Tanaka from Meidai enters Ozumo

[Petr 0]

Tanaka from public Nagoya University will enter Ozumo in Kyushu. His shikona will be 舛名大.

名大部長から

田中の入門が正式に決まりました。

九州で新弟子検査です。

四股名は舛名大にしました。

応援してやってください。

[Asashosakari 20,288]

Chiganoura-beya, I presume?

[Jonosuke 28]

"舛名大" - well we are not sure how to read it though.

He is from Nagoya Univershity, abbr to Meidai (i.e. 名大) and Chiganoura prefix of 舛 so it's 舛名大. Perhaps no one could come up with more original name for him.

So is it Masumeidai?

[Jakusotsu 6,401]

That's the fun thing about Japanese. The God (or Kami) of the illiterates is frequently having a good laugh.

Seriously, don't you feel more than just a bit frustrated when you don't know how to read something clearly written? I would...

[Kintamayama 47,350]

"舛名大" - well we are not sure how to read it though.

He is from Nagoya University, abbr to Meidai (i.e. 名大) and Chiganoura prefix of 舛 so it's 舛名大. Perhaps no one could come up with more original name for him.

So is it Masumeidai?

Yes, it is Masumeidai, officially.. He is supposed to graduate in March, so he will be the first national university graduate since...Ichinoya, 24 years ago. He will be the first to graduate while being an active rikishi. "For now, I am a college student-active rikishi. I have one more graduation thesis to finish. But now, all my efforts are geared towards gambarizing in Maezumo for Kyushu", he said in his first ever interview, surrounded by hoards of eager reporters. He is 1.89 meters and weighs 110 kilos. "He doesn't have any bad attitude so he should be easy to guide. If he 'lives like a sumotori' he should add 20 kilos in no time. I hope he scrambles up the banzuke quickly and rocks the Sumo world," said Chiganoura Oyakata. His biggest dream is to meet Ichinoya on the dohyo. "We are both national university graduates, so I'd like to talk with him", he added. Since Ichinoya is Jonidan 102 and Masumeidai will be in Jonokuchi in January, this may happen sometime soon.

"If I press this button, will my nose fall off?" Tanaka-Masumeidai:

Edited November 3, 2006 by Kintamayama

[Jakusotsu 6,401]

Yes, it is Masumeidai, officially.

Apologies for going off-topic again, but I'm curious: how do You know? I take it You get this information from Japanese sites, so how do they spell it out how to read certain kanji? Do they use hiragana/katakana for clarification? Sorry if this question looks silly, but I'd like to have some facts for my guesswork.

[Kintamayama 47,350]

Yes, it is Masumeidai, officially.

Apologies for going off-topic again, but I'm curious: how do You know? I take it You get this information from Japanese sites, so how do they spell it out how to read certain kanji? Do they use hiragana/katakana for clarification? Sorry if this question looks silly, but I'd like to have some facts for my guesswork.

Being a serious reporter who can't read kanji if his life depended upon it, I wait for any source to write the shikonae in hiragana (it's never written in katakana of course..) before writing anything. So, this morning- 舛名大（ますめいだい) off Nikkan.

[Kintamayama 47,350]

More Masumeidaiー First time a rikishi uses the abbreviated name of his university in full in his shikona:

Edited November 3, 2006 by Kintamayama

[Jonosuke 28]

He will be the first to graduate while being an active rikishi.

Don't want to be a real stickler here but Tokitenku entered Ozumo while he was still a third year student at Tokyo Nogyo University. As he was around 23 years old and his eligibility window quickly diminishing, he decided to join Tokitsukaze Beya before his graduation.

He finnished all the courses in part time basis and graduated two and half years ago.

There are more college and high school rikishis who join in January before their graduation to avoid the rush in March as that could fast track their banzuke ranking.

[Kintamayama 47,350]

[Don't want to be a real stickler here but Tokitenku entered Ozumo while he was still a third year student at Tokyo Nogyo University. As he was around 23 years old and his eligibility window quickly diminishing, he decided to join Tokitsukaze Beya before his graduation.

He finnished all the courses in part time basis and graduated two and half years ago.

There are more college and high school rikishis who join in January before their graduation to avoid the rush in March as that could fast track their banzuke ranking.

Well,I guess part-time and finishing courses don't count in the eyes of the reporter, as he ｓaid that Masumeidai will be the third ever （Ichinoya and someone else) in the history of Sumo to graduate from a NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, and the first ever to do it while still active. Maybe the national universty is the important factor here.

In any case, what do I know? I'm just waiting to be sued..

[Jonosuke 28]

Well,I guess part-time and finishing courses don't count in the eyes of the reporter, as he ｓaid that Masumeidai will be the third ever （Ichinoya and someone else) in the history of Sumo to graduate from a NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, and the first ever to do it while still active. Maybe the national universty is the important factor here.

In any case, what do I know? I'm just waiting to be sued..

We all know you know plenty about sumo and some other stuff but as Kotoseiya has already alluded elsewhere, I won't go there right at this minute.

Anyway in case the Rijicho is copyrighting this material, I want to be sure we are on the right track.

The third National University rikishi is Yuminosato of Naruto Beya (older brother of Takanoya, also of Naruto Beya, who looks exactly like his brother, both ranked at Sandanme this basho). Actually their likeness is so canny that one can pretty much replace the other on the dohyo without any dohyo shimpan getting wise. I bet even Naruto oyakata or ShiroiKuma still hasn't figured out which is which.

Yuminosato was not a member of sumo club at Kochi University (I don't even know if they have a sumo club at all, perhaps Petr knows). So normally Yuminosato's name does not come up when we talk about College Rikishis as he was not a college rikishi and his name never showed up in any college level sumo tournaments.

But I think some of us remember Yuminosato as winning Jonokuchi Yusho after going on Banzuke-gai last year.

One additional thing is that Yuminosato did NOT graduate as he quit the school before receiving a degree from there. If I recollect he did not leave because of sumo as he joined Ozumo sometime after his departure from the university.

Ichinoya did graduate from Ryukyu University in Okinawa majoring in Physics and I believe Meidai's Tanaka will graduate next March so both are National University graduates while Yuminosato did not finish.

Edited November 3, 2006 by Jonosuke

[Kintamayama 47,350]

One additional thing is that Yuminosato did NOT graduate as he quit the school before receiving a degree from there. If I recollect he did not leave because of sumo as he joined Ozumo sometime after his departure from the university.

Ichinoya did graduate from Ryukyu University in Okinawa majoring in Physics and I believe Meidai's Tanaka will graduate next March so both are National University graduates while Yuminosato did not finish.

Is there any chance that the reporter meant someone else?

[Asashosakari 20,288]

But I think some of us remember Yuminosato as winning Jonokuchi Yusho after going on Banzuke-gai last year.

I think you're thinking of Azusayumi here...Yuminosato was never banzuke-gai or won the Jonokuchi yusho (he did win one in Jonidan this year).

BTW, Yuminosato didn't attend Kochi for long, right? He was still 18 when he joined Ozumo, assuming his published birthdate is correct...

[Jonosuke 28]

I stand corrected that it was another Yumi, Azusayumi, who fell down to Banzuke-gai.

However the third Naitonal University guy is Yuminosato and he did win a Jonidan yusho this year and that's the point of my mix-up.

I should check the book more often before I write ...

[Petr 0]

Young Masumeidai laughing at some foreigner's first sumo experience.