Kotoku

Good old Shibatayama... he was always grumpy when I headed over to Ogikubo for a dose of asa geiko...

So many good ideas here. I'd pretty much leave it alone but reduce and reform jungyo making it as it was until about 15 years ago. Te rikishi are too beat up for too much of the year. There will always be some form of yaocho. But it has become so rampant, partially because the culture has changed since the influx of non-Japanese. Sumo needs to embrace its Shinto roots. Personal honor needs to be restored. I may very well be in the minority here, but I think this will work out without a whole lot of change. The bad apples will be removed and life will go on until the next crisis. Same as it ever was...

I found this: The forum was hit by a personal message spammer today. If you received a PM from a member called mignulikz (or a PM notification), you may safely disregard it. The messages have been deleted and the culprit has been banned. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Flowers for Hakuho...

Funny, whenever the sh*t hits the fan, they always bring up the friggin tachiai. Check out how the old farts did it when the were on the dohyo. They just ran at each other. Result? MUCH better sumo, and way less noggin-to-noggin smackdowns. Want reform? Treat the deshi with basic human respect. Cut the hanazumo tourneys by half. Make jungyo as it once was, and reduce the amount of time away from Tokyo. Get real on basic sports training. And give season passes to any and all on this illustrious Site... -L-

Musashigawa always runs a class act during Tokyo asa geiko. And he is terrific at raising deshi with a minimum of ijime. With all of the Korean money at his disposal, he has an unbeatable weight room in the basement and a beautiful building. I think he will make a fine Riji until the next big man decides it is his turn...

Well the results were pretty obvious from the start. There has been non-stop mismanagement under Kitanoumi, but everyone was scared witless by him. now that he is gone, maybe -- just maybe --they can get some semblance of order in the nuthouse they call the kyokai. It sorta puts a whole new perspective on Asa wanting to go home and hang with his wife and kids, and getting his bi-yearly butt kicking from the bozos at the top. You cannot smoke dope in Japan, period. It's not as bad as in Singapore, but the only crime more serious for a gaijin to commit is riding a bicyle at night with the headlamp off. They are tough on that too... Kintamayama, yer a friggin' genius. -L- :- )

Kitannoumi out, the brothers gone. It has been a rocky time for the one of the greatest Yokozuna's in history. The brothers will not be missed; one is bald the other unruly. I think that there are some within the kyokia who are generally dissatisfied with the current regime. But YMMV, and what the hey...

A total non-issue. Rikishi -- at least those with pride and a burning desire to win -- are so wound up at the tachiai, that the adrenalin is flowing bigtime. The wimpification of Sumo since the Waka-Taka jidai is really sad. You will see a lot more extra-curriicular activity in matches during the Showa era. Back then, they didn't even bother to put their hands on the dohyo at tachiai -- they just ran at each other and let 'er rip. Now, that was Sumo... You will also notice that as Asa returned to the shitaku beya, the crowd runs to wish him well and touch him. Like it or not, he is still the most popular rikishi with the common people -- by far. Personally. I like him -- a lot.

It's that time of year to take our annual senior citizen test. Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert. If you don't use it, you lose it! Below is a very private way to gauge your loss or non-loss of intelligence. Take the test presented here to determine if you're losing it or not. The spaces below are so you don't see the answers until you've made your answer. There are five questions. OK, relax, clear your mind and begin. 1. What do you put in a toaster? Answer: "bread." If you said "toast," give up now and do something else. Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question 2. 2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk." What do cows drink? Answer: Cows drink water. If you said "milk," don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading a more appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said "water", proceed to question 3. 3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from? Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said "green bricks," why are you still reading these? If you said "glass," go on to Question 4. 4. It's twenty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (If you will recall, Germany at the time was politically divided into West Germany and East Germany.) Anyway, during the flight, two engines fail. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes smack in the middle of "no man's land" between East Germany and West Germany. Where would you bury the survivors? East Germany, West Germany, or no man's land"? Answer: You don't bury survivors. If you said ANYTHING else, you're a dunce and you must stop. If you sa id, "You don't bury survivors", proceed to the next question. 5. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to MilfordHaven in Wales. In London, 17 people get on the bus. In Reading, six people get off the bus and nine people get on. In Swindon, two people get off and four get on. In Cardiff, 11 people get off and 16 people get on. In Swansea, three people get off and five people get on. In Carmathen, six people get off and three get on. You then arrive at Milford Haven. What was the name of the bus driver? Answer: Oh, for crying out loud! Don't you remember your own name? It was YOU!! Now pass this along to all your friends and pray they do better than you. PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!!

It's not the connections to politicians that Matsunami should worry about...

