rokudenashi

During the section at their father's restaurant the only direct reference to Wakatakamoto (aside from him being in various photos of them as kids) was at the end where it said "this year, they aim to be the first 3 brothers in the salaried divisions at the same time". Here's my translation of the bit after that which you were referring to... Presenter Hamada Masatoshi: Wow, you 3 brothers are awesome! Regarding what your father said about you fighting all the time, is it true? Wakatakakage & Wakamotoharu: Yes. WTK: It was constant. WMH: It's true, we did fight like that back then, and sometimes we still do. Hamada: But now you get along? WTK & WMH: (with some hesitation) ...Yes. Hamada: Don't you both think so? WMH: After we both got married, our wives becoming friends improved our own relationship. Hamada: Come on, you're brothers, you have to get along! (cuts to Wakanohana, looking pensive in response to the above) Hamada: (Looking at Wakanohana) Brothers must get along! Wakanohana: Yes, that's indeed the case. Hamada: Look who's talking!

Hopefully he's not out the whole 7 days; I'm not quite convinced he's ready to challenge for a salary yet but was looking forward to seeing how he performed at this rank. Would bet he was even more motivated to perform given his heyagashira's Ōzeki promotion. Assuming this is the result of persisting injuries to both coupled with Naruto-oyakata's readiness to bench his guys when they're not 100%. Ōshōumi seems very injury prone which concerns me since he has shown signs of being able to develop into a very good rikishi. Hagiwara has been out since Day 3 of Kyushu 2021. He was making good progress up the banzuke although at a slower pace than Ōshōumi. Wish the best for both!

Exciting first 3 days particularly in jūryō with 4 prospects leading the race at this early stage. Kotoshōhō of course already has makuuchi experience, and I expect we'll see the other 3 there too in the future (Kaishō, Asanowaka, Kitanowaka). Hope they can keep it up as a battle between those guys would make for the most interesting jūryō championship since the 3-way Tatsunami playoff back in July 2020. As for makushita, if Kinbōzan continues his winning ways, a match against Ryūden and/or Atamifuji would be fantastic - I am unsure what to make of his current level, but he looks to have all the tools; certainly more well-rounded than Hokuseihō, who he might also bump into along the way. Anyway, it's too early to make any useful speculation, I'm just getting overeager...

Either that or simply a thrust-out using the head (to the chest, torso area) - these days I expect tsukidashi would be used to describe such a technique

He has been quite active on the channel recently, starting a series of videos where he challenges random fellas to a bout, and if they win, he'll give them the equivalent of $860 USD, or £640 GBP. The entertainment is laid on thick and probably not for sumō purists, but I found it quite entertaining. Here's the latest video, where he takes on actor Ryōma Morimoto, rugby player Shinsuke Nakamura (not the pro wrestler!), and former Kindai sumo club member Kenta Kawai: As an aside, here's Kawai competing against a much smaller Ura at the 2014 All Japan Student Championships. Looking at both guys now, it is as if they have swapped physiques.

Atamifuji's day trip up to jūryō went about as well as it possibly could, with a complete steamrolling of Yago. He is so exciting to watch right now.

To get it out of the way before the holidays

Happy birthday

He has some good size and a fitting background, I will be keeping an eye on him. I wonder where his mum's from.

Welcome to the forum - and thanks to you, I learned that there is a bird called a sea cat in Japanese! Hope you enjoy your time here!

Interesting, I recall that he had lost some weight leading up to his retirement; since that sometimes happens with rikishi on their way out I half expected him to have dropped a bit more by now. He must still be on the chanko. Edit: trying to identify the rikishi behind him in that photo, anyone know?

In Buddhist tradition there are memorial services held on the 49th and 100th days following a person's death (reference: this article). Perhaps it was the family's choice to delay the announcement.

To me this is the real big issue... more tournament days might even out the number of bouts fought but economically it would be a major step backwards. As you have suggested, you would lose one regional market and one tournament in Tōkyō, which I'd imagine would damage Kokugikan profits somewhat, external leases notwithstanding. Competitively speaking I see where you're coming from (although I fear for the health of the rikishi in the last few days) but considering the bottom line I can't see it working. One tournament every other month is a reasonable frequency for profits and for the rikishi - it has worked for 60+ years after all.

I was watching footage of the 1947 June tournament last night and noticed something interesting (to me, at least) - the top rikishi at the time all made their entrances into the venue in western-style clothing, wearing their hair in a very loose mage, if you can even call it that. The footage is behind the NSK's paywall so I have provided a few screenshots below. It makes sense for them to be dressing this way given the political situation of the time, but nonetheless quite jarring to see. Does anyone have more information about this, and perhaps any similar practices that were imposed upon Ōzumō during the occupation? Thanks in advance. Futabayama (Tokitsukaze-oyakata at this point): Azumafuji: Maedayama: Haguroyama: Chiyonoyama:

Interesting reading for Shiba's new shikona - second kanji 雷 is usually read as "rai" in this context, but I assume it's taking the reading for 電 instead... For what it's worth, historical Ōzeki Raiden's shikona was written as 雷電. Also, there's a female pro wrestler by the name of Io Shirai, whose surname takes the same reading as aratamete-Shiden. Maybe they were trying to avoid that connection.