersin Baltagulov (イェルシン), Nihon University, Tokyo (3) East Maegashira 6 - Munkubatto Munkusaihan (ムンクバット ムンクサイハン), Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences, Fukuoka (3) West Maegashira 6 - Daito Koki (大塔 昂貴), Toyo University, Tokyo (2) East Maegashira 7 - Yamaguchi Reo (山口 怜央), Kindai University, Osaka (3) West Maegashira 7 - Yamanaka Shinya (山中 晋也), Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences, Fukuoka (4) East Maegashira 8 - Ishioka Mikiya (石岡 弥輝也), Nihon University, Tokyo (2) West Maegashira 8 - Takahashi Yuta (高橋 優太), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo (2) East Maegashira 9 - Suguro Ruki (勝呂 隆稀), Takushoku University, Kyoto (3) West Maegashira 9 - Kanzaki Taiga (神崎 大河), Kindai University, Osaka (2) East Maegashira 10 - Thurutokutoho (トゥルトクトホ), Doshisha University, Kyoto (4) West Maegashira 10 - Higashi Ryuki (東 龍輝), Meiji University, Tokyo (1) East Maegashira 11 - Tanaka Hiroki (田中 宏樹), Doshisha University, Kyoto (4) West Maegashira 11 - Kato Shota (加藤 翔太), Nihon University, Tokyo (4) East Maegashira 12 - Shiroyama Seira (城山 聖羅), Toyo University, Tokyo (4) West Maegashira 12 - Shiga Yuto (志賀 裕人), Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo (4) Sanyaku Photos East Yokozuna - Nakamura Taiki (中村 泰輝), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo West Yokozuna - Purebusuren (プレブスレン デルゲルバヤル), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo East Ozeki - Tanaka Daisuke (田中 大介), Chuo University, Tokyo West Ozeki - Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), Toyo University, Tokyo East Sekiwake - Fukai Takuto (深井 拓斗), Toyo University, Tokyo West Sekiwake - Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝), Chuo University, Tokyo East Komusubi - Osanai Koju (長内 孝樹), Kindai University, Osaka West Komusubi - Suguro Ibuki (勝呂 歩紀), Takushoku University, Kyoto
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Not sure if this has been posted before. This is a documentary from March 2019 where Hakuho talks in depth about his friend and rival Kisenosato, and behind the scenes footage about what happened after his bout against Hokutofuji (the one where he just managed to keep a foot in bounds long enough to win). Injuries will always be part of sumo, Hakuho has certainly battled his way through so many.
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Following on from the Middle School Banzuke, we now move on to the banzuke for High School wrestlers. There are more tournaments on the high school calendar, and there are both individual and team competitions, which naturally means a ranking for both. The red number for each rikishi denotes which year group they are in. This banzuke takes into account the following tournaments: 103rd High School Sumo Kanazawa Tournament 97th Inter-High 68th High School Sumo Towada Tournament 61st High School Sumo Usa Tournament 74th Kokutai (Junior Division) Before I publish the actual banzuke tomorrow, here are the top 10 High Schools of the past year, based on their results in the team competitions: 1 - Buntoku High School (文徳高校), Kumamoto 2 - Tottori Johoku High School (鳥取城北高校), Tottori 3 - Hiryu High School (飛龍高校), Shizuoka 4 - Sanbongi Agriculture High School (三本木農業高校), Aomori 5 - Kaiyo High School (海洋高校), Niigata 6 - Kanazawa Technical High School (金沢市立工業高校), Ishikawa 7 - Takushoku University Koryo High School (拓殖大学紅陵高校), Chiba 8 - Wakayama Commercial High School (和歌山商業高校), Wakayama 9 - Mukainooka Technical High School (向の岡工業高校), Kanagawa 10 - Saitama Sakae High School (埼玉栄高校), Saitama Comments The High School of the Year race in 2019 was essentially a straight shootout between Buntoku and Tottori Johoku. Both teams reached the quarter-finals or better in ALL FIVE national tournaments last year (I'm including the Kokutai Junior here), and shared the team titles between them. In the end, Buntoku (or "Uto Junior Sumo Club All Grown Up" as I like to think of them) won three tournaments to Tottori's two, and that's what decided it. The following video, which is the team final at last year's Inter-High, pretty much sums up their rivalry throughout 2019. Buntoku are on the left. Shizuoka's Hiryu High School have slowly been creeping up the high school ranking. There were 23rd in 2017, 5th in 2018, and now up to 3rd in 2019. The main reason for this rise is that the kids from Yaizu Junior Sumo Club have grown up now (a bit like their Kumamoto counterparts), and are starting to make an impact on the high school sumo scene. One of them, Okuwa Genki, even went on to become the High School Yokozuna last year. They'll be there or thereabouts for the foreseeable future, but unfortunately for Hiryu High School, the Middle School Yokozuna from 2018, Yoshii Ko, turned pro a year ago. Chris Gould talked about Yoshii many times in his videos. The rise of Hiryu High School mirrors the downfall of Saitama Sakae High School. The traditional powerhouse and best high school sumo club for both 2017 and 2018 could only manage a lowly tenth last year. An incredibly poor result (last 32) from the Inter-High only added insult to injury. However, with talents like Tebakari Taiki (Kotoshoho's younger brother and Chris Gould's favourite high school rikishi) joining their team, we can expect them to bounce back on the next high school banzuke (probably 2021 now due to You-Know-What).
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I've now added the rikishi's respective year groups to the banzuke. I also do a "Class of ......" post, where middle school graduates are ranked according to their cumulative scores in both primary school and middle school national level tournaments. The Class of 2020, for those first eligible to join Ozumo this year, is in the plans once the University Banzuke is published.