Fujisan da man! -L-

Tachiai is everything. The large-style European rikishi have some great moments, but they tend to put themselves at a huge disadvantage at the shikiri-sen. They have a problem either if they come in "at size," meaning they will be too high and susceptible to nage, or if they come in low, to hatakikomi or a variety of slap and push downs. The only solution is to impose their will at the start. The other problem is the inability to lose the forearm to the front of the opponent. It sets them up for the banzai pose and a quick exit form the dohyo.

I appreciate the varied comments here, and I also appreciate the civility of this thread. For myself, I think that Grand Sumo has become way too peecee these days. A yokozuna is a "god," small g, period. If you look back to some of the shenanigans of days past, going home to see the wife and kids is small potatoes. He doesn't have to be "nice" all the time, in fact it is much better if he isn't. This overarching push for subservience, and submission to dithering elders, whether at work, at home or in sumo has got to stop. It totally screws up much of Japanese society; that's why the kids flock to J-League. It's not that they truly embrace the sport, but the freedom it represents is a HUGE tonic for the day-to-day drudgery of life in Edo. Sumo desperately needs Asashoryu. He is one of the few rikishi with a pulse. Hakkuho, regardless of what he will do in the future, is a salaryman, pure and simple. And salarymen are not very interesting. Guys YMMV, and no problem. Gotta go work on the garden. Getting the Sacramento house fixed up, slowly but surely. Please hoist a Yebesu for me... :- ) Tq

I have been in Japan for the most part over the last 20 years, so I completely missed the move to Washington D.C.

Sorry!!! There are in fact two wonderful teams in Canada, and a number of Canadian players as well. I was only trying to make a point that there are a multitude of players from around the world, countries large and small. And we won't even get into the abomination of hockey in the southern states... :- ) Tq

Another one of those terms that is used differently around the world. "Dungarees" in the U.S. means any sort of denim jeans, made by any maker. The word "levis" has the same inference, despite the specifity of reference to a trademarked brand. What the guy is wearing in the picture are overalls, meaning a type of denim workwear that also covers the upper body. Growing up on the farm, they were a common sight.

MLB is not "American" baseball -- there are players from many, many countries. All that counts is that you are the best available at your position. Doesn't matter if you come from CANADA, Japan, Korea, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, Mars or the moon. Japanese ball is overall about the same as Triple-A, which I actually prefer to both MLB and the Japanese counterpart. The Sacramento Rivercats -- Oakland's AAA team -- has a jewell-box of a stadium, terrific food and an unbeatable location. You can see kids on their way up, veterans trying to turn things around and the occasional star coming off rehab, needing some time in AAA to put things back together. In other words, it's much like Juryo. And the ticket prices are a fraction of the big leagues. I enjoy watching Japanese ball in the summer, drinking a cold Yebisu and munching on yakitori. I could do without the organized cheering and especially the trumpet players in the crowd. Since the Pacific League broke the mold a few years back, the game has become much more exciting. And it sure beats J-League.

That question isn't fair, because a calf drinks milk, so you got 100% Wow!!! :- ) Tq

Thanks! I really appreciate the headsup! Yeah, just went to Yanello-san's youtube page. G-R-E-A-T!!! Thanks again, Tq

Hi Barbara! Wish I could have seen the basho, always glad when Asashoryu wins. Seems banzuke.com has not been updated since last Nagoya. Is that place finished? Rats! I was hoping to watch the match hi-lights from Sacramento. My wife said the senshurakku musubi no ichiban was a real letdown. Anyhow, nice to see your smiling face with Asa... :- ) Tq

Nice summary Harry! I am back in Sacramento and cannot watch the matches. Thanks for ther great descriptions! :- )

Hey, I was making a comment on the difference between the two yokozuna, and as usual you had to make a snide comment. "Wouldn't your time be better spent proof-reading Sumo World?" I have no idea why you have to do that. I would write you offline, but you seem to have a blocked address. Frankly speaking, I'm tired of your put downs. I enjoy sumo, like to read this place and make the occasional comment. Leave it be, or let's meet sometime and discuss this face to face, and not bother the folks here who just want to shoot the breeze about sumo, like myself. I am definitely up for that.

My aren't we witty... -L- It's okay, I consider it a compliment from the orangeman. Quinn/Mulrennan/Corcoran -- Jim was my great great uncle/Coughlin/ Healey/ Malady/ Connor. Green to the core and starved out of Strokestown...

Hakuho is a salaryman yokozuna. He does what he is told by his lessers. Asashoryu is an historical yokozuna, even if he quits today, or never wins again. A yokozuna is a god. As such, what would be a screwup for mere mortals is all in a day's work for the top banana on the ladder. Shinto... ya gotta love it.