Yamanashi

@Kintamayama: I have no idea at all how to start, however if I wanted to ask someone it would be @Inside Sport Japan (oh, I guess I just did!)

Silly, we want to make random viewers avoid the site; that would make the site go viral.

Why don't you really obscure it by using an obscure name for the channel. Maybe something like Homologous Manifolds in Non-Integer Spaces. Not only would it not be something (most) people were looking for, but it would actively repel those people looking around for random channels. [NOTE: The first poster that says "that was my MS thesis" is going to be dining on a fresh can of whup-ass!]

I'm not offended, I just disagree. It suggests that no one in Japan would be worried about that, but foreigners might spill the beans. Besides, most of the people who have been banished from their videos are actual fans of Sumo, and they don't tend to devote much time to muck-raking (well, except for you-know-who). At the level of international news, this stuff doesn't matter, partly because the "elite" media write surprisingly inept and ignorant stories about the sport; since their readership is even more ignorant, there are no repercussions for sloppy, lazy writing. Not many follow-ups on the Hibikiryu death, for instance; aren't they interested in whether changes were made? When @Gaijingai posts a "new" foreign story on "the dark, deep, mysterious scary world of Sumo", you can pull out your bingo card and mark off rikishi beaten to death (2007), match-fixing (2012), why aren't women allowed on the dohyo (2005 - ). The announcer intones, "with their 50,000 calorie a day intake, and the constant beatings with fists and chopsticks, is it any wonder that ex-sumos die younger than the general population?", and all I can say is "Bingo!" My point (and I have one!) is that western media isn't combing over Sandanme bouts on Abema looking for suspicious activity (that's you-know-who's job). The real story is that the NSK is about to kill the foreign audience that has been growing slowly and steadily for 10-20 years (no thanks to the NSK, but thanks to Kintamayama and the other creators who are doing it for almost nothing).

Maybe their PR team used Google Translate to come up with the awkward English name.

I follow Narutobeya on Twitter and Instagram, so I'm creating this topic to record my news and views (sometimes incorrect/lamebrain; that's why I've cordoned it off in its own topic!)

It appears to be a second tear to the ACL.

This is depressing. I'm sure many of us got hooked on Sumo from the daily videos by Kintamayama, after first seeing the one-day-late NHK digests.

Don't know what it's like in other countries, but in U.S. at MLB, college football and NFL games, the announcer says "Please rise as (name of celebrity singer) leads us in the National Anthem." Everyone pays attention, stands and sings. [It helps that this is done before the game begins, so the beer hasn't kicked in yet].

This is correct. Once the "70-year-old" option trickles through the oyakata ranks, things will be back to normal -- better, if the "65-year-old" limit is still considered the standard, since anyone who retires then will actually augment the number of available kabu. How long is this "transition"? Well, the only two Oyakata born in the nineties are borrowers (Kotoyuki, Chiyootori); 29 born in the '80s, but by the time they come up for retirement in the 2050's this will have shaken out, I think.

Is that because Toyohibiki had to break even with the "haircut fees", whereas Hakuho had other sources, and would be more selective in who gets a cut? [I know, you-know-who got a cut ... ]

Tokyo Marathon next year!

Torikumi was maybe decided over time -- Azumaryu is in both the Juryo and Makuuchi list? Edit: I see it has been fixed; by who?

That made me think about another difference between Ozumo and every other pro sport. A pro baseball or (soccer) football or basketball player with that history would be called a "journeyman", as if he had a say in where he played. In Sumo, you just join a heya with an old or unstable Oyakata, and who knows where you'll end up!

I remember two of them immediately. And while obvious fouls, at least they were obvious: not some ticky-tack one minute mono-ii to decipher the video -- they (inadvertently) grabbed a big chunk of mage and pulled their opponent down with it.

If you didn't know the context, it wouldn't sound so good; sort of like reporting "the eighteen-year-old, who will enter the fourth grade in the Fall ... "

It's not even cold, Yet I've got the "winter blues"; Come, Haru Basho !!

Tamashoho: what a great story! He's been firmly in Makushita for nine years; lately climbing into the joi like Sisyphus and falling back down with 2-5 records. He finally found a work-around in November with a 7-0 Yusho from Ms23 to Ms1. Then all it took was a final day win over Terutsuyoshi to punch his ticket to Juryo. In the photos he looks a little dazed. I wonder how much of his late success can be attributed to the influence of Tamawashi?

クルーカット

True, but not really his fault. He was 1-1 against Terunofuji in 2022, and hasn't met him since July.

Helifino. Some of the Amasumo posters like @mikawa and @Katooshu might be able to enlighten us both.

Strange trivia: Oshoumi (finally) gets his 5th win against former sekitori Kitaharima. Last May, Oshoma captured the Makushita Yusho 7-0 to win a spot in Juryo, defeating the same Kitaharima to clinch it.

Meiko (Onoebeya) fought under his own name (Nakao Ryota) for eight years, ping-ponging between Jonidan and Sandanme (literally so -- he changed divisions 20 times in 54 basho). Last Spring he changed his shikona to Meiko Ryota, with absolutely no effect; it looks like he finally saw the light.

Or it could be the rikishi. Some on the Forum were unsure if Oshoma (Delgerbayar) had the right style (reactive and patient) for Makuuchi, his Ms15TD ranking notwithstanding. Ochiai seems to be a much more aggressive fighter, and has gotten out of the gate fast.

It must be tough getting the right blend of essences -- fermented mare's milk and yak sweat.