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Foreshadowing
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Comments The winner of two of the five high school tournaments last year, junior world champion Kawabuchi Kazuma bulldozed his way to East Yokozuna. His entire style of sumo is based on blasting his opponents out with his power and large physique, which has so far proved to be effective. In fact, he loves pushing sumo so much that he's known to give his opponent an extra shove just to show them who's boss (which was what he did in the world championship final). It was because of this that I decided not to award him with the High School Rikishi of the Year for 2019, but he did conquer high school sumo last year, and hence deserves recognition for it. His bouts usually go a bit like this (Kazuma is on the right): Two years ago, Akinomaki shared a video introducing a rikishi from Wakayama called Hanada Hidetora. The speed and skill of this wrestler made him a force to be reckoned with. However, despite a truly amazing two years, Hidetora would always be beaten to the East Yokozuna spot by a single person. In 2018, it was High School Yokozuna Saito Daisuke. Last year, it was junior world champion Kawabuchi Kazuma. His matches are always interesting to watch, though as one Japanese sumo fan pointed out, he does tend to take a long time with his pre-bout preparations. Here he is starting off the year by winning the Kanazawa Tournament, showing us what he's capable of. Hidetora is on the near side. "Dawaaninji came to Uryu, Hokkaido at age 5 when his parents moved there for work. He's been drinking a litre of milk every day since and shot up from 170cm to 190cm across his final two years of junior high school. As a six-year-old he bumped into Hakuho by chance at a Korean airport and asked for a picture. Hakuho suggested he give sumo a try which he did upon returning to Hokkaido. The connection was maintained over the years and at the Yokozuna's recommendation he later went to Tottori Ritsunishi junior high school and then Tottori Johoku high school." - Yubinhaad, 2020 Yubinhaad's post nicely sums up the background of this towering rikishi. The three years at Tottori Johoku High School has turned him from an above average rikishi to now arguably a top 5 in the whole country (certainly top 10). His superior height and long reach means that Dawaaninji will nearly always be able to get a hand on the belt, but he has a tendency of giving away a double inside grip to his opponent. Although, having said that, despite the many times that this had happened, Dawaaninji seems to know how to win from such a position. Tochinoshin does it by lifting his opponents out of the ring, but Dawaaninji usually tries an outer arm throw of some sort. He was responsible for on of the most memorable bouts of last year's high school sumo (note: I said memorable, not exciting). During this long long bout, the gyoji had to yell hakkeyoi! a full ELEVEN times before the result was decided. Dawaaninji is on the left. It's somewhat surprising that the most successful rikishi from Buntoku High School could only manage a Maegashira 4 (16th) on this banzuke. They are the definition of their team being greater than the sum of its parts, as Buntoku were the most successful high school sumo team last year. Contrast this to Saitama Sakae High School, where only one person (Kiyomiya Itto) managed to snatch a place on this banzuke. To find their next best wrestler, you'd have to go all the way down to 46th position (Tebakari Taiki). It was a year to forget for this once great club, but if anyone was going to make it onto this banzuke, at least it was Itto, a graduate from the famous Komatsuryu Dojo (John Gunning's club). During his many years at the club, maybe John has personally trained this boy? I'll finish off this thread with Chris Gould's coverage of the Inter-High last year. In his video, Chris focussed on the aforementioned Tebakari Taiki (his favourite high school wrestler) and also the eventual High School Yokozuna Kamei Hayato. If you love Ura's sumo, how about watching TWO Ura in action?
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East Yokozuna - Kawabuchi Kazuma (川渕 一意), Kanazawa Gakuin High School, Ishikawa (3) West Yokozuna - Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎), Wakayama Commercial High School, Wakayama (3) East Ozeki - Aryuunaa Dawaaninji (アリューナー ダワーニンジ), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori (3) West Ozeki - Mukainagano Shingo (向中野 真豪), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori (2) East Sekiwake - Okuwa Genki (大桑 元揮), Hiryu High School, Shizuoka (3) West Sekiwake - Okada Akichika (岡田 晃周), Hiryu High School, Shizuoka (3) East Komusubi - Goshima Masaharu (五島 雅治), Minoshima High School, Wakayama (2) West Komusubi - Kamei Hayato (亀井 颯人), Toyo University Ushiku High School, Ibaraki (3) East Maegashira 1 - Yamazaki Shoma (山崎 勝磨), Sanbongi Agriculture High School, Aomori (3) West Maegashira 1 - Kurita Yu (栗田 裕有), Kaiyo High School, Niigata (3) East Maegashira 2 - Sarukawa Sora (猿川 天嵐), Goshogawara Norin High School, Aomori (3) West Maegashira 2 - Kaki Shuta (可貴 秀太), Kanazawa Gakuin High School, Ishikawa (2) East Maegashira 3 - Yoshida Rion (吉田 利恩), Takaoka Koryo High School, Toyama (3) West Maegashira 3 - Ikeda Shun (池田 俊), Kanazawa Gakuin High School, Ishikawa (3) East Maegashira 4 - Kusano Naoya (草野 直哉), Buntoku High School, Kumamoto (3) West Maegashira 4 - Kitano Taisei (北野 泰聖), Kumamoto Agriculture High School, Kumamoto (3) East Maegashira 5 - Omura Yuta (小村 勇大), Kanazawa Technical High School, Ishikawa (3) West Maegashira 5 - Ezure Haruki (江連 春樹), Mito Agriculture High School, Ibaraki (2) East Maegashira 6 - Hanaoka Masaki (花岡 真生), Buntoku High School, Kumamoto (2) West Maegashira 6 - Kawazoe Fuma (川副 楓馬), Buntoku High School, Kumamoto (1) East Maegashira 7 - Ochiai Tetsuya (落合 哲也), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori (1) West Maegashira 7 - Shimoyama Kenshin (下山 謙信), Kogota Norin High School, Miyagi (3) East Maegashira 8 - Tsuchiya Kazuya (土屋 和也), Hiryu High School, Shizuoka (3) West Maegashira 8 - Kiyomiya Itto (清宮 一翔), Saitama Sakae High School, Saitama (3) East Maegashira 9 - Ochiai Yuto (落合 優大), Kanazawa Technical High School, Ishikawa (3) West Maegashira 9 - Yuki Daisei (行 大成), Shonan High School, Kagoshima (3) East Maegashira 10 - Mita Taiki (三田 大生), Kurobane High School, Tochigi (3) West Maegashira 10 - Sato Soya (佐藤 綜哉), Kogota Norin High School, Miyagi (2) East Maegashira 11 - Sakamae Yuki (坂前 由基), Minoshima High School, Wakayama (3) West Maegashira 11 - Arakawa Dairaku (新川 大楽), Nakatsuhigashi High School, Oita (2) East Maegashira 12 - Matsuhashi Yuya (松橋 宙也), Gifu Norin High School, Gifu (3) West Maegashira 12 - Matsunaga George (松永 ジョージ), Takushoku University Koryo High School, Chiba (3) Sanyaku Photos East Yokozuna - Kawabuchi Kazuma (川渕 一意), Kanazawa Gakuin High School, Ishikawa West Yokozuna - Hanada Hidetora (花田 秀虎), Wakayama Commercial High School, Wakayama East Ozeki - Aryuunaa Dawaaninji (アリューナー ダワーニンジ), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori West Ozeki - Mukainagano Shingo (向中野 真豪), Tottori Johoku High School, Tottori East Sekiwake - Okuwa Genki (大桑 元揮), Hiryu High School, Shizuoka West Sekiwake - Okada Akichika (岡田 晃周), Hiryu High School, Shizuoka East Komusubi - Goshima Masaharu (五島 雅治), Minoshima High School, Wakayama West Komusubi - Kamei Hayato (亀井 颯人), Toyo University Ushiku High School, Ibaraki
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Starting from middle school, sumo tournaments are no longer gakunen-betsu (separated by year groups). That means first years compete on a level playing field with second and third years, in what can be described as "open" tournaments (like in golf). Third years usually have an advantage over everyone else, but things don't always work out that way. The red number for each rikishi denotes which year group they are in. This banzuke takes into account the following tournaments: 30th National Middle School Student Championships 49th National Middle School Championships 10th Hakuho Cup East Yokozuna - Altangerel Sosorkhuu (アルタンゲレル ソソルフー), Tottori (3) West Yokozuna - Narita Rikido (成田 力道), Tottori (3) East Ozeki - Niijima Ibuki (新島 伊武起), Kagoshima (3) West Ozeki - Shinozaki Sota (篠崎 颯太), Ibaraki (3) East Sekiwake - Takayama Shunsuke (高山 瞬佑), Shiga (3) West Sekiwake - Honda Kotaro (本田 豪太郎), Kumamoto (3) East Komusubi - Seki Masashige (関 真成), Niigata (3) West Komusubi - Takko Asahi (田子 麻聖), Akita (3) East Maegashira 1 - Altankhuyag Bayarbold (アルタンフヤグ バヤルボルド), Mongolia (3) West Maegashira 1 - Kobayashi Arashi (小林 嵐), Saitama (3) East Maegashira 2 - Morita Akihiko (森田 陽彦), Ishikawa (3) West Maegashira 2 - Tasaki Masami (田崎 正美), Osaka (2) East Maegashira 3 - Okuda Shiyu (奥田 史祐), Osaka (3) West Maegashira 3 - Iwamoto Yoshikazu (岩本 修和), Toyama (3) East Maegashira 4 - Tachibana Ryusei (橘 龍生), Kumamoto (3) West Maegashira 4 - Shinto Akira (神藤 輝), Osaka (3) East Maegashira 5 - Suzuki Yamato (鈴木 大和), Miyagi (3) West Maegashira 5 - Miura Tomokazu (三浦 智一), Aomori (3) East Maegashira 6 - Sakamoto Shoma (坂本 正真), Chiba (2) West Maegashira 6 - Ote Kira (大手 希星), Kumamoto (2) East Maegashira 7 - Okano Sora (岡野 颯良), Hyogo (3) West Maegashira 7 - Kudo Kota (工藤 晃太), Iwate (3) East Maegashira 8 - Aino Shogo (相野 祥吾), Chiba (2) West Maegashira 8 - Inagaki Akira (稲垣 明良), Mie (3) East Maegashira 9 - Sugahara Haruka (菅原 悠翔), Shizuoka (3) West Maegashira 9 - Irabu Takahito (伊良部 誠士), Okinawa (2) East Maegashira 10 - Oga Ryota (大賀 亮太), Kyoto (3) West Maegashira 10 - Miyamoto Rikuya (宮本 陸矢), Saga (3) East Maegashira 11 - Yamasaki Hiiragi (山崎 柊), Fukuoka (3) West Maegashira 11 - Onozawa Ayato (斧澤 亜矢斗), Saitama (2) East Maegashira 12 - Kuwabara Teppei (桑原 哲平), Shizuoka (3) West Maegashira 12 - Ikoma Tomoyuki (生駒 智之), Gifu (3) Sanyaku Photos East Yokozuna - Altangerel Sosorkhuu (アルタンゲレル ソソルフ ー), Tottori West Yokozuna - Narita Rikido (成田 力道), Tottori East Ozeki - Niijima Ibuki (新島 伊武起), Kagoshima West Ozeki - Shinozaki Sota (篠崎 颯太), Ibaraki East Sekiwake - Takayama Shunsuke (高山 瞬佑), Shiga West Sekiwake - Honda Kotaro (本田 豪太郎), Kumamoto East Komusubi - Seki Masashige (関 真成), Niigata West Komusubi - Takko Asahi (田子 麻聖), Akita
