55th All Japan

[Kintamayama 45,534]

Would be nice if Kise-beya recruited a future Sekitori in Ichihara. I always had a soft spot for the struggling heya since Higonoumi took over. It usually appears quite low on Naganoyama's Heya Watch threads.

Well, they do have Gagamaru, who although everyone says isn't that good, seems to me destined for Maegashira at least..

[Jakusotsu 6,050]

For what it's worth I've never been that impressed with Ichihara ... but I would say maybe a couple of basho at sekiwake will be the highest he will go.

:-) Wow. Pretty high standards, my friend. That would still be higher than most Makushita-tsukedashi have gone.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 209]

This is a very good thread. It will help people to review the backgrounds of many future banzuke ascending rikishi in ozumo. College entrants can be very interesting as we can see in Sakaizawa's case but even more so are high school students who challenge college guys well and are much younger when they join. Good to see there is more height now in prospects and not so many Takekazes, Kakizoes or Shimodas. 55th All Japan-thread is a very good thing.

[Asashosakari 19,669]

Good to see there is more height now in prospects and not so many Takekazes, Kakizoes or Shimodas.

Is that really so? I'd be wary of simply assuming that any of these guys will be the next Kotomitsuki, let alone the next Musoyama or the like. Takekaze came in with quite some fanfare as I recall, and Futeno even more so the next year, and even the latter is pretty comparable to the Kakizoes of the sumo world. Ironically enough, the best college entrant of the post-Futeno period might as well be Homasho if he continues to progress as he has so far, and we know he didn't exactly take the regular route to Ozumo.

Edited December 12, 2006 by Asashosakari

[Doitsuyama 1,192]

Good to see there is more height now in prospects and not so many Takekazes, Kakizoes or Shimodas.

Is that really so? ...

Kaikitsune meant the body height which is hard to dispute as the examples are 171, 177 and 173 cm tall.

Edited December 12, 2006 by Doitsuyama

[Asashosakari 19,669]

Good to see there is more height now in prospects and not so many Takekazes, Kakizoes or Shimodas.

Is that really so? ...

Kaikitsune meant the body height which is hard to dispute as the examples are 171, 177 and 173 cm tall.

Ah, right. Darn language barrier...my Finnish isn't what it used to be...

[Kotoseiya Yuichi 3]

Actually, Finnish uses the length to describe tallness. "How long are you?" ;-)

[Kaikitsune Makoto 209]

Yes I did mean height as in body height. Height is quite vital for a prospect because it is quite different to do sumo as a 175cm than 190cm. There hasn't been a single successful foreigner either who is so short. Kotooshu, Baruto, Roho, even Kokkai are all very tall. So are Hakurozan, Tochinoshin, Wakanoho. Kisenosato 188cm and Tochiozan 187cm are nicely tall Japanese stars too. So a promising 190cm+ rikishi is always more interesting than "great college rikishi of 172cm!". Kotooshu, Baruto, Roho, Kokkai, Wakanoho all have great advantage thanks to their height. Especially Kotooshu and Baruto would be totally different rikishi if they were 10-15cm shorter. Even Futeno is only 180cm. Tamanoshima is 188cm and would have been one of the strongest rikishi if he had even a bit healthy body. Sakaizawa is 187cm, Ikioi is 190cm. Height isn't everything but when you are Japanese, it does have its extra role because the average height is so low.