Eikokurai

Interesting. This then not only gives the green light to a basho but one with a crowd in attendance. Now one has to think how the kyokai might implement that. I don’t think a free-for-all sale of tickets is the way to go. Perhaps some sort of lottery from a list of approved names who can show their health and travel history? That would ensure bums on seats but prevents all and sundry going along.

Yeah, I think so too. Other sports have restarted under those conditions so no reason sumo shouldn’t. Besides, there has to come a point where things restart regardless because there is only so much economic pain people can take and sumo is no different. Ensure protective measures are in place and then get things up and running again.

Coco curry is the best. Line 2 on the Shanghai Subway is my Coco Curry Line as several stations on the route have one in or nearby. These days I don’t get to eat it much but before I was married and moved further out I’d often stop off on my way home from work at one of the Coco restaurants.

One of my dad’s wife’s patients died and the cause of death was listed as coronavirus. Here in China my manager’s old school teacher died of it in Wuhan. I’m also suspicious that my son might have had it back in late November. He was in hospital for a week with some sort of pneumonia that didn’t respond to the usual treatments. My wife isn’t convinced, and I’m not saying I am, but it’s in the back of my mind. I’m not putting him through tests to find out though. He’s spent enough time being experimented on, including having something shoved down his windpipe to collect a sample, which must have terrified him.

I’ve finally been able to apply for a new passport. I abandoned my earlier attempts to apply directly as the mail is still sitting untouched at the airport and I can’t wait any longer, so now the office is finally open in Shanghai I’ve applied through the formal channels. Fingers crossed everything will be okay. I don’t have all the usual necessary documentation but hopefully my cover letter will ensure I’m alright. Of course, even applying this way hasn’t been easy. I had to make an appointment and there are only 80 slots a day. They filled up quickly so I waited a week and a half to get one.

Exactly. Hakuho is clearly the best by almost every metric we can think of, but while I have tremendous respect for him as an athlete, he’s never really excited me other than in his early years when he was challenging Asashoryu. Therefore, I can’t choose him as my favourite. I like the guys with character and/or a story.

I’ve been thinking for a long time about trying to find longest winning streak by side on a single basho day or look for interesting patterns. Every basho I look at this, even though it’s meaningless. Like, who cares that East won five, then West won five or that East managed a winning streak of eight in a row? There was a recent basho where it went two wins East, two wins West, three, four, etc, until the pattern got ruined.

Just do a Google search for how to extract videos from You Tube. There are websites you can use to download and then you can save them wherever you like.

Probably a good reason to keep going. There comes a point in life, for all of us, where you pass the age where starting a new career* is still possible. It becomes difficult once you reach mid-30s, almost impossible past 40, so you plough on. For a guy with not much money it is even harder to make the leap required to change paths. *As an employee. Going your own way is still an option, but getting hired by a company at 40 to start at the bottom with no experience is hard.

I’ve joked with friends before that life should be like video games, with hidden Easter eggs that you can unlock with certain achievements, like “No sick days this year. You’re promoted to Vice President.” Sumo should have this and reaching 50 while still active should get you instantly promoted to Ozeki. It would give Shodai hope.

Ha. I’d have nothing to play it on. Thanks though! :)

He did? I must check this out.

It’s entirely possible I’m remembering a highlight I watched on YT. My memory is getting hazier as the years go by.

At the risk of being like an annoying hipster who purposely makes a less obvious choice just to show how *clever* they are, I’ve developed a fondness for Wajima from watching highlights on YT. His career was also one of the more interesting: first and so far only ex-college champ to make Yokozuna, won a yusho despite going kyujo, never took a shikona, had yakuza mates and generally didn’t follow the rules. Lad.

I’m sure there was a makuuchi bout in the last year or two which the gyoji a couple of times stopped to tighten a loosening mawashi.