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Comments The first thing you'll notice about this banzuke is that BOTH Yokozuna are Tottori wrestlers. Plot Twist: neither of them are actually from Tottori. That's because Sosorkhuu (Mongolia) and Narita Rikido (Aomori) have both got their sights set on joining the powerhouse sumo club of Tottori Johoku High School, and have moved there three years early to make sure of this. Tottori Johoku is where Ishiura and Ichinojo graduated from before they joined Ozumo, and interestingly, their brand of sumo is remarkably similar to their two kohai. Sosorkhuu, despite his lack of size, is very strong and very skilled (like Ishiura), while Rikido is very big (like Ichinojo), though he specialises in thrusting sumo rather than belt sumo. With Sosorkhuu taking the East Yokozuna spot (a runaway victory at that), we are beginning to see the effects of the Hakuho Cup on the sumo landscape. Ten years ago, Yokozuna Hakuho set up this tournament to raise the profile of sumo in countries outside Japan, and for sumo kids from all over the world to come together to compete. This gave Mongolian talents a chance every year to show their skills in front of a packed Kokugikan Stadium, and a lot of them have shone in the bouts. Amongst those Mongolian talents was a kid called Sosorkhuu, whose demeanor suggested that he was always itching for a fight. Aside from this though, Sosorkhuu didn't really stand out in Team Mongolia. Until, that is, the way he took care of Japan's #1 in the Grade 5 final. This bout, which was against Narita Rikido all of people, made everyone take note of him. Four years on from that memorable final, a much better Sosorkhuu returned to the Kokugikan and dominated the middle school category. You can see how good he's become from his quarter-final match against the talented Honda Kotaro (West Sekiwake). That uchimuso (inner thigh propping twist down), it was simply genius. From Japan's #1 to the now supposed Japan #2, Narita Rikido was a name to be feared during his primary school days. He was so commanding back then that Kinboshi Sumo Club portrayed him as the target that everyone could aspire to. However, although he has improved over the past three years, it's not as much his tougher opponents. Rikido is still very strong, but like I have said before, his biggest problem is that he has not needed to develop other techniques because of how strong his thrusting attack was. And now, with his thrusts no longer such a big threat, he doesn't really have a Plan B. Basically what happened in this bout. I've known about West Sekiwake Honda Kotaro for a very long time now. I've always liked his style of sumo (a balance of strength and technique), and his family name (Kotaro, 豪太郎) just happens to be the same as my favourite rikishi (Goeido Gotaro). Honda has said that he wants to become Goeido #2, so it probably wasn't a coincidence. Time and time again I have seen him dispatch his opponents with either power or skill (or both) to advance through tournaments, willing him to win a national title. But time and time again, when the stakes became high, Kotaro would always fall short of the mark, whether he should have or not. Maybe he doesn't do well under pressure? Throughout his sumo journey so far, Kotaro has always been a top 5 rikishi in the entire country (even top 3 in certain years), but he doesn't always act like it. The story of his life was when he was part of the super-team that Udo Junior Sumo Club fielded at the 10th National Club Championships in 2013. "Super" because out of the five members on their team, four of them either are or would become national champions. They completely destroyed every team they faced on their way to reaching the final (I'm talking 5-0s and 4-1s here), where they were heavy favourites. It was very similar to when the 18-0 Patriots faced the wild card Giants in Super Bowl 42. Kotaro stepped up for the opening bout in the final, and lost. That would be signs of things to come as just like the unbeaten Patriots, Uto Junior Sumo Club fell at the last hurdle. In the following bout, Honda Kotaro (on the left) showed us what he was capable of. He knows exact what to do to gain an advantage, and that hand movement near the edge was a very cleverly done. Heck, even in his later bout against Sosorkhuu (in the second video above), Kotaro was able to keep up with the East Yokozuna for most of the bout, which isn't easy by any means. Maybe he had better luck in an alternate universe. There are quite a few Grade 2s on this banzuke, and leading the pack is Osaka's Tasaki Masami. Masami is all about power, he's a bit like Baruto or Terunofuji. He was two wins away from becoming the Middle School Yokozuna last year, so it would be interesting to see how he does in 2020 (if by any chance those tournaments go ahead). Other names to watch out for (again, dependent upon the situation in Japan) include Tokitsukaze-oyakata's younger son Sakamoto Shoma, and Kotaro's Uto Junior kohai Ote Kira.
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Other tournaments will most likely get cancelled as well, 2020 is sure to be an interesting year for Amasumo
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Sumo exercises with Kabutoyama-oyakata. He's one of the coaches at Komatsuryu Dojo, last year's national club champions.
