Yamanashi

This leads to a follow-up question: Has there ever been friction between rikishi who came up from nothing (out of junior high or right out of the fields) and the university grads? Is there anything like a "class envy" vibe? And if so, has that changed over time?

Thanks for the reply! I checked all of Makuuchi for Aki 2017, and no one else comes close to his lack of yorikiri. The video of the lone bout in 2016 is still available, and even that one is not much of a yorikiri -- it looks like he was trying for an arm bar and just ran out of dohyo . Takakeisho is on the young side, but my perception of young rikishi on the rise is they would have a lot of this kimirate early on; they're taught to shove the other guy out until that doesn't work, then to survive they become "crafty veterans" who find new ways to win. Of course, a kid coming in through judo would know a lot of these tactics already. I am new to this, though, so I may be wrong.

Sorry if this has been pointed out before. No matter what style of sumo a rikishi prefers, a good portion of his wins are by yorikiri. Takakeisho has only had one yorikiri win in his career, back in Natsu 2016 when he was Sato.

I ran across this picture in an archive of the Tokyo Weekender (10/24/1980), showing Bryn George (Wakatakami) at a dinner in Tokyo, sporting a kimono (?).

I appreciate all the answers. A lot of common sense with a large portion of (for me) surprising information. I most humbly thank your exalted selves!

First, pardon me if this has been discussed before, or placed in the wrong subforum ... What is the rule (written or unwritten) regarding re-using a shikona? Obviously no rikishi from the sticks is going to go to Sumo School with a handle like Akebono or Kaiou. But I see entrants adopt a name that was used by another rikishi who intai-ed just a few years before. Since the oyakata will generally assign a shikona, do they have rules of thumb for re-using a shikona?

OK, gotcha

I've been a South Carolina, USA resident for quite awhile. My path to sumo: Kyu Sakamoto > SPEED>Hiroko Shimabukuro>Japanese TV shows > Shinya Shokudo > Kodoku no Gurume > NHK On Demand > Grand Sumo highlights. It has been a steep learning curve, made much simpler by absorbing the wisdom on this forum.

Maybe no. Several news stories about his death in May 2005 give his name as "Percy Pomaikai Kipapa", including his obituary. Mark Panek, the author who wrote "Gaijin Yokozuna" about Akebono, also wrote a book about Kipapa called "Big Happiness: the Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior." (Daiki = "Big Happiness")

John Robert Collins (Wakanonanda, Muryu) various birthdates (12/15/59, 12/12/59) moved to Las Vegas area; died 12/5/2011 in Henderson, NV He kept up with U. of Hawaii football and blogged extensively; there is a picture of him in 2009 on a visit back to Hawaii, and a photo of (I think) the Haru 1979 basho after he defeated Hanada.

Regarding Ryuko from Brazil, a 2008 article on a site commemorating 100 years of Japanese emigration to Brazil has a story on "Luis Go Ikemori". Relying on my shaky Portuguese, it says that he started judo at age eight with the urging of his father, Luiz Ikemori. He saw a sumo performance at an exclusive competition for Nikkei athletes, which led him to a sumo center in Sao Paulo. So, Luis Go Ikemori?

On Shoji Hiraga, Ancestry.com has the following (remembering that it could be another person ... ): California Birth Index: Shoji Hiraga, born 9/29/1913; mother's maiden name Tyoynaga (these names are notoriously unreliable) 1930 Census: Shoji Hiraga, 16, living at 231 Jackson St., Los Angeles, CA. Father Togoro, 55, runs pool hall; mother Roku, 46, midwife. California Passenger Lists: arrived from Yokohama to L.A. on April 8, 1937 (did he attend the 1937.5 basho where he was listed as intai?) Japanese American Relocation List: "Shoji Joe Hiraga", b. 9/29/15; Gila River, Tule Lake camps; resident 7/29/42 to 3/7/46 Soc. Sec. Death Index: "Joe Shoji Hiraga"; b. 9/29/1913, d. 5/6/1979 So, Shoji Joe Hiraga?

Is Sentoryu (Henry Armstrong Miller) missing from this list?

Explaining the number of p's is not as hard as explaining the Oxford comma, but just as frustrating.

Several sources list Hoshitango's real name as "Imach Marcelo Salomon", with an accent on the second "o".