Kaminariyuki

I don't know where he will be in the banzuke but I'll bet not many of the first seven victims are going to be super excited about drawing him. I go out on a limb and predict a yusho.

Ah, excellent point. I hadn't thought about that but I know you're correct. If we both make it to Kyushu, the first round is on me. The Kyushu basho is a lot of fun. One almost often sees rikishi walking around town and the smaller venue has it's merits. I recall being amazed when I went to the WC at one point and three of the shinpan were there. It's close enough to a high school gym that there are clearly inadequacies, like sufficient facilities but I thought it was a wonderful sumo viewing experience. Never mind that the ramen blew my mind. It's one of my favorite islands in Japan and it's worth an extended trip to just visit this island, IMO. I was thinking about combining it with South Korea, though, which I've never visited.

I agree about the Ozeki, although there were some good bouts, as well. I concur with Katooshu above. Even though I've been a big Hakuho fan, I find the current more competitive bashos far more entertaining and interesting than when we pretty much knew who was going to win before it started. And I thought the sumo was excellent. We clearly appreciate different styles. The changing of the guard we've been talking about for years is clearly well underway. I doubt any of the current Ozeki will hold that rank by next natsu. Although Aoiyama did very well, even showing some footwork here and there, I prefer the leaner seriously engaged and fast moving action of the last two bashos. I was pretty bummed that Ura was forced to go kyujo at the end. I hope he recovers quickly but I haven't heard what the situation is there.

I've read the thread but I am not going to read the article. In fairness, Gaijingai has posted scads of articles and links that I have appreciated, as well. I know you did not say he only posted rubbish but I still wanted to mention it.

I met Kelly a few weeks ago at the US Championships, as they were held in Salt Lake City. We exchanged books and chatted for a while the first day. Seems like a really nice guy and clearly a major force in US sumo. I saw him mentoring some of the younger wrestlers. I'm almost finished reading his short book, "Fat Passion," and it's a fairly interesting read, particularly for the sumo fan crowd.

Hopefully, by fall they will have returned to something closer to normal. We shall see. No possibility I'm going to Japan with an organized tour myself. Not even if I get to lead the group, which would only be happening with a study abroad group (done that once back in 2016 and I'd rather go in 2022 unburdened by responsibility and obligation). Seems like the government is set to favor the Chinese since they travel predominantly in that manner. Not sure what other nationalities might also lean heavily toward group tours but I don't personally know any Americans who have visited Japan in that manner, although I'm sure there are many.

I am surprised to not see a thread on this already, as I know some of you are as keen as I to get back to Japan and watch a basho in person. It has probably been announced somewhere else in SF, but I'm not hunting it down. I'm super keen to watch some amazumo on my next trip, and if all goes well, it could easily be Aki or Kyushu for me this year. Here's a JT article from late last week: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/06/national/japan-border-controls-g7/

Awesome basho! Terunofuji definitely deserves that one, IMO. The Hoshoryu-Kiribayama match on senshuraku was really fun to watch, battle of the up-and-coming Mongolian rikishi. Wakatakage also continuing to impress. The future is bright, my fellow sumo fans.

Wow, I can't believe that I hadn't noticed that. I am looking forward to someday parking my keester on a zabuton in the Kokugikan and I don't know if I can restrain myself to only clapping.

I liked it, too, although he never quite had it.

So, given the current standing of the Waka brothers, what is the highest ranked pair of brothers in sumo history? I seem to recall that there have been sanyaku brothers but it's always more fun to query the forum than to hunt it down on the net.

There were a few wrestlers that I wondered if they might compete well in Japan (not talking about makuuchi here). Does anyone know if any former Japanese rikishi have competed in the foreign competitions, like the World Games? For example, rikishi who were banned from competition, or possibly those who left from the mid-ranks because they saw they weren't likely to be hitting sekitori levels? Or, foreign born NSK rikishi who left? Does Wakaichiro compete in such events? He could have been at the tournament this past weekend, and I did not recognize him.

I was probably standing where I wasn't supposed to be, outside of a partition but others were doing it and it was a much better view than the seating area.

I posted some random videos from the US National Championships on Gaijingai's thread but wanted to highlight the fact that the women were competing at the same tournament. My commentary is dubious in places and I don't know the wrestlers names. They made announcements but I don't think there was a program. There was a wide range of skill level, and it was fun to see sumo in my hometown. Here is my favorite from the women's matches that I recorded. Sorry, did not get the tachiai.

So, above are about a dozen of the matches I recorded. Several American women sumo matches later in the playlist. All of this is on my Youtube channel. Check out the Myagino beya channel, if you haven't seen it before. Also a fun video of Ichinojo on there at a promotional event a few years ago, which got suite a few views. There was no program available for the US National Championships, so I cannot identify wrestlers. Some are in the announcements but not many. My phone did not have much charge left. It died while I was calling a Lyft to get home! There were some good matches, many of which I did not record, of course. And, I don't think there were any weight divisions, at least on the women's matches, maybe the men, as well. Either way, it was a fun day of sumo, for which must again thank Joann and Gaijingiai. Rest assured, sir, I would not touch your mustache.