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Following on from Tuesday's Grade 5 banzuke, we have here the banzuke for Grade 6. This list is also produced by adding up how well each wrestler did in national level tournaments over the past year, with the Top 32 included in the banzuke. A lot of Komatsuryu Dojo's golden generation are on here, John Gunning must be very proud indeed. This banzuke takes into account the following tournaments: 35th Wanpaku National Championships 32nd National Primary School Championships 10th Hakuho Cup East Yokozuna - Yamashita Masakiyo (山下 正清), Kagoshima West Yokozuna - Kikuta Ryuga (菊田 流雅), Ibaraki East Ozeki - Ito Hirohide (伊藤 博英), Kumamoto West Ozeki - Kuramochi Yuto (倉持 裕羽), Tokyo East Sekiwake - Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Tokyo West Sekiwake - Shimajiri Taishi (島尻 大詩), Gifu East Komusubi - Yamashiro Manatsu (山城 真捺), Okinawa West Komusubi - Kuraoka Yuta (倉岡 優太), Kumamoto East Maegashira 1 - Anai Shota (穴井 翔太), Oita West Maegashira 1 - Okuda Soma (奥田 蒼真), Osaka East Maegashira 2 - Maro Kosho (マロー 高尚), Aomori West Maegashira 2 - Yoshioka Ryudai (吉岡 竜大), Chiba East Maegashira 3 - Otani Natsuki (大谷 夏希), Okayama West Maegashira 3 - Sakamoto Ryo (坂本 遼), Kochi East Maegashira 4 - Murakami Kenshin (村上 憲伸), Nagano West Maegashira 4 - Negami Kohei (根上 航平), Shizuoka East Maegashira 5 - Noguchi Haruki (野口 明輝), Ishikawa West Maegashira 5 - Nakazawa Musashi (中澤 睦士), Tokyo East Maegashira 6 - Inoue Rikiya (井ノ上 力也), Wakayama West Maegashira 6 - Ino Hibiki (井野 響稀), Aichi East Maegashira 7 - Handa Shosei (半田 翔誠), Ishikawa West Maegashira 7 - Furukawa Yuto (古川 勇斗), Fukuoka East Maegashira 8 - Kiyuna Ryu (喜友名 琉), Saitama West Maegashira 8 - Yamanouchi Daitoku (山之内 大徳), Shizuoka East Maegashira 9 - Iwamoto Jin (岩本 仁), Osaka West Maegashira 9 - Hashimoto Taisei (橋本 泰成), Kumamoto East Maegashira 10 - Urayama Shoei (浦山 将瑛), Toyama West Maegashira 10 - Mashiko Takuya (益子 拓也), Tokyo East Maegashira 11 - Nishimura Kazuma (西村 和真), Kyoto West Maegashira 11 - Iguchi Itta (井口 一太), Hokkaido East Maegashira 12 - Kunibe Takuto (國部 巧斗), Ishikawa West Maegashira 12 - Hori Ryotaro (堀 凌太朗), Gifu Sanyaku Photos East Yokozuna - Yamashita Masakiyo (山下 正清), Kagoshima West Yokozuna - Kikuta Ryuga (菊田 流雅), Ibaraki East Ozeki - Ito Hirohide (伊藤 博英), Kumamoto West Ozeki - Kuramochi Yuto (倉持 裕羽), Tokyo East Sekiwake - Kodama Hayato (児玉 颯飛), Tokyo West Sekiwake - Shimajiri Taishi (島尻 大詩), Gifu East Komusubi - Yamashiro Manatsu (山城 真捺), Okinawa West Komusubi - Kuraoka Yuta (倉岡 優太), Kumamoto
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John Gunning has talked many times about Komatsuryu Dojo, the club where he learned his skills as a sumo wrestler. Their strength and depth is famous across the Kanto region, and it was a matter of time that they would be crowned national club champions, which they duly did in October 2019. As John Gunning puts it - "New movements and ways of lifting or moving were introduced almost every weekend. Muscle groups never got a chance to fall into easy patterns with kid and adult members engaging in proto-CrossFit-style activities on Saturdays and Sundays." Komatsuryu Dojo already had a Golden Generation a few years back when as many as four club members who were in the same year group were national quarter-finalists. Their current Golden Generation however have been ever better. Just take a look at this banzuke. Among the Top 32 rikishi in this year group in the entire country, four of them are members of Komatsuryu Dojo - Kuramochi Yuto, Yoshioka Ryudai, Nakazawa Musashi and Mashiko Takuya. Most other clubs don't even have as many talented members on their entire roster, Komatsuryu have four in one year group. Kuramochi Yuto relies on his skills (and long arms) most of the time, but he does have the power if needed. He's like the Asanoyama of this year group, which is fitting because 2019 was also his break-out year. Just take a look at how Yuto (on the left) dismantled his opponent in this bout. Sure, the double inside grip certainly helped, but he still had a lot of work to do. Not very talkative and not exactly tall is how I would described Yoshioka Ryudai. What sets him apart from most other sumo kids is his ability to analyse an opponent and devise a strategy against them. Facing Kodama Hayato and his incredible arm strength? No problem, I'll just clamp his arms to nullify them. Facing Kuramochi Yuto who's very good on the belt? No problem either, I'll just spin around to escape his belt grip. His run to the Wanpaku semi-finals last summer was capped off by this amazing bout against former Wanpaku Yokozuna Kodama Hayato. Even the commentator got very excited about that match, he kept on shouting Umai! Umai! Umai! Ryudai, or "Ryu-chan" as he's affectionately known as at this club, is on the right. Nakazawa Musashi is probably the least distinctive of the four, but he is at least as deadly. I still remember that time last October when he gave away a morozashi grip to Miyazaki Keijiro at the National Club Championships, but yorikiri'd him anyway. Tachikawa Reisenkan A (my club) went on to lose that match 3-2...... Nakazawa Musashi (on the right), or "Mu-chan" as he is known at this club, unleashes his inner Aoiyama in this bout. Last but not least, we have the huge Mashiko Takuya, the Ichinojo of Komatsuryu Dojo. He used to be the only kid in the entire Kanto region who could beat Kodama Hayato, but their rivalry has been somewhat more one-sided since then. However, Takuya (on the right) is still able to do this to you if you're not careful.
