Taikoubana

Well, I have nothing to lose. In!

In, thanks!

In, good luck all!

In, thanks!

Takahashi(Shirokuma), J5e

Changing my pick to j13e, Oshoma

It seems the Pokemon Company will be teaming up with the Nihon Sumo Kyokai for the next couple of tournaments. The Pokemon Company will have banners at both the November and January basho. They'll also be sponsoring kesho-mawashi, and at the January basho, the gyoji will don a special Pokemon-themed outfit. https://www.sumo.or.jp/pdf/kyokai/211027pokemon.pdf Looks like the sumo pokemon, Makuhita, will be getting the spotlight alongside company mascot Pikachu.

What a shame, I enjoy Inosuke's energy but he isn't exactly honoring the rank. And here I've been looking forward to a new Kimura Shonosuke sometime soon. Don't suppose they can bump one of the sanyaku gyoji up to Shonosuke instead? Also going to withhold my comments on Mitakeumi. I'll just be throwing salt over my shoulder and rubbing a rabbit's foot until the basho is over.

J11e Mitoryu

I recall a tournament, sometime between 2013-2017, where the dohyo-iri was ready to begin (can't recall what day it was, or if it was juryo or makuuchi), and Kimura Yodo was late. I remember Osunaarashi was there, because he was poking his head out of the line, looking around and laughing. The camera cut to the back halls of the kokugikan, and Kimura Yodo was quickly power walking to the front of the line. Does anyone remember that moment? And if so, does a clip still exist of it? I'd love to see it again. Also a sort of off-topic question, but the gyoji who announce the names, birthplaces, and heya of each rikishi as they step up during the dohyo-iri -- what determines which gyoji are assigned that duty? Is it only gyoji from a certain division? Thanks again.

Pokemon is the highest revenue media franchise in the world, beating out Hello Kitty. So I don't think sumo could get a much better collab than this! That being said, Pokemon is getting exposure in sumo for a couple basho. But is sumo getting exposure in Pokemon? If not, can you really call it a "collaboration"?

Nothing much to say that hasn't already been said. I just feel incredibly grateful and lucky that I was alive to witness the greatest dominance in sumo. Hoping that new heya works out, as I'd love to follow the careers of his deshi.

What color was the macaroon? I missed it.

How disappointing. At this rate we may never see sumo in an olympics opening ceremony again. I guess they thought Nagano 1998 was good enough to warrant never including it in the schedule a second time. (Half-joking.)

I'm almost positive I saw something important in the world of sumo that was crafted by an older lady and a younger man. Maybe it had to do with the fibers that they're laying in the fabric of the rope in the above video? Anyway, thank you for the link, @Seiyashi

I was excited to watch the promotion ceremony with my family. Saddened to see how he seemed to have only worry written on his face, not really any sense of accomplishment or pride. A heavy burden rests on his shoulders. It will be bittersweet if the 73rd really has such a short run at the top. (Somewhat unrelated, but does anyone happen to have a video of a Yokozuna tsuna being crafted? I saw it once, being crafted by an older lady and presumably her son, but I haven't been able to find the video since.)

I love the way he accidentally said "juryo yusho" in his interview before correcting himself to say "makushita yusho." His head's already in the next tournament.

Instead of a trophy, a macaron, and a myriad of prizes, I vote that the winner of this tournament gets a blue ribbon and a pat on the back. But in seriousness, I'm rooting for Terunofuji. This is a good opportunity to make a push for his return to Ozeki, which I consider one of the best storylines in sumo presently. And maybe an Ura juryo yusho...

Ryuko J9w

Preceded by the appetizer, a swordfish-bearer.

We've lost another one to the "I must gambarize" demons... It's astounding how any rikishi who tears their ACL looks at rikishi with the same injury of the past who had forgone surgery, and thinks "Y'know, it really went well for those guys, this must be the right decision."

I've been a collector of the rikishi keychains sold at the kokugikan shop for the past couple years, the acrylic ones done by the artist Kototsurugi. But because I've never been to japan, I've always purchased them through online sellers. My problem is I no longer have means of purchasing them at a reasonable price, as the few sellers who do offer the keychains are charging for around 100% profit these days. Could anyone point me in the direction of someone who sells Kototsurugi's keychains and ships to the US for a more reasonable price? Or a trustworthy forwarding service that will purchase the keychains from the kokugikan and ship them to the US? Or does the kokugikan actually ship internationally and I've been going about this the wrong way all along? Any info and any help would be appreciated. (Mods, feel free to move this thread if I posted in the wrong forum.)

You missed out on the first foreign (Hawaiian) Yokozuna, Akebono, and his great rivalry with Yokozuna Takanohana, the youngest of two Yokozuna brothers, that lasted throughout the 90s. I recommend watching some matches between them on youtube; I believe their record against eachother was an even 25-25. The "Mongolian invasion" began somewhere in the early 2000s I believe, which lead to four Mongolian Yokozuna in a row (two of them now retired, another may soon follow). One of them, Yokozuna Hakuho (promoted in 2007), has earned himself 44 championships, far exceeding the record of 32. There have been many Mongolian high-rankers, some of which are currently active, such as former-Ozeki Terunofuji, who has been making a dramatic rise back to the top ranks after his fall to nearly the bottom division in 2018. Besides Terunofuji, and the two current Yokozuna, the only other Mongolians in the top division right now are Tamawashi, Ichinojo, Kiribayama, Chiyoshoma, and up-and-comer Hoshoryu; the nephew of the first Mongolian Yokozuna. I would say the Japanese public have grown more accustomed to the reign of Mongolians since the wave began . For those who did want to see Japanese rikishi return to dominance, there was the most recent Yokozuna, Kisenosato, who was promoted in 2017 to a very thrilled Japanese public. Unfortunately, due to an injury he was inflicted with around this time, he sat out nearly every tournament he had as Yokozuna, and retired at the dawn of 2019. Right now, we seem to be in a phase between the old guard fading away, and the new guard taking the spotlight. The new guard have been rather lackluster so far, but there is potential in these younger rikishi. The most exciting stories right now are Terunofuji vying to become Ozeki once more (and perhaps even Yokozuna, but we shall see), and the last championship winner, Ozeki Takakeisho, aiming to become Yokozuna in the upcoming tournament. One of the Yokozuna, Kakuryu, is nearly assured to be retiring within the next two months. Two of the newest Ozeki are already kadoban. The ever-popular 5'4 Enho just hit a big wall with a sad 3-12 record. Relatives of former Yokozuna such as the aforementioned Hoshoryu (nephew of Yokozuna Asashoryu) and Ooho (grandson of Yokozuna Taiho) are making their steady rise to the high ranks. Sumo isn't in an especially exciting phase at the moment, but there are certainly some interesting stories to follow. NHK World has a lot of great content to help refresh you, such as Sumopedia, and the Sumo Highlights during tournament days, all of which are commentated in English. Welcome back to sumo!

In 'Discover Sumo' — a book I've read that was written by a former top-ranked yobidashi — it's said that they don't believe a foreigner could become a yobidashi, as the kanji would be too hard for them to read/pronounce. To my knowledge, there have been no foreign yobidashi or gyoji thus far.

And thus we bid farewell to one of the greatest Yokozuna prospects of our time.