mikawa

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Posts posted by mikawa

  3. Posted · Edited by mikawa

    4 hours ago, mt fuji said:

    Anyone know if you can find results for all of the bouts anywhere? Would love to know names of the top 8, at least.

    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

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  5. Posted

    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!

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  9. Posted

    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.

     

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  10. Posted · Edited by mikawa

    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.

     

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  12. Posted

    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).

    Nobeoka.jpg

    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:

     

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  16. Posted

    14 hours ago, robnplunder said:

    As I got older, I've dumped some sports and now only watch golf, football (soccer), boxing, Baduk (Go), and sumo.   

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

  18. Posted

    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)

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  20. Posted

    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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  21. Posted · Edited by mikawa

    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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  22. Posted

    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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  23. Posted · Edited by mikawa

    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

    Shiroyama.jpg

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  24. Posted · Edited by mikawa

    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

    Taiki.jpg

     

    West Yokozuna - Purebusuren (プレブスレン デルゲルバヤル), Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo

    Purebusuren.jpg

     

    East Ozeki - Tanaka Daisuke (田中 大介), Chuo University, Tokyo

    Daisuke.jpg

     

    West Ozeki - Hatsuyama Sho (羽出山 将), Toyo University, Tokyo

    Sho.jpg

     

    East Sekiwake - Fukai Takuto (深井 拓斗), Toyo University, Tokyo

    Takuto.jpg

     

    West Sekiwake - Nishikawa Toki (西川 登輝), Chuo University, Tokyo

    Toki.jpg

     

    East Komusubi - Osanai Koju (長内 孝樹), Kindai University, Osaka

    Koju.jpg

     

    West Komusubi - Suguro Ibuki (勝呂 歩紀), Takushoku University, Kyoto

    Ibuki.jpg

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  25. Posted · Edited by mikawa

    It's now time for the final banzuke in our "Amateur Sumo Banzuke" series for 2019. Every year, there are 10 national level tournaments on the college sumo calendar, some of which also feature wrestlers from other walks of life (such as corporate sumo). The red numbers next to each rikishi denote which year group they are in. Without further ado, let's get started!

    This banzuke takes into account the following tournaments:

     

    But before that, here are the top 10 Universities of the past year, based on their results in the team competitions:

    1 - Nippon Sport Science University (日本体育大学), Tokyo
    2 - Toyo University (東洋大学), Tokyo
    3 - Nihon University (日本大学), Tokyo
    4 - Chuo University (中央大学), Tokyo
    5 - Kindai University (近畿大学), Osaka
    6 - Tokyo University of Agriculture (東京農業大学), Tokyo
    7 - Takushoku University (拓殖大学), Tokyo
    8 - Doshisha University (同志社大学), Kyoto
    9 - Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences (九州情報大学), Fukuoka
    10 - Meiji University (明治大学), Tokyo

     

    Comments

    Last year turned out to be a three-horse race for the title of best college sumo club in Japan, with only a whisker separating Nippon Sport Science University, Toyo University and Nihon University. In fact, those three teams were level on points going into the final two team events (Kariya and National Student). Winning the Kariya Tournament ultimately proved to be the difference for Nippon Sport Science University as they only just pipped their two challengers to top spot

    Whilst NSSU were impressive in the best-of-5 matches, they were almost unbeatable in the best-of-3s. Usually they would just race to a 2-0 win because of how good their first two members are (you'll see just how good they are when I publish the banzuke tomorrow). Even during the off chance that one of them gets taken down, their final member Ishizaki Takuma would just step in and finish what they started.

    This was precisely what happened when they faced Wakayama Prefectural Office in the final of the Kariya Tournament. It was such an important win for them as it gave them enough separation for them to ensure the #1 spot. NSSU are in the blue mawashi:

     

    Toyo University were the best college sumo team for the past two years running. A major reason for this was their effective recruiting of high school talents. Another reason was that they were led by the best college rikishi for both 2017 and 2018. That man, Shiroyama Seira, was set to lead them to a third win in a row when, after just three tournaments, he suddenly went AWOL (more on that tomorrow). Just imagine, Toyo University were able to secure second spot without their club captain, what would they have been capable of if they had Seira for the entire year?

     

    The year started slowly for Nihon University, NSSU's biggest rivals, as they could only manage a quarter-final finish in the first two tournaments. However, they gradually got better and better as the year went on and won three of the last four tournaments. They were even able to secure key victories against the super strong NSSU team, mainly thanks to one of their members, Yersin Baltagulov (all credits to John Gunning for the spelling), figuring out NSSU's virtually unbeatable Nakamura Taiki.

    Speaking of, here's when Nihon University faced Nippon Sport Science University (blue mawashi) in the semi-finals of the National Student Championships. One of the best college team matches of the year for sure.

     

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