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Comments And so we've reached the year group whose graduation from elementary school had been disrupted by You-Know-What. They still had their graduation ceremony, but their parents weren't allowed to participate (credit to my favourite sumo family for this piece of information). My prediction at the start of the school year would have been that either Kodama Hayato or Kuraoka Yuta would top this banzuke. They were the top two rikishi in this year group, but perhaps equally as importantly, neither of them have EVER lost against Yamashita Masakiyo. During the past season, Yuta out-muscled Masakiyo to win the Wanpaku Tournament, while Hayato out-manoeuvred Masakiyo to win the Primary School Championships. However, neither of them managed a good result in the Hakuho Cup, which cost them dearly in the banzuke race. Credit to Masakiyo though, who despite riding his luck big time during some of his bouts, managed to win the Hakuho Cup, and with it, secured East Yokozuna by a wide margin. By "riding his luck", I mean there were quite a few bouts which Masakiyo would have lost on any other day, just not on that particular day. Take his Hakuho Cup quarter-final for example. If it wasn't for referee intervention to avoid a possible neck injury, Masakiyo (on the left) would certainly have been pushed out sooner or later. But in the end, results are what matters, and the large points gap between him and West Yokozuna tells its own story. The past few months has been the same old story for Kumamoto's Ito Hirohide. He carefully works his way through a strong field of opponents, only to come up against Komatsuryu Dojo's Kuramochi Yuto, and then he would give away a morozashi double inside grip, and then he would lose. There's good reason why Chris Gould chose to single him out in his coverage of various amateur sumo tournaments, Hirohide is a very likable character. If it wasn't for the morozashi grips, if it wasn't for that particular opponent, then East Yokozuna would have been in the bag. This video of Hirohide's Hakuho Cup quarter-final pretty much summed up his year. Hirohide's on the right. It's certainly been a turbulent year and a half for one of my favourite Wanpaku rikishi - Tokyo's Kodama Hayato. His sumo journey began with Mitaka Sumo Club, with whom he won countless regional tournaments and multiple national tournaments. His incredible arm strength and a strong desire to win has helped him overcome so many opponents. However, something strange was going on when he appeared in the 9th Hakuho Cup in 2019 representing Hirao Elementary School (Inagi, Tokyo). Shouldn't he be representing his club, Mitaka? After digging into this, there were talks about the lack of a good practice partner in Mitaka, and even rumours of a dispute between his parents and the coaches at Mitaka. Either way, Kodama Hayato (on the left) is now a member of Fuchu Sumiyoshi Sumo Dojo, who have helped him develop skills and techniques to supplement his strength. The Golden Generation at Komatsuryu Dojo requires a whole new section to themselves, which is just what I'll do.
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Don't know if this has been posted before, but found a video where two guys in Tokyo made a song about all 46 beya (in 2018), one beya per line, and they've also included an interesting fact about each one. They even took the time to do a short yokozuna dohyo-iri in front of every beya! I've translated the lyrics beneath the video. Lyrics Two minutes from the Kokugikan - Michinoku One touch (on the button) and the door opens - Kasugano Diagonally across from a bus stop - Izutsu In front of you is a one-way street - Dewanoumi A rental apartment is above it - Tokitsukaze This is Asakayama Air conditioning in the training hall - Kise There's a karaoke room - Oguruma Five teppo pillars - Takadagawa One minute from Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station - Shikoroyama Diagonally across from a park - Otake This is Nishikido Octagonal glass window on the door - Hakkaku (hakkaku = eight corners) In front of you is a Summit supermarket - Kataonami Right besides a coffee shop, in front of you is an izakaya - Takasago Watched over by Chiyonofuji (a statue) - Kokonoe A lot of yoghurt, Kotooshu is the trainer - Naruto The first rikishi from Mongolia, Kyokutenho's Tomozuna Plenty of facilities in the underground gym - Isegahama Right next to Arakawa River, in front of a greengrocer - Yamahibiki Moved to the Higashisuna District - Takanohana A furnished bike shop - Miyagino Entering through ALSOK security - Chiganoura I fell in love with the gate - Fujishima Located in Sugamo - Isenoumi This is Tamanoi Kenagakawa River in front of it - Sakaigawa Undergoing renovation - Oitekaze Entrance is on the second floor - Nakagawa 8-chome 8-8 (address) - Onoe You can get the mail right away - Shibatayama This is Minezaki Beautiful two-storey concrete building - Irumagawa For some reason it looks like a hotel - Minato Tsukubamirai City in Ibaraki, a quiet land - Tatsunami Ryugasaki City in Ibaraki is also a quiet place - Shikihide Near an expressway interchange - Onomatsu You can see it after going down a slope - Nishonoseki A new building in Shibamata in the Katsushika District - Azumazeki The most rikishi, made by "Koto"s - Sadogatake The closest to convenience stores - Asahiyama Three traffic lights from the station - Tagonoura The traffic is surprisingly as heavy as before - Kagamiyama Just off the main street - Musashigawa Still under construction, I'm thrilled - Nishiiwa Raising a cat, and doing a photo album of it - Arashio Filled with sweat and tears, the beyas of sumo All 46 are fascinating, the beyas of sumo I want to vist them, the beyas of sumo Let's watch Ozumo
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Maybe it's just the sheer size of Tokyo, but their definition of "not far" seems slightly stretched to be honest. I don't know if they've relocated since 2014, but according to Google Maps, Tomozuna is a 2-hour walk away from Azumazeki
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Lyrics The closest from the Kokugikan - Michinoku The only automatic doors - Kasugano Dewanoumi Looks like a community center - Izutsu Part of a large apartment - Tokitsukaze Just off the main road - Kokonoe A large entrance hall - Takasago Kataonami Hakkaku, it's just behind Nishikido Near an elementary school - Azumazeki Not far from there (Azumazeki) - Tomozuna Miyagino Still under construction - Asakayama A modern building - Kise Borrowing another heya - Tagonoura Not far from a station - Shikoroyama Otake Drying their mawashi belts - Kitanoumi The shutter is currently lowered - Oguruma Takadagawa You can see the ring from outside - Arashio Looks like a rich person's home - Isegahama Asahiyama Used to be Nakamura Beya - Musashigawa In front of it is a pedestrian walkway - Kagamiyama Along the kerb - Matsugane (now Nishonoseki) Among a residential district - Onomatsu Sadogatake Located in Ibaraki Prefecture - Shikihide Not far from Shikihide - Tatsunami Irumagawa Next to a temple - Chiganoura The best atmosphere - Fujishima Isenoumi A large parking lot - Tamanoi There's a river in front of it - Sakaigawa Endo Fever - Oitekaze Soon there'll be an Ichinojo Fever - Minato Minezaki Located in Nakano City - Takanohana Located in the Takaido District (in Suginami, Tokyo) - Shibatayama An undressed concrete building - Onoe Not far from Kawasaki Daishi (Heiken-ji Temple) - Kasugayama (now Nakagawa) Kokugikan, Sumida Yokoami 1-chome (address) Everyone, let's go and watch Ozumo
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Lyrics Mushrooms are generally not okay, but enoki mushrooms are just about fine - Toyohibiki Mistakenly said "Furoshiki" (wrapping cloth) as "Pirozhki" (Russian baked bun) - Gagamaru I want my daughter to learn piano or violin - Chiyotairyu Didn't see any koalas during his studies in Australia - Ishiura The only horror movie that he's able to watch is Casper - Ichinojo Really spoils the cat that lives at their heya - Sokokurai The animal he refers to himself as is a capybara - Chiyootori Raw fish is okay but grilled fish is not - Hidenoumi Eats onions everyday to maintain a good health - Hokutofuji Broke an iphone screen with his elbow while sleeping - Daishomaru Decided that he should get up at 5:20 every morning - Arawashi Older brother has been the security guard for Mongolia's President - Kyokushuho Real name is "Tatsu" (達), shikona is also a single Kanji character (輝) - Kagayaki Hobbies include table tennis, pool (billiards) and basketball - Chiyoshoma Fell in love with Japanese enka thanks to the cable TV in his family's sushi restaurant - Ikioi Has eaten 20 boiled eggs in a day - Myogiryu Older sister is a radio DJ - Takanoiwa Favourite team is Tokyo Yakult Swallows (baseball) - Sadanoumi Could have been a dentist in Georgia, a hard-worker - Tochinoshin Looks at terrace houses when he can't sleep - Takekaze His name sounds like takarakuji (lottery), but he's never bought one - Takarafuji Inherited a traditional shikona from the Edo Period - Nishikigi Received a letter from a male fan with the fan's contact details - Chiyonokuni Although he's strong, he's recently become addicted to SNoW (Japanese pop singer) - Shohozan Grandmother's name is Masayo Shodai (正代 正代) - Shodai Eats 3 onigiri (rice balls) and 8 bread for snack - Kotoyuki If he were to eat sausage, then he would choose Schau-Essen - Yoshikaze He has a dachshund at home, he himself is shy - Endo When asked "mountain or river?", he answered "mountain" (yama) - Aoiyama Because he likes watermelon ice bars, he always has the convenience store's stock information - Kaisei Smells of Yunker energy drinks prior to his bouts - Tochiozan Before coming to Japan, he worked in a tyre factory - Tamawashi The baseball player he resembles is Yamakawa from Saitama Seibu Lions - Mitakeumi Sneaks to the refrigerator at night and opens it, looking inside - Okinoumi His shoe size was 32cm back in Middle School, so the slippers were too small - Takayasu His mobile phone screen is the same as the default one - Terunofuji He can't drink alcohol at all, he'll even get drunk eating Narazuke Pickles - Kotoshogiku He's eaten Mapo Harusame Noodles four times in his life - Kisenosato His mum recently achieved her highest score on Disney Tsum Tsum (a puzzle game) - Goeido His guide to romance is Winter Sonata (a South Korean drama series) - Hakuho He looks like a dog, so his nickname is 'Wan Wan' (Woof Woof) - Kakuryu The first song he learned in Japan is "Shingo Mama no Oha Rock" - Harumafuji
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Following on from last week's Grade 4 banzuke, we have here the banzuke for Grade 5. This list is also produced by adding up how well each wrestler did in national level tournaments over the past year, with the Top 32 included in the banzuke. Did I mention there's a Kaisei on here? This banzuke takes into account the following tournaments: 35th Wanpaku National Championships 32nd National Primary School Championships 10th Hakuho Cup East Yokozuna - Toyoda Rinnosuke (豊田 倫之亮), Kagoshima West Yokozuna - Ota Ritsuki (太田 力月), Kanagawa East Ozeki - Aoki Kanta (青木 貫太), Shizuoka West Ozeki - Anand Aditya (アナンド アディテヤ), Mongolia East Sekiwake - Ogasawara Kosuke (小笠原 広祐), Aomori West Sekiwake - Tamiya Aiki (田宮 愛喜), Aichi East Komusubi - Shigemura Konosuke (重村 鴻之介), Kagoshima West Komusubi - Hoshi Yuito (星 結仁), Niigata East Maegashira 1 - Takezawa Hikaru (竹澤 光), Saitama West Maegashira 1 - Yoshimoto Yohei (吉本 陽平), Kumamoto East Maegashira 2 - Okamoto Sentaro (岡本 千太朗), Aichi West Maegashira 2 - Kasugai Masahiro (春日井 雅大), Gifu East Maegashira 3 - Takeuchi Hinata (竹内 日向), Nagasaki West Maegashira 3 - Hori Arata (隍 新太), Kyoto East Maegashira 4 - Sonoda Hiroto (園田 大登), Osaka West Maegashira 4 - Otawa Yu (大田和 優), Ibaraki East Maegashira 5 - Omura Jingi (小村 仁義), Tottori West Maegashira 5 - Ibata Yuki (井畠 悠希), Toyama East Maegashira 6 - Iritakenishi Kaisei (入嵩西 快生), Fukuoka West Maegashira 6 - Kido Kodai (城戸 豪大), Tokyo East Maegashira 7 - Tada Fukunosuke (多田 福之助), Niigata West Maegashira 7 - Yasuda Atsufumi (安田 篤史), Ishikawa East Maegashira 8 - Jike Ruiki (寺家 琉唯輝), Oita West Maegashira 8 - Yamada Shintaro (山田 心太朗), Hyogo East Maegashira 9 - Tajima Chiaki (田島 千照), Gifu West Maegashira 9 - Tatsuki Ko (田附 昂), Aomori East Maegashira 10 - Taniguchi Shiro (谷口 志朗), Ishikawa West Maegashira 10 - Kondo Shinya (近藤 真矢), Okayama East Maegashira 11 - Endo Hidekazu (遠藤 秀和), Shizuoka West Maegashira 11 - Saikusa Masayasu (三枝 正恭), Kagawa East Maegashira 12 - Nakamura Hiromi (中村 大海), Saitama West Maegashira 12 - Imai Nozomu (今井 望夢), Ibaraki Sanyaku Photos East Yokozuna - Toyoda Rinnosuke (豊田 倫之亮), Kagoshima West Yokozuna - Ota Ritsuki (太田 力月), Kanagawa East Ozeki - Aoki Kanta (青木 貫太), Shizuoka West Ozeki - Anand Aditya (アナンド アディテヤ), Mongolia East Sekiwake - Ogasawara Kosuke (小笠原 広祐), Aomori West Sekiwake - Tamiya Aiki (田宮 愛喜), Aichi East Komusubi - Shigemura Konosuke (重村 鴻之介), Kagoshima West Komusubi - Hoshi Yuito (星 結仁), Niigata
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Comments Going into the 2019/2020 season, the biggest question for this year group was - would Primary School Yokozuna and Hakuho Cup winner Toyoda Rinnosuke be able to win the Wanpaku Tournament in October and thus hold all three national titles at the same time? After he came, he saw, and he conquered the Wanpaku national finals, the question then became - would Toyoda Rinnosuke be able to defend his other two titles and thus complete the seasonal grand slam? Five consecutive championships later, the answer to that is a resounding YES! What makes Rinnosuke so hard to beat is that not only is he very strong, being able to just blast his opponents out of the ring, he's even better on the belt. Whether you specialise in push sumo or belt sumo, he will always find a way to win. Take his Hakuho Cup final from February for example. His rival Shigemura Konosuke (on the right) tried everything he could to unbalance the champ, even doing a leg trip, but Rinnosuke was just too good, too strong. It was great power sumo, and one of the bouts of the year: The only time this past year that Rinnosuke has come close to losing was his Wanpaku final against Kotomitsuki's son, Tamiya Aiki. Aiki's strategy going into that bout was on point. By swiping aside Rinnosuke's arm, he was able to attack his opponent from the side and put him in real trouble. However, even in such a bad situation, Rinnosuke still found a way to win. The commentator announced the kimarite as hatakikomi, but hatakikomi doesn't really do the move justice. It was more like a tottari (arm bar throw) but grabbing his opponent's other arm. Whilst it was the perfect year for Toyoda Rinnosuke, it had been somewhat disappointing for his two biggest threats - Shigemura Konosuke and Tamiya Aiki. Both of them were only one win away from winning a tournament, but otherwise their results haven't been as good as the year before. Will they be able to do a Kisenosato this year and end Rinnosuke's winning run? Will there even be three national tournaments in 2020/2021? The biggest surprise on the banzuke was undoubtedly West Yokozuna Ota Ritsuki. He didn't even do sumo a year ago, but qualifying for the Wanpaku finals prompted him and his older brother to train with the kids at Mitaka Sumo Club prior to the tournament. An impressive showing at the tournament and wouldn't you know it, they've now joined Kawazaki Sumo Club and practise sumo every week. That's how future Ozumo rikishi are born folks To see just how good he has become, here's Ritsuki (on the right) facing a very tough opponent in Aomori's Ogasawara Kosuke. That move was beautifully executed. Before we move onto the Grade 6 banzuke later this week, I want to talk a bit about Shizuoka's Aoki Kanta, a kid whom Chris Gould has mentioned a few times in his videos about the Hakuho Cup. He's from the same sumo club as Grade 4's Nakamura Hayato (Yaizu), but hasn't been as lucky. Two years ago, he had a chance to win the Hakuho Cup, only to lose to his local rival Tajima Chiaki in the final, via a mono-ii. His results have been very good since then, but couldn't quite make it to another final. His sumo is very good, almost as good as Hayato in fact, but his lack of height has proved to be a major stumbling block against stronger opponents. However, what he did in this bout, that move at the edge with his left hand, was simply ingenious. It turned a potentially losing position into a winning one. Subtle, yet very effective. (Aoki's on the right)
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Could do, though my plan for today is to publish the Primary School Grade 5 banzuke in the Amasumo Section and write comments about it, usually takes two hours at